Tag: impeachment

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Trump Twitter Rant: ‘Not An Impeachment, It Is A Coup!’

Donald Trump is now calling the current impeachment inquiry a “coup.” It’s not. Via Reuters:

President Donald Trump is escalating his rhetoric against the impeachment investigation being led by House Democrats. In a tweet, Trump says he has come to the conclusion that the inquiry is not really an impeachment, “it is a COUP, intended to take away the Power of the People.”

In fact, a coup is usually defined as a sudden, violent and illegal seizure of government power. The impeachment process is laid out in the U.S. Constitution.

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News Round-Up: September 30, 2019

InstaHunk Dan Tai (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Ok, who knew hottie Dan Tai (above) even owned this much clothes??? Btw – Dan shares in his Instagram post wise words about cherishing the moment you’re in. Follow him here. • Billboard: Rapper Lil Nas tells CBS This Morning’s Gayle King he knew he was gay early on and used to “pray, pray and pray.” When King asked what he prayed for, he said, “That it was a phase.” • CNN: The latest polling by SSRS shows 47% of Americans support impeaching Donald Trump and removing him from office, up from 41% who felt that way in a CNN poll in May. Opposition stands at 45% in the new poll, down from 54% who said so in May and the lowest point in CNN polling. There’s equally bad news for Trump in the latest Quinnipiac (47% support) and CBS News (55% support) polls. • Buffalo News: Rep. Chris Collins (R) – most famous as the first member of Congress to support Donald Trump’s presidential campaign – resigned from Congress today after pleading guilty to criminal insider trading. • LGBTQ Nation: Abrahm DeVine, a 23-year-old collegiate swimmer who came out as gay in a 2018 interview with Swimming World magazine, says he was kicked off of the Stanford University swim team due to “systematic homophobia.” DeVine is a member of the U.S. men’s national swim team and was an NCAA champion at Stanford. • Out Music: Peter Thomas drops his latest single, “If You’re Happy Now,” about the aftermath of a breakup. “Heartbreak has been replaced by a less intense heartache,” explains Thomas. “I find myself wondering about you. Are you okay? Do you have someone new? Are we in the same time zone? Maybe we’re not ready to talk yet, and maybe we won’t end up together, but I still care. I’ll always care. And I want to know if you’re alright.” I have stood in the center of that emotional landscape. Hit the play button below.

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Pelosi: “It Doesn’t Matter” If Impeachment Inquiry Threatens Democratic House Majority

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, during an appearance over the weekend in Texas, said Democrats will push ahead with the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump whether it could threaten the Democrats hold on the House in the 2020 elections or not. Via Yahoo News:

“It doesn’t matter,” Pelosi said in the wrap-up event of a weekend festival for politicians and journalists. “Our first responsibility is to the Constitution.”

Pelosi, a California Democrat who reclaimed the gavel in the House after her party captured the majority in the 2018 November elections, spoke just blocks away from the Texas Capitol at the festival put on by the Texas Tribune.

In a conversation with Tribune CEO Evan Smith, Pelosi said the decision to move ahead with the possible impeachment was dictated by the president’s actions.

“This is a sad time for our country,” Pelosi said. “There is no joy in this.”

Pelosi said her early hesitance to move ahead with impeachment was because the facts were insufficient until a whistleblower brought to light a phone conversation with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky

In that conversation, a rough transcript released by the White House after the whistleblower’s concerns were made known showed Trump seeking politically damaging information against former Vice President Joe Biden, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.

“I think right now, there is a coverup of the coverup,” she said.

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SNL Cold Open Takes On Trump’s Impeachment Woes

L-R Alec Baldwin, Kate McKinnon (screen capture)
SNL’s season premiere just HAD to include Alec Baldwin’s ‘Donald Trump’ in chaos after the announcement of an official impeachment inquiry made news this week. Says Baldwin’s Trump: “It’s the greatest presidential harassment of all time. I should know. I’m like the president of harassment.” Kate McKinnon’s ‘Rudy Giuliani,’ speaking from the set of CNN, tells Trump: “Nobody’s going to find out about our illegal side dealings with the Ukraine. Or how we tried to cover up those side dealings. Or how we planned to cover up the cover-up.” Aidy Bryant’s ‘Attorney General William Barr’ wonders who Trump can get to take the blame: “Where are you going to find a sacrificial patsy that’ll do anything you say? Not it.”
Alec Baldwin and Beck Bennett (screen capture)
Trump tells Barr not to worry, “I’ve got the perfect stooge.” Enter Mike Pence (Beck Bennett), who told him “but you’re the one who broke the law.” Pretty much everyone gets a moment in the clip. Watch below.

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WaPo: Trump Told Russian Officials He Was ‘Unconcerned’ With 2016 Election Interference

And the shoes continue to drop…

Three former White House officials tell the Washington Post that Donald Trump assured senior Russian officials in a 2017 Oval Office meeting that he was ‘unconcerned’ with Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

President Trump told two senior Russian officials in a 2017 Oval Office meeting that he was unconcerned about Moscow’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election because the United States did the same in other countries, an assertion that prompted alarmed White House officials to limit access to the remarks to an unusually small number of people, according to three former officials with knowledge of the matter.

The comments, which have not been previously reported, were part of a now-infamous meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, in which Trump revealed highly classified information that exposed a source of intelligence on the Islamic State. He also said during the meeting that firing FBI Director James B. Comey the previous day had relieved “great pressure” on him.

A memorandum summarizing the meeting was limited to a few officials with the highest security clearances in an attempt to keep the president’s comments from being disclosed publicly, according to the former officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

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First House Republican Announces Support For Impeachment Inquiry

GOP Rep. Mark Amodei is first House Republican to support impeachment inquiry

GOP Rep. Mark Amodei is first House Republican to support impeachment inquiry Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) is the first GOP member of Congress to openly support the House’s impeachment inquiry. From the Nevada Independent:

“Let’s put it through the process and see what happens,” Amodei, the only Republican in the state’s congressional delegation, said on a call Friday with reporters, adding that he believes Congress is justified to look into the matter. 

“I’m a big fan of oversight, so let’s let the committees get to work and see where it goes,” he added.  (An audio recording of the call has been posted below.)

“Using government agencies to, if it’s proven, to put your finger on the scale of an election, I don’t think that’s right,” he continued. “If it turns out that it’s something along those lines, then there’s a problem.”

Amodei issued a statement after the call underscoring his support for the process moving forward and dispelling any impression that he currently backs voting to impeach the president.

“In no way, shape, or form, did I indicate support for impeachment,” Amodei said of the call.

Amodei declined to say whether he believes Trump committed an impeachable offense, though he noted that his comments in the call were regrettable.

“If it was my statement and I had the ability to do it over, I would probably phrase it differently,” he said. “I don’t know that it’s a smoking gun.”

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The Latest In Donald Trump / Ukraine Debacle

Trump walks past reporters with no comment

The latest news regarding the newly-announced official impeachment inquiry investigating allegations that Donald Trump used the presidency to encourage Ukraine to help dig up dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden: • The whistle-blower’s complaint has been released to the public. You can, and should, read the full document here. The whistle-blower states that he had “received information from multiple U.S. Government officials that the President of the United States is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election.” The complaint also asserts that several in the White House were “deeply disturbed by what happened on that phone call” and there was an attempt to cover it up. • The New York Times also reports the whistle-blower who filed the initial complaint is a C.I.A. agent who was detailed to work at the White House for a period of time. According to the Times, the complaint seems to suggest “he was an analyst by training and made clear he was steeped in details of American foreign policy toward Europe, demonstrating a sophisticated understanding of Ukrainian politics and at least some knowledge of the law.” • Law & Crime shares that Trump spoke about the unnamed whistle-blower today to a group of staffers from the United States Mission to the United Nations. A recording of Trump’s remarks show he wanted to know who the Ukraine whistleblower’s source or sources were “because that’s close to a spy.” The Donald also said in the “old days when we were smart” spies and traitors were treated “a little differently.” Many interpreted those words as a threat which could be seen as witness tampering and/or obstruction of justice.

• A new Morning Consult poll conducted over the last two days shows Americans split over whether they want to see Congress begin impeachment proceedings to remove Donald Trump from office. According to the survey of over 1,600 registered voters, 43 percent support impeachment, and 43 percent oppose it. What’s noteworthy here is that constitutes a 13 point net swing in favor of impeachment from another poll conducted over the weekend. The figure for support rose 7 points, while opposition dropped 6 points. (image via Flickr/White House – public domain)

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Trump Asked Pelosi If They “Could Work Something Out”

According to CNN, Donald Trump apparently asked Nancy Pelosi if “we could work something out” regarding the ongoing whistleblower scandal.

President Donald Trump was incredulous Tuesday as he sat in Trump Tower and watched House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announce she was launching a formal impeachment inquiry against him, sources familiar with the moment say. Sitting in the same building where he launched his long shot presidential campaign four years ago, Trump said he couldn’t believe it, he later told people. He had felt confident after phoning Pelosi earlier that morning. The drive for impeachment in her caucus had ramped up amid reports he pushed the Ukrainian President to investigate Joe Biden, and Trump was hoping to head off a clash. He figured he could de-escalate tensions by speaking with her directly.

NBC News correspondent Heidi Przybyla shared on MSNBC that she was briefed by Pelosi on a phone call she received from Trump where the president attempted to diffuse the situation through negotiations. “The president actually said to Nancy Pelosi, ‘Hey, can we do something about this whistleblower complaint? Can we work something out?’” “And [Pelosi] said, ‘Yes, you can tell your people to obey the law.'”

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Pelosi Announces Official Impeachment Inquiry Of Donald Trump

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announces launch of formal impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announces launch of formal impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced today that Democrats were moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. “The actions of the Trump presidency revealed the dishonorable fact of the president’s betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security, and betrayal of the integrity of our elections,” said Pelosi in a statement. “Therefore, today I’m announcing the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry.” Trump responded on Twitter saying Pelosi’s actions ‘ruined’ his great day at the UN.

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Senate Unanimously Calls For Release Of Whistleblower Complaint

The US Senate has unanimously approved a non-binding resolution calling for the release of whistleblower complaint

The US Senate has unanimously approved a non-binding resolution calling for the release of whistleblower complaint Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell allowed (both pictured above), a voice vote in the U.S. Senate calling for the release of the whistleblower complaint received on August 12 that began the current Ukraine/Trump scandal. The non-binding resolution was approved unanimously.

Meanwhile, Trump tweeted that he’s already ordered the release of the “complete, fully declassified and unredacted transcript” of his phone call with the Ukrainian president.

‘Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives…’