;)
The Commentariat -- January 16, 2020
Afternoon Update:
Chief Justice, Senators Take the Impeachment Oath:
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Sadly, Roberts -- as expected -- wore a plain judicial robe, unlike his predecessor William Renquist, who had gold stripes sewed to sleeves of his robe. His inspiration: "one worn by the Lord Chancellor in a local production of Gilbert & Sullivan's Iolanthe," which Renquist had seen. Of his experience in overseeing the impeachment trial, Renquist riffed on a line from "When Britain Really Ruled the Waves" in Iolanthe: "I did nothing in particular, and I did it very well." One might think Renquist thought the Clinton impeachment and trial amounted to a grand farce -- one that unfortunately lacked appropriate musical accompaniment.
~~~ Nicholas Fandos & Michael Shear of the New York Times with live updates: "For the second time in two days, the seven House members who will serve as prosecutors made a solemn march through the Capitol to the Senate chamber, this time to formally announce the charges against President Trump and initiate only the third presidential impeachment trial in American history....
"Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the lead impeachment manager, said his team would consider whether to press the Senate to call Lev Parnas to testify once the trial begins.... Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that Lev Parnas, the Soviet-born businessman who says President Trump was fully aware of efforts to dig up damaging information that would help him in the 2020 election, would be 'a credible witness'during the impeachment trial, though she stopped short of saying he should testify.
"It was a straightforward question being put to nearly every Republican senator in the Capitol on Thursday: Should the Senate consider new evidence as part of the impeachment trial? But when Manu Raju of CNN, a well-respected congressional reporter, put it to Senator Martha McSally of Arizona, the first-term Republican who is up for re-election this fall went on the attack. 'You're a liberal hack,' she said. 'I'm not talking to you. You're a liberal hack.'" Mrs. McC: I've seen Raju on CNN many times. He's a straight reporter, not a "liberal hack." ~~~
"But He Didn't Commit a Crime!" -- Another Faulty Trump Defense Topples. Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "The Trump administration violated the law in withholding security assistance aid to Ukraine, a nonpartisan federal watchdog agency said on Thursday.... The Government Accountability Office said the White House's Office of Management and Budget violated the Impoundment Control Act when it withheld nearly $400 million for 'a policy reason,' even though the funds had been allocated by Congress. The decision was directed by the president himself, and during the House impeachment inquiry, administration officials testified that they had raised concerns about its legality to no avail.... The White House budget office promptly rejected the report's conclusions.... Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland..., on Thursday called the G.A.O. report a 'bombshell legal opinion.' It 'demonstrates, without a doubt, that the Trump Administration illegally withheld assistance from Ukraine and the public evidence shows that the president himself ordered this illegal act,' he wrote on Twitter." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. Politico's report is here. ~~~
~~~ The GAO's decision report is here, via Politico. ~~~
~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "The GOP has made the idea there was no crime a central argument in its impeachment defense of President Trump. The articles of impeachment, Republicans argue, don't actually accuse Trump of a specific, statutory criminal act, so the process is illegitimate. This, of course, ignores that you don't need a crime to impeach. But that strained argument was just severely undermined. The Government Accountability Office ruled Thursday the Trump administration's withholding of aid to Ukraine violated the law, because Trump can't use his policy priorities to supersede the constitutional power of the purse that Congress enjoys.... [In his decision,] GAO general counsel Thomas H. Armstrong delivers rebukes to Trump and his administration, saying it has failed to abide by the law, failed to substantiate its actions and failed to cooperate by providing the necessary documentation.... Now [impeachment managers] can plausibly argue Trump took an illegal action here as part of his pressure campaign on Ukraine."
American Oversight (via digby): "We lined up the newly released Parnas messages with the records we obtained from the State Department through FOIA litigation, as well as other records and reports. The timeline is troubling.... Many of the messages between [Lev] Parnas and Robert Hyde, a Trump donor who was apparently assisting Parnas in Ukraine, were sent in late March 2019 -- dates when [Rudy] Giuliani was in touch with Sec. of State Mike Pompeo, according to records we obtained." The report includes the details.
Sabrina Rodriguez of Politico: "The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed ... Donald Trump's signature trade deal with Mexico and Canada, helping him fulfill a 2016 campaign promise in a rare bipartisan vote. It's a big win for the president going into his reelection campaign, as he seeks to prove that his disruptive trade agenda is delivering results. But it'll take years of costly work before American workers and businesses begin to benefit from the new trade pact with Mexico and Canada, which passed the Senate in a 89-10 vote.... Some Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, voted against the pact for not doing enough to protect American jobs or address environmental issues.... The USMCA will not go into full effect until Canada approves the pact when its House of Commons reconvenes in late January."
Timothy Williams of the New York Times: "Virginia on Wednesday became the 38th state to approve the Equal Rights Amendment, a symbolic victory for those who for generations have been pushing for a constitutional guarantee of legal rights regardless of sex. Virginia's decision does not seal the amendment's addition to the United States Constitution. A deadline for three-quarters, or 38, of the 50 states to approve the E.R.A. expired in 1982, so the future of the measure is uncertain, and experts said the issue would likely be tied up in the courts and in the political sphere for years. But the symbolism of the action in Virginia was significant after a struggle that had been raised, hard fought and, at times, forgotten over nearly 100 years.... Women packed the galleries of the State Capitol as the debate unfolded.... Some members of the House of Delegates, which for the first time in its 401-year history is led by a woman, Eileen Filler-Corn, brought their young daughters to witness the vote." The Hill's story is here.
~~~~~~~~~~
Zach Montague of the New York Times: Today, "the seven House managers will return to the Senate chamber to read aloud the articles of impeachment. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. will make the trip across the street to the Capitol from the Supreme Court to be sworn in as the presiding officer of the trial and administer oaths to all 100 senators, who will raise their hands and swear to do 'impartial justice,' then take turns signing a book attesting to their oath.... The managers are expected to arrive for the reading at noon, and Chief Justice Roberts is expected around 2 p.m. The oath-taking and book-signing will follow.... By Senate rules, once Chief Justice Roberts is sworn in, a summons is to be issued to the president, who will have the opportunity to address the charges laid out in the articles of impeachment. The Senate is also expected on Thursday to set due dates for trial briefs from the House managers and the president's counsel, providing some clarity on when initial filings must be submitted. Once summoned, Mr. Trump is expected to respond in written form. The response may be read out over the course of several days."
House managers deliver Articles of Impeachment to the Senate:
Nicholas Fandos & Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to send the Senate two articles of impeachment against President Trump, appointing seven Democrats to prosecute the case and initiating only the third presidential impeachment trial in American history.... Only one Democrat, Representative Collin C. Peterson of Minnesota, joined every Republican in voting 'no.'... The [impeachent] managers are scheduled to reconvene in the Capitol at 5 p.m. to finalize the articles with Ms. Pelosi in a formal 'engrossment ceremony' that will mark the beginning of an elaborate, and highly orchestrated, ritual. From there, accompanied by the House clerk and sergeant-at-arms, the managers will file from the House, through the old House chamber and the Capitol Rotunda to the Senate, where Democrats will present the articles to the secretary of the Senate. But the trial itself is not expected to start until Thursday, when the managers will most likely exhibit the articles inside the Senate chamber. Once they do so, the Senate will summon Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. to preside and all senators will take an oath to administer 'impartial justice.' The Senate must promptly issue a summons to Mr. Trump informing him of the charges and requesting a response. Republican leaders have said the proceeding will not begin in earnest until next Tuesday, after the long holiday weekend." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Olivia Beavers & Mike Lillis of the Hill: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tapped seven impeachment managers on Tuesday.... Some members who the Speaker tapped were considered shoo-ins, including Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), who both had leadership roles during the impeachment inquiry into Trump's contacts with Ukraine. Others picked for the high-profile role of managers include Democratic Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Zoe Lofgren (Calif.), Val Demings (Fla.), Sylvia Garcia (Texas), and Jason Crow (Colo.)." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Amber Phillips of the Washington Post: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) named the lawmakers who will prosecute the case in a Senate trial that will begin in earnest next week. In impeachment parlance, they are known as managers. They are tasked with persuading 67 senators to convict Trump and remove him from office on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. 'The emphasis is on litigators, the emphasis is on comfort in the courtroom,' Pelosi said of her selections. Here's who they are and why Pelosi probably picked them for the most consequential part of the entire impeachment process." ~~~
~~~ The New York Times' liveblog on impeachment for Wednesday is here. The Washington Post's liveblog is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
The Impartial Jury Foreman. Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday ripped House Democrats and made the case for the upper chamber acquitting President Trump as he waits for the articles of impeachment to be transmitted. McConnell, speaking from the Senate floor, did not directly call for senators to vote to acquit Trump but argued that senators cannot follow the House's lead and agree that the president deserves to be impeached and ultimately removed from office. '... If the Senate blesses this unprecedented and dangerous House process by agreeing that an incomplete case and subjective basis are enough to impeach a president, we will almost guarantee the impeachment of every future president,' McConnell said." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Emma Dumain & Alex Daugherty of the Miami Herald: Rep. Val Demings, a "Florida congresswoman who on Wednesday became an impeachment manager in ... Donald Trump's upcoming Senate trial, wants to remove the lead juror: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.... Her opposition to McConnell's participation in the Senate trial that is set to start next week stems from the Kentucky Republican boasting that he won't be impartial in deciding whether Trump should be acquitted or convicted. 'I'm not an impartial juror,' McConnell said at a press conference in December. 'This is a political process. There is not anything judicial about it. Impeachment is a political decision.' Demings released a statement on Dec. 13 declaring McConnell unfit to vote in Trump's impeachment trial after Senate leader went on Fox News to further detail his coordination with the White House on impeachment strategy."
Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "The Senate is still discussing whether it will hear witness testimony from John Bolton, the former national security adviser, who has said he would comply with a subpoena during the impeachment trial. But he's planning to reveal some of what he saw regarding the Ukraine matter in his upcoming book, according to people familiar with the plan. Mr. Bolton's book, due to be published by Simon and Schuster, is almost finished, according to people familiar with his plans, and is set to be on sale well ahead of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions this summer. The book is going to ... expand on at least some of what he saw regarding Mr. Trump's efforts to pressure Ukrainian officials into announcing an investigation into Hunter Biden...." Mediaite has a summary report here.
Marianne Levine & Burgess Everett of Politico: "The Senate is prepared to enforce strict measures on reporters' access during ... Donald Trump's impeachment trial.... The Senate sergeant-at-arms and U.S. Capitol Police are looking to drastically curtail press access to lawmakers.... Among the potential restrictions, according to aletter sent to Senate leadership from the Standing Committee of Correspondents, are confining reporters to a press pen on the second floor of the Capitol and limiting their ability to walk with senators from the Senate subways.... But not all Republicans are on board. Some pushed back Wednesday, following news that access to senators will be significantly limited during the Senate impeachment proceedings. Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, known for his folksy style and colorful quotes, complained that the restrictions send the 'wrong message.'"
Ken Vogel & Ben Protess of the New York Times: "Lev Parnas, the Soviet-born businessman who played a central role in the campaign to pressure Ukraine to investigate political rivals of President Trump, completed his break with the White House on Wednesday, asserting for the first time in public that the president was fully aware of the efforts to dig up damaging information on his behalf. In an interview with The New York Times on the day the House transmitted articles of impeachment against Mr. Trump to the Senate, Mr. Parnas also expressed regret for having trusted Mr. Trump and Rudolph W. Giuliani.... Mr. Parnas made his remarks as House impeachment investigators released more material he had turned over to them. The material ... provided additional evidence that the effort to win political advantage for Mr. Trump was widely known among his allies, showing that Mr. Parnas communicated regularly with two top Republican fund-raisers about what he was up to. Text messages and call logs show that Mr. Parnas was in contact with Tom Hicks Jr., a donor and Trump family friend, and Joseph Ahearn, who raised money for pro-Trump political groups, about developments in the Ukraine pressure campaign.... The records seem to expand the circle of people around Mr. Trump who were aware in real time of the pressure campaign.... When asked by The Times how he knew that Mr. Trump was aware of the pressure campaign, he said that Mr. Giuliani assured him that was the case." ~~~
~~~ Phil Helsel of NBC News: "Lev Parnas..., says, 'President Trump knew exactly what was going on. He was aware of all my movements. I wouldn't do anything without the consent of Rudy Giuliani or the president. I have no intent, I have no reason to speak to any of these officials,' Parnas, who faces campaign finance charges, told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow in an interview set to air Wednesday night. 'I mean, they have no reason to speak to me. Why would President Zelenskiy's inner circle or Minister Avakov or all these people or President Poroshenko meet with me? Who am I? They were told to meet with me. And that's the secret that they're trying to keep. I was on the ground doing their work,' Parnas said.... Asked whether Trump specifically was aware that he and Giuliani were working on the effort in Ukraine specifically to hurt Joe Biden, Parnas said yes. 'Yeah, it was all about Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, and also Rudy had a personal thing with the Manafort stuff. The black ledger,' Parnas said." Mrs. McC: There's a lot more, and it's explosive. Here's a small portion of the interview:
~~~ Jeffery Martin of Newsweek: "In an interview with Rachel Maddow Wednesday night, Lev Parnas said that Vice President Mike Pence was given the task of telling Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy that if he did not announce his government's investigation into the Bidens, the U.S. would not provide any military aid. When asked if Pence was aware of the quid pro quo, Parnas said, 'I'm going to use a famous quote from [Ambassador Gordon] Sondland. Everybody was in the loop.' Parnas said that Pence was scheduled to be a guest at Zelenskiy's inauguration.... But Parnas told Zelenskiy's senior aide Sergei Schaffer that if the investigation were not announced, then the relationship between Ukraine and the U.S. would become 'sour.' 'The announcement was the key at that time because of the inauguration and I told him Pence would not show up, nobody would show up to his inauguration,' Parnas said. 'It was particularly Vice President Mike Pence.' Pence's visit to the inauguration was canceled the day after Parnas met with Schafer.... To my awareness, Trump called to say "Make sure Pence doesn't go [to the inauguration]."' Parnas said he was positive Pence canceled his trip to the inauguration because of the disagreement between the U.S. and Ukraine." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I've joked about President Pelosi, but what a responsible Congress would do now is (1) remove Trump from office, (2) investigate the veracity of Parnas' claim about pence and impeach pence if verified, and (3) swear in either Pelosi or, if there is one, president* pence's appointed veep. Of course, none of this will happen because that "if" clause depends upon "responsible."
~~~ Right now, you can watch the full interview here. The full show will be here (@6:15 am ET, it's not up yet); however, to watch it here, you have to have access through your cable network & sign in, which is kind of a pain. More of the interview will air on Maddow's show tonight. ~~~
~~~ Justine Coleman of the Hill has a summary report.
~~~ Devin Nunes Tries out the "I Forgot" Defense. Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast: "Moments after [Lev] Parnas told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow that the president 'knew exactly what was going on' with Ukraine, Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum asked [Rep. Dennis] Nunes about phone records that show he spoke to Parnas, noting he previously said he couldn't 'recall' having a phone conversation with the Giuliani henchman. Claiming that the information was 'brand new' at the time and he just didn't 'recognize the name Parnas,' the pro-Trump congressman added that he was able to recall 'where he was at the time' and now 'remembered that call, which was very odd and random.' Asked whether or not they spoke about former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, Nunes asserted that the first time he 'heard the name Yovanovitch was not until this impeachment sham started.'" Mrs. McC: Nunes, you recall, sat through the House Intel Committee hearings as ranking member, never letting on that he himself had been in on the Ukraine scheme.
Kyle Cheney & Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "House impeachment investigators released a new set of evidence that was obtained from Lev Parnas, an indicted former associate of ... Donald Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani -- including voicemails, photos, and text messages between Parnas and high-level figures within Trump's orbit. The material includes voicemail messages Parnas received from Giuliani and Victoria Toensing, a prominent Trump-aligned lawyer, both of whom have been identified as players in an effort to force the removal of the then-U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, during the spring."
Paul Sonne, et al., of the Washington Post: "New materials released by House Democrats appear to show Ukraine's top prosecutor offering an associate of ... Rudolph W. Giuliani damaging information related to former vice president Joe Biden if the Trump administration recalled the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.... Among the revelations in the documents released Tuesday: a message from Giuliani to [Lev] Parnas saying he had involved a person he called 'no 1' -- possibly Trump himself -- in an effort to lift a U.S. visa ban on a former Ukrainian prosecutor who was planning to come to the United States to make claims about Biden.... The materials show that Parnas, a Russian-speaker who helped coordinate Giuliani's outreach to Ukrainian sources, was directly communicating with an array of top Ukrainian officials. Among them was Yuri Lutsenko, at the time Ukraine's top prosecutor and a close political ally of then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, who was running for reelection. Lutsenko wanted to get rid of Yovanovitch, the U.S. ambassador, in part because she had been critical of his office and supported a quasi-independent anti-corruption bureau he despised.... The newly released documents also detail Giuliani's involvement in trying to secure a U.S. visa for Lutsenko's predecessor, Viktor Shokin, who has alleged that Biden asked Poroshenko to fire him because he was investigating the owner of Burisma at the time."
Rosalind Helderman, et al., of the Washington Post: "The previously untold story of how Giuliani and his associates reached out to ... Ukrainian tycoon [Dmytro Firtash] -- whom the former New York mayor had previously blasted publicly for alleged ties to organized crime -- shows the lengths Giuliani went to in his campaign to defend Trump in the Russia investigation and undermine former vice president Joe Biden.... The Firtash executive who met with Giuliani in Paris was an aspiring Ukrainian politician named Dmitry Torner, later accused by Ukrainian authorities of escaping incarceration in Moldova and living under a new name. The following month, Giuliani sat down in London with other Firtash representatives.... Later that summer, Firtash's attorneys filed a court document that Giuliani touted publicly as support for his claims about Biden. In a statement, Giuliani said he did not remember meeting Torner or details of his meetings in Paris and London and had limited interest in Firtash. 'I never met him. I never did business with him,' he said of Firtash. He did not respond to follow-up questions after The Post obtained photos of [Giuliani, Parnas, Fruman & Torner together in a Paris cigar bar].
Philip Bump of the Washington Post highlights a letter from Rudy Giuliani to Volodymyr Zelensky that makes it fairly impossible for Trump to throw Giuliani under the bus, as Trump attempted to do in an interview with Bill O'Reilly. In the letter, which is reproduced with the post, Giuliani writes, "I am private counsel to President Donald J. Trump. Just to be precise, I represent him as a private citizen, not as President of the United States.... In my capacity as personal counsel to President Trump and with his knowledge and consent, I request a meeting with you...." (Also linked yesterday.)
Nahal Toosi & Natasha Bertrand of Politico: "Democrats are vowing to investigate allegations that people linked to ... Donald Trump's personal lawyer had placed the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine under surveillance. Documents released by House impeachment investigators late Tuesday indicate that Lev Parnas ... corresponded with Republican congressional candidate Robert Hyde about tracking the movements of the ex-envoy, Marie Yovanovitch. In often coarse terms, the pair nodded to an effort to oust her from the role.... Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote a letter Wednesday to the State Department seeking records related to Hyde, Parnas and Yovanovitch. Engel wrote that he was especially alarmed by messages in which Hyde suggested he had 'a person inside' who could offer information on the ambassador; Engel questioned whether that person could be based at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv.... New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote his own letter to the State Department demanding 'an immediate briefing and accounting' by officials in the diplomatic security division and others about what they knew and did to protect Yovanovitch."
~~~ Jonathan Chait: In "a series of messages between [Lev] Parnas, who met with Trump on several occasions and claims the president personally directed his mission in Ukraine, and Robert Hyde..., Hyde made several chilling remarks that seemed to indicate that he was surveilling Marie Yovanovitch, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, and prepared to do something to her. Reading these messages makes clear Hyde was planning to do something unpleasant to Yovanovitch, apparently in tandem with some kind of security personnel he contacted, perhaps Russian ones[.]... Several months later, even after she had been removed from her post, President Trump appeared intent on doing some kind of harm to Yovanovitch. 'Well, she's going to go through some things,' he told Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in his July 25 phone call.... The Parnas-Hyde texts are evidence of how the whole scheme played out on the ground, which is basically as an episode of The Sopranos. And as the sordid evidence of the scheme continues to pour out, it remains the position of the Trump administration and nearly every elected Republican that Congress is not entitled to to any additional testimony or documents." Worth reading for the thread of Hyde's messages. Chait also goes into the evidence in the letter from Giuliani to Zelensky. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
Lee Fang of the Intercept: "The man who relayed information about Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch's location to Rudy Giuliani's Ukrainian associates was a known stalker with mental health issues. Newly released private WhatsApp messages between Lev Parnas ... and Robert F. Hyde, a donor to ... Donald Trump's campaign and aspiring GOP lawmaker, reveal what appears to be an effort to surveil the former ambassador to Ukraine.... The messages, released Tuesday by the House Intelligence Committee relating to its ongoing impeachment inquiry, show Hyde claiming to know Yovanovitch's location and movements in Kyiv, while implying that he was in contact with local security services in Ukraine who could be paid to go after the ambassador. The startling messages show the extent to which the Giuliani associates were willing to at least entertain extreme tactics.... The Intercept obtained police records showing that Hyde violated a restraining order issued by a Washington, D.C., Superior Court judge at the request of a Republican consultant who says that Hyde stalked her and intimidated her family over the last year. In one of the reports, an officer disclosed that Connecticut police confiscated Hyde's firearms in connection to his violation of the restraining order. Hyde was reported to authorities for 'unsettling behavior' and trespassing at a church in Connecticut, according to a separate police report last summer.... Hyde publicized that he was placed in a psychiatric facility in Florida last May, following an incident at the Trump National Doral Miami resort." There's more. ~~~
~~~ David Corn of Mother Jones: "Robert F. Hyde, a former landscape company owner and the latest oddball figure to enter the Trump-Ukraine scandal, has attempted to ride the Trump presidency into a new career as a lobbyist, public affairs operative, and all-around GOP player.... [T]here was one real connection Hyde did make -- and it was with a mysterious Chinese immigrant named Cheng Gao who donated almost a quarter of a million dollars to Trump and the GOP.... Hyde posted a video on his Twitter feed showing how in April 2019 he managed to introduce Gao to Trump at Mar-a-Lago.... In May, not long after he scored that Trump handshake for Gao, Hyde was taken into police custody at the Trump National Doral in Miami and involuntarily confined to a medical facility.... Hyde, according to a police report, said to the cops that 'e-mails he sent ... may have placed his life in jeopardy.'... The night before this incident, Hyde sent Mother Jones a long, rambling text message in which he boasted of his role in helping Trump during the 2016 campaign and implied that his life was at risk." --s<
AP: "Ukrainian police say they have opened an investigation into the possibility that the former U.S. ambassador came under illegal surveillance before she was recalled from her post. The announcement Thursday came two days after Democratic lawmakers in the United States released a trove of documents that showed Lev Parnas, an associate of ... Donald Trump's personal lawyer, communicating about the removal of Marie Yovanovitch as the ambassador to Ukraine. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry, which runs the police forces, said in a statement that Ukrainian police 'are not interfering in the internal political affairs of the United States. However, the published messages contain facts of possible violations of Ukrainian law and of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, which protect the rights of diplomats on the territory of another state,' the statement continued. The Interior Ministry also said it has invited the FBI to take part in the investigation."
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Aaron Rupar of Vox has a good post on how the mainstream media in general, and in this case, NPR in particular, sanitize and normalize Trump's wild, incoherent rants. Thanks to Ken W. for the link. Mrs. McC: During the first year-plus of his term, almost all major-media outlets labored to "interpret" Trump's rants by making some sense of what he was saying, which of course had the effect of normalizing his speeches and remarks. But I have noticed that, after maybe two years, reporters at some major outlets, including the NYT, finally started writing about Trump's "disjointed rambling" and "anger" and so forth even in straight news reports. Too little, too late. (Also linked yesterday.)
"He Was at Times Dangerously Uninformed." Ashley Parker of the Washington Post reviews a new book -- A Very Stable Genius -- by WashPo reporters Philip Rucker & Carol Leonnig that reports on incidents and remarks showing what an ignoramus Trump is -- and how this affects U.S. foreign policy. ~~~
~~~ Alex Ward of Vox has a summary report. He zeroes in on Trump's wish to repeal the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, inasmuch as the act makes it more problematic for Trump's companies to bribe foreign officials.
Nahal Toosi of Politico: "The State Department abruptly canceled two classified congressional briefings Wednesday that were supposed to focus on embassy security and the U.S. relationship with Iran, Capitol Hill aides said, infuriating lawmakers and staffers seeking answers on the fallout from ... Donald Trump's decision to kill a senior Iranian general. The cancellations also coincide with the release of documents suggesting that associates of Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani had put the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine under surveillance -- an issue that touches on both embassy security and the president's impeachment. 'Staff are furious,' a House aide said about the scuttled embassy security session. 'This briefing is required by law every month, and today's was the most important we've had scheduled in a long time. The State Department has given us no explanation whatsoever.'"
Ana Swanson & Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "President Trump signed an initial trade deal with China on Wednesday, bringing the first chapter of a protracted and economically damaging fight with one of the world's largest economies to a close. The pact is intended to open Chinese markets to more American companies, increase farm and energy exports and provide greater protection for American technology and trade secrets. China has committed to buying an additional $200 billion worth of American goods and services by 2021 and is expected to ease some of the tariffs it has placed on American products. But the agreement preserves the bulk of the tariffs that Mr. Trump has placed on $360 billion worth of Chinese goods, and it maintains the threat of additional punishment if Beijing does not live up to the terms of the deal." A CNN report is here.
Extorting Allies. Reuters: "The Trump administration has threatened to impose a 25% tariff on European automobile imports if Britain, France and Germany do not formally accuse Iran of breaking the 2015 nuclear deal, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed European officials. The three European countries triggered a dispute mechanism under the agreement on Tuesday, amounting to a formal accusation against Tehran of violating its terms and could lead to the reinstatement of United Nations sanctions lifted under the accord.... It was not clear if the threat was necessary since the Europeans had signaled an intention to trigger the dispute mechanism for weeks, the newspaper reported." --s ~~~
~~~ MEANWHILE. Katrin Bennhold & Jack Ewing of the New York Times: As the U.S. pressures Germany to ostracize China's tech giant Huawei, China is pressuring Germany to use Huawei technology in its autos. "VW, Daimler and BMW sell more cars in China than anywhere else and many already cooperate with Huawei...."
Leo Hindery, Jr., in The (Iowa) Gazette: "[T]he dirty secret of the economy under Trump is that while major corporations have had reasons to celebrate, rural communities in the heartlands have gotten stiffed. Case in point: Iowa. Research shows that in the state the bulk of the economy's benefits are being enjoyed by the richest one percent of Iowans, and much less so by the state's small businesses and farmers who are fighting for scraps.... This pattern could not be starker: The President and his supporters in Congress continually promise a lifeboat to those struggling to stay afloat but then they barely throw them a line.... Democratic candidates must be laser-focused on the rural economy as they look to persuade Iowa voters. They must connect with the Iowans who continue to be left behind -- not for the sake of scoring political points, but because the state's local farmers and small businesses deserve so much better." --s
Katy O'Donnell of Politico: "The Department of Housing and Urban Development will allow Puerto Rico to access more than $8 billion in blocked disaster aid funding, ending a monthslong hold by the Trump administration, according to people familiar with the matter. Puerto Rico, which suffered devastating losses from Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, has received just $1.5 billion of the roughly $20 billion in congressionally authorized disaster funds that HUD is supposed to administer. The delay in receiving the additional funds had incensed both U.S. lawmakers and commonwealth officials.... Democrats had cranked up the pressure on the White House to release the money in the wake of the earthquakes, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California on Thursday calling on administration officials to 'cease and desist that illegal activity.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Presidential Race
Kyle Blaine, et al., of CNN: "In a tense and dramatic exchange in the moments after the Democratic debate Tuesday night, Elizabeth Warren accused Bernie Sanders of calling her a liar on national television. Sanders responded that it was Warren who called him a liar and said they should not talk about it right then.... Sound of the moment was caught by CNN's microphones and found Wednesday." The story includes a transcript of the exchange. ~~~
Washington "Post Opinions invited the Democratic presidential candidates not on the stage in Des Moines on Tuesday to add their thoughts to a key exchange in the debate. Here are the responses from five of them." (Also linked yesterday.)
Michelle Lee of the Washington Post: "Donors to President Trump's reelection are now permitted to give nearly $600,000 per year, boosting the president's ability to raise money from wealthy supporters months before the general election contest begins in earnest. Under an agreement announced Wednesday by Trump Victory, a joint fundraising committee for the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee, a single donor can give as much as $580,600 this year to support Trump's reelection -- higher than the committee's previous caps on contributions.... It is the latest example of the dramatically expanding fundraising power of national party committees, made possible through pivotal legal changes in 2014 that loosened restrictions on individual contributions. While a person can give a maximum of $5,600 to Trump's campaign committee, a donor can legally give 103 times more in support of Trump's reelection through the new joint fundraising arrangement.... But because there is no nominee yet, none of the current Democratic candidates can benefit from [a joint] fundraising [agreement]." The DNC, though, has been raising money through a joint agreement, as did Hillary Clinton in 2016. Via safari. A Raw Story summary report is here.
Jason McGahan of the Daily Beast: "Ex-Stormy Daniels lawyer and Trump antagonist Michael Avenatti was led out of the State Bar Court in Los Angeles by federal agents on Tuesday evening. The arrest occurred outside the disciplinary hearing in which the State Bar of California has accused the hard-charging, tough-talking attorney of using a doctored document to scam a client out of nearly $840,000, funneling money from a lawsuit settlement fund to his own personal use. The State Bar of California, the official attorney licensing agency, has sought to put Avenatti on 'involuntary inactive status,' setting in motion a timeline for disbarment proceedings. During a break in testimony, members of the United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, who are prosecuting Avenatti in a separate criminal matter in Orange County, parleyed with Avenatti's team of lawyers and took the lawyer into custody." (Also linked yesterday.)
Beyond the Beltway
Virginia. Tess Owen of Vice News: "In response to what he described as 'credible intelligence' of threats of violence at an upcoming gun rights rally in Richmond, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has declared a state of emergency and will temporarily ban individuals from carrying firearms on Capitol grounds. The governor said at a press conference Wednesday that authorities believe 'armed militia groups plan to storm the Capitol' during the January 20 rally." --s ~~~
~~~ Timothy Johnson of Media Matters: "Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his Infowars outlet have been hyping the prospect of violence in Virginia, particularly at an upcoming pro-gun rally, as the commonwealth considers passing stronger gun laws. Jones and his associates are also preemptively claiming that any violence that does occur at the rally, planned for January 20 outside the Virginia Capitol, will be a 'false flag,' a similar claim to what he's said about violence that occurred at the deadly 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. Jones said that he and 'dozens of our people' will be at the January 20 rally, and he has invited white nationalist Richard Spencer to join him. One of Jones' other rally invitees, conspiracy theorist Matt Bracken, has made frequent appearances on Jones' outlet Infowars to espouse violent rhetoric while discussing Virginia's gun laws and has even showed people how to best equip their assault weapons for battle."
Way Beyond
Andrew Higgins of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia abruptly resigned on Wednesday, shortly after his political patron, President Vladimir V. Putin, sent the country's political elite into a swirl with proposals for sweeping constitutional changes that could extend his hold on power for many years. Mr. Medvedev's cabinet also resigned. In a statement issued by the Russian news agency Tass, Mr. Medvedev, a lawyer who has known Mr. Putin since they worked together in St. Petersburg in the 1990s, linked the unexpected resignations to an overhaul put forward earlier on Wednesday by Mr. Putin." A Politico story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Share Article
Reader Comments (17)
Parnas' interview is stunning, but we need documentation to really ensare all these corrupt shitbags. However, even without his info., Pence and Pompeo have never come clean on their roles, and are likely knee deep in shit. Barr ratfucking is totally believable too, and but the lack of whistleblowers in the DOJ calling him out makes me hesitant if he'd be dumb enough to leave paper trails.
Pompeo is effectively MIA, hiding from any cameras or journalists. His political career is fucked. Dead man walking. Deserves it, POS.
The problem the Senate has is if the blockage breaks: Drumpf goes, so goes Pence, and so goes the GOP as a viable political party for the near future. McConnell can't allow total meltdown, so he's chosen max cover up and continued degradation of the Republican party. I wouldn't be surprised if he had a hand in engineering the unprecedented obstruction. It's literally their only option.
Marx famously wrote that Hegel, in observing that “all great historic facts and personages recur twice,” nevertheless forgot to add: "Once as tragedy, and again as farce."
Whether you agree or not with Hegel we are seeing today the farce that was conjured up by Fatty and his friends––a bunch of second rate mobsters and it looks like Gordon S. was right when he said, "Everybody was in the loop." Looking at you Pence, Pompeo, Barr and Nunes and...
Of course we need verification on all this but I betcha it's da truth. And I wonder––––after all is said and done will the big cheese walk away like Kevin Spacy in "The Usual Suspects"––managing a slick foot maneuver into a clean get-away? The Art of the Deal.
@PD Pepe: In a couple of "Law & Order" episodes, the mob boss provides his goons with lawyers to represent them in murder cases, and the lawyers of course advises the goons to protect the boss. Then Jack McCoy advises the goons they're going to take the hit if they keep protecting the boss & they might want to think about getting new lawyers who puts their interests before the boss's. The goons wise up, get new lawyers and cut deals with McCoy to finger the boss in exchange for reduced sentences for themselves.
So your "history repeats" maxim reminded me that Lev & Igor's first lawyer in this case was John Dowd, who represented Trump during the Mueller investigation. (Trump, altho claiming not to know Lev & Igor, formally signed off on allowing Dowd to represent them.)
Lev seems to have wised up, like the "Law & Order" characters. He got a new attorney; then he flipped on the boss. So here's life imitating art.
Igor took another path. He got a new attorney, too, but he hasn't flipped. Gee, maybe that's because his new attorney Todd Blanche also represents Paul Manafort, who famously did not flip on Trump and is sitting in jail awaiting a Trump pardon.
Only time will tell whether it was Lev or Igor who took the wiser path.
Oath:
(1): a solemn usually formal calling upon God or a god to witness to the truth of what one says or to witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says
(2): a solemn attestation of the truth or inviolability of one's words
The witness took an oath to tell the truth in court.
(per Meriam-Webster)
Pretty much every media story and article adumbrating the proceedings as the impeachment of our gangster president moves into the Senate mentions the fact that every senator will be taking an oath swearing to administer "impartial justice".
(*sigh*)
Ooooh-kaaaay. So, the millisecond after each and every R senator gets to those words "impartial justice", they will already have spat upon the oath even before it has been completed.
But they've already tossed their oaths of office out the window, what's another one?
This might seem like not much of a big deal. It's not a surprise, in other words. But in the course of human events, down through history, oath-taking has been a very big deal.
Oaths are given (and taken) in order to bind the oath taker, legally, to honor their word, and to acknowledge certain standards of behavior and action. New citizens take an oath. Doctors, nurses, and lawyers take an oath. The oath administered to new members of the medical profession, the Hippocratic Oath, has been around for thousands of years. We don't actually know how often it was administered to physicians in Ancient Greece (there is some speculation that it had more of a philosophical bent than medical), and some of its original wording has been replaced (I swear to Apollo) or excised completely (a bit about abstaining from sex with slaves), but the historical value is nonetheless intact. And important. It indicates that those taking the oath recognize their responsibilities to their patients and the profession and they swear to take them seriously.
People getting married swear an oath. Members of the military take their own oath. Even newly made men in the Mafia take an oath (omerta).
These oaths are legally binding (in the Mafia, it's even worse). If you swear to tell the truth in a court of law and do not, you can find yourself in the slammer. Lawyers who neglect their oath can find themselves disbarred (or in the slammer alongside their perjury prone clients).
Even ad hoc oaths have weight. The familiar "I swear on the grave of my parents", while not legally binding, is trotted out in moments when the oath-taker feels it important to be believed. This doesn't always work, however. I recall a screwball comedy from the 30s ("The Awful Truth" I think) in which a husband (Cary Grant) swears something or other to his wife (Irene Dunne) on "my mother's grave". Dunne almost buys it (oaths are not to be taken lightly) until she says "Wait a minute. Your mother is still alive!"
The point here is that oaths, even though they are often broken, have weight. The fact that you can go to jail if you go back on certain oaths demonstrates the seriousness we still attach to oaths. Oaths, probably since the first one, have always called upon some higher or unimpeachable power (um, not the president*, however), god or Odin or your mother. Raising one's right hand and placing the other on some text (the Bible, eg) are actions that provide external signs of one's internal fealty to what is about to be sworn to. Medieval texts outlining the seriousness of oath taking direct the taker to remember that breaking that oath will put them in dutch with god and remove any possibility of heavenly redemption. It was serious business.
But not for Republicans. And most definitely not for Trump, who has broken pretty much every oath he has ever taken.
Of course, Mitch McConnell and his band of traitors in the Senate will, today, swear to administer impartial justice. Nothing could be further from the truth. McConnell has already said he won't be impartial. But this is the oath they will break before it is even completed. So why take it? It's all part of the show. Another lie.
This is more than just a farce, this is the completion of the emptying of fealty to the nation and to political process, by this party, of any moral, legal, or ethical force. Even the fucking mafia are more faithful to their oath of omerta. Of course many dump that oath as soon as a DA holds a 100 year sentence over their heads, but at least they have to be put in dire straits before going back on their word.
Not Mitch McConnell. Not Lindsay Graham. It takes only the possibility of losing a political contest. They're happy to renounce their oaths, spit on them and move on. Business as usual.
And the empty suits become even more devoid of humanity, honesty, and morality.
I swear.
Heard some jabbering jamoke this morning claim that impeachment is the ultimate partisan action, "Our guy against your guys".
Nothing could be more incorrect.
Impeachment may be a political action, but it is (or should be) anything but partisan, the Bill Clinton impeachment (completely partisan) notwithstanding. Impeachment is a constitutional remedy for the bad actions of a political leader. It should be employed, correctly, by any and all who have taken the oath (there it is again) to uphold the Constitution, not because it will benefit their party and screw the other guy, but because the nation requires it. I don't even have to ask what party this guy represents. I know.
If it hurts Republicans, no matter what, it HAS to be hyper-partisan and entirely questionable, even illegal, and the therefore can be met with hyper-partisan, illegal, action.
It's just another outcome of the "Heads we win, tails you lose" belief on the part of Confederates that power is theirs alone to hold and wield. Anyone else trying to call upon the rule of law, the Constitution, apple pie, or their mothers, can go fuck themselves.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/16/us/politics/gao-trump-ukraine.html
The Deep State strikes again.
Waiting to see who gets Epsteined first. Marie Yovanovitch was
fortunate to be called back from her post in Ukraine. She might
have been next.
Thanks for the daily update, but I am feeling done-in by the new names in the news-- be they Ukrainians or nutcases/trumpists. Where are the repug congressional voices that might be in the same boat--? If I can't follow it, for sure THEY can't either, since they aren't marinating in the sludge 24/7 like I am. Even as they have been total criminals, all of them, I am sure that Turtleface (sorry, turtles--) will manage to get them all off. I am not feeling good about any of it, sorry to say.
Nor is there a hopeful feeling following the debate, about our own candidates. This morning I stood in front of the teevee gobsmacked that CNN found the Warren/Sanders dustup audio-- Regardless of my allegiance (or not) to either of these candidates, it is an airing of an open wound that does none of us any good. Aaarrgghh...
It just never never stops.
I meant to bring this to your collective attention last week (or whenever I first spotted it), but a startling number of other outrages spew daily from Trump's fat ass, and things fall through the cracks (which, no surprise, benefits Fatty immensely; too much malfeasance, criminality, and treason to keep track of). (Apologies if this story had already been relayed herein.)
Treasury Secretary (and sometime Bond villain) Steve-O Munchkin, has a sad. Democrats, rightly, want to get an accounting of how many hundreds of millions the Trump Crime Family has siphoned out of taxpayers' pockets to fund golf junkets, business trips benefiting the TCF, and other spurious and cavalier bits of travel. Munchkin sez "No way. No can see." He wants hide this total and deny Democrats (and taxpayers) even the tiniest peek at the bill before Fatty has a chance to steal the next election, at which point the paperwork will be lost forever. Oops. Devin Nunes' cow ate it. Damn!
The TCF travel bills are outrageous. The Secret Service, up to 2017 alone, paid almost $600,000 on golf cart rentals during Fatty's golf outings. And this money, because he only goes to his own clubs, goes straight into his pocket, as well as any money for food and lodging. It's a complete scam. Little Dracula went to Uruguay in an effort to find new con job possibilities. The trip alone cost taxpayers almost $100,000. He and Junior and Princess Ivanka have been joyriding and globe-hopping at an amazing rate and living high on the hog.
Over the course of eight years, Obama travel expenses came to around $93 million. It appears that Trump, who promised that he'd be far too busy to ever leave the White House, outstripped that total in one year.
One year.
No wonder Munchkin has a sad. Maybe he and the wife can print him some more money while wearing their all black, skin tight leather outfits. He makes a cut-rate Dr. No.
Front page of the Guardian.com has an article on Bernie, Trump's pick for Democratic candidate. Whatever is fodder for trump will be just as effective for whoever is the Republican candidate. AFAIK Bernie has never, in 25 years, had any legislation he sponsored passed into law. That alone should bar him from seeking the office of president.
@safari: Your paragraph on Pompeo simply cannot be true. He was 1st in his class at West Point.
Watching the senators sign their oath to render considered justice I was thinking that the your Constitution, not just Trump, is on trial.
Arrogant and Astonishing Lack of Self-awareness Award
...goes to Kellyanne Conway who, refusing to answer a straight question (on Fox!) regarding Lev Parnas' contention in an interview with Rachel Maddow that Fatty knew everything (ie, Trump knew what was going on, yes or no?), tried to duck and dodge by saying "Remember, people who go on TV are never under oath."
Ummmm.....yeah. We've seen you many times. We get that entirely, but thanks for sharing.
(Seriously, has she removed all the mirrors in her house, or does she just hang black crepe over them? )
Jeanne,
I'm pretty flabbergasted myself about the tidal wave of media interest in that brief Warren-Sanders exchange. Yes, Warren has a point, but let's revisit something Ken wrote yesterday about how NPR (and by extension the rest of the MSM) minimizes the incredible insanity of Trump rallies where he rants and raves and struts and screams and lies and makes up shit on the fly. Not only do they minimize it, they don't report it at all. Trump's every drooling screed is anesthetized beyond recognition. So "Hillary is the devil! She should be put in jail!!!! Aiiieeeeee!!!" becomes "The president took on the Democrats."
What?
Fatty's screams about bombing Iran so much they couldn't rebuild in 30 years are completely erased. His rants are sanitized and the lunatic screams of ignorant, fact-free Trumpbots are bothsided into a media black hole.
The problem here is when Democrats stub their toes, it's a national emergency. When Trump screams about murder and Armageddon and Democrats loving Muslim terrorists, it's treated as the thoughtful messaging of a moderate, informed president of the United States. It's like doing a story on Charles Manson and referring to him as a charismatic figure beloved by his followers. I'm not kidding here, or exaggerating. It really is that ferociously misleading.
So a brief Warren-Sanders spat gets the EXTRA! Special Report! treatment, but Trump's treason is treated as, well, this side says this, the other side says that. Who really knows?
What the fuck!
No wonder we're all scared to death that an incompetent, proven liar and fraud, and traitor like Trump has every chance of sleazing his way back into the White House. When NPR and CNN and ABC and CBS and NBC and the NY Times treat him like a decent, normal, thoughtful politician instead of the insane, dangerous, loony-toons demagogue he is. Guaranteed if there were a Democratic candidate a tenth as psycho as Trump, she or he would be treated like a vat of botulism by the same people who give Trump and his lying horde every courtesy and every benefit of the doubt and a couple dozen yet to be invented.
As I've said before, these people may be the most toxic traitors in this battle for the life and soul of the United States.
Okay, one more then I'm done.
Just ran across a tweet by the execrable Dana Loesch, one-time shill for NRA supporters of mass murder and former editor of Mein Kampf Breitbart.
Ripping Elizabeth Warren, she tweety-birded that her youngest complained that Warren seems like the kind of grandma who doesn't make cookies.
OH NOES!
I guess, in Loesch's opinion, Warren is disallowed from running for president because she doesn't have a fabulous oatmeal raisin cookie recipe. Didn't we go through this 19th century cookie bullshit with Hillary Clinton decades ago? But the wingnuts are still at it. Here's my question, DANA: Does Fatty bake fucking cookies? Christ, if he did, I wouldn't feed them to my dog (and Rocket, being a smart dog, wouldn't touch them--I can see him now. He'd look at me and say "Daddy, are you kidding?").
Misogyny, stupidity, ignorance, and rampant, rat-bite assholery. Like you read about.
What's next? A pork dry rub contest?
Just for the record: Yesterday I said that Hannity called Meagan Markle "Very uppity" which was the headline on Huff=Po. Marie corrected me by citing it was Hannity's producer that said it. Ak came back and said, never mind, Hannity is a shit anyway and probably thought the same (or something to that effect), But it bothered me that that headline was misleading. So today went back to find the piece and lo and behold it now says, "Hannity's producer said..." Tonight I read this on Google News: Kellyanne Conway melts down under grilling by Fox News. Yowza! got to read that! Well, wanna ya know–-no grilling, no melt down and I was pissed that I wasted ten minutes listening to this woman's poppy cock waiting for that "melt down." So––lesson learned––know your source!
And AK: Loved your grand finish: "Misogyny, stupidity, ignorance, and rampant, rat-bite assholery. Like you read about."
https://www.npr.org/2020/01/16/796864399/exclusive-trump-to-reinforce-protections-for-prayer-in-schools
Muslims and Wiccans, to name two faiths, have to be thrilled with today's Pretender blather.
I'm furious at the lack of coverage of the aid being withheld from Puerto Rico. Big [family blog] deal that they've released $8 billion, there's another $10 billion they're holding back. This should have been another article of impeachment. It's not as if this is new -- since immediately after Hurricane Maria I've been seeing snippets here and there about the mayor of San Juan or the governor of Puerto Rico complaining because promised relief funds have not been forthcoming. What's the MSM do? The sound of crickets. These people are Americans as much as the residents of New Orleans or Houston. That Trump is allowed to get away with this while getting burned for using his office for political advantage is sickening.