Republicans call for transparency in impeachment inquiry

So..........you're back to denying the facts.

Eight European embassies in Washington contacted by NPR on Wednesday reported no attempts by the Trump administration over the summer to increase their contributions to Ukraine. "There was no effort at all," said a senior official at the German Embassy, who requested anonymity to speak freely. "The topic was not brought up at all at recent meetings we've had."

European diplomats hasten to point out that they have been contributing far more to Ukraine than what Trump has claimed. "Our bilateral assistance to Ukraine of $1.4 billion is almost at the U.S. level," said the German Embassy official. The U.S. has disbursed nearly $1.5 billion since 2014 in security assistance to Ukraine, while the European Union has provided about $15 billion, mostly in the form of loans.
https://www.npr.org/2019/09/25/7644...ertion-on-delaying-aid-to-ukraine-over-corrup

 

Previous Ukrainian Prosecutor Yuri Lutsenko would be considered a "first hand" account. And he states that he was being pressured to find dirt on Biden since 2018, even though he found no wrongdoing to pursue.

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-09-29/former-ukraine-prosecutor-says-no-wrongdoing-biden

 

Sondland asked Ukrainian officials during private White House talk about gas firm linked to Hunter Biden
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/tr...uring-private-white-house-talk-about-n1067861

 

The Trump defense: Black is white, day is night, truth is a lie.

"The call was perfect."

Sorry, I am not going to waste my time proving you are wrong. The proof is throughout this thread for anyone interested. You are simply lying. That is all Trump and his supporters can do. Deny everything, even though there is overwhelming truth to the contrary.

 

RodB said: ↑
Well, your narrative is 100% opinion and hearsay which by definition is zero credibility. The fact that many agree changes nothing.

.... and you retort by offering up more opinions. Neat.

 

This is related or pertinent how, exactly??????

 

President Zelensky would be a real honest to goodness first hand account and he says there was no such quid pro quo. But ignore him as he doesn't fit the narrative. BTW, The Trump-Zelensky call was in July.

 

So????? You realize the gas firm was under serious investigation for corruption, but since that isn't part of the narrative I'm sure you could care less.

 

You are correct. Trying to prove me wring would be a colossal waste of your time. And as my signature says when you run out of factual arguments insults are a viable option.

 

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was asked by a reporter if he would say Trump has done nothing wrong.

“A very clear yes,” he responded. The cadre of House GOP leaders standing behind him yelled in affirmation as McCarthy responded.

McCarthy claimed Republicans in Congress will vote on impeachment — if and when articles are formally introduced — "based on the facts."

"Show us the truth. We always vote based on the facts," he said.

McCarthy and Republicans are going to have a hard time insisting that Trump did nothing wrong. The White House transcript of the July 25 phone call clearly shows that Trump asked for foreign interference in our Presidential election for his political advantage. Trump confirmed it himself to a national television audience. Various witnesses -- some still working for the White House -- also confirm Trump's request for foreign interference in our election, a violation of federal law.

Various witnesses -- some still working for the White House -- confirm the quid pro quo, or extortion, part of the phone call, Trump's chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, confirmed quid pro quo was used in the conversation and admitted that was standard procedure in the Trump administration. "Get over it," he said.

In the meantime, McCarthy and his lot completely avoid these facts and say Trump is innocent of any wrongdoing.

The truth is going to smack them right in the face. Soon everything will be out in the open, and American voters will know the truth, too.

 

Opinions are not facts. I give no credence to opinions especially when they are offered by people with a biased agenda.

 

But..........you do realize you've just undercut every argument you've ever made, right?

 

No, can't say that I do.

 

Makes sense.......denial of reality is how you roll.

 

Are you serious? What would you expect somebody who has a gun pointed at their head to say?

There was obviously a quid pro quo. But that's just part of it. The request itself is grounds for impeachment.

 

That is just your fantasy taking hold again. None of those said Trump withheld money to get an investigation on Biden. And Mulvaney is not a first hand account. That's 0 for 3.

 

Of course, the truth is that all the Republican members if the committees have had equal opportunity to leak whatever they deemed served their agenda.

The irony of Forever Trumpers insisting that the initial inquiry be public and "transparent" (fulfilling Trey Gowdy's explanation that such spectacles become "circuses" and "freak shows" with politicians grandstanding and frustrating the process) is that Trump has issues a blanket order forbidding his minions from revealing the truths they possess.

How does that serve "transparency"?

Both Nixon's and Clinton's impeachment had their preliminary, private hearings, of course.

"The process seems very fair to me," said former Republican Rep. Tom Campbell, who served in the House during the Clinton proceedings and voted for impeachment. He called the current plan "very consistent with how the House operates in the two previous impeachment matters."
https://www.npr.org/2019/11/03/7751...ment-process-different-from-nixon-and-clinton
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The only sensible course for Trump zealots to follow is to stop whining that everyone is being very mean to their messiah, stop trying to smear patriotic public servants, and let Turtle's kangaroo court pretend that Trump's perfidy does not merit conviction.

 

I still don't know what you think you will gain by denying what is right in front of you. The quotes are there. The admissions are there. To be consistent you would have to contend that nobody is ever guilty of anything even when they publicly confess. The majority of Americans don't believe that. And that's the public this impeachment is intended to reach.

 

House Dems Release Impeachment Probe Transcripts Of 2 Key Witnesses
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/yovanovitch-mckinley-transcripts-impeachment-probe-house

The House committees leading the impeachment probe into President Trump’s Ukraine pressure campaign released transcripts from their closed door interviews of former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and Michael McKinley, another former top State Department official.

 

No, they have not. You should become familiar with the impeachment hearing process as spelled out in the resolution before trying to defend it. Republicans can release information only with Schiff's approval.

 

Provide me the quotes that said (precisely) that the president withheld military aid to Ukraine until they agree to help Trump's campaign by investigating and finding dirt on Biden. I'll wait. Since you said they are publicly available it shouldn't take too much of your time -- except you can't.

 

Let us assume for the moment that Trump is completely innocent. Despite the transcript of the July 25 call that clearly shows that Trump asked for foreign interference in our Presidential election, and his own chief of staff confirmed quid pro quo with military aid was used, somehow Trump is innocent of all charges.

If one has this point of view, one has a very serious problem. If Trump is innocent, why is he not allowing his own staff to provide his side of the story?

The Washington Post writes, "President Trump has sought to intimidate witnesses in the impeachment inquiry, attacking them as “Never Trumpers” and badgering an anonymous whistleblower. He has directed the White House to withhold documents and block testimony requested by Congress. And he has labored to publicly discredit the investigation as a “scam” overseen by “a totally compromised kangaroo court.'"

That defiance has culminated in White House Counsel Pat Cipollone’s letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi declaring that the administration will not cooperate in any way with an impeachment inquiry that it regards as “illegitimate” and “constitutionally invalid.”

Trump's true believers and Trump Republicans like Jordan, Scalise, Meadows, and Graham have a real serious problem. If Trump is somehow innocent, why is Trump blocking his people from telling his side of the story?

 

You have an uncanny ability to ignore the obvious when it suits your purposes.

"Sondland’s meeting with the Ukrainians just steps away from the White House Situation Room came minutes after a larger West Wing meeting that included then-National Security Adviser John Bolton, who had been noncommittal about scheduling a meeting between Trump and new Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Sondland directly contradicted Bolton by telling the Ukrainians that in fact, Trump was committed to meeting with Zelenskiy on the condition he open a corruption investigation, two people told about the matter tell NBC News."

 

Yeah, right.

"President Zelensky, I am withholding invaluable military aid to your country until you investigate the Bidens." Trump.

Is that your defense?

 

An emerging defense of Trump by Trump Republicans is they will admit the obvious, but they are being coy about it. Some are saying that, yes, it is true, Trump did ask the Ukrainian President to investigate the Bidens, but that is not an impeachable offense.

That is like saying, yes, it is true, my friend did withdraw money from the bank, omitting the fact that the man's friend robbed the bank.

Similarly, Trump Republicans will not say that, in the wake of the 2016 election, Russian interference in our election on behalf of Trump, and the Mueller Report, that Trump requested foreign interference in our Presidential election on his behalf.

Nor will they admit that Trump's own chief of staff told a television audience that Trump used quid pro quo to get what he wanted. That amounts to bribery, an impeachable offense in its own right.

Trump Republicans may try to get this by American voters, but, when the impeachment inquiry goes public, Americans will learn the truth. Following the 2016 election and foreign interference in that election, it is extremely doubtful Americans will accept that as business as usual in 2020.

There is no wonder why Trump will not allow his people to testify to all this. Thus, his obstruction of Congress and the game of delay. It is the only thing he can do.