BREAKING: House impeachment investigators release transcripts of first two deposition testimonies

Discussion in 'Current Events' started by MrTLegal, Nov 4, 2019.

  1. XploreR

    XploreR Well-Known Member

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    The problem I see with your question is the underlying assumption that all bureaucrats are dishonest, self-serving & don't care about the country, your rights or mine. In truth, most civil servants are just the opposite. The foreign service & State Dept employees testifying before Congress now regarding Ukraine, are highly devoted professionals who care about their country, their Constitution, & the integrity of the U.S. as seen & experienced worldwide. Most of the people I've known in my own life who were career government employees, were the same or similar. I've met only a very few I'd regard as "bad" bureaucrats. Your post appears to show a great conviction on your part that all government workers are of low character & can't be trusted. For the vast majority of government workers, I disagree. Right now, the one powerful individual who is actively & intentionally disrupting our governmental institutions as fast as he can, is President Trump himself. And all that runs counter to his sworn oath of office.
     
  2. Thought Criminal

    Thought Criminal Well-Known Member Donor

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    "The problem I see with your question is the underlying assumption that all bureaucrats are dishonest..."

    You inserted the word 'all'. That is a dishonest tactic; which doesn't do anything to enhance your credibility.

    The biggest problem that I have, with this latest hoax, is that I can't tell if its supporters are fiddling while Rome burns or blowing on the flames.
     
    Last edited: Nov 7, 2019
  3. icehole3

    icehole3 Well-Known Member

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    When either loses a Presidency. Is it too much to ask that both sides try to do so with grace?
     
  4. XploreR

    XploreR Well-Known Member

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    I am convinced Democrats under Pelosi are simply concerned about the damage Trump is doing to the Presidency & U.S. foreign policy. I share Pelosi's concerns. There's no "hoax" involved.
     
  5. Bluesguy

    Bluesguy Well-Known Member Donor

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    I think the reviewed the assertions and found they were without merit or substance and the other multiple real time transcripts corroborated what was released.
     
  6. ArmySoldier

    ArmySoldier Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    We absolutely believe you share a lot of things in common with Pelosi.

    In fact- that makes perfect sense.
     
  7. Bluesguy

    Bluesguy Well-Known Member Donor

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    Protecting our national interest and taxpayer dollars from corruption is damaging the Presidency and U.S. Foreign policy? How so. I would counter falsely impeaching Presidents for protecting or national interest taxpayer dollars from corruption is damaging the Presidency and U.S. Foreign policy and our national security.

    George Kent, a career official at the State Department, told House investigators conducting the impeachment inquiry against President Trump that he raised concerns about Hunter Biden's lucrative service on the board of a Ukrainian natural gas company -- and confirmed that he had no "direct knowledge" that U.S. aid to Ukraine was ever connected to the opening of a new investigation.

    State Dept. official flagged Hunter Biden's 'conflict of interest' in Ukraine, testimony shows

    According to a transcript of his Oct. 15 closed-door deposition released Thursday, Kent said that in January or February 2015, he "became aware that Hunter Biden was on the board" of Ukrainian company Burisma Holdings while his father Joe Biden was overseeing Ukraine policy as vice president.

    "I did not know that at the time," Kent testified. "And when I was on a call with somebody on the vice president's staff and I cannot recall who it was, just briefing on what was happening into Ukraine, I raised my concerns that I had heard that Hunter Biden was on the board of a company owned by somebody that the U.S. Government had spent money trying to get tens of millions of dollars back, and that could create the perception of a conflict of interest."

    After discussing those concerns with Biden's staff, Kent testified, "The message that I recall hearing back was that the Vice President's son Beau was dying of cancer and that there was no further bandwidth to deal with family-related issues at that time."

    Kent, who serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and was defying the State Department's instruction that he not testify, additionally confirmed that "nobody in the Ukrainian Government became aware of a hold on military aid" until Aug. 29th -- a month after Trump's July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.....

    ...
    Kent further acknowledged that it is appropriate for the Trump administration to "look at the level of corruption" in foreign countries when determining whether to provide, or withhold financial assistance. Speaking to Zelensky, Trump noted Ukraine's history of corruption and urged his counterpart to probe any potential election interference efforts originating from the country.

    "Part of our foreign assistance was specifically focused to try to limit and reduce corruption," Kent said. "And we also tried, to the best of our knowledge and abilities, to do due diligence to make sure that U.S. taxpayer dollars are being spent for the purposes that they were appropriated and that they are as effective as they can be."
    https://pagesix.com/2019/11/07/cbs-...586.392943526.1572975853-533753411.1572302399

    Was the President supposed to ignore all that?
     
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  8. Bluesguy

    Bluesguy Well-Known Member Donor

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    What damage and be specific? Don't you believe the damage has been done by this shadow conspiracy that began even before he was sworn in to remove a duly elected President from office? We now have the so-called whistleblowers Tweets from January 2017 right after Trump was sworn in saying and now the coup begins.
     
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  9. Bluesguy

    Bluesguy Well-Known Member Donor

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    If you are going to quote that then quote the ENTIRE statement and in context as to whom he was speaking and when he said else you are misrepresenting it.

    But let me ask you in the meantime, do you think the single most important thing the Democrats should be doing is making sure Trump is a one-term president? They difference is they want to do it through a political coup instead of at the ballot box as the Republicans had as their goal.
     
  10. Thought Criminal

    Thought Criminal Well-Known Member Donor

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    Then she should talk to Senator Schiff and get him straightened out; because he's pushing a hoax.
     
    Last edited: Nov 7, 2019
  11. XploreR

    XploreR Well-Known Member

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    I expect some conflict & disagreement, but I also expected members from both parties to care more for their country than their party. Right now, only the democrats are doing that.
     
  12. Bluesguy

    Bluesguy Well-Known Member Donor

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    Right now it is the Democrats who are not as they have not since Trump won the election.
     
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  13. icehole3

    icehole3 Well-Known Member

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    You're kidding.
     
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  14. Egoboy

    Egoboy Well-Known Member Donor

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    He got promoted?? I need to send my congrats to former Congressman Schiff...
     
  15. XploreR

    XploreR Well-Known Member

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    Thank you. :)
     
  16. ArmySoldier

    ArmySoldier Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Hey dude. No problem. I always take pleasure seeing alt left radicals finally admit they want to be like Pelosi.

    Makes a lot of sense.

    Cheers to you and your future! May your predictions keep failing! lol
     
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  17. XploreR

    XploreR Well-Known Member

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    I have two comments on your post. 1) Trump & his sycophants are using Hunter Biden as a diversion to take attention away from the Trump impeachment process. Even if Hunter Biden was guilty of some maleficence, that doesn't take away the fact that Trump & his cohorts broke the law. And, 2) As a Democrat & strong supporter of Trump's impeachment & removal from office, I have NO OBJECTION to having investigations into Hunter Biden or his dad, if there's evidence pointing to wrongdoing. I've said many times here on this forum, I care about the Constitution, honesty, integrity & human rights. I DON'T care which party anyone is a member of. . .if they break the law, they deserve the consequences.
     
  18. XploreR

    XploreR Well-Known Member

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    See my post #817 for your answer.
     
  19. XploreR

    XploreR Well-Known Member

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    Like Pelosi, I was against impeachment until the Ukraine incident surfaced. The scope of Trump's malfeasance there convinced me leaving him in power & unchecked, was dangerous to America & Americans. So now I fully support his impeachment & removal from office. By forcing the Dept of Justice to become personally loyal to him rather than the U.S. Constitution endangers all of us. If our government agencies become blindly subservient to any authoritative leader, then it will no longer try to protect individual rights of citizens who might have conflicts with that President. Also, Russia has been a historic long-term opponent with the U.S., & under Putin, still is. But Trump has a thing about Putin & other authoritative rulers, and always softens his stance when faced with conflict with them. Ukraine was part of the USSR, but gained its freedom after 1989, & doesn't ever want to become part of the Russian empire again. Russia invaded & annexed the Crimea from Ukraine about 5 years ago, & is still sending troops into Ukraine in a long term attempt to slowly reoccupy & re-annex Ukraine back into the Russian Federation. Over 15,000 Ukrainians have died fighting those Russians, & the U.S. has been there supporting that Ukrainian effort thru several Presidents. But Trump was intentionally withholding critical military aid from Ukraine during that fight, & demanding that the Ukrainian President publicly announce the re-opening of an investigation against Hunter Biden & the company he worked for. While I have no opposition to a Hunter Biden investigation, I DO have concerns about my President using it as a requirement for releasing the military aid so desperately needed by Ukraine against Russia. And, if there's going to be an investigation, it should be done by American investigators, NOT foreign ones. And, thirdly, Trump was doing it in a way that would have compelled Ukraine to be a foreign force in our domestic elections--which is UNCONSTITUTIONAL. At this point, anyone supporting Trump is inherently supporting Trump's illegal activities that force foreign interference in our elections. I can't do that.
     
  20. XploreR

    XploreR Well-Known Member

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    Based on the testimonies being released by those committees, every accusation implied by the whistle-blower is confirmed as valid & true. How do you arrive at the conclusion that Schiff is propagating a hoax?
     
  21. rahl

    rahl Banned

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    What evidence do you have that all the witnesses are lying?
     
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  22. KAMALAYKA

    KAMALAYKA Banned

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    Sounds like every Trumper when Trump speaks.
     
  23. XploreR

    XploreR Well-Known Member

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    I agree that Democrats have had an attitude toward Trump for winning the White House in spite of garnering 3,000,000 fewer votes from voters. But the Democratic reaction has been far less aggressive toward Trump than the Republican response against Obama between 2009 & 2017. Republicans feel it's OK to do whatever they want to oppose Obama & make him out as a monster, without caring how that impacts their Democratic peers, but can't stand it when Democrats return the favor, even in lesser doses.

    The evidence demonstrating wrongdoing by Trump in the Ukraine affair, is substantial & convincing. It shows Trump padding his own political bed even when that process threatened a valued & long-term American foreign interest. Trump is endangering this nation with his adolescent narcissism. If Obama had done that during his Presidency, the Republicans would have impeached him on the spot. But Republicans today--Trump Republicans--have detached themselves from any remaining hint of integrity, honesty or patriotism--all in favor of singing the praises of their hallowed leader. . .& damn the consequences.
     
  24. XploreR

    XploreR Well-Known Member

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    Which party is supporting the President's invitations to foreign nations to get involved finding dirt on Trump's political opponents? Which party is supporting Trump's inexcusable & insane abandonment of our combat allies in arms in Syria. Trump is making the word or America a joke, both as co-signers of treaties & agreements, & as friends. How ANY American can support that, is beyond my understanding.
     
  25. XploreR

    XploreR Well-Known Member

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    I don't regard myself as particularly "like" Pelosi, but I like her. She's undoubtedly the most effective Speaker of the House to have that title for four decades or more. Plus, she's a woman. :) Policy-wise, I am further to the left than her.
     

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