Trump administration blocks testimony of Gordon Sondland

Trump’s envoy to testify that ‘no quid pro quo’ came from Trump
https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...be0902-bc19-44e8-8c38-9aa35c544859_story.html

"The U.S. ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, intends to tell Congress this week that the content of a text message he wrote denying a quid pro quo with Ukraine was relayed to him directly by President Trump in a phone call, according to a person familiar with his testimony.

Sondland plans to tell lawmakers he has no knowledge of whether the president was telling him the truth at that moment. “It’s only true that the president said it, not that it was the truth,” said the person familiar with Sondland’s planned testimony, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic matters."

 

I'm "obsessed" with history...there is much to learn from it.

The world didn't begin yesterday

 

And he will likely also testify that Trump told him "no more text messages" which was what Sondland told Taylor immediately after delivering the "no quid pro quo" message.

Cause ya know...we can't have any written records of this

 

The irony being the reason Trump told Sondland to respond the way he did was to get the denial to be part of the written record.

 

The world did not end with Nixon either, all presidents have been using executive privilege and Trump has just as much right to do that as Obama and others did, especially while there is no actual impeachment process in progress (until they vote), just a bunch of BS and leftist lies.

 

Absolutely true. But the blanket privilege the Trump admin is asserting far exceeds the scope of legally protected executive privilege.

 

And many ABUSE that privilege

Trump is absolutely abusing it. In fact he never quite DECLARES it because that would be challenged in court and likely lose.
He just has his people refuse to respond

 

This may or may not be true, Trump's argument that the flood of idiotic investigations and subpoenas by far exceeds the scope of the Congressional authority is equally potent.

See, that's a legitimate disagreement. Why don't the libs in House take it to court and get matters settled there?

 

Yeah well, that's your idea, and that with 4 bucks will buy you a cup of coffee at starbucks.

It is interesting how you say he never quite declares executive privilege. Are you under the assumption that this is required?

 

And Trump has given UP EP by publicly talking about various issues that his Admin is now saying are covered.

Once you do that...it's gone

 

He is free to hold any opinion he desires about the investigations. But he has no legal standing to uniformly stonewall them. This is the thing I don't get about Trumpette's. Namely, their willingness to support this clearly unconstitutional obstruction of Congress' inherent powers.

 

Like I said, if he has no legal standing, take him to court and win... Wining on the internet instead of following the legal path shows that the libs are the ones with no legal standing and that they know that courts will laugh them out of courtrooms.

 

No need to spend months or years in court.

Add the Obstruction to the Articles of Impeachment

 

There's always that. Still have to take it to the courts, and that will eventually make it up to the scotus. That might happen in a few years.

 

The guy that stole the money says the money wasn't stolen at all

 

Nope. It'll end up in the Senate

 

According to shifty Schiff it is. He recently announced no need for whistle blower to testify because they have the full transcript of the call. And another whistleblower that has first hand knowledge.

 

They're welcome to cry and feel sad about it.

#notourHouseofReps #resist

 

Maybe, but I get the feeling that it won't. There's just not enough there there to put those democrats in red districts at risk. In other words, she doesn't want to put this to a vote because she knows she doesn't have the votes.

You say that it'll end up in the senate, but I'm guessing that it will end with more of a whimper than a bang.

 

Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani told ABC News on Tuesday he is not complying with a congressional subpoena.

In their subpoena sent to Giuliani late last month, Reps. Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler and Elijah Cummings said that Giuliani had "admitted on national television that, while serving as the president’s personal attorney, he asked the government of Ukraine to target former Vice President Joe Biden."

“A growing public record indicates that the President, his agent Rudy Giuliani, and others appear to have pressed the Ukrainian government to pursue two politically-motivated investigations,” the Democratic chairmen wrote. “The Committees have reason to believe that you have information and documents relevant to these matters.”

Giuliani cannot claim executive privilege. He doesn't work at the White House. He is not even a member of the government. He cannot claim attorney/client privilege before an inquiry is made. He may claim attorney/client questions to specific questions at the hearing, which he will not attend.

Giuliani is simply breaking federal law. The possibility strongly exists that another close Trump associate may end up in prison. Being associated with Trump is the kiss of death.

 

Rudy the Ghoul behind bars would be sweet irony

 

“I have the right to do whatever I want as president,” Trump once said.

So, Trump stonewalls the House investigating committees by not allowing testimonies or depositions from current and former staff members. In return, House Democrats stonewall Trump. They hold secret hearings and do not allow Republicans or their lawyers to enter the chambers.

Then they add another impeachment charge -- obstruction of Congress, a federal offense.

 

Start an impeachment!!!!!!!

 

impeachment charges have not been filed, dude. sigh...

Where do you get this stuff? impeachment charge? Do you even understand what that means?

 

Repubs not allowed to attend the hearings? I'm not sure about that. Repubs who are on the committees conducting the witness depositions are allowed to attend and ask questions of the witnesses. I think those committees are Judiciary, Intel, and Oversight.