Trump didn't openly extort Zelensky. He simply made him an offer he couldn't refuse.

Discussion in 'Political Opinions & Beliefs' started by Golem, Sep 25, 2019.

  1. chris155au

    chris155au Well-Known Member

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    If there was nothing compromising, then why would he fight to prevent it from being released, only to eventually release it anyway at the last minute?

    Yeah, you mean how it was revealed to be empty? That was funny. I saw it a couple of years ago but I was disappointed that the cameras didn't capture the moment that it was opened and Geraldo's reaction.
     
    Last edited: Oct 5, 2019
  2. hudson1955

    hudson1955 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    What he asked him was to cooperate on the investigation of 2016 election and Bidens and DNC interferance. And corruption by Biden and therefore the Obama Admin.
     
  3. Le Chef

    Le Chef Banned at members request Donor

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    Show business. The media/Democrats would have egg all over their faces. Again.
     
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  4. Le Chef

    Le Chef Banned at members request Donor

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    Like I was saying, the text if the phone call won't be enough, EVEN IF the quid pro quo is established. Or at least it shouldn't be enough:

    Edward B. Foley directs the Election Law program at the Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law, where he also holds the Ebersold Chair in constitutional law.

    "Here’s the big question on which the potential impeachment of President Donald Trump could turn: Is it ever appropriate for a U.S. president to ask a foreign government to investigate a political rival?

    Democrats seem to assume the answer is no, that this kind of request could never be proper, given the implications for our electoral system. “Smoking gun” is what they say about Trump’s urging Ukraine—and now also China—to investigate Joe and Hunter Biden. Republicans, meanwhile, contend that it is perfectly normal, and justified, for Trump as president to ask the Ukrainians to look into potential corruption that involves Americans and could, in theory, affect U.S. relations with that country. But the real answer to this question is more complicated. History shows that a president sometimes might be justified in asking a foreign country to investigate a political rival, including a former vice president. So, the mere fact of Trump’s request for an investigation into the Bidens, without considering the circumstances of the request, is not enough to impeach him.

    In order prove that Trump abused his presidential powers to the point that he no longer can be trusted in exercising them—the constitutional standard for impeachment—Congress must establish Trump’s intent in making the request. Was it done in good faith, with U.S. foreign or domestic interests in mind, or in bad faith, merely for Trump’s personal and political benefit? To prove the latter, Congress can’t rely on Trump’s words alone; it must show that the charges of corruption against the Bidens are baseless and that Trump’s request to Ukraine is part of a pattern of bad faith demonstrating that the nation no longer can tolerate his incumbency."


    https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/10/06/trump-ukraine-investigate-rival-229341

    I'd bet a beer that the House doesn't get a majority to vote for impeachment, so trial in the Senate, doomed anyway, never takes place. I won't bet more than a beer though, as many spineless representatives will not conduct any legal analysis of the problem. I'd add to the professor 's article that it will have to be shown not only that the charge against Biden was baseless, but also that Trump knew full well it was baseless. Can that be proved? Another Access Hollywood tape concerning Ukraine might help the Democrats.
     
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2019

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