We have been informed by the whistleblower’s counsel that their client would like to speak to our committee and has requested guidance from the Acting DNI as to how to do so.
We‘re in touch with counsel and look forward to the whistleblower’s testimony as soon as this week.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) September 24, 2019
Things are moving fast. If DNI(acting) allows for testimony, the law is followed. If DNI(Acting) claims privilege, there is another article of impeachment to write up.
Open thread….
Betty Cracker
Here’s a link to a CSPAN stream for Biden’s statement, which will be any minute, supposedly.
ETA: So glad the House Dems are focusing on the whistleblower complaint rather than the transcript Trump now says he’ll release.
Mary G
Wow. Cool. Bob Barr is going to run to the Supremes and I doubt Roberts will play ball.
trollhattan
So, acting DNI is Guiliani or Dog the Bounty Hunter or Falwell Jr or Jared or Kelsey Grammar or who?
I kanna keep track.
germy
From a whisper to a scream.
Redshift
Gradually, then suddenly.
germy
BREAKING NEWS >
Trump says he has directed release of unredacted transcript of call with Ukrainian leader
Sebastian
@germy:
Of course. The other conversations now, too.
Betty Cracker
@germy: And fortunately, Democrats are saying that’s not enough; we want the whistleblower complaint to which we are legally entitled.
guachi
Law says he has to release the IG report. I guess the transcript is a good first step.
Amir Khalid
@germy:
I’ll believe he’s doing it when he’s done it, and not before.
geg6
@trollhattan:
Can’t be Jared. Word is the Fat Cheeto is souring on young Jar-Jar of Javanka. Sneering at him in meetings, saying his push for prison reform hasn’t helped him win the African American vote at all. LOL!
catclub
@Amir Khalid:
me too. He also promised to release his taxes. And the Mueller report. …not exactly complete release there.
Marcopolo
MSNBC now reporting that Pelosi will call for the opening of an impeachment inquiry this evening!
BOOM!
Quaker in a Basement
They’ll have to slow walk permission (or rather denial of permission). They’ve placed their bets on releasing a transcript. They won’t want to let another story jump in front of that.
PaulWartenberg
@germy:
Which is BS. Am willing to bet it’s edited to make trump look good / not extorting the Ukrainians in any way.
If the acting DNA refuses the whistleblower’s request, that’s another obstruction nail in the coffin, right?
Major Major Major Major
@Marcopolo:
Why, it’s almost as if she’s the public face of her caucus’s consensus, and not the problem!
HalfAssedHomesteader
@guachi: Following the law is a 1st good step.
Raoul
Thinking about the ways that Doug and Mistermix operate, I decided today was a good day to donate to a couple of ActBlue senate nominee funds. GOP senators in tough races need to see well funded opponents to help them think through their approach to the pending impeachment questions they will face (dammit, we will make them face these questions! Press or not.)
I’ve already donated several times to AZ/CO/ME candidates or funds (Cook ‘tossups’), so today I added TN, which Cook rates leans-R and IA, a likely-R but a neighboring state (and home to odious Steve King over in the House. IA can do better than Joni E, for sure).
YMMV, but it felt good to put a little cash behind the action today.
Calouste
The transcript can be unredacted without being a complete record of the call. Some things might just not have been transcribed.
But we can always ask the Ukraine for their recording later.
trollhattan
@geg6:
Aww, poor Ja-wed!
I believe a perfect birthday gift would be to have his dear daddy-in-law go to prison, just like dear old dad did. Not everybody achieves that kind of symmetry in life.
mrmoshpotato
@geg6:
Ain’t that a shocker for the orange trash, white supremacist.
HalfAssedHomesteader
@catclub: Has anyone seen the unredacted report outside Barr’s office, the WH and the Mueller team?
Raoul
@Betty Cracker: I also just flat out do not believe the WH will release a full, trustable transcript.
Though with the way this admin works, if might be swell if they release a doctored version, and then, say, another disgruntled leaker helps blow that up.
Spanky
Things are moving faster on this here blog, too. I posted this somewhere now far, far below, but if any of my fellow Southern Marylanders missed it:
@Patricia Kayden: and all MD-5 constituents of Steny Hoyer:
The head of the Maryland Democratic party is Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, wife of Rep. Elijah Cummings. It might be useful to contact the party and explain that if Hoyer doesn’t lead on this he needs to get out of the way, and who would they like to be his primary challenger? Because we constituents are going to be working to move him out if the party doesn’t, if he’s not on board.
I suspect they’ll pass it along to Steny if enough of us call.
Contact info is:
Maryland Democratic Party
33 West Street, Suite 200
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
410-269-8818 or 301-858-8818
410-280-8882 (fax)
[email protected]
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Raoul: One thing that hurts us in Iowa is that the R legislature did away with the ability to vote straight party ticket. So the D candidate can do very well without automatically helping the down ballot races.
Llelldorin
@germy: He’s fairly clearly hoping to use the “Nice shop you’ve got here. Pity if something were to…happen to it” defense; he’ll with literal correctness point out that he never explicitly said in that conversation that the aid was a quid pro quo for dirt on Biden.
The Dems, fortunately, aren’t falling for it.
Marcopolo
@Raoul: Seeing as today is now Impeachment Tuesday I also made donations to all of my regular Dem campaigns about 2 hours ago. You’re right, it felt great.
And Oh My Gawd the ridiculousness of the comments so many of these folks in cable are making.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
dmsilev
Moscow Mitch has decided to channel Sergeant “I know nothing” Schultz:
(from TPM)
Raoul
I don’t read conservative tea leaves well, but does it matter that conservative columnist Quin Hillyer put out a pro-impeachment column in the Washington Examiner yesterday?
Seems like some of the house organs are letting a little bit of daylight form between themselves and Dear Leader.
hells littlest angel
@germy: The tell will be when the transcript states:
Zelensky (weeping): Sir, I apologize for the corrupt acts of my country, and I am volunteering to expose the corrupt and very nasty actions of Sleepy Joe Biden, sir.
JGabriel
Calouste:
I’m willing to bet ithe transcript willl be completely manufactured. Didn’t Trump previously order that transcripts *not* be kept?
And, Ukraine, fearing Trump’s wrath, would be unlikely to contradict Trump’s transcript even if it’s nothing like their own.
Brachiator
@Raoul:
I agree. However, Trump is too eager to release the supposed unredacted record of the conversation. He would only do this if he were certain that it would clear him. There is some weird misdirection going on here.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
Gin & Tonic
@PaulWartenberg:
I can guaran-fucking-tee there’s a transcript of the call in Kyiv, too.
mrmoshpotato
@Raoul:
“Have I told what an honor it is to speak to you, sir?”
*crying*
“Thank you for taking time to speak to me, sir. Being the best president ever must be hard work ”
*drowning in a puddle of his own tears*
Gin & Tonic
@JGabriel:
The money has already been released.
germy
dmsilev
@mrmoshpotato: Also, “Sir, it is my privilege to nominate you for a Nobel Peace Prize”
Gin & Tonic
@germy: Fuck, fuck, fuck.
THE WHISTLEBLOWER COMPLAINT AND THE “TRANSCRIPT” OF THE ZELENSKY CALL ARE TWO DIFFERENT FUCKING THINGS.
mrmoshpotato
@dmsilev: “I have spoken with the committee in Norway, and they want you nominated for all fields. You’re so tremendous at quantum physics.”
germy
JGabriel
@Gin & Tonic:
Ukraine and its government still have things to fear from a vindictive President of the United States: Blocking the release, or even appropriation, of future funds; a propaganda war against their gov’t; openly siding with Russia over their dispute; and so on.
germy
@Gin & Tonic: Was she saying they’re the same thing? I read it as being separate.
Baud
@mrmoshpotato:
“You are such a better president than Obama ever was.”
@germy:
She made the October debate.
MattF
Rumor has it that Trump has literally chewed and swallowed notes from conversations. So, perhaps the delay in producing a transcript of the relevant phone conversation is due to having to wait for a Trumpian bowel movement.
mrmoshpotato
@Baud: “Obama was a total loser. SAD!”
mrmoshpotato
@MattF: Ew. Just ew.
germy
@MattF: Things moving faster.
Betty Cracker
@geg6: I hope that is true. Trump was in an ear-splitting snit the other day about black folks not lining up to kiss his fat orange ass for signing that bill. He expressed it publicly by tweet-screaming at John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, etc., but hopefully he’s making everyone around him absolutely miserable too. My fondest wish is that all the Trumps and their enablers end up attacking each other like meth-addled squirrels trapped in a dumpster.
kindness
How many articles of impeachment can MoscowMitch say Nyet! to?
All of them Katie. It won’t matter if we have video of Putin handing cash to Trump. Senate Republicans will refuse to convict.
Baud
@Major Major Major Major:
I assume she’s earned some goodwill with the squishier members of her caucus for being the public punching bag.
Gin & Tonic
@germy: “Congress gets the full whistleblower complaint, not just an isolated transcript.” Sure makes it sound like “transcript” is a subset of “whistleblower complaint.”
germy
@kindness: I look forward to Mitch losing his next election. The private sector can use a fine man such as himself.
PPCLI
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: But if Nixon hadn’t released the misleading sort-of-transcripts, the English language wouldn’t have the phrase “Expletive Deleted”. What a loss that would have been.
Raoul
@kindness:
Never, ever forget that Obstruct at All Costs Mitch is married to a Trump Cabinet Member. This hardly ever gets mentioned in coverage. He has a very personal reason to try to avoid doing anything that makes the Trump WH look worse. Elaine is part of the house of cards.
zhena gogolia
@Major Major Major Major:
Inorite
Betty Cracker
Still waiting for Biden to weigh in. Reporters are lurking outside an event where he’s expected to address Trump’s lies. I hope he does so in the strongest possible terms, including multiple repetitions of “Trump is a liar.”
germy
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
They just did the white balancing. So exciting.
germy
@Betty Cracker: Trump throws mud at Biden. NYT highlights the mud (“questions and shadows”). Biden loses the nomination to Elizabeth Warren. Warren defeats Trump in the general.
Baud
Biden up.
Amir Khalid
@geg6:
That’s not entirely fair of Daddy Trump. Even if Jared were competent, nothing he could do about prison reform would make Daddy Trump one whit more popular with African-Americans.
Roger Moore
@Raoul:
That kind of thing will be the real tell that it’s over for Trump. When previously loyal people break from him and aren’t immediately punished and brought back into the fold, he’s in real trouble.
PPCLI
@germy: Dear the Press 2: Please keep in mind that President Trump has released inaccurate transcripts EVEN IN SEVERAL CASES WHERE THE ACTUAL WORDS SPOKEN WERE ON VIDEOTAPE. If you think that Trump would release an accurate transcript under the current circumstances, you need a different job.
germy
Is he Biden his time? “Cause that’s the kinda guy I’m” ?
germy
@PPCLI: Have they forgotten the sharpie storm warning so soon?
Gin & Tonic
@PPCLI: Dude fucking doctored a weather map to make himself look good.
germy
Baud
Biden: Impeachment if all information not disclosed.
guachi
And Biden done. Don’t have sound here at work so I couldn’t hear what Biden said but it looked like he stopped short of actually calling for impeachment hearings.
catclub
@Gin & Tonic:
also, Moscow, Paris….
The problem the Ukrainians face is hard – keep quiet to please trump, but risk revenge by Democrats, or speak up and enrage Trump NOW,
versus some uncertain future when Trump might be gone.
Baud
@guachi:
He said impeachment if Trump doesn’t start disclosing everything House is asking for.
Eolirin
@Gin & Tonic: And so incompetently that it was immediately and painfully obvious. I don’t expect anything to be different if he fabricates a transcript here.
But his base isn’t going to be exposed to any of this. And that’s going to be a real problem. They’re going to get more rabid about fake attacks on the president because that’s all they’re going to be seeing.
schrodingers_cat
@germy: We should believe his version because?
schrodingers_cat
Modi sure must be happy for hugging Orange T tight this Sunday. Winning!
FelonyGovt
Conservative apologist Jonah Goldberg asks if Trump thinks we’re all idiots. No, he just knows sniveling Republicans will cover his fat ass no matter what.
germy
The State Department’s statement on Rudy:
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud:
WHY?
Baud
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
She qualified under the rules.
Redshift
@germy: We don’t know if the conversation he’s saying he’ll release is what the whistleblower complaint is about. And it’s still blatantly against the law to withhold the complaint
Hoodie
@germy: Care is in order when hyping the call. IIRC, the description of the call was leaked to the WSJ, and some said it came from the WH leak attempting to get in front of the issue. If so, this is Trump’s “modified limited hangout” approach, representing option 2 after option 1 – trying to make this into a Biden scandal – fell flat. I wouldn’t be surprised that, even unedited, the call itself may be somewhat ambiguous in a vacuum. The whistleblower report has been reported to touch on multiple events, i.e., more than just the call, with the other events including stuff like actions by Giuliani and other Trump henchmen. Some media I’ve seen appear to be aware of that Trump might be trying to pull this stunt. Pelosi may be announcing the start of the formal impeachment inquiry today and demanding the whistle blower complaint be provided to Congress to counter it, as this Ukraine thing may be the best chance to go after him.
It ultimately is a breathtakingly stupid own goal on Trump’s part. Infinitely vain, he was desperate to try to close the polling gap between Biden and himself, even though the election is over a year away and Biden isn’t even the nominee. The fact that the Mueller report did not generate momentum for impeachment made him arrogant and sloppy, leading to pull this idiotic Ukraine gambit without understanding that, unlike Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden has not been the subject of 20 years of negative propaganda from Fox News and RW talk radio and this nonsensical corruption story would basically go nowhere with a beltway media that mostly views Joe as a “good guy” – one of them. That could be the underlying reason for Joe’s seemingly idiotic insistence on bipartisanship, i.e., Biden isn’t dumb enough to think that the R’s will work with him in good faith, that’s just a story to tell the beltway media so you they’re less inclined to give traction to nutty RW conspiracy theories that he’s part of some secret cabal that murders interns. In fact, this Ukraine story has some Villagers talking about how Trump used this sort of fabricated character assassination on Clinton and Obama (heard that this morning from David Gregory, of all people).
I kind of wonder if Pelosi has been waiting for Trump to make this kind of error.
germy
trollhattan
@Betty Cracker:
Joe shouldn’t hold back–he should go full “malarky” on Trump!
Raoul
@Roger Moore: I just did a search, and I guess Quin is a Never Trumper, so he’s not doing anything all that special. Ah well, I though maybe the Examiner had let a small crack form.
cain
@dmsilev:
He was given no explanation but he still persisted.. being an asshole.
prostratedragon
@germy: Drip, drip, drip, …
Sebastian
@dmsilev:
Now come the lies and coverups. Watch the mobster scuttle and run.
It will be VERY important not to let any rats escape in the chaotic times before us. They will try (hello Chaffetz, Nunes, Issa, and Gowdy!) but we need to nail them all or they’ll be back.
PPCLI
Aaaaannnd…..
Trump changes the story again. First it was “we won’t give money to a corrupt government”. Now it’s “We won’t give money to that government until the Europeans pay their share“.
So it appears the new message is “We will not only give money to a corrupt government but also make sure that other governments pony up too”.
https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/117654350877106995
jl
@germy: I heard an ex-WH official say the same thing. The WH probably made nothing that can be called a transcript. Unless Trump got an actual transcript from the intelligence agency in charge of monitoring, they are trying to pass off staff notes as a transcript.
Glad the Democrats aren’t falling for it.
And I think I read on this hear blog (an Adam post?) that the DNI, acting or otherwise, that the whistleblower can’t be legally stopped from testifying, just fired if they do. Don’t know if I recall that correctly, though.
cain
@Betty Cracker:
Where do you come up with this stuff? Haha!
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@JGabriel:
But a commenter in a downstairs post claimed the EU gives Ukraine much more funding than the US does, so why should they be afraid of Trump?
Redshift
@Amir Khalid: Jared is reaping the consequences of taking advantage of daddy’s gullibility to get his pet proposal greenlit. Or he’s deluded enough to think “those people” would be grateful, too. Hard to say.
jl
@PPCLI: The Trump WH is like Richard Feynman’s electron, the truth takes all possible paths from one point to another, and the statistical average that flies is the final recorded truth. And whatever any human can imagine, Giuliani’s already babbled it out on a news talky show. Giuliani is like a space filling curve of possible truths.
Uncle Cosmo
@germy: Fuck Quisli with a rusty chainsaw. Another Russian tool.
germy
“Always be closing”
catclub
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
The US has given $2B over the past few years. The EU has given $15B to Ukraine. neither amount is something they can throw away.
cain
@Eolirin:
So it will lead to civil war? I think they’re itching for a fight.
jl
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??: Too late. Chris Murphy’s already reported that Zelensky said he felt Trump was using the promised military funds to pressure him to reopen a bogus investigation on the Bidens. The Biden smear has been investigated and debunked several times.
Millard Filmore
@jl:
My hazy recollection is that Barr will put him up on charges of espionage if he talks under ANY circumstance.
Jersey Tomato
@mrmoshpotato:
He Is great at quantum physics, having simultaneously threatened/not threatened Ukraine’s military aid if they didn’t cough up some dirt on Biden’s son.
MattF
@germy: Impressive. Are they selling shares at a pre-IPO price?
Redshift
@PPCLI: Another obvious lie. The EU provides far more support than the about Trump was holding hostage.
jl
@Millard Filmore: OK, thanks. I have to go look where I read that, Probably one of Adam’s recent posts. I forgot about the corrupt Barr. Espionage! In the pay of the US Congress! An outrage! Treason!
germy
@jl:
Meanwhile, the gang at Fox And Friends is telling its audience Zelensky said the conversation was normal, no pressure, etc.
The Moar You Know
@dmsilev: Was there ever ANY doubt that as soon as the shit hit the fan, MoscowMitch would promptly forswear his Lord and Savior and claim he did not know him three times, yea, verily, before the cock crows.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@jl:
They could be prosecuted under the Espionage Act, I believe
Ruckus
@Major Major Major Major:
She’s never been the problem.
She looked like the problem, because that’s her job.
The Moar You Know
@Gin & Tonic: This was the core of the issue. I think (hope) the House Dems know it. They seem to. The media is going “all in” on the call as being the issue.
It is not.
trollhattan
“House Judiciary Committee transcripts of some of President Nixon’s Watergate tape recordings differ extensively, and in many cases significantly, from the edited transcripts made public by the White House.”
— New York Times, June 20, 1974
Aleta
I hope a few Rs in Congress are pondering whether to look complicit or back away if impeachment goes forward. I hope some are worrying about how to testify if asked about his crimes.
Some former WH staff will be drinking more but sleeping less as they ruminate about their testimony under oath.
hotshoe
I actually don’t have a sensible comment at this moment, but I want to yell my agreement with the tag;
Looks Like I Picked the Wrong Week to Stop Sniffing Glue
Damn, after all the hateful destruction of previously-useful environmental, economic, and health regulations, after the illegal diversion of funds to grift a Wall, out of all the craziness …
this is what finally tips the balance?
As my tumblr faves says “buckle up Buttercup, it’s gonna be a ride!”
Kelly
@cain:
The armed right wing gangsters (I will not sully the term militia) are to fractious amongst themselves to carry out a civil war. Bloodshed short war? Already happening.
different-church-lady
@jl:
Could not possibly let that go unfixed.
catclub
@trollhattan: Rosemary Woods and the (accidental) 17 minute stretch to hold down the erase footpedal !
Betty Cracker
What the fuck?
RSA
@hells littlest angel:
This is kinda genius. Made me LOL.
janesays
@Amir Khalid: He’s releasing it because he knows that alone probably won’t damning enough to convince a majority of the American public that his impeachment is justified.
We need the complete unredacted whistleblower complaint, and nothing less.
germy
@Betty Cracker: What is “hotlining” ?
different-church-lady
@hotshoe: I think it is exactly the right week to start sniffing glue.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@catclub:
Fair enough. I guess 2 billion is nothing to sneeze at.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@germy:
Steve in the ATL
@??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??:
You must be an hourly worker!
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@jl:
I truly think it’s in Zelensky’s (and Ukraine’s) long-term national interests to do so. A world in which Trump is triumphant is one where liberal democracy is dead, probably pretty much everywhere. Because, with a GOP with Orban-level or even Putin-level control of the US, what hope is there for them?
germy
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: Ahh! I see.
Turtle is playing chess here.
Uncle Cosmo
@germy: According to the ACLU, “Hotlining is the practice of bypassing regular Senate procedures and moving legislation through to a vote with little or no floor debate in an attempt to pass the legislation through the unanimous consent of all Senators.”
And stop calling me Betty!
the Conster
@Hoodie:
She made the call that he can’t help himself back in May.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@germy: I’d love to see Dianne Feinstein then turn around and release the report to the Washington Post, or the Guardian. “I’m older and richer than Monty Burns. Come at me, Beyotch Barr”
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Dems were never going to release it without reviewing it for actual confidential information.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
twitter is giving Dems their talking points, if they want them
@Baud: I just have fantasies of Dianne Feinstein with an empty fuck bag deciding to go out like a legend
Ella in New Mexico
The fact that they’re now super excited to start passing out ‘transcripts of THE call” confirms to everyone that the transcript of the call they’re gonna pick is either
1. not accurately transcribed–as is common practice with these assholes. They falsely transcribe videotaped interviews seen by millions of people, much less “private phone calls”.
2. Not a call that discussed openly Trump’s threats.
and, most importantly
3. Has nothing to do with the Whistleblower’s accusations of “multiple acts over several occasions”. It’s not relevant in and of itself, outside of it being one of the the series of actions that this person was so alarmed by that they’re literally risking their future to reveal.
??? Goku (aka Amerikan Baka) ??
@Steve in the ATL:
I is wage slave, yes : )
Baud
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Can’t be prosecuted for statements made in Congress.
CaseyL
@Betty Cracker: Possibly MoscowMitch made a calculation that if Donnie is going down, he (MM) has no intention of going down with him.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
headline on my iPhone: Stocks plummet on impeachment fears
@CaseyL: one of my pet theories: Nobody would be happier to have President Pence than McConnell, all the judges, none of the drama
geg6
@Amir Khalid:
But see, Jar-Jar and Lolita convinced him to do it in the first place by telling him “The Blacks” will love him forever for it, just like Honest Abe!
Immanentize
@germy:
War would be terribly divisive in the middle of a war.
jl
@Ella in New Mexico: And, we don’t even know whether the WH made or has an actual transcript. Might have never been anything except staff notes of the contents of the call.
germy
@Immanentize:
“Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room!”
Ben Cisco
@germy:
Russian asset says what?
mali muso
Well, I just made a donation to my representative, freshman Jennifer Wexton. She’s already been on the side of impeachment, and just tweeted the following in response to the Orange One:
Following up with a call to her office to say thanks as well.
jl
@Ben Cisco: And exactly how can one House member ‘hold the line’? Did Gabbard manage to grab the gavel and run off with it?
joel hanes
@Brachiator:
There is some weird misdirection going on here.
The whistleblower complaint may not even mention the Trump/Zelensky phone call for which Trump is promising to release the transcript. He seems as desperate to suppress the actual whistleblower complaint as he is to suppress his tax filings.
Focus on the whistleblower complaint.
And the tax filings.
A hit dog yelps.
JPL
@Uncle Cosmo: He knows the vote won’t be unanimous. He’s trying to help endangered Senators.
rikyrah
How do we know they got played?
I think they were VERY WILLING
Stop giving them the benefit of the doubt. They haven’t earned it.
Neera Tanden (@neeratanden) Tweeted:
Basically the NYT was suckered by Steve Bannon on Clinton Cash before and now its been suckered by Rudy Giuliani on Biden and Ukraine and they double down instead of admitting the obvious- they got played.
JPL
@JPL: Whoops I was wrong. imagine that.
misterpuff
@dmsilev: If Drumpf won’t tell Moscow Mitch, perhaps he can ask his paymaster (since he’s Putin’s Bitch).
Ben Cisco
@jl: NARRATOR: As it turns out, she wasn’t very bright, yet she was smarter than her followers.
Also, how exactly did she wind up in the Dem field in the first place? She’s not exactly reflective of our values, “Soldier’s Heart” (gag) aside…
sdhays
@rikyrah: At what point does the NYT get its reputation for quality journalism revoked? At this point, I don’t consider “reported by the NYT” as meaning anything special. Might as well be “reported by Breitbart” for all the weight it means to me.
And, yes, I’m sure they have good reporters. Just none of them work on the national politics beat. And their editorial staff are shit. At some point, that should affect their reputation as an institution.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@JPL: Don’t let it happen again. //
David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch
@Ben Cisco: Tulsi Gabbard is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known in my life.
the Conster
@rikyrah:
When it comes to the NYT, they’re doing what they want to do. I believe Baquet is compromised, like Pecker tried to do to Bezos, but with more success.
joel hanes
@catclub:
The problem the Ukrainians face is hard – keep quiet to please trump, but risk revenge by Democrats, or speak up and enrage Trump NOW
The Ukranians have already chosen, and chosen wisely.
Trump sent his consigliere Giuliani to explain the favor that The Donald wished them to perform. A couple visits.
The Ukranians did not fabricate the scandal that was requested.
Trump withheld their funds, and called them to extort the fabrications.
They still REFUSED.
They left the money on the table, and there it stayed until events in the US made things hot for Trump and Giuliani.
Jay
joel hanes
@jl:
the whistleblower can’t be legally stopped from testifying, just fired if they do
Barr can prosecute under the Espionage Act, and probably will if the whistleblower testifies.
This is a serious threat.
Ben Cisco
@David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch: BWAHAAHAAHAAA!!!
Joy in FL
Finally! Impeachment hearings are happening officially.
Jay
janesays
@CaseyL: More likely explanation… agreeing to give them to the Intel Committees – where they will not be seen or discussed by the American public at large – is a way to avoid having to deal with a potential lawsuit that would likely result in them being exposed to the American public at large.