Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

… gradually, and then suddenly.

Come on, man.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

“woke” is the new caravan.

T R E 4 5 O N

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it’s a trap.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

They think we are photo bombing their nice little lives.

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

Trumpflation is an intolerable hardship for every American, and it’s Trump’s fault.

You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Trump Crime Cartel / Omerta and Gordon Sondland

Omerta and Gordon Sondland

by | 139 Comments

This post is in: 

By now you are well aware that Sondland has basically destroyed any remaining narrative the Republicans had left in their defense of Trump, so we are on to the next inevitable stage, which is the smearing of Sondland and moving twoards “what’s wrong with quid pro quo.'”

The big thing to remember here, though, is that there is a reason the White House is trashing Sondland, and it’s not because they think they can impeach his testimony. It’s to send a message to those who haven’t testified. To date, everyone who has testified has been someone, who, although possibly Republican, has never been a member of the Republican apparatus. Rick Perry, Mike Pompeo, Mick Mulvaney, and the various chiefs of staff that Goldman called out by name during the hearings today have not.

So the message is clear, especially to folks like Pompeo, who want to run for office. Testify, and we will ruin you. It’s basically witness tampering by another name. But Perry and the others get it- if I testify, I am done in Republican politics. Even if you have to face consequences, you don’t want to end up like Big Pussy and getting a couple dozen to the chest and thrown off the Stugots.

Also, just an aside, if you are ever doing an image search for Big Pussy from the Sopranos do NOT forget to include the name of the show in your search- I will not make that mistake again.

Reader Interactions

139Comments

  4. 4.

    Yarrow

    @rikyrah: Yep. People like to pretend they’re afraid for their political futures. I think it’s more like they’re afraid for their futures in general. Whatever kompromat Putin has on them must be pretty juicy.

  11. 11.

    Elizabelle

    The witnesses arrive.  Laura Cooper looks resolute.  This is a rather tough time of day to testify, don’t you think??

     

    C-Span.

     
    Impeachment Hearing with Laura Cooper and David Hale

    Laura Cooper, a deputy assistant Defense secretary, and David Hale, a State Department under secretary for political affairs, testified before the House Intelligence Committee as part of its impeachment inquiry into President Trump.

  13. 13.

    Kamala.Harris.2020

    And, of course, the final stage which is no doubt coming:  “Sure, the President explicitly told people to bribe other people …. but he was just JOKING.”

  14. 14.

    NotMax

    Never having seen the program (nor having the slightest curiosity to do so) am grateful you explained whence that moniker comes, even if have no knowledge of the context surrounding the character in question.

    And… the committee has been gaveled back into session.

  18. 18.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Yarrow:

    Yeah, but these guys are Members of Congress with security details. Would Putin dare attack high profile elected officials or their families on American soil?

     

    Or are you talking about kompromat that would be embarrassing or even put them in legal jeopardy, such as treason?

  21. 21.

    debbie

    @schrodingers_cat:

     

    It absolutely explains it. They want to keep their seat. If they are seen not to be vociferously supporting Trump, his supporters will see that they get a seat on the next train out of town.

     

    Putin doesn’t have to do anything. Trumpies will take care of everything for him.

  22. 22.

    Yarrow

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):  The answer is yes to all of the above as to what Russia might have on these Republicans and what might embarrass them and/or put them in legal trouble. Re: Putin’s attacks, if they are no longer in office they don’t have security detail, etc.

  24. 24.

    Roger Moore

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Its not like Tangerine man is winning them races, look at Kansas and Louisiana. Why are all elected Rs still lock step with him. What are they afraid of?

    They’re afraid of losing all the other stuff the party uses to ensure loyalty.  It looks like they’re in a hopeless situation.  If they back Trump, it will hurt them in the general election.  If they don’t back him, it will hurt them in the primary.

     

    But that’s not all they have to lose.  If they remain loyal, they will get wingnut welfare when they’re voted out of office, and when the party starts winning elections again they can hope to run again or be appointed to some position in the next Republican administration.  They lose all that if they go against the party, at least until such time as the party apparatus decides it’s time to turn against Trump as an institution.

  27. 27.

    jl

    Many people are saying the sinister and sneaky Never Trumpers gave him million dollar contributions just in order to gain his trust and then betray him. Poor Trump, he is always a victim.

  30. 30.

    Yarrow

    Does anyone know if there will be hearings next week? Or are they taking a break for Thanksgiving.

  32. 32.

    topclimber

    Mad hats off to CS and Walt. And thanks to a much older friend for remembering the original.

     

    Nunes in Sonderland,

    How did you get to Sonderland?

    Over the line and underhand

    And now you’re up a tree.

     

    Nunes hates Sonderland.

    Off with his head that Sonderland,

    Tweedle Dee Dee and also Dum

    But not as much as thee.

     

    Nunes in Sonderland,

    Better you stay in Blunder Land.

    Your face looks aghast and also lost

    But mine shines gleefully.

  34. 34.

    David ??Booooooo?? Koch

    @schrodingers_cat: because he doesn’t want to foreclose a lucrative slice of wingnut welfare (lobbyist, fox news contributor, think tank fellow, paid corporate speaker).

  35. 35.

    Ruff the Dog

    Or to put it another way, Rudy’s not the only one with insurance. Some salesperson made his or her entire quota with this crowd.

  37. 37.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): You guys are over thinking this, they are afraid their county club will black ball them and they will be cut off from their friends. This how these cult like groups like Flat Earthers work.

  38. 38.

    debbie

    @Yarrow:

    also @schrodinger’s cat:

     

    I haven’t heard Hurd defending Trump like the others have. Did I miss something

     

    ETA: It’s not realistic to expect them to come out aggressively against Trump.

  39. 39.

    jonas

     “what’s wrong with quid pro quo.’”

    Oh, they trotted this out some time ago: “But Obama and Biden put conditions on US aid to Ukraine, too! See? Same thing!” All they got left is “There’s nothing wrong with using foreign aid as a way of shaking down countries to produce dirt on your domestic political opponents.” Trump of course believed that in 2016 when he gleefully accepted Russia’s help in kneecapping Clinton, but they’ve moved on to saying all the quiet parts out loud now and don’t give a sh*!.

  40. 40.

    jonas

     “what’s wrong with quid pro quo.’”

    Oh, they trotted this out some time ago: “But Obama and Biden put conditions on US aid to Ukraine, too! See? Same thing!” All they got left is “There’s nothing wrong with using foreign aid as a way of shaking down countries to produce dirt on your domestic political opponents.” Trump of course believed that in 2016 when he gleefully accepted Russia’s help in kneecapping Clinton, but they’ve moved on to saying all the quiet parts out loud now and don’t give a shit.

  41. 41.

    Jay

    @Yarrow:

     

    it’s being over thought. These are not the pipple who made the koolaide, ( that was Newt and previous generations),

     

    these are pipple who have drunk the koolaide all their lives while living inside of the Faux News Bubble.

     

    yes, they truely believe that down is up, up is down, Treason is not supporting Putin and Jeasus fed the multitudes for a price and got a 20% tithe from the moneychangers in the Temple.

  42. 42.

    Martin

    @Yarrow: No support by the GOP to run for any other seat. No wingnut welfare – Fox News, think tank, etc. Basically, go get a job at the local Chevy dealership.

  43. 43.

    Mary G

    @schrodingers_cat: Money.

    • Faux News gigs
    • Republican lobbying firms
    • Republican law firms
    • Wing nut book publishers
    • Giant speaking fees from Koch Brothers and Wall St.

    All that is where they really make a killing, and if they’re disloyal to Twitler, they’re blackballed for life. And there’s nothing else they’re qualified to earn big bucks for.

  45. 45.

    Johnny Gentle (famous crooner)

    Also, just an aside, if you are ever doing an image search for Big Pussy from the Sopranos do NOT forget to include the name of the show in your search- I will not make that mistake again.

    I know, I always feel ad for all those grossly overweight cats no matter how cute they may appear to be. That’s what you meant, right?

  48. 48.

    MattF

    One has to bear in mind that in the Trumpoid space-time continuum, Trump never lies. Never. Never, never, never. So, when Trump quotes himself on the subject of his own innocence, that’s proof of his innocence, and the subject is now closed. It’s taken me quite a while to grasp this method of reasoning, and I suspect I’ve thrown a few mental gears in the effort to do so— but that’s where we are.

  49. 49.

    Elizabelle

    Every single one of these witnesses, even Sondland**, have been more qualified to serve as POTUS than Donald Fucking Trump.

     

    He has never worked for any cause bigger than himself.

     

    ** Sondland is marginal, but he was smart enough to build his own business,  and to hire and listen to his lawyers.

  50. 50.

    Kent

    @schrodingers_cat: Its not like Tangerine man is winning them races, look at  Kansas and Louisiana. Why are all elected Rs still lock step with him. What are they afraid of?

    Those are afraid of being primaried by the MAGA faithful.  It is a reasonable fear.

  53. 53.

    Kent

    @schrodingers_cat:@debbie: That doesn’t explain the reticence of those who are retiring to taken on Agent Orange.

     

    They are afraid of losing the Fox News gravy train or the swampy lobbyist gravy train.   Hard to get that lucrative lobbying job with any part of corporate America when Trump blackballs your ass and threatens to rage tweet against any company that hires you.

  54. 54.

    Roger Moore

    @Mary G:

    A DNA test revealed Hunter Biden fathered a baby with another woman while he was dating his brother’s widow.

    I’ll be sure to remember that the next time I consider voting for him.

  56. 56.

    Kent

    @Roger Moore: Right.  I mean seriously?   He was dating more than one woman at once?   Which is all that really means despite the lurid headline.

     

    Of course Nunes is going to subpoena both the mother and child now that it is out.  Mark my words.

  58. 58.

    Roger Moore

    @Kent:

    He was dating more than one woman at once? Which is all that really means despite the lurid headline.

    He was dating more than one woman at once and was failing to take adequate precautions to prevent a pregnancy.  The whole thing is lurid and gossipy and completely irrelevant to whether his father would be a good president.

  59. 59.

    frosty

    Also, just an aside, if you are ever doing an image search for Big Pussy from the Sopranos do NOT forget to include the name of the show in your search- I will not make that mistake again.

    Much like the time I was looking up the specs on the boat anchors I’d bought. I do not recommend searching for “Super Hookers” on a work computer.

  61. 61.

    Elizabelle

    This was a great article.  History and circumstances were not kind to Nixon’s defenders.

    Washington Post, op ed by David Greenberg, a history prof at Rutgers
    When should Republicans jump ship?
    History could forgive Trump’s defenders. But we know it will reward his deserters.

    … It’s not easy to know what history will say about anything. Reputations and judgments fluctuate. Not long ago, most historians would have thought it laughable to honor Dwight Eisenhower with a memorial on the Mall, and few would have consideredThomas Jefferson more a villain than a hero because he owned slaves. All George W. Bush had to do was sit idly by and let Donald Trump govern to see his own image improve. Appealing to the verdict of history, as if it were stable and discernible, is presumptuous.

    … the Watergate saga does tell us this much: Those loyalists who abandoned Nixon early, when it mattered — who stood up for principle over party, for integrity over professional advancement, before Nixon was politically doomed — are remembered and praised for their courage. Men such as Sen. Lowell P. Weicker (Conn.) and Rep. William Cohen (Maine) cemented their legacies as honorable public servants and were lionized for the rest of their lives. Those who waited to see the writing on the wall (other Republicans in Congress, administration officials who wanted to serve the national interest but lacked the courage to break with their boss) left their fates to chance. Many of them are now remembered solely for sticking by a man who abused the power of his office — if, that is, they are remembered at all.

    … The parallels between 1974 and 2019 are inexact. Republicans back then were much more independent-minded; many broke with their president not just during the impeachment process but well before that, on ordinary legislative matters. … Back then, the GOP included liberals and moderates who had no ideological affinity for the president and openly voiced doubts about Nixon’s honesty. When Nixon left office, most of his party-mates tried to get on the “right side of history” by publicly disavowing him. Today, with a right-wing mediasphere where the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Fox News constantly reinforce White House talking points, it’s almost impossible to imagine that happening.

    Story’s way more complicated, and worth a click.  Some politicians went down and lost elections and their reputations.  Other defenders:  Trent Lott, Pat Buchanan, Bob Dole — did just fine.  It’s a mixed record.

  68. 68.

    Shalimar

    @schrodingers_cat: Primaries.  You still get a job as a lobbyist or commentator if you stay loyal and lose to a Democrat.  Your career is over if you turn against Trump and get primaried out of office.

  70. 70.

    Marcopolo

    Still no way I am supporting him but glad to see this:

    Michael Bloomberg is rolling out plans to spend an estimated $15 million to $20 million on a voter registration drive designed to weaken President Donald Trump’s reelection chances in five battleground states. https://t.co/fi1rz0g7gQ— Eugene Scott (@Eugene_Scott) November 20, 2019

  72. 72.

    Mallard Filmore

    @Adam L Silverman: It’s not Putin, it’s what is in David Pecker’s safe.

    I thought his safe was emptied out and the material destroyed. Then again it was only a rumor, and a helpful rumor whether true or not.

  73. 73.

    germy

  74. Amid unexpected national attention, Tedra Cobb campaigns in Queensbury to unseat Elise Stefanik

    Kicking off a week of campaigning, Cobb appeared at Chicken Coop Forge in a sometimes-disorderly event with about 100 supporters. She was sometimes aggressively questioned by members of a local group whose members call themselves the North Country Deplorables, who are outspoken supporters of President Donald Trump and Stefanik.

    Cobb asked the handful of people from the Deplorables group to be respectful, but she promised to engage with them. “I will continue to talk to you and everyone else … We’re going to have many conversations and will try to find common ground, because that’s what we need in Washington,” the business consultant and former St. Lawrence County legislator said.

    https://dailygazette.com/article/2019/11/19/tedra-cobb-i-did-not-see-it-coming

  75. 74.

    Yarrow

    @Adam L Silverman:  As if what is/was in that safe hasn’t made it into Putin’s hands. I’ve quoted this article many times, but Gluliani cleaned up the anthrax attack at American Media Inc.

    The cleanup is being led by BioONE, a company established by former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Sabre Technical Services, which decontaminated other buildings hit by anthrax attacks.
    …
    After a call of “Let’s go” from Giuliani, workers started the flow of chlorine dioxide, a chemical used to disinfect drinking water, into the American Media Inc. building to kill the spores.
    …
    BioONE then plans to occupy the space as the headquarters for its new crisis management venture. The company hopes to move in by the end of the year.

    The arrival of anthrax in the mail at the building was the first in a series of still-unsolved attacks that killed five people, among them photo editor Bob Stevens of AMI’s tabloid the Sun. The attacks emptied Senate offices and a major mail processing center in the Washington area, rattling a nation shaken by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks a month earlier.

    AMI, which also publishes The National Enquirer, hurriedly abandoned the three-story office after the anthrax was found.

    AMI “hurriedly abandoned the building” and Giuliani’s company and then was going to occupy the building. What was in those safes and who has it? Giuliani says he has “insurance.” Is what was in the AMI safes part of that? Who else has seen it?

  76. 75.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Roger Moore: Except that, of course, it’s pronounced differently, and is an actual Slavic word with its own meaning that has nothing to do with faux-Mexican foodstuffs.

     

    These “jokes” are as funny as an antibiotic-resistant fungal infection.

  78. 77.

    germy

    @JWR:  The Dancing Bug is one of the bright spots in this age of donald.

     

    He’s done a whole series of the Calvin/Trump parodies.  It should be a book.

  79. 78.

    Marcopolo

    @Kent: Think it is also possible that some R’s who are retiring right now are hoping that maybe they can run for office after Trump is gone & politics move a little back towards normalcy.  That’s cowardly & foolish—if they are hoping our politics might move back towards normalcy maybe they should put their shoulder to it.

  81. 80.

    Jay

    The stereotype of a mass shooter is a white male with a history of mental illness or domestic violence. While that may be anecdotally true, the largest single study of mass shooters ever conducted by the U.S. government has found that nearly all mass shooters have four specific things in common.

    A new Department of Justice-funded study of all “mass murder” — killings of four or more people in a public place — since 1966 found that mass shooters typically have an experience with childhood trauma, a personal crisis or specific grievance, and a “script” or examples that validate their feelings or provide a roadmap. And then there’s the fourth thing: legal access to a firearm.

    https://www.vice.com/amp/en_ca/article/a35mya/nearly-all-mass-shooters-since-1966-have-had-four-things-in-common?utm_souhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.vice.com%2Fen_ca%2Farticle%2Fa35mya%2Fnearly-all-mass-shooters-since-1966-have-had-four-things-in-commonrce=vicenewscafbca&fbclid=IwAR3lUvzuWo8p6SSjgkzMz2mKTOrT47PdM8w0rGdPJdNHSxlJ1asfAhlUB9w&__twitter_impression=true

  83. 82.

    bluehill

    There goes another talking point.

    Just as Laura Cooper testified that on July 25, the Ukrainian embassy was asking “what’s going on” with the security assistance, the White House sent talking points saying “Bottom Line: Ukraine Didn’™t Know About the Aid Being Withheld Until Well After the July Call.”

    — Tamara Keith (@tamarakeithNPR)

  84. 83.

    ET

    Their calculation also has to include how much they have already damaged their chances in politics and GOP circles as well as how much (and how fast) will the GOP post tRump change. At some point tRump may prove so toxic even in GOP circles.

     

    With that said the GOP has been very good over the last few decades about inculcating/brain washing their members to get in line or else. So nothing else – including the real world – may matter. Today’s GOP doesn’t reward an independent spirit.

  85. 84.

    Another Scott

    @Gin & Tonic: Thanks for the info.  I haven’t kept up with this part of the story so I have no idea who she is, and had no idea of the ethnology of her surname.

     

    Cheers,

    Scott.

  90. 89.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Mallard Filmore:

     

    @Yarrow:

     

    My understanding is that the safe has been reported empty. What hasn’t been reported is what Pecker or his immediate subordinates, specifically those with law degrees, did with the information in it.

  91. 90.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Another Scott: Alexandra and Andrea are sisters, US-born but of Ukrainian heritage. Andrea is a journalist who works with Sarah Kendzior (I know some of you have opinions on Sarah.) Alexandra was a researcher for the DNC. She was among the people raising early alarms about Paul Manafort when he was hired by Trump, because (like lots of people) she was aware of his work for Viktor Yanukovuch.  Manafort has not forgiven or forgotten, and has all his allies trying to make Alexandra’s life difficult.

  92. 91.

    Mary G

    Speech Laura Cooper gave to the Ukrainian Women’s Congress 12/7/2018:

    Today, I want to reiterate to you and to the people of Ukraine America’s steadfast support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Russia occupies Crimea and fuels conflict in the Donbas in its attempt to change borders by force and to thwart our goal of a Europe whole, free, and at peace. 

    We must not accept this aggression as a fait accompli. Russia’s aggression is not simply a matter for Ukraine.  It’s a threat to the region, to Europe, to the United States, and to the stability of the international order. 

    She goes on to promise that America has Ukraine’s back. These Giuliani/Sondland shenanigans must have infuriated her. It really is remarkable that none of these multitudes of witnesses leaked any of this for months until the IG blew the whistle on the attempt to bury the whistleblower complaint without notifying Congress.

  93. 92.

    Another Scott

    Meanwhile, Reuters:

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Completion of a “phase one” U.S.-China trade deal could slide into next year, trade experts and people close to the White House said, as Beijing presses for more extensive tariff rollbacks, and the Trump administration counters with heightened demands of its own.

    […]

    But, but, that’s unpossible! Donnie said trade wars were easy and he had this one all wrapped up. He said so months ago!!11

    Least surprising news, ever. :-/

    The “pump and dump” traders must love the stock market gyrations he’s causing. There are a few volumes full of charges of that stuff going on, if any prosecutor cares to look, I’m sure.

    Grrr…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  95. 94.

    Mo' Salad (--bd)

    The first five times I read the headline, I read Omarosa. She actually might be a fun witness to call…

  96. 95.

    janesays

    if you are ever doing an image search for Big Pussy from the Sopranos do NOT forget to include the name of the show in your search- I will not make that mistake again.

    HAHAHA… out of curiosity, what exactly did you expect to get in your original attempt at that search?

  97. 96.

    Mary G

    Good news:

    BREAKING: Dr. Scott Warren found NOT GUILTY on all charges for providing food, water, shelter, and medical care to two undocumented men. Yet again, No More Deaths has withstood the government’s attempts to criminalize basic human compassion.— No More Deaths (@NoMoreDeaths) November 20, 2019

    Stephen Miller is gnashing his teeth in his coffin.

  98. 97.

    bucachon

    Watching the prime time hearings. Republicans keep making the point that the aid was released. But why was it released? If trump was concerned about corruption, what did he learn to change his mind? And more broadly concerned about corruption, I’d love to hear a Republican asked what other examples of trump fighting corruption could they name?

  99. 98.

    bluehill

    @Yarrow: Stark contrast to the courage exhibited by civil servants like Cooper and the patriotism of Vindman. They don’t ask for this but put aside their own concerns to protect their country.

  100. 99.

    CaseyL

    Why does the GOP stick with Trump?

     

    Occam’s razor says it’s because they support everything he does.

     

    He is enabling the GOP to pack the courts with radical reactionaries who will roll back a century of progressive precedent.

  101. 100.

    JWR

    One of the Rs just spent his time talking about Trump’s decision to move the Javelins, (something Obama refused to do!), was the right thing to do, and which……. has nothing to do with the subject of this hearing, dammit!

     

    Maybe a sign of surrender?

  103. 102.

    bluehill

    @Another Scott:

    The “pump and dump” traders Wilbur Ross must love the stock market gyrations he’s causing.

    Sold his puts today. Loaded up on calls for Friday’s announcement that they are making a lot “progress.”

  106. 105.

    Jay

    Today I opened a major Apple Manufacturing plant in Texas that will bring high paying jobs back to America. Today Nancy Pelosi closed Congress because she doesn’t care about American Workers!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 20, 2019

    1. It’s not an Apple plant2. It was not just opened today3. Apple has been manufacturing Mac Pros in Austin since 20134. It’s not bringing back any new jobs https://t.co/zANHP2wgse— Josh Billinson (@jbillinson) November 20, 2019

  107. 106.

    Roger Moore

    @CaseyL:

    Occam’s razor says it’s because they support everything he does.

    Not necessarily everything, any more than you can say any member of a political party supports everything their party leader does.  But they clearly support enough of it that they’re willing to accept the stuff they don’t like to get the stuff they do.  As somebody said about Trump’s racism, it doesn’t mean that all his supporters are as racist as he is, but it means they’re willing to accept it.

  111. 110.

    JWR

    Now Stefanik is going on about the Obama/Trump divide on the Javelins, (Obama didn’t send them, Trump did), and other meaningless blather, at least as far as anything having to do with this hearing.

  113. 112.

    Jay

    A misleading claim about the head of the Ukrainian energy company at the heart of the House impeachment inquiry went viral across conservative pockets of social media Wednesday, receiving hundreds of thousands of retweets and shares from some of the president’s most ardent online supporters.

    The incorrect story, first disseminated by the finance blog ZeroHedge, claimed that Mykola Zlochevsky, the head of Burisma, a Ukrainian energy company, had been indicted over money laundering related to the Biden family. Hunter Biden, son of former Vice President Joe Biden, was previously on Burisma’s board of directors.

    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1087511?__twitter_impression=true

  114. 113.

    Jeffro

    @CaseyL: They stick with him because by and large they get what they want (judges, tax cuts, white supremacy) without having to pay a price for it.

     

    This is why it’s so important to pound on GOP officials at all levels and pin them down (whether from our own candidates, or from the media): “do you agree with policy X, statement Y, tweet Z from the president, Representative GOPerson?”  Even their silence is a mark against them, if properly amplified.

  115. 114.

    Jeffro

    @JWR: She’s the second one – the guy from Texas (not Ratliffe) was also going on and on about it.

     

    Seems their backup defense is “Ukraine has no better friend than Donald J trumpov…especially compared to the black guy”.  Oh, OKAY

  116. 115.

    gene108

    @schrodingers_cat:

     

    That doesn’t explain the reticence of those who are retiring to taken on Agent Orange.

     

     

    Kochs, Mercers, etc. pay well for doing very little, plus lucrative jobs in lobbying, as long as you don’t piss off the wrong people by going against the Republican Party.

  118. 117.

    Duane

    @bucachon: The notion Trumpov was concerned about Ukraine corruption is preposterous. An investigation by people suspected  of being corrupt might be corrupt, but Trumpov doesn’t care. He’ll gladly use any means to win.

  120. 119.

    JWR

    @debbie: Is she still snidely saying Obama only sent blankets?

     

    Oh yes, of course! Fortunately, the next D up went through a list of non-lethal items, saying, “these things don’t sound like blankets, do they?”

  121. 120.

    Jay

    Laura Cooper says on July 25, House Foreign Affairs Committee emailed asking about Ukraine security assistance. 2 hours later, another email was sent saying "the Hill knows about the FMF [Foreign Military Financing] situation to an extent, and so does the Ukrainian embassy."— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) November 20, 2019

    Needless to say, this is big, given Trump and his allies' defense that the Ukrainians didn't know about the withheld aid until after it was made public by @politico.— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) November 20, 2019

  126. 125.

    Elizabelle

    And, Fuck the Fucking New York Times just buried the lede and glided right past in their headline.

     

    Vindman’s Lawyer Asks Fox News to Retract Espionage Allegation

    A guest on the ‘Ingraham Angle,’ a Fox show, suggested that Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman, a key figure in the impeachment hearings, was guilty of spying.

     

    A guest?  It was JOHN YOO.  Probably one of their sources.

     

    A guest.  Right.  His name (and reputation) is well enough known to merit inclusion in the headline.  Except, it’s FTF NY Times.

  127. 126.

    JWR

    @Jay: LoL! It’s hard to tell what they’re up to this afternoon, except wasting time talking to their audience of 1 (one).

  128. 127.

    Ella in New Mexico

    Nunes again, projecting what the Republicans are doing onto Democrats. Sigh.

    He’s so boring.

  135. 134.

    chopper

    @jonas:

     

    it’s gonna end up (at some point, likely before they try to argue it was all a mass hallucination and it never actually happened) being something like “it’s fine to make demands of other countries for the nation’s benefit and it was trump’s closely held religious belief that keeping biden out of the white house was to benefit the nation”.

  136. 135.

    bucachon

    @Duane: exactly. I want to hear a Republican give an example of trumps interest in corruption. They say he cares about. Give examples

  138. 137.

    Bill Arnold

    @Jay:

    A misleading claim about the head of the Ukrainian energy company at the heart of the House impeachment inquiry went viral across conservative pockets of social media Wednesday,

    Interesting, and good (maybe), to see that piece on the nbcnews site.

    One minute before the ZeroHedge article was published, the anonymous account that inspired the QAnon conspiracy theory — generally known as “Q” — linked to the same Interfax-Ukraine article.

    That has the appearance of some sloppy … tradecraft. Might be worth some digging, but people are obviously already on it.

  139. 138.

    Bill Arnold

    @chopper:

    and it was trump’s closely held religious belief that keeping biden out of the white house was to benefit the nation”.

    Quoted for amusement. Fixed, it’s more like

    and it was trump’s closely held religious belief in His Godself that keeping biden out of the white house was to benefit the nation Himself”.

  140. 139.

    Warblewarble

    For the listener,who listens in the snow, And nothing himself beholds Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is. The “I want nothing” that is just keeps on coming. Pence, Barr,Mulvaney, Pompeo,tRUMP the whole rotten tRUMPthuglican gang Prison 2020.

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