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You are here: Home / Politics / Impeachment / Impeach the Motherfucker! / Post Break Thread

Post Break Thread

by @heymistermix.com|  November 20, 201911:07 am| 224 Comments

This post is in: Impeach the Motherfucker!

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Smilin’ Gordon Sondland’s mass execution of the upper echelons of the Trump Administration was just interrupted by a potty break, so here’s a thread for when they get back. As Nunes predicted in his opener, Sondland is going to get smeared today, but I don’t think he meant it the way it’s going to happen.

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Previous Post: « Shorter Gordon Sondland
Next Post: Other Stuff Open Thread »

Reader Interactions

224Comments

  1. 1.

    Nashville_fan

    November 20, 2019 at 11:10 am

    At least now we can all pretend that “nobody” knows what happened. Now we can call a thing a thing. Republicans can now look into the camera and say we are corrupt and there is nothing you can do about it. (White power, lower taxes, etcetera, etcetera . . .)

     

    Good grief.

  2. 2.

    Nashville_fan

    November 20, 2019 at 11:11 am

    @Nashville_fan: I meant “stop pretending” . . . argh

  3. 3.

    rikyrah

    November 20, 2019 at 11:11 am

    Never forget

     

    Johnsonn was one of the July 4th Senators in Russia ????

  4. 4.

    Elizabelle

    November 20, 2019 at 11:14 am

    @rikyrah:   Yes, yes, yes.  We need to find out what was up with that.

  5. 5.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 11:15 am

    @rikyrah:  Yep.  Here’s the full list:

    Sens. Richard C. Shelby (Ala.), Steve Daines (Mont.), John Hoeven (N.D.), John Neely Kennedy (La.), Jerry Moran (Kan.), John Thune (S.D.) and Johnson, plus Rep. Kay Granger (Tex.).

    No wonder Sen. Kennedy has been defending Trump so strongly.

  6. 6.

    bbleh

    November 20, 2019 at 11:16 am

    This is amazing.  John-Dean-level stuff.  Popcorn.

  7. 7.

    TaMara (HFG)

    November 20, 2019 at 11:16 am

    Sad I have to go to a meeting.

    It was such an abrupt, upfront implication of Trump, the Goldman questioning is almost anti-climactic. Boring.

    Sondland blurted out the spoilers in his opening remarks.

    “THE PLANE CRASHED. THEY’RE ALL DEAD.”

    Well, Jeez, that really takes the drama out of binge-watching “Lost”.

    — The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) November 20, 2019

  8. 8.

    Major Major Major Major

    November 20, 2019 at 11:16 am

    That testimony was brutal! The only one I’ve watched so far since Twitter made it clear there were Things To See.

  9. 9.

    sdhays

    November 20, 2019 at 11:17 am

    Non-impeachment news: Did anyone see that Nikki Haley sent classified information over insecure email? I guess the Dump DOJ is going to have to lock her up, right?

  10. 10.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 11:17 am

    @Elizabelle:  It’s pretty clear they were there because they’re owned by Putin. There is no way they would have gone on the 4th of July otherwise. He was making a public example of them and an obvious threat if they didn’t comply.

  11. 11.

    The Dangerman

    November 20, 2019 at 11:17 am

    @Nashville_fan:

     

    Republicans can now look into the camera…

     

    Trump: “People have got to know whether or not their President is a crook. Well, I am a crook. Fuck you.”

  12. 12.

    Just Chuck

    November 20, 2019 at 11:17 am

    One bus to rule them all.  The Omnibus.  The GOP is getting thrown under it.

  13. 13.

    Nashville_fan

    November 20, 2019 at 11:19 am

    @The Dangerman: I mean . . . seriously . . . that is what it has been from Day 1.

  14. 14.

    Snarki, child of Loki

    November 20, 2019 at 11:20 am

    @Yarrow: Yep, those GOPers had to go pledge their fealty to Putin on 4th July.

  15. 15.

    cmorenc

    November 20, 2019 at 11:22 am

    After today’s revelations, the GOP’s defense will be forced to retreat into what was their true presumably impenetrable bunker was all along:

    Yes, we did that, and you can’t do ANYTHING about it libs, suck on it.

     

    Of course, this strategy presumes the combo of William Barr, the Fox News bubble, and the die-hard MAGA base will withstand any bombardment, with the assistance of voter suppression and foreign social-media interference on their behalf.

  16. 16.

    Baud

    November 20, 2019 at 11:22 am

    Ancillary but important. I hope this stuff causes Roberts to shy away from endorsing Trump’s extreme immunity and privilege claims.

  17. 17.

    Elizabelle

    November 20, 2019 at 11:23 am

    Nunes’s Cow’s Lesser Half is up.

     

    He wants to get back to the Facts.  Spewing about Democrats’ operatives getting campaign dirt from Ukraine for the 2016 election.  To dirty up the Trump Campaign.

     

    He is so dreadful.

     

    ALEXANDRA CHALUPA!!

  18. 18.

    Elizabelle

    November 20, 2019 at 11:24 am

    @Baud:   It really might.  Fingers crossed.

     

    A lot of people have their eyes on history.

  19. 19.

    Betty Cracker

    November 20, 2019 at 11:24 am

    Here’s a great summary of round one:

    Awwww!
    Someone has the sadz.

    Womp womp. pic.twitter.com/RL2NqemqyR

    — Lev Parnas' Necklace (@superlorna69) November 20, 2019

    Now Nunes is giving an overview of the Crackpot Dome scandal while Sondland says uh, I don’t know anything about that…

  20. 20.

    MattF

    November 20, 2019 at 11:25 am

    @Baud: Also, Roberts will preside over Trump’s trial.

  21. 21.

    Elizabelle

    November 20, 2019 at 11:25 am

    @Betty Cracker:   Yeah.  And Nunes even said at the outset that Sondland might know nothing about it.  But he’s gonna spew the shit anyway.

    Dirty up the campaign.  Such projection.

  22. 22.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 11:26 am

    Nunes: “Democrats’ Russia hoax witch hunt.” It’s like buzzword bingo.

  23. 23.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    November 20, 2019 at 11:29 am

    Hoarsewisperer has a good live stream on Twitter, starting here:

    Alright, good people.After four hours of caffeination and pacing, I am logging on to get this party started.Live reaction to the Sondland hearings will follow below.Mute this thread if uninterested. 1/

    — The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) November 20, 2019

    When you get to the present moment and want to refresh, click on a tweet one or two above where you are. That will refresh the whole stream, but you won’t lose your place.

    And you don’t need to be “on” Twitter to read this. Just need your browser.

  24. 24.

    Mary G

    November 20, 2019 at 11:29 am

    Devin is spewing every Fox News and QAnon catchphrase he can think of. Sondland is just smirking at him. “I’m actually rich, unlike someone in the WH, so dance, monkey, dance.”

  25. 25.

    Luciamia

    November 20, 2019 at 11:30 am

    Waiting for the next Netflix original, “Rudy Goes Rogue!”

  26. 26.

    Elizabelle

    November 20, 2019 at 11:30 am

    @Steeplejack (phone):   Thank you.  I just muted Nunes — life is short; why listen to that crap.

     

    Hoarse Whisperer can endure it, so I don’t have to.

  27. 27.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 11:31 am

    Nunes is focusing on Burisma because he’s got nothing else.

  28. 28.

    delk

    November 20, 2019 at 11:31 am

    Reading you guys on my commute to and from PT was great. Thanks everyone for the excellent play by play.

  29. 29.

    JWR

    November 20, 2019 at 11:31 am

    @Elizabelle: ALEXANDRA CHALUPA!!

     

    Drink!

  30. 30.

    Kelly

    November 20, 2019 at 11:33 am

    @Steeplejack (phone):

     but you won’t lose your place.

    Lost my place days ago.

  31. 31.

    Gin & Tonic

    November 20, 2019 at 11:34 am

    @JWR: I really feel sorry for her.

  32. 32.

    LAO

    November 20, 2019 at 11:34 am

    Lolololo. Giuliani was acting on his own. Weak tea.

  33. 33.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    November 20, 2019 at 11:35 am

    @Elizabelle:
    Exactly. Every time I turn on the TV I last about 30 seconds before I want to start screaming.

  34. 34.

    Steve Crickmore

    November 20, 2019 at 11:35 am

    Sondland breaks ranks with Trump and his  diehard supporters   when  he paraphrases Orwell with his direct testimony  that freedom is  the freedom to say that “two plus two  equals four,”

  35. 35.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 11:36 am

    All this testimony is focusing on fairly recent Ukraine events. Let us also remember that in 2016 at the Republican National Convention they changed the platform re: Ukraine to become more Putin-friendly. It was a Ted Cruz supporting delegate who submitted the amendment. Reminder that Ted Cruz is funded by the Mercer’s and was the first to use the Cambridge Analytica data.

  36. 36.

    Gin & Tonic

    November 20, 2019 at 11:36 am

    This is interesting:

    On 11/19 I watched Tucker Carlson on Fox News saying: “I personally don’t know why we should take sides between Ukraine and Russia”. I went into the Fox site to rewatch the statement. But this sentence is deleted from the online program. Even Fox has realized how damaging it is
    — Kateryna Yushchenko (@KatyaYushchenko) November 20, 2019

  37. 37.

    Amir Khalid

    November 20, 2019 at 11:38 am

    @Just Chuck:

    You shouldn’t trust snyone with that much power, even a good guy like our Omnes.

  38. 38.

    LAO

    November 20, 2019 at 11:38 am

    Sondland is a perfect Trumper. Sitting there with a smirk on his face believing he’s the smartest guy in the room. Makes him difficult to cross.

  39. 39.

    Elizabelle

    November 20, 2019 at 11:41 am

    LOL.  The GOP attorney is getting after Sondland for concluding something without actual evidence.

     

    LOL, cuz it’s what his ranking member does, day after day after day.  Two plus two — it cannot equal four!  There is no evidence for that!

  40. 40.

    JWR

    November 20, 2019 at 11:42 am

    @Mary G: Devin is spewing every Fox News and QAnon catchphrase he can think of.

    I was surprised he didn’t mention Seth Rich. That’s how nutty his opening remarks sounded to me.

     

    PS. It’s Southern California, and it’s finally raining! (Well, sorta raining, anyway.)

  41. 41.

    Gin & Tonic

    November 20, 2019 at 11:44 am

    @Yarrow: J.D. Gordon was not a Cruz delegate, he was a Trump campaign staff employee.

  42. 42.

    WereBear

    November 20, 2019 at 11:44 am

    I know it’s confidential, but I would have loved to see Sonderland’s face as his pricey lawyer explained just how deep the rabbit hole will go for him if he gets convicted.

     

    The Graybar Hotel beckons.

  43. 43.

    Just Chuck

    November 20, 2019 at 11:45 am

    @Yarrow: Man, the Dems on the committee need to start rattling off the names of all of Nunes’s Russian business partners…

  44. 44.

    MattF

    November 20, 2019 at 11:45 am

    A large part of the R problem is that Trump has made it clear that anything short of ‘The Great One, praised be His Name, did nothing wrong and the phone call was perfect’ is treason. There’s very little wiggle room, even in theory. And in practice, I’d say there’s none at all.

  45. 45.

    Aleta

    November 20, 2019 at 11:45 am

    @Baud: a welcome thought

  46. 46.

    Elizabelle

    November 20, 2019 at 11:46 am

    It seems many jackals are back on the previous thread commenting.

     

    This one being, allegedly, break-y.

  47. 47.

    Sebastian

    November 20, 2019 at 11:46 am

    @Yarrow:

     

    there were seven of those mofos??

  48. 48.

    Leto

    November 20, 2019 at 11:46 am

    @Elizabelle: Yeah, as I replied to Ella in NM in the previous thread, this is just insanity. I’ve otherwise run out of ways to describe it.

  49. 49.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 11:47 am

    @Gin & Tonic:  You are correct. I mixed up a few people. Sorry about the mix up. Statements on Cruz still accurate.

  50. 50.

    Raoul

    November 20, 2019 at 11:48 am

    GOP counsel just made it a priority to subpoena Rick Perry’s Chief of Staff. These guys are just not very smart.

  51. 51.

    JWR

    November 20, 2019 at 11:49 am

    @Gin & Tonic: I really feel sorry for her.

    Me too! I only recently learned of her exostence, but in reading just how she somehow became involved in one of Devin’s warped fantasies, I totally understand what you’re saying.

  52. 52.

    Just Chuck

    November 20, 2019 at 11:49 am

    @MattF: Yes, but once T gets loser stink on him, they’ll abandon him in droves.  Wingnuts may love them some losers, but they hate loser stink.  Save for about 27%

  53. 53.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 11:49 am

    @Sebastian:  Yes. Seven. It should have been a huge deal. Seven Republican elected officials go to Moscow on American Independence day. At any other time it would have been a massive story and many of them probably would have had to resign.

  54. 54.

    Leto

    November 20, 2019 at 11:50 am

    @MattF: They can’t admit to anything. One admission and the whole thing falls apart. It’s why they’re going to smear everyone connected to this as a liar, never Trumper, “deep stater”… any admission is tantamount to treason against the great Orange One. Doesn’t matter that Sondland is sitting there admitting that everyone is in on it, that he’s recounting all the specifics (I took photos!), no, they’re all liars who were trying to “undo the election” of a deeply unpopular president.

  55. 55.

    patroclus

    November 20, 2019 at 11:50 am

    It sounds like that when Senator Johnson confronted Trump on the aid being held up due to the extortion, Trump just started lying and said that he didn’t know anything about it.

  56. 56.

    Gin & Tonic

    November 20, 2019 at 11:52 am

    @JWR:

    .@DevinNunes, The political operative who “dirtied up the Trump campaign” in 2016 was Paul Manafort, who worked in Ukraine propping-up Putin backed candidates and against U.S. interests. He continued to communicate with Moscow’s operatives throughout the campaign. Subpoena him.— Alexandra Chalupa (@AlexandraChalup) November 20, 2019

  57. 57.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 11:52 am

    @patroclus:  That’s what it sounds like. Senator Johnson went to Russia on the 4th of July so his loyalties are questionable. He could easily be lying about that conversation.

  58. 58.

    Leto

    November 20, 2019 at 11:52 am

    @Yarrow: The official US May Day Party delegation went home for their performance report, and to see how they could expand their ranks.

    I hate them all. They need to be wiped out at every level. From Senate down to dog catcher. Every. Level.

    And now we’re back to, “we took a picture on the lawn, it was a nice sunny day.”  JFC, traitors, all the way down.

  59. 59.

    Cheryl Rofer

    November 20, 2019 at 11:53 am

    In summary: Trump, speaking in a croakier voice than usual, told reporters that the sole important thing from the hearing is that he told Sondland that he wanted "nothing" from Ukraine. Trump claimed that this means "it's all over." He then walked away, taking no questions.

    — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 20, 2019

  60. 60.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 11:58 am

    @Cheryl Rofer:  “croakier voice than usual”? Was he intubated at Walter Reed?

  61. 61.

    Raoul

    November 20, 2019 at 11:59 am

    @Yarrow: The Johnson to Moscow storyline has — to my huge frustration — never gotten enough traction. Its freakin’ weird. These missions are almost (though not always) bipartisan, in part so that the appearance of favor or skulduggery is minimized. But this trip was, as I recall, hastily organized, with minimum press detail attached.
    There was some pressure after to say what they got up to, and the GOP Sens issued a mealy statement about how they were protesting something or other. Never passed the smell test.

  62. 62.

    JWR

    November 20, 2019 at 12:00 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:

     

    Hell yes!

  63. 63.

    Kelly

    November 20, 2019 at 12:00 pm

    https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/1197184568203399169

     

    Is there a mercy rule for congressional hearings?

  64. 64.

    Quinerly

    November 20, 2019 at 12:00 pm

    Moments before Wednesday’s impeachment hearings and right after U.S. Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland’s opening statement was released, Fox News contributor Ken Starr wondered aloud whether Sondland flipping on President Trump would cause GOP senators to push Trump to resign. “The real issue is the senators are watching,” Starr said. “Are senators going to now say in light of what we hear today, it’s going to be a long day even with the ambassador alone, in light of what we have heard, ‘We need to make a trip down to the White House’? That historic example set during the Nixon presidency. From what I’ve been able to glean I don’t think that’s going to happen. But obviously what happens today could—has the potential to be a game-changer.”

  65. 65.

    Leto

    November 20, 2019 at 12:01 pm

    Sondland’s testimony summed up.

  66. 66.

    LAO

    November 20, 2019 at 12:02 pm

    Wow. Sondland’s answer on the irregular channel was devastating.

  67. 67.

    Elizabelle

    November 20, 2019 at 12:02 pm

    Whoa.  Sondland making a great point that the “irregular channel” was not that irregular.  Principals were involved.  They were all in on it.  Names names.

     

    I think that backfired on Castor.

  68. 68.

    Elizabelle

    November 20, 2019 at 12:03 pm

    “Everyone’s hair was on fire, but no one decided to talk to us.”

  69. 69.

    Ella in New Mexico

    November 20, 2019 at 12:03 pm

    @Yarrow: “croakier voice than usual”? Was he intubated at Walter Reed?

    Croup? lol

  70. 70.

    Leto

    November 20, 2019 at 12:03 pm

    http://<a href=”https://images.app.goo.gl/5UrSqZ8ntEP5CU2MA”>https://images.app.goo.gl/5UrSqZ8ntEP5CU2MA>Sondland’s testimony summed up.</a>

    testing because I still can’t make shit link properly, can’t edit last comment even though I just posted it.

  71. 71.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 12:04 pm

    @Quinerly:

    Ken Starr, lead prosecutor in Clinton impeachment hearings: “There is now proof that the President (Trump) committed the crime of bribery…This has been one of those bombshell days.”
    — Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) November 20, 2019

  72. 72.

    PsiFighter37

    November 20, 2019 at 12:04 pm

    In normal times, the GOP senators would be making the walk to the White House this afternoon and demanding resignation. Alas, we live in strange times…

  73. 73.

    LAO

    November 20, 2019 at 12:05 pm

    @Elizabelle: huge backfire. Castor is having great difficulty recovering from it.

  74. 74.

    Avalune

    November 20, 2019 at 12:05 pm

    @Leto: Sometimes if you refresh your refresh the edit box reappears.

  75. 75.

    Ella in New Mexico

    November 20, 2019 at 12:05 pm

    @Elizabelle:I think that backfired on Castor.

    Honest to God I can’t figure out what the fuck Castor is trying to accomplish here–are we back to the “Oh, the hearings were so Booorrrrrinng” strategy?

  76. 76.

    Mary G

    November 20, 2019 at 12:06 pm

    Now Castor is yelling at Sondland for not taking notes!

  77. 77.

    Avalune

    November 20, 2019 at 12:06 pm

    @Leto: Also I’m very disappointed. I worked hard to find the link in your broken link only to find it was one of the images you’d already sent me. And not the one with the little girl brutally running over a little boy with her John Deere looking Power Wheels.

  78. 78.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 12:07 pm

    Castor is grasping at straws now.

  79. 79.

    Aleta

    November 20, 2019 at 12:07 pm

    “talk about a drug cocktail”  ??

     

    He misses that personalized buzzer for tea service he required during his million dollar European blowout.

  80. 80.

    Elizabelle

    November 20, 2019 at 12:07 pm

    The trifecta of unreliability because Sondland did not take notes.

    Right.  That will work out well for you, Castor.

     

    Unreliability.  Speculation.  Dirtying up the campaign.

    All they have is squid ink.

  81. 81.

    JGabriel

    November 20, 2019 at 12:07 pm

    It’s kind of amusing watching the GOP try to impeach their own witness.

  82. 82.

    LAO

    November 20, 2019 at 12:07 pm

    More Goldman. Excellent

  83. 83.

    patroclus

    November 20, 2019 at 12:08 pm

    The reason no one bothered to tell them that this was blatant extortion is because they’re all Trump toadies who were merely following his orders to carry out the extortion and because they all wanted Ukraine to get the aid no matter what extortion Trump was insisting on.

  84. 84.

    Leto

    November 20, 2019 at 12:08 pm

    It’s kind of amazing that career foreign professionals, who talk to high level people all the time, can remember the people they spoke with (helps that they all take notes); this dude is like, “Lol, I speak to people all the time, how can I be expected to remember everyone!” It’s like the Alfred E. Newman defense.

    Also Castor’s last question just blew up in his face. Granted, most of his questions blew up in his face, so no difference.

  85. 85.

    Baud

    November 20, 2019 at 12:08 pm

    @Yarrow:

    Oh my. He was defending Trump just last week.  

  86. 86.

    JWR

    November 20, 2019 at 12:09 pm

    @Elizabelle: many jackals are back on the previous thread commenting.

    No kidding! When this post went up, it seemed to be where it was at. Apparently not. Thanks! ;)

  87. 87.

    Leto

    November 20, 2019 at 12:09 pm

    @Avalune: Haha! Ask and you shall receive:

     

    https://images.app.goo.gl/fUMww8aoRmXF5xPC8

  88. 88.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    November 20, 2019 at 12:10 pm

    Holy cow. Sounds like I’m missing a helluva hearing.

  89. 89.

    WereBear

    November 20, 2019 at 12:10 pm

    One of the rules of good writing is how evil sows the seeds of their own destruction.

  90. 90.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    November 20, 2019 at 12:10 pm

    So I just did something I’ve been meaning to do for awhile and watched the two recent Equalizer movies (which are extremely enjoyable and satisfying BTW though over-the-top violent).

     

    As a result I can’t stop wishing Denzel Washington was sitting in Adam Schiff’s seat looking patient until the moment he sighs, starts his watch timer going [*], leaps over the table and starts breaking bones [**]. That approach seemed to solve all problems in the movies.

     

    [*] For some reason Robert McCall (the character) liked to time his fight scenes.

    [**] They used the bone-breaking sound effect a LOT in those films.

  91. 91.

    Just Chuck

    November 20, 2019 at 12:11 pm

    @Baud: Another rat jumping off the ship.

  92. 92.

    Leto

    November 20, 2019 at 12:12 pm

    @Leto:

     

    @Avalune: and of course wrong link, with no edit ability.

    Here: https://images.app.goo.gl/UndGeHByWuMEKxML6

  93. 93.

    Jay C

    November 20, 2019 at 12:13 pm

    I seriously have to wonder: did the HIC Republicans bring Steve Castor on as counsel despite his being an imbecilic doofus, or because of it….?

  94. 94.

    Avalune

    November 20, 2019 at 12:13 pm

    @Leto: And you are replying to yourself. Do I need to send someone to the house to make sure you are ok?

  95. 95.

    Baud

    November 20, 2019 at 12:14 pm

    If Perry is called to testify, he can credibly say he doesn’t recall.

  96. 96.

    Leto

    November 20, 2019 at 12:14 pm

    @WereBear: or how stupid people don’t understand what they’re doing, so of course they sow their own demise. Tomato/topato ?

  97. 97.

    Leto

    November 20, 2019 at 12:17 pm

    @Avalune: only if they bring Thin Mints.

     

    @Baud: make him put his glasses on. He’ll then remember.

  98. 98.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 12:18 pm

    The choices are becoming clear.

    Within a matter of days, Trump admin witnesses are seeing the stark choices between:
    Roger Stone – obstruct, convicted Friday and now facing serious prison time;

    Giuliani – resist and facing a major SDNY probe;

    Gordon Sondland – cooperate and reveal who ordered you to do what.

    — Ari Melber (@AriMelber) November 20, 2019

  99. 99.

    Avalune

    November 20, 2019 at 12:18 pm

    @Leto: That sounds good…they need to bring me some too.

  100. 100.

    Martin

    November 20, 2019 at 12:18 pm

    Well, this isn’t how I thought this was going to go down. I don’t quite understand this strategy. We’re sorta coming clean about everything, but also trying to thread the needle that his previous testimony wasn’t false. I guess they’re presuming that the committee will give him a pass on lying during his deposition if his dirt is dirty enough? Dems need to resolve this in some capacity or else he’s just an unreliable witness.

  101. 101.

    Kent

    November 20, 2019 at 12:18 pm

    Honestly.   Best case scenario for the institutional GOP at this point?   The Senate GOP leadership goes to Trump and convinces him to declare “mission accomplished” and that he isn’t running for re-election in 2020 due to health reasons or whatever excuse they want.  That would totally take the wind out of the sails of impeachment and give the Senate all the cover they would need to acquit him in any impeachment trial (for the good of the Country).

     

    Trump can then spend 2020 going on a MAGA mission accomplished victory tour while the GOP leadership picks who they want to run in 2020 and they get to start planning the post-Trump GOP now, not after a 2020 defeat.

     

    Of course if it makes sense it would never happen.  But the media would fucking fall all over themselves giving a honeymoon and boot licking to any post-Trump candidate who is a fresh face, and basically give the whole GOP a do-over.

     

    But that would be my worst-case scenario for taking back the White House in 2020.

  102. 102.

    Dmbeaster

    November 20, 2019 at 12:19 pm

    @JWR: She is actually excited to say her piece, but will probably not be called by Nunes despite being listed as a witness.

     

    The GOP does not actually want her testimony – just the talking point Chalupa, DNC, Ukraine, dissing Trump in 2016!

     

    Of course, Trump got the Ukranians so worked up in 2016 by changing the GOP platform to delete a reference to supplying the Ukraine with arms in their war with Russia.

  103. 103.

    Quinerly

    November 20, 2019 at 12:20 pm

    @Yarrow: ?

  104. 104.

    Martin

    November 20, 2019 at 12:20 pm

    @Baud: There’s a disappointing lack of Red Bull at the Department of Energy! Save a pretzel for the gas jets! Meat! 

  105. 105.

    germy

    November 20, 2019 at 12:20 pm

    Constitutional lawyer unhappy we might follow the Constitution. https://t.co/55mIASOkIi

    — emptywheel (@emptywheel) November 20, 2019

  106. 106.

    Sister Machine Gun of Quiet Harmony

    November 20, 2019 at 12:20 pm

    @Baud: Oooops!

  107. 107.

    Martin

    November 20, 2019 at 12:21 pm

    @Kent: Best case scenario for the institutional GOP at this point?

    Terrorists flying jets into tall buildings. Everything else is looking catastrophic.

  108. 108.

    germy

    November 20, 2019 at 12:22 pm

    Maggie smells blood.

    President Trump – wait for it – hardly knows the guy (Sondland): “I don’t know him very well. I have not spoken to him much. This is not a man I know well. He seems like a nice guy though.”

    — Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) November 20, 2019

  109. 109.

    Leto

    November 20, 2019 at 12:22 pm

    Nunes: Were you aware that Hillary’s emails ran a pedophile ring out of an invisible pizza parlor in Benghazi with Obama and Tupac, who is still alive by the way, in a plot to steal Christmas and turn it gay?

    Witness: What— The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) November 19, 2019

  110. 110.

    germy

    November 20, 2019 at 12:23 pm

    Please keep Sean Hannity in your thoughts and prayers. This has to be a really difficult day for him.

    — Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) November 20, 2019

  111. 111.

    Mike Furlan

    November 20, 2019 at 12:23 pm

    @cmorenc: “Yes, we did that, and you can’t do ANYTHING about it libs, suck on it.”

     

    A winning strategy since the Presidency of Ronald Reagan (at least).

  112. 112.

    germy

    November 20, 2019 at 12:24 pm

    Ken Starr: "There will be articles of impeachment, I think we've known that … It's over … This is his position, we now know that the president, in fact, committed the crime of bribery … Articles of impeachment are being drawn up if they haven't already been drawn up." pic.twitter.com/82NOwczpej

    — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 20, 2019

  113. 113.

    Martin

    November 20, 2019 at 12:25 pm

    @Ella in New Mexico: Honest to God I can’t figure out what the fuck Castor is trying to accomplish here–are we back to the “Oh, the hearings were so Booorrrrrinng” strategy?

    Castor has minutes to fill and nothing to fill them with. His entire plan for today went out the window during the opening statement. All he can try and do is impeach Sondland, with not a lot to work with.

  114. 114.

    randy khan

    November 20, 2019 at 12:25 pm

    @Baud:

     

    Perry can forget something only if he remembers two other things first

  115. 115.

    Cheryl Rofer

    November 20, 2019 at 12:26 pm

    One for the history books. (? Mark Wilson/Getty Images) pic.twitter.com/unhsYwznA8

    — southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) November 20, 2019

  116. 116.

    Martin

    November 20, 2019 at 12:26 pm

    As something of an authority on the subject, Sondland is a VERY mediocre white male.

  117. 117.

    randy khan

    November 20, 2019 at 12:26 pm

    Dupe comment; deleted.

  118. 118.

    Leto

    November 20, 2019 at 12:27 pm

    @Martin: On the other hand, Dem’s counsel it just destroying it here. Continuing to bring everything out, showing text messages, just bringing all the goods, and having Sondland confirm everything. Can’t wait to see the Pizzagate response from Repubs.

  119. 119.

    germy

    November 20, 2019 at 12:28 pm

    Counsel for minority helpfully brought up that other companies, like Ukranian company Naftogaz, came up in discussions about corruption. Sondland ageed.

    Yet the Ukranians were asked to only investigate 1 company, Burisma, in exchange for White House meeting. Why? To smear Biden. https://t.co/5VB1pnBWO7

    — Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) November 20, 2019

  120. 120.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 12:29 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer:  This photo really is amazing.

  121. 121.

    patroclus

    November 20, 2019 at 12:29 pm

    Just to re-iterate.  Dan Goldman is really good at this. He’s prepared; coherent; he’s driving home salient points; he’s eliciting valuable information; he already knows what the answers are going to be.

  122. 122.

    Avalune

    November 20, 2019 at 12:29 pm

    Since I haven’t really been able to watch, I can only speculate, but every time anyone talks about Nunes it makes me think of Arya Stark’s character who would recite her revenge/kill list every night before she went to sleep.

     

    Pizzagate. Space Aliens. Beghazi. Emails. Uranium…

  123. 123.

    germy

    November 20, 2019 at 12:30 pm

    I came into this at Volker’s request. Sondland is speculating based on VERY little contact. I never met him and had very few calls with him, mostly with Volker.

    Volker testified I answered their questions and described them as my opinions, NOT demands. I.E., no quid pro quo!

    — Rudy Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) November 20, 2019

  124. 124.

    Gin & Tonic

    November 20, 2019 at 12:30 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: That is actually real? Really real?

  125. 125.

    dmsilev

    November 20, 2019 at 12:31 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: You know, I thought at first that that’s for-sure a Photoshop job. Apparently not, it’s really the set of notes Trump had.

  126. 126.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 12:31 pm

    According to NBC liveblog, most Republicans have left the room.
    Still present: Castor, Jordan, Ratcliffe and Stefanik.

  127. 127.

    Cheryl Rofer

    November 20, 2019 at 12:32 pm

    Post Break Thread

  128. 128.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 12:32 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:  Really real.

  129. 129.

    zhena gogolia

    November 20, 2019 at 12:33 pm

    @Kelly:

     

    lol!

  130. 130.

    dmsilev

    November 20, 2019 at 12:33 pm

    @Yarrow: Someone really needs to Photoshop in several repetitions of “All work and no play makes Donald a dull boy”.

  131. 131.

    Cheryl Rofer

    November 20, 2019 at 12:33 pm

    @Gin & Tonic:

    @dmsilev:

    I questioned it at first. That’s why I posted the tweet with the Getty Images photgrapher’s name. Apparently it is real.

  132. 132.

    sukabi

    November 20, 2019 at 12:34 pm

    @Betty Cracker: that look on Nunes face? That’s the face of someone who’s ass just puckered hard enough to make a diamond, an already cut diamond.

  133. 133.

    Gin & Tonic

    November 20, 2019 at 12:34 pm

    @germy: Opinions? “In my opinion, you would really help out the POTUS and grease the way for your Javelins by going on CNN and saying you’re investigating Joe Biden and his son.”

     

    Not a demand, I guess, just an opinion.

  134. 134.

    guachi

    November 20, 2019 at 12:34 pm

    What’s real? I  can’t see tweets at work.

  135. 135.

    dmsilev

    November 20, 2019 at 12:34 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: I’m sure Rudy will be eager to tell the Committee this in person, under oath. Right?

  136. 136.

    Betty Cracker

    November 20, 2019 at 12:35 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: He wrote “I WANT NOTHING” twice. ?

  137. 137.

    Martin

    November 20, 2019 at 12:35 pm

    The great thing here is that Schiff has the authority to keep adding time to the hearing giving each counsel another half hour. There’s literally no downside to doing this. Goldman can do this all day, and Castor just digs the hole deeper.

  138. 138.

    artem1s

    November 20, 2019 at 12:35 pm

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym:

    As a result I can’t stop wishing Denzel Washington was sitting in Adam Schiff’s seat looking patient until the moment he sighs, starts his watch timer going [*], leaps over the table and starts breaking bones [**]. That approach seemed to solve all problems in the movies.

    can’t help but wish for the “Man On Fire” version of these hearings to get started myself.

  139. 139.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 12:35 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer:   It’s in the official Getty Images Twitter thread.

    President #DonaldTrump holds notes while speaking to the media before departing the White House for Texas ?: Mark Wilson #QuidProQuo pic.twitter.com/9Ee3tqKL8Z
    — Getty Images News (@GettyImagesNews) November 20, 2019

  140. 140.

    Leto

    November 20, 2019 at 12:35 pm

    @randy khan: Lol, well played sir ?

  141. 141.

    germy

    November 20, 2019 at 12:36 pm

    Not that it will happen, but the Democrats need to cancel the debate tonight and not big foot what happened with Sondland today, because the shiny object-obsessed media will turn some stupid sound bite into "Dems in disarray".

    I am being totally serious.

    — TBogg (@tbogg) November 20, 2019

  142. 142.

    Raoul

    November 20, 2019 at 12:36 pm

    @Elizabelle: “I think that backfired on Castor.”

     

    Could be said a number of times today. Among other things, Rick Perry should be sweating profusely about now. Certainly his CoS is in hot water.

  143. 143.

    Martin

    November 20, 2019 at 12:36 pm

    @germy: I agree.

  144. 144.

    dmsilev

    November 20, 2019 at 12:37 pm

    @guachi: It’s a photo of the notes Trump had in his hand while talking to the press just now. Written, of course, in Sharpie. First few lines reads:

    I want nothing.

    I want nothing.

    I want no quid pro quo

    which, if nothing else, is a really bad haiku.

  145. 145.

    Elizabelle

    November 20, 2019 at 12:38 pm

    @germy:  Agree 1000% with TBogg.

     

    Postpone that debate.  This is more important, and don’t give the news channels and pundits the chance to change directions.

     

    Was thinking about that this morning, and what a shame the schedule turns out to be.

  146. 146.

    Martin

    November 20, 2019 at 12:38 pm

    Evergreen:

    “This is not a man I know well,” Trump emphasized. “Seems like a nice guy, though.”

  147. 147.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 12:39 pm

    @guachi:  A photo of Trump holding notes for him to say prior to leaving the WH. It says things like, “I want nothing. I want nothing. I want no quid pro quo.” It’s really something.

  148. 148.

    WereBear

    November 20, 2019 at 12:39 pm

    @Jay C:  We’re talking imbecilic doofus all the way down.

  149. 149.

    JWR

    November 20, 2019 at 12:39 pm

    Attempting to embed a tweet, so please, bear with me.

    Case closed ⇨ Ambassador Sondland just testified under oath that he NEVER heard the president say there were conditions on aid to Ukraine.

    Democrats’ smear campaign is falling apart.
    — Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) November 20, 2019

  150. 150.

    Leto

    November 20, 2019 at 12:40 pm

    @Yarrow: Can’t be real. Hand’s too big. /s

  151. 151.

    JaySinWA

    November 20, 2019 at 12:41 pm

    @germy: I just listened to the sound bite, and Ken Starr is seriously misquoted here. He is paraphrasing Adam Schiff’s position. Those ellipses are doing heavy lifting.

    There are others indicating Starr has acknowledged that there is a strong case here, but I haven’t seen the video.

  152. 152.

    PatrickG

    November 20, 2019 at 12:44 pm

    @Cheryl Rofer: My spouse took 45 seconds to believe that was real. When told this was being reported by CNN, she demanded a second source.

    I fully understood her incredulity!

  153. 153.

    Leto

    November 20, 2019 at 12:44 pm

    Wtf is it with Republicans and basements? Dumb dumb talking about their “secret basement testimony”, Pizzagate basement shit… so weird.

  154. 154.

    VeniceRiley

    November 20, 2019 at 12:45 pm

    I think the debate should go forward and all the candidates should square up with each other beforehand and decide what points to push. Name names and talk about what we found out. Praise Adam S. handling of the chair. Spit on Nunez as a deranged conspiracy theorist. All of it.
    That won’t happen, of course.
    Harris should say that she doesn’t mind that particular bus fleet Sondland threw the President under is segregated whites only. *snicker

  155. 155.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 12:45 pm

    @Leto:  What are Republicans doing in their own basements is the real question. Can’t be good.

  156. 156.

    Searcher

    November 20, 2019 at 12:45 pm

    You know what occurred to me?

     

    All of the loyal co-conspirators who were willing to keep their mouths shut went to jail in the first round of investigations.

     

    Everyone left to get pulled into Treason 2: The Treasoning is (a) not nearly as loyal and (b) is looking at all of those loyal conspirators now in prison and saying “No, thanks.”

  157. 157.

    Amir Khalid

    November 20, 2019 at 12:46 pm

    @WereBear:

    doofus

     

    Ahem:

    doofi.

  158. 158.

    Leto

    November 20, 2019 at 12:46 pm

    Dumb dumb is talking about how the president has to “certify” that the foreign aid has to go to “non-corrupt” countries, without talking about how every damn agency (DoD, State, etc…) had already certified that the Ukrainians were good to go. On top of the fact that it wasn’t his to hold up. /smfh

  159. 159.

    Just Chuck

    November 20, 2019 at 12:46 pm

    @dmsilev:

     

    I do not want a quid pro quo,

    I do not want it in the snow.

    I do not know this Volker man,

    I do not know Gordon Sondland.

  160. 160.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 12:46 pm

    Who is this person who’s in charge of foreign aid who testified on Saturday that Nunes keeps talking about?

  161. 161.

    PatrickG

    November 20, 2019 at 12:47 pm

    @dmsilev:

    I want nothing.

    I want nothing.

    I want no quid pro quo

     

    The next sentence should read:

    Do you like green eggs and ham?

  162. 162.

    Amir Khalid

    November 20, 2019 at 12:48 pm

    I’ve been following these hearings only through the Balloon Juice threads. Am I correct to conclude that they are developing not necessarily to the Republicans’ advantage?

  163. 163.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 12:48 pm

    @JWR:  This will be the Republicans’ talking point going forward.

  164. 164.

    Cheryl Rofer

    November 20, 2019 at 12:48 pm

    I figured he would, which is why I took a screenshot.

    Giuliani deleted this pic.twitter.com/hudCQj77PZ

    — Lachlan Markay (@lachlan) November 20, 2019

  165. 165.

    dmsilev

    November 20, 2019 at 12:50 pm

    @PatrickG: Nobody tell Ted Cruz. He hasn’t finished the book yet and we’d hate to spoil the ending for him.

  166. 166.

    Roger Moore

    November 20, 2019 at 12:50 pm

    @germy:

    Not that it will happen, but the Democrats need to cancel the debate tonight and not big foot what happened with Sondland today, because the shiny object-obsessed media will turn some stupid sound bite into “Dems in disarray”.

    I have an even better suggestion: Schiff should just extend the hearing so it overlaps with the debate.  If the Democrats hold a debate and nobody watches because they’re all glued to the impeachment hearings, are they really in disarray?

  167. 167.

    Avalune

    November 20, 2019 at 12:51 pm

    I did not do no quid pro quo

    It’s also lies that I do blow

    It’s all because of lil Schiff

    I cannot help it that I sniff

    It really was a perfect call

    I wanted nothing, nothing at all.

  168. 168.

    Gelfling 545

    November 20, 2019 at 12:52 pm

    @Just Chuck: ????

  169. 169.

    trollhattan

    November 20, 2019 at 12:52 pm

    @dmsilev:

    What would a squid pro quo look or taste like? Are ink-clouds involved?

     

    Why does my auto-fill nym vanish overnight? Does it have a half-life?

  170. 170.

    SFBayAreaGal

    November 20, 2019 at 12:52 pm

    @Ceci n est pas mon nym: You may know this, The Equalizer was a television series before the movies were made.

  171. 171.

    lgerard

    November 20, 2019 at 12:53 pm

    @Yarrow:

     

     

    Mark Sandy, OMB

  172. 172.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    November 20, 2019 at 12:53 pm

    @Yarrow: as in Trump was crying.

  173. 173.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 12:53 pm

    @Roger Moore:  Make the debates online-only and keep the TV covering the hearings. Yesterday they went into prime time. It was long. I think there’s an afternoon portion today so could run long again.

  174. 174.

    WereBear

    November 20, 2019 at 12:54 pm

    @Amir Khalid: LOL

  175. 175.

    Yarrow

    November 20, 2019 at 12:55 pm

    @lgerard: That’s what I figured. Wonder why Nunes wouldn’t say his name? Also, the closed-door session transcripts have been released but it takes longer than a few days. Nunes seems to be grasping at straws.

  176. 176.

    Leto

    November 20, 2019 at 12:55 pm

    @Amir Khalid: Republicans went in thinking they had a royal flush, turns out they were holding Go Fish cards.

  177. 177.

    Raoul

    November 20, 2019 at 12:57 pm

    I know Kristol is a twerp, but I am loving this tweet so damn much.

    Pence going full piano player in the whorehouse. Also, did I miss his expression of confidence that Trump has done nothing wrong?

    @BillKristol  – November 20, 2019

    (Couldn’t get the copy paste of the embed tweet to work. Oh well.)

  178. 178.

    Leto

    November 20, 2019 at 12:58 pm

    Whew, Dumb Dumb is talking about the whistleblower again. I almost forgot the whistleblower! Guys, guys: whistleblower!

     

    /headdesk

  179. 179.

    Martin

    November 20, 2019 at 12:58 pm

    @PatrickG: I think we need to work in ‘I did not want it in Kiev, This thing on my my head is not a weave’

  180. 180.

    patrick II

    November 20, 2019 at 12:59 pm

    Most people here seem happy with Sondland. But I am not so sure. He refuses to say that Trump  directed  him to trade Biden for weapons. Talk to Rudi. Trump is still in the clear.

  181. 181.

    delk

    November 20, 2019 at 12:59 pm

    @Betty Cracker: I think because he ran out room to write ‘nothing’ so he wrote it again and did the same thing.

  182. 182.

    JWR

    November 20, 2019 at 12:59 pm

    Ooo, ooo! Devin is again demanding that they interview the Whistle Blower, who knows all!

  183. 183.

    Richard Guhl

    November 20, 2019 at 1:00 pm

    Is it possible to have a group impeachment for Trump, Pence, Mulvaney, and perhaps, Barr?

    Bribery, extortion, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and abuse of power just speaks of togetherness for these thugs.

  184. 184.

    Elizabelle

    November 20, 2019 at 1:00 pm

    Now Nunes is up saying whistleblower, whistleblower, whistleblower.

    Says it’s the Democrats that have spun the conspiracy theories.  It is such projection.

     

    If only the whistleblower would have testified, Sondland would not be here right now.

     

    FWIW, I looked up Nunes’ bio today.  He is married with 3 young daughters; littlest is 7.  He and his wife Elizabeth are both from the Portuguese/Azores-American community.  She was a schoolteacher when they married.

     

    Surprises me to think of him as a family man.  He is so whack.

  185. 185.

    PsiFighter37

    November 20, 2019 at 1:01 pm

    @patrick II: Perhaps, but so many other senior people were named that someone below them are going to start singing. You can bet the staffs for Oversight, Intelligence and Judiciary are writing up more subpoenas as we speak. I highly doubt SCOTUS is going to get in the way…maybe an optimist but Roberts will tell Gorsuch and Kavanaugh that this is not the hill to die on.

  186. 186.

    eric

    November 20, 2019 at 1:02 pm

    @patrick II: cnn seems to disagree, and that may be all that matters:   LIVE UPDATES In stunning testimony, Sondland ties Trump and top officials to a plan to demand investigations of the Bidens in a quid pro quo

  187. 187.

    Martin

    November 20, 2019 at 1:02 pm

    @Richard Guhl: They can write articles of impeachment for all senate confirmed officials plus VP. Chief of staff is not confirmed, but head of OMB is, so Mulvaney doesn’t get an out.

  188. 188.

    lgerard

    November 20, 2019 at 1:03 pm

    I have to laugh at Sondland lamenting that he wishes he had access to everyone else’s notes.

     

    If I had known what everyone else was going to say, my story would sound a lot better

  189. 189.

    Cheryl Rofer

    November 20, 2019 at 1:04 pm

    @Yarrow: Holmes is scheduled to testify later today.

  190. 190.

    Leto

    November 20, 2019 at 1:05 pm

    @Elizabelle: Dumb Dumb helped to sink the proposed move of intelligence assets from multiple bases to my previous base. Something that had been years in the planning, costing millions of dollars, because he wanted it relocated to the Azores, where no infrastructure existed for it, and it would’ve only benefitted his tiny community, not the actual taxpayers, us. I hate him so much.

  191. 191.

    Dev Null

    November 20, 2019 at 1:10 pm

    @dmsilev: But the last line is the bestest!

    This is the final word from the President of the US.

    E2A: “Pres”, not “President”.

  192. 192.

    Hoodie

    November 20, 2019 at 1:11 pm

    @patrick II: No he’s not in the clear.  You seem to be expecting a Perry Mason moment, which almost never happens.  Everything Sondland is saying is helping draw an evidentiary ring around Trump, when taken in combination with the other testimony and physical evidence.  You have the call record, Sondland confirming that Trump instructed them to talk to Rudy and that Rudy indicated that the announcement of the investigations was required, witnesses like Taylor and Morrison filling in the convenient gaps in Sondland’s memory.  It is frequently the case in criminal conspiracies that you don’t have the Boss explicitly saying “Whack Joey Bananas.”   Sondland was dumb enough to ask Trump directly and, as would be expected, Trump lied because Sondland is just a useful idiot for Trump.  There is a mound of evidence that Trump lies about everything, and his “denial” of the quid pro quo in the call with Sondland is another lie, consistent with the sleazeball character.  If this was a criminal case, no jury would believe him.

  193. 193.

    Aleta

    November 20, 2019 at 1:12 pm

    @lgerard: I only recall what you tell me. 

  194. 194.

    Steve in the ATL

    November 20, 2019 at 1:14 pm

    @trollhattan:

     

    What would a squid pro quo look or taste like?

    Restauranteur agreed not to serve calamari, squid agrees to provide ink for printing menus.

    At least according to a cartoon Bella Q once sent me.

  195. 195.

    Elizabelle

    November 20, 2019 at 1:16 pm

    I think tomorrow’s New York Daily News cover might be one for the record books.

    They are not that fond of Rudy.

  196. 196.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    November 20, 2019 at 1:20 pm

    @Leto: And you thought it was just a coincidence they brought pizza to the basement?

  197. 197.

    Ruckus

    November 20, 2019 at 1:21 pm

    @Leto:

    Thing is, so many of them are in on the con that if one talks, it’s the end.

  198. 198.

    Another Scott

    November 20, 2019 at 1:23 pm

    I heard some of Sondland’s statement and Schiff’s questioning on CSpan Radio this morning.  I haven’t read the threads here yet.

     

    What struck me was that yes, he was naming names and throwing everyone under the bus and blaming lack of cooperation from the White House and State in giving him notes and records of calls and meetings for his mistatements/lies/omissions earlier (“I don’t take notes, that’s just the way I am…”), but he seemed completely oblivious that in trying to do what Rudy and Donnie and Mikey and Ricky wanted (so that the money would be released), he was making a dumpster fire of bipartisan, multi-administration Ukraine policies.

     

    “I was just trying to clear the logjam and getting Zelenskyy to say he was going to have an investigation – he wouldn’t have to actually do it…”

     

    Is he really that clueless??

     

    An Ambassador’s job is to represent the United States, not be a fixer for the narrow political views of an administration.  Having Zelenskyy cut his own throat, and reward Putin and the corrupt oligarchs in Ukraine in the process, in exchange for long-promised aid, was not in the US’s interests.

     

    Grrr…

     

    I hope some of the questions pick up on that important point.

     

    Cheers,

    Scott.

  199. 199.

    Ruckus

    November 20, 2019 at 1:26 pm

    @Leto:

    It’s the con. It’s always the con. If you admit any part was a scam then you’ve admitted all of it is a scam-a con. Remember, they aren’t try to con the left, just enough morons like themselves.

  200. 200.

    Omnes Omnibus

    November 20, 2019 at 1:27 pm

    @Amir Khalid: Shut up, you.  He knows what he’s doing.

  201. 201.

    Leto

    November 20, 2019 at 1:27 pm

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Haha, good point! ?

     

    @Ruckus: I can only hope that this kick to the house of cards is enough, although just like cockroaches, they’ll eventually come back

    Edit: @Ruckus: Totally agree. Roughly 47% of the US is more than willing to accept the con at face value.

  202. 202.

    Matt McIrvin

    November 20, 2019 at 1:40 pm

    @patrick II: The way I see it Trump is in the clear anyway–at least until 2021– because the Senate will never convict him under any circumstances, and there seems to be a weird consensus that he’s above the law otherwise. This is about how much political damage happens to Trump and the Republican brand. I suspect the most it’ll do is keep people not already in the tank from entering it, but there’s a chance that’s enough.

  203. 203.

    Roger Moore

    November 20, 2019 at 1:40 pm

    @Richard Guhl:

    Is it possible to have a group impeachment for Trump, Pence, Mulvaney, and perhaps, Barr?

    Like a RICO-style impeachment?

  204. 204.

    trollhattan

    November 20, 2019 at 1:42 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    Excellent. Perhaps evening entertainment added to venue, consisting of Squidward Tentacles performing interpretive dance and clarinet tunes.

  205. 205.

    mrmoshpotato

    November 20, 2019 at 1:42 pm

    Questioning has resumed, and Schiff has recognized himself for 5 minutes.  Hehe

  206. 206.

    Leto

    November 20, 2019 at 1:44 pm

    @mrmoshpotato: If you don’t recognize yourself, who will?

    I think it was the great Deskcart: I recognize myself, there I speak! ?

  207. 207.

    Redshift

    November 20, 2019 at 1:44 pm

    @Another Scott: I doubt he’s that clueless; more likely he thinks if he plays dumb about those things while throwing the people under the bus about things the Dems really care about, they probably won’t try to have him prosecuted.

  208. 208.

    Cheryl Rofer

    November 20, 2019 at 1:45 pm

    New thread

  209. 209.

    cckids

    November 20, 2019 at 1:45 pm

    @Kent:

     

    Of course if it makes sense it would never happen. But the media would fucking fall all over themselves giving a honeymoon and boot licking to any post-Trump candidate who is a fresh face, and basically give the whole GOP a do-over.

    THIS. Especially if they choose someone like Kasich (sp?) Waaaay too many “centrist” Democrats like him.

  210. 210.

    zhena gogolia

    November 20, 2019 at 1:46 pm

    This is like some horrible existential torture — every time I have a few minutes free and could watch uninterrupted, it’s Nunes!

  211. 211.

    mrmoshpotato

    November 20, 2019 at 1:47 pm

    Nunes trying to summarize and “Of course you can correct me if I get it wrong.” The jokes write themselves.

  212. 212.

    sdhays

    November 20, 2019 at 1:48 pm

    @Baud: Perry will confess to everything, summing up with “Oops!”.

  213. 213.

    Zinsky

    November 20, 2019 at 1:53 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: I wish these GOP jerks WOULD subpoena Alexandra Chalupa!  From what I read, she is fiesty as Hell and would rip these room temperature IQ losers a new sphincter!

  214. 214.

    mrmoshpotato

    November 20, 2019 at 1:59 pm

    @sdhays: “There was no quid pro quo.  There was no quid pro quo.”

    *is shown all of the evidence of a quid pro quo*

    “Oops!”

  215. 215.

    mrmoshpotato

    November 20, 2019 at 2:00 pm

    @zhena gogolia: LOL What Powerball numbers should we pick tonight?

  216. 216.

    patroclus

    November 20, 2019 at 2:01 pm

    To address patrick’s point above, no I am not “happy” with Sondland.  He helped execute Trump’s extortion scheme and he has also adopted the defense that he didn’t realize that investigating Burisma equated (for Trump) smearing the Bidens.  And, as you point out, he has refused to implicate Trump with a “smoking gun” recollection of a specific direction to engage in the extortion.  All of this is not good.

     

    Nonetheless, he has provided key testimony – direct testimony concerning Trump himself and not hearsay – that confirms everything everyone else has been saying.  And he has implicated everyone – Trump, Pompeo, Mulvaney, Pence and, of course, Guiliani in the scheme.  In Watergate analogies, this was a “John Dean” moment – direct testimony from someone intimately involved – and not merely a Hugh Sloane or Jeb McGruber moment.  John Dean testified in June of 1973 – the impeachment hearings didn’t happen until summer 1974.  And the “smoking gun June 23, 1972 tape” was not released until August 1974.  John Dean directed Nixon’s cover-up for 9 months; Sondland directed Trump’s extortion scheme for a few months.

     

    Sondland’s testimony has advanced the investigation significantly, but you’re right that we’re not there yet.  More needs to be done – Bolton’s testimony, I suspect, will be key.

  217. 217.

    artem1s

    November 20, 2019 at 2:04 pm

    @patroclus:

     

    Bolton’s testimony, I suspect, will be key.

    I’ll take it. it’s still a better ending than Twilight.

  218. 218.

    sdhays

    November 20, 2019 at 2:27 pm

    @mrmoshpotato: There was no quid pro…umm. I forgot the third part of that. Oops!”

  219. 219.

    Gravenstone

    November 20, 2019 at 2:33 pm

    @dmsilev: “No puppet! No puppet! You’re the puppet!” re-framed for 2019.

  220. 220.

    Another Scott

    November 20, 2019 at 2:40 pm

    @PatrickG:

    It really is flabbergasting.

    What’s worse is that he referred to it multiple times in the video clip.

    :-/

    (I had the sound off.)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  221. 221.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    November 20, 2019 at 2:55 pm

    (probably dead thread, but…)

     

    @SFBayAreaGal: Sure. And I was a big fan of the TV show back in the day. But I was curious about the movie treatment and what Denzel would be like in contrast to Edward Woodward.

  222. 222.

    Dan B

    November 20, 2019 at 4:00 pm

    @JWR: Even moar unbewievable is it’s a cloudless sunny day in Seattle!  Seattle mole people are cursing and screaming at the burning devil in the sky!!

     

    Actually we’ve had a week of mostly cloudy to completely overcast.  Oscar The Kat was rolling around on Tikal, our sunny back terrace for ten minutes in unrestrained bliss.

     

    P.S. Good to hear you’re getting some precip.

  223. 223.

    Dan B

    November 20, 2019 at 5:18 pm

    @Avalune: Poetry SLAM!

     

    Is this a sign of an Unstable Genius mind?

     

    Thank me later.  /

  224. 224.

    Uncle Cosmo

    November 20, 2019 at 5:26 pm

    @Yarrow: Nah, they stuffed him full of “freedom fries” – he was intuberated.

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