Separate rumors are floating that Democrats and Republicans want to delay the vote to enthrone Donald Trump I until next week. I can see why Democrats might want to do this, but not Republicans. The State of the Union is scheduled for next Tuesday, February 4, and I would think they would want King Donald I to take a victory lap. I see Mistermix has already speculated on this.
Archives for January 2020
Breaking: John Bolton Tries To Get Himself Out of His Self Constructed Bind
The New York Times has just reported new information regarding the President’s attempt to extort Ukrainian President Zelensky to announce an investigation into the Bidens in exchange for both US military and other aid, as well as a White House visit.
EXCLUSIVE: Bolton book contains new, earlier, allegation of Trump's involvement in pressure campaign. Trump asked Bolton to call Zelensky to ensure he would meet w/Giuliani. Cipollone and Mulvaney were in room. w/@maggieNYT https://t.co/8lZaG4zbfu
— Michael S. Schmidt (@nytmike) January 31, 2020
From The New York Times (emphasis mine):
WASHINGTON — More than two months before he asked Ukraine’s president to investigate his political opponents, President Trump directed John R. Bolton, then his national security adviser, to help with his pressure campaign to extract damaging information on Democrats from Ukrainian officials, according to an unpublished manuscript by Mr. Bolton.
Mr. Trump gave the instruction, Mr. Bolton wrote, during an Oval Office conversation in early May that included the acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, the president’s personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani and the White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, who is now leading the president’s impeachment defense.
Mr. Trump told Mr. Bolton to call Volodymyr Zelensky, who had recently won election as president of Ukraine, to ensure Mr. Zelensky would meet with Mr. Giuliani, who was planning a trip to Ukraine to discuss the investigations that the president sought, in Mr. Bolton’s account. Mr. Bolton never made the call, he wrote.
The previously undisclosed directive that Mr. Bolton describes would be the earliest known instance of Mr. Trump seeking to harness the power of the United States government to advance his pressure campaign against Ukraine, as he later did on the July call with Mr. Zelensky that triggered a whistle-blower complaint and impeachment proceedings. House Democrats have accused him of abusing his authority and are arguing their case before senators in the impeachment trial of Mr. Trump, whose lawyers have said he did nothing wrong.
The account in Mr. Bolton’s manuscript portrays the most senior White House advisers as early witnesses in the effort that they have sought to distance the president from. And disclosure of the meeting underscores the kind of information Democrats were looking for in seeking testimony from his top advisers in their impeachment investigation, including Mr. Bolton and Mr. Mulvaney, only to be blocked by the White House.
While all of the reporting and the reporters on this are focusing on what does this mean for today’s/this evening’s votes. Specifically whether this will force the votes on motions to bring witnesses and then to dismiss the impeachment charges against the President back until sometime over the weekend or next week. While that reporting is interesting, it misses the larger point: John Bolton’s information has a shelf life. And we are fast approaching that information passing it’s use by date.
Bolton’s information and use as a fact witness who directly observed what the President and other members of his senior staff – Chief of Staff Mulvaney, VP Pence, WH Counsel Cippolone, and others – has a limited shelf life. That information only has value if he can get it out before the Senate dismisses the impeachment charges against the President. Once the Senate dismisses the impeachment charges, his book is going to fail its pre-publication classification review, because it will be made to fail it’s pre-publication classification review in order to keep it from ever seeing the light of day. The person overseeing that review, National Security Council Counsel John Eisenberg is one of White House Counsel Pat Cipollone’s deputies. Bolton will likely sue to force his book to be approved, which is the normal response to these things, and that suit will be resolved several years from now. While that suit drags on, as soon as the Senate dismisses the impeachment charges against the President, the President will have AG Barr go after him the way that Deputy FBI Director McCabe and others have been targeted. Bolton’s only chance now is to get ahead of what’s coming. And that chance has a very quickly oncoming expiration date.
Today just went sideways for Senator McConnell, the President, and Pat Cipollone whose long suspected complicity and involvement in all of this has now been further exposed to the light of day. The question is whether Senator McConnell can regain his footing to do what we all know he is planning on doing.
Open thread!
Breaking: John Bolton Tries To Get Himself Out of His Self Constructed BindPost + Comments (42)
My Girlfriend on the Side
I mentioned this on twitter the other day, but every time I go to the big city, on my way home I drive by a couple of dogs who are sometimes tied outside. Nothing abusive, in that they are not out 24/7, just inside dogs tied out for a little bit. At any rate, I always stop and pet them and hug them and tell them they are good dogs, and today I decided I would take a picture of my favorite:
Just the sweetest dog I have ever met this side of Lily. I love her so much.
I do wonder what I am going to say when I am inevitably caught by the owner as I hug their dog in their front yard with my car still running in the middle of the road, but we will cross that bridge when we get to it.
Drippity Do Dah
The latest is that the final impeachment vote could be delayed until the middle of next week, after the SOTU.
If I were a Republican putting party over country (is that redundant?), I would be of two minds on that. First, if Trump skates today, the notion that his SOTU could be summarized as anything but “boo-yah, suck on that Nancy” are dim, and only his advisors Al, Dan and Van (Adderall, Percodan and Ativan) really know what else he would say once he feels that he got away with it. Better to still have him in the dock so he reads the prompter.
On the other hand, the minute Trump is acquitted, the value of the Bolton revelations are diminished, since there’s no possibility that they can be used as leverage against Collins, McSally, et. al.
So yeah, it’s hard out there for the traitorous Republican Senators, but don’t worry, their retirement wingnut welfare jobs are totally safe.
GOP Embraces Jury Nullification
Ignore Lamar’s “let the people decide” bullshit, what he is actually doing has a name, and it is jury nullification:
“There is no need for more evidence to prove that the president asked Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter; he said this on television on October 3, 2019, and during his July 25, 2019, telephone call with the president of Ukraine. There is no need for more evidence to conclude that the president withheld United States aid, at least in part, to pressure Ukraine to investigate the Bidens; the House managers have proved this with what they call a ‘mountain of overwhelming evidence.’ There is no need to consider further the frivolous second article of impeachment that would remove the president for asserting his constitutional prerogative to protect confidential conversations with his close advisers.
“It was inappropriate for the president to ask a foreign leader to investigate his political opponent and to withhold United States aid to encourage that investigation. When elected officials inappropriately interfere with such investigations, it undermines the principle of equal justice under the law. But the Constitution does not give the Senate the power to remove the president from office and ban him from this year’s ballot simply for actions that are inappropriate.
What is before the Senate is not a vote on the appropriateness of the House articles of impeachment, but whether or not Trump is guilty of that which he has been accused, and you’re not even contesting that. You’re just going to vote against removing him because IOKIYAR.
Faster Faster Disaster
Lamar Alexander’s rationale for the preordained conclusion that will probably be ratified today is that Trump’s behavior was “inappropriate” but didn’t rise to an impeachable offense. “Inappropriate” is what a high school teacher tells a student cussing in class. It’s what a manager tells an employee who wears jeans on a day that isn’t casual Friday. It’s not the word for the rampant criminal activity perpetrated in this White House.
We all know that the next time Republicans control the House, a Democratic President will be impeached, for something. And we know that if a Democrat wins the White House, he or she will be picked to death about minutiae like clothing, attitude and perceived slights. We know that having a Senate majority will mean that some of our agenda will get passed, but not all, because some of the same Democrats who appear poised to vote to acquit Trump have to appease Republicans.
And all this in a country with a clear majority wanting the Democrats to rule. As the X-rays clearly show, this was broken long ago — the vote to acquit will just make it clear to everyone: IOKIYAR is the law of the land.
Friday Morning Open Thread: Really?
I’m watching the trial. They take a break. She calls. How was your day she asks. I say all good. I say how was your day, what you been up to? She says “really”? pic.twitter.com/UyvNb0UC3S
— Douglas Emhoff (@douglasemhoff) January 30, 2020
That awkward feeling when you’re a Supreme Court Justice that just got #warrened by @ewarren. pic.twitter.com/CiYa9OHjfb
— Adam Mordecai (@advodude) January 30, 2020
Warren’s best mom voice: I’m not mad at you, I’m just very, very disappointed with you.
And I missed this, Wednesday:
Omg, Kamala Harris incorporated a quote from the Access Hollywood tape into her question pic.twitter.com/UVOUWYzHFI
— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) January 29, 2020
This is indeed a very dangerous situation in terms of our democracy, but it is still not a dictatorship. Do not minimize the power that taking back the House has given us. It has prevented more damage to healthcare & has facilitated investigations.
— Mangy Jay (@magi_jay) January 30, 2020
I’d also just point out that most of the military and state security services f*cking loathe the guy, which ain’t exactly ideal conditions for seizing power indefinitely. https://t.co/VjlDAfBYjZ
— Peter Wolf (@peterawolf) January 30, 2020
One of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen from the WSJ Editorial Board—and I’ve read it for 15 years straight.
This isn’t even within the bounds of reasonable disagreement. It’s just stupid. https://t.co/93dKLbysAD— Heath Mayo (@HeathMayo) January 30, 2020
For a country that survived the wholly necessary and tragic Civil War, to say we can’t sacrifice a corrupt and greedy official because facing the partisan divide would be too challenging is quite something. https://t.co/COYxBdfMm7
— Impeachable if Not Memorable (@FlyingMezerkis) January 31, 2020
“Did you take Professor Dershowitz’s class at Harvard Law?”
“No. That’s why my arguments are cogent.”
Here’s Chuck Schumer bodying Alan Dershowitz at the end of this morning’s news conference pic.twitter.com/ln1e13W6H7— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 30, 2020
Friday Morning Open Thread: <em>Really?</em>Post + Comments (105)