Open Thread| Questions That Should Be Answered During These Impeachment Investigations

Posted on September 30, 2019 by rikyrah

Now that impeachment is upon us, the strategy going forward is important.

I appreciated this comment on another blog:

jziglar •
I think that some of the liberal pundit people on twitter who are saying that democrats should not narrowly focus on the Ukraine issue for impeachment are wrong. Nancy and many in the caucus are right to have a narrow focus because the Ukraine scandal is very easy to understand and it’s concrete. You want to make a simple case to the public which clearly demonstrates abuse of power and the violation of the law. If you start adding the hush money payments and all this other stuff then you will clutter the main message and the case. Just keep it simple and focused on the issue that has the most impact, and the easiest to understand. If these people believe that they are so good at politics and have all the answers then maybe they should run for office and show us how good they are instead of always criticizing Democrats.

There is enough in the Whistleblower complaint, and the tentacles that seem to be coming from it to make a very compelling case for impeachment.

Committee Chairman Adam Schiff has already stated that they will be working through the Congressional recess. To that end, there have been a list of folks, including Secretary of State Pompeo, who have been subpoenaed.

There are a lot of moving parts right now, but, just so you don’t forget, here’s a list of things to remember about this bit of criminality:

1. The list of people, according to the Whistleblower, who knew.
2. This includes the Attorney General
3. Lawyers on the White House Counsel Staff
4. The Vice President
5. Who was paying Rudy Guiliani? Was he presented as a formal representative of the United States? Was the State Department aiding and abetting Rudy?
6. There is a PRIVATE SERVER where things that aren’t supposed to be on it, have been moved there TO HIDE THEM FROM THE REST OF THE GOVERNMENT!
7. Who knew about the server?
8. What is on the server?
9. Before this story broke, Rudy was peddling stories about the Bidens and China. IS THIS the reason why we can’t broker a trade deal with the Chinese? Has he been holding up and threatening these tariffs because the Chinese won’t ‘investigate’ the Bidens? Could the reason why American farmers have lost precious markets in China-that won’t come back anytime soon, if ever, is because he was trying to use the tariffs as some sort of club to get the Chinese to do his bidding for his 2020 campaign?
10. Don’t forget the threats on the Whistleblower’s life that have been made.

 

 

The Pompeo subpoena demands documents by Oct. 4 >>> pic.twitter.com/lpCCDhBMa5
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) September 27, 2019

And the committee has set a schedule of 5 depositions:
October 2: Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch
October 3: Ambassador Kurt Volker
October 7: Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent
October 8: Counselor T. Ulrich Brechbuhl
October 10: Ambassador Gordon Sondland
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) September 27, 2019

Manu Raju (@mkraju) Tweeted:
Impeachment inquiry taking shape: Michael Atkinson, the intelligence community’s inspector general, will hold a closed briefing for the House Intel Committee next Friday. And new subpoenas today to Pompeo and State over Ukraine and Rudy https://t.co/gxgGPlwbo9 https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1177695390625357824?s=17

Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) Tweeted:
NEW: Former Trump official confirms that WH started placing Trump call transcripts into NSC’s codeword system—effectively concealing them—sometime after Mexico, Australia transcript leaks in 2017.
Experts say doing that poses whole host of natsec risks. https://t.co/WpcngAUS1K

And, while some in the media,CNN, cough cough, are trying to whitewash history😠😠😠

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115 Responses to Open Thread| Questions That Should Be Answered During These Impeachment Investigations

  4. eliihass says:
    October 1, 2019 at 5:03 pm

    And this is how a man ought to protect and demand respect for his wife.. No matter how ‘strong’ she’s perceived to be.. Good for Harry for actively looking out for his wife …At least his wife (and kid) isn’t permanently traumatized and damagingly immortalized on YouTube as a ‘tranny’ …’born a man’ with ‘rented kids’.. etc.

    https://twitter.com/caitlinmoran/status/1179125491187486721?s=20

    Reply
    • rikyrah says:
      October 1, 2019 at 5:06 pm

      👏👏👏👏

      Reply
    • eliihass says:
      October 1, 2019 at 5:26 pm

      “..There is a human cost to this relentless propaganda, specifically when it is knowingly false and malicious, and though we have continued to put on a brave face …I cannot begin to describe how painful it has been. Because in today’s digital age, press fabrications are repurposed as truth across the globe. One day’s coverage is no longer tomorrow’s chip-paper.

      There comes a point when the only thing to do is to stand up to this behavior, because it destroys people and destroys lives…”

      Reply
  10. rikyrah says:
    October 1, 2019 at 12:15 pm

    Marcus H. Johnson (@marcushjohnson) Tweeted:
    An article that I’d like to see in a major publication-the progressive left movement has defined itself as the true champions of the marginalized. Why have their most prominent candidates had so much trouble attracting Black voters-the most marginalized demo in America? https://twitter.com/marcushjohnson/status/1179011262111522816?s=17

    Reply
  11. rikyrah says:
    October 1, 2019 at 12:13 pm

    Marcus H. Johnson (@marcushjohnson) Tweeted:
    Polls do matter, and it is clear Bernie has fallen at Warren’s expense. Warren is now clearly 2nd behind Biden. Both Warren and Bernie still have major unanswered questions about their performance in the south and with Black voters. https://t.co/KT9Ht2exR8 https://twitter.com/marcushjohnson/status/1179059499069591553?s=17

    Reply
  12. rikyrah says:
    October 1, 2019 at 12:05 pm

    What lie told🤔🤔🤔

    Marcus H. Johnson (@marcushjohnson) Tweeted:
    I think the truth is that the progressive left movement in America as currently constituted is not anything close to a working class movement. Its a discontent movement of college educated up/middle class whites who thought they’d be wealthier than their parents. Big difference https://twitter.com/marcushjohnson/status/1179013302728482816?s=17

    Reply
  13. rikyrah says:
    October 1, 2019 at 9:38 am

    So proud of US 👏👏👏

    Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) Tweeted:
    Trump approval rating by race in new Quinnipiac poll:

    White:
    49% approve
    45% disapprove

    Black:
    2% approve
    92% disapprove

    Hispanic:
    30% approve
    67% disapprove https://twitter.com/ryanstruyk/status/1178751723671883776?s=17

    Reply
  14. rikyrah says:
    October 1, 2019 at 9:34 am

    I can’t stand this con-man, but broken clock and all😒😒

    https://twitter.com/gtconway3d/status/1178842071379185667

    Reply
  15. rikyrah says:
    October 1, 2019 at 9:31 am

    😒😒😒

    Jim Acosta (@Acosta) Tweeted:
    A GOP congressional aide said there is a sense that things are heading in a bad direction for Trump: “We are entering a phase with a lot of unknowns. People are anxious about what else is out there,” the aide said about growing feeling among Republicans staffers and lawmakers. https://twitter.com/Acosta/status/1178817540941914117?s=17

    Reply
  19. rikyrah says:
    October 1, 2019 at 9:20 am

    Secretary of State Pompeo took part in Trump-Ukraine phone call at center of impeachment inquiry

    Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was on the July 25 phone call where President Donald Trump asked Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, a senior State Department official told NBC News. The phone call and a related whistleblower complaint are now at the center of House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.

    Reply
  20. rikyrah says:
    October 1, 2019 at 9:19 am

    This is a good segment by Maddow:

    Trump fixation on exonerating Russia entangles Barr, Pompeo

    Rachel Maddow reports on Donald Trump’s unusual fixation with finding reasons to undo sanctions on Russia for the annexation of Crimea and interference in the 2016 election, to the point where he is now reportedly sending Attorney General William Barr overseas to seek help in discrediting the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusions about Russia’s role in 2016.

    Reply
  21. rikyrah says:
    October 1, 2019 at 9:12 am

    Trump, allies peddle bogus claim about changed whistleblower rules
    10/01/19 09:20 AM—UPDATED 10/01/19 09:32 AM
    By Steve Benen

    Yesterday morning, Donald Trump, playing the role of a confused low-information voter, published an all-caps question to Twitter. Adjusting its punctuation, the missive read, “Who changed the long standing whistleblower rules just before submittal of the fake whistleblower report?” (In reality, the complaint from the intelligence community’s whistleblower is anything but “fake.”)

    A day earlier, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) appeared on CBS News’ Face the Nation and asked rhetorically, “What’s going on here? Why did they change the rules about a whistleblower you can use hearsay when you could not just weeks before the complaint?”

    At a certain level, this is a fascinating case study in the ways in which far-right propaganda can start out on a far-right website and then spread like a virus to the Oval Office. It’s also, of course, the latest example, of some of the nation’s most power Republicans peddling nonsense to the public. As a Washington Post fact-check piece explained, the apoplexy appears to stem from a change to the form intelligence community whistleblowers can fill out.

    The original report in the Federalist focused on a change in the form, suggesting it was somehow related to the recent whistleblower case. There is no evidence that is correct.

    In any case, the IG’s process for handling whistleblower allegations is determined not by a form but by the law and related policy documents. The key document, ICD 120, has been virtually unchanged since 2014. Contrary to the speculation, the whistleblower used the 2018 form, not the new online form. The IG then investigated and found that his allegations were credible and that Congress should be notified.

    The president seized on reports on the form to falsely claim the rules for whistleblowers were changed just before the whistleblower’s report was submitted in August. That’s false and worthy of Four Pinocchios.

    Reply
  22. rikyrah says:
    October 1, 2019 at 8:51 am

    Clinton haters are angry about her recent appearances because they are too consumed by their personal hatred for Hillary to admit she warned us about everything we’d see in a Trump presidency. https://t.co/EAZSzDKAHm

    — Ragnarok Lobster (@eclecticbrotha) October 1, 2019

    Reply
  24. rikyrah says:
    October 1, 2019 at 7:37 am

    That’s what I call a SUGAR DADDY 😂😂 😂

    https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1178992319783215104

    Reply
    • eliihass says:
      October 1, 2019 at 6:33 pm

      “..swimsuit model says she became romantically involved with Saad Hariri after meeting him in the Seychelles.. the two met in the Seychelles in 2013, when Hariri was between terms as prime minister and managing the family business.

      Van der Merwe was 19 years old when she was reportedly recruited in 2012 to visit a resort in the archipelago country “frequented by some of the richest private individuals in the world” and to where models were brought from overseas “to lend a sense of glamour and exclusivity.”

      Van der Merwe made numerous additional trips to the Seychelles and in May 2013 received $15,299,965 from a Lebanese bank. She also received two luxury cars worth over $250,000, which her lawyer said were bought by the same “extremely well-to-do Middle Eastern gentleman” who transferred her the money.

      “Love you my Saad :),” she was quoted writing in an email in which she gave Hariri her bank account information.

      When tax inspectors began looking into the money transfer, van der Merwe argued it was a gift and a bank official said “the sender and beneficiary are boyfriend/girlfriend and are currently together in the Seychelles.”

      Authorities reportedly doubted her claim that the money was a gift and suspected it was intended for her father, a businessman who has feuded with tax inspectors, leading them to charge income tax on the transfer and freeze her accounts.

      Hariri then sent her another $1 million to help with her legal bills and living expenses.

      Van der Merwe eventually reached a settlement with the tax authorities but in January sued for $65 million over the investigation into her finances. She asserted that the legal saga and surrounding publicity hurt her career and caused the end of her relationship with Hariri.

      “The plaintiff’s relationship with Mr. Hariri was terminated, which resulted in the loss of financial benefits that would have accrued to her from the relationship if it had been allowed to persist without outside interference,” the lawsuit reportedly says..”

      https://www.timesofisrael.com/lebanese-pm-gave-over-16-million-to-south-african-model-report/

      Reply
    • eliihass says:
      October 1, 2019 at 6:44 pm

      https://static.timesofisrael.com/www/uploads/2017/11/hariri-1-640×400.jpg

      Hariri with his wife of 21 years and their son meeting Macron and wife at the Elysee palace..

      Reply
  26. rikyrah says:
    October 1, 2019 at 7:35 am

    Say it for the bleachers 👏👏👏

    meta (@metaquest) Tweeted:
    The reason Trump is still working hard spending our money to refute accepted facts about the Russian attack on our 2016 election is because he’s desperate to lift sanctions. That was part of Putin’s bargain and Trump is spreading this lunacy in an attempt to rescue Putin’s cash. https://twitter.com/metaquest/status/1178989879994109953?s=17

    Reply
  27. rikyrah says:
    October 1, 2019 at 7:34 am

    This is not good news 😲😲😲

    Michael O’Grady (@mog7546) Tweeted:
    315 billion-tonne iceberg breaks off Antarctica

    The scale of the berg means it will have to be monitored and tracked because it could in future pose a hazard to shipping.

    #MOG
    #ClimateChange
    https://t.co/ynrKAXZfW8 https://twitter.com/mog7546/status/1178852765499564032?s=17

    Reply
  28. rikyrah says:
    October 1, 2019 at 7:33 am

    Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) Tweeted:
    According to FEC Chair Ellen Weintraub, a Republican commissioner’s effort to block a draft memo on prohibited foreign national electoral activity from being included in the FEC’s weekly publication led to it being withheld from the public. https://t.co/90PqIhiaJ9 https://twitter.com/CREWcrew/status/1178988235365769217?s=17

    Reply
  29. rikyrah says:
    October 1, 2019 at 7:33 am

    Bianca isn’t pretending to be a Black Woman (@JFakhredin) Tweeted:
    I don’t like Michael Moore.

    He’s like an old rich white guy who fancies himself the “blue collar working stiff” yet hasn’t done a hard day of labor in 40 years.

    I also feel like he promotes the fantasy that Trump won on economic anxiety & minimizes how racist MAGA voters are. https://twitter.com/JFakhredin/status/1178958075182497793?s=17

    Reply
  38. eliihass says:
    September 30, 2019 at 5:51 pm

    A wise person contends that every day is for the thief, but one day will be for the owner of the house..

    Do we dare hope that this sudden spate of treasonous-collusion unraveling, signals that after years of brazen criminality playing out before our eyes, by Vlad’s very own personally installed and beholden treasonous buffoon and cohort …insanely, at the helm of America’s awesome power, instruments, state secrets.. that we the people/the owners, finally get our day.. that our day is finally here..

    Do we dare hope..

    And do we dare hope that the media does not, in true form, step all over the smoking gun(s).. by muddying the waters as usually… and to preserve their lucrative gigs, access and future book deals, once again step in to play save the poor, poor, traitorous ‘victim’.. and continue to run interference on behalf of a treasonous buffoon..

    Do we dare hope that Dems don’t blow this..

    And do we dare hope that even after we successfully indict this treasonous criminal infestation wreaking havoc in the people’s house, that Dems do not in fact end up killing off themselves in a circular firing squad in pursuit of power for self-serving, personal political ambition … each destroying the other in a bid to elevate ones preferred mediocre candidate .. and while at it, snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.. as always..

    Do we dare hope that we get it right this time..

    Reply
  39. eliihass says:
    September 30, 2019 at 4:42 pm

    Does anyone ever wonder what happened to wunderboy Matt Whitaker …One minute he’s the chest-pounding, see me roar, raucous designated bull in the china shop.. And next ..poof.. just like that, he’s not only gone.. he’s literally fallen off the face of the earth..

    🤔

    Reply
  40. rikyrah says:
    September 30, 2019 at 4:28 pm

    THREAD

    There’s confusion about whether a House impeachment compels a Senate trial. This is in part because it’s actually confusing. But it’s also b/c people are actually addressing a variety of different questions/issues. In this thread, I’m going to mostly clarify the *questions.* 1/

    — Matt Glassman (@MattGlassman312) September 29, 2019

    https://twitter.com/MattGlassman312/status/1178325769724018689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    Reply
  41. eliihass says:
    September 30, 2019 at 4:02 pm

    https://twitter.com/Madebymandyb/status/1178774628027785218?s=20

    @RPintka
    Replying to @tribelaw
    Pray he doesn’t lob a bomb at Iran! He’s at the breaking point.

    Reply
  42. rikyrah says:
    September 30, 2019 at 4:01 pm

    News from the past 30 mins:

    – Rudy Giuliani subpoenaed.
    – WSJ: Mike Pompeo was on Trump’s Ukraine call.
    – NYT: Trump pushed Australian prime minister to help with probe he wants to undermine the Russia investigation.

    Happy Monday!

    — Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) September 30, 2019

    Reply
  47. eliihass says:
    September 30, 2019 at 3:42 pm

    But he swore he was ‘innocent’ and would be ‘cleared’…🤔

    https://twitter.com/AndreaNikischer/status/1178756677035872256?s=20

    Reply
  49. rikyrah says:
    September 30, 2019 at 12:26 pm

    .@RepAlGreen and @RepMaxineWaters have been saying from the beginning that impeachment proceedings need to start. It was because of their foresight and vision that we are here today. pic.twitter.com/BwZbCmpyRO— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) September 29, 2019

    Reply
  53. rikyrah says:
    September 30, 2019 at 9:50 am

    Uh huh 😒

    Just the numbers there, in black and white

    https://twitter.com/notcapnamerica/status/1178671332088832001

    Reply
  56. rikyrah says:
    September 30, 2019 at 9:47 am

    🤔🤔🤔🤔

    Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) Tweeted:
    Trump is panicking tonight and tweeting about “civil war” if he’s removed from office. It tells us one very important, immediate thing: He’s not convinced McConnell’s Senate won’t vote to convict him. https://twitter.com/BFriedmanDC/status/1178486008750465025?s=17

    Reply
  57. rikyrah says:
    September 30, 2019 at 9:45 am

    Lynn V (@lynnv378) Tweeted:
    I didn’t realize just how much I needed to see someone defend Hillary against the attacks she faced. I’ve waited since 2015/2016. To have someone like Kamala Harris give a loud voice to what little old unimportant accounts like mine have been saying since then means a lot. https://twitter.com/lynnv378/status/1178449090969051137?s=17

    Reply
  58. rikyrah says:
    September 30, 2019 at 9:43 am

    😂😂😂

    The Hoarse Whisperer (@HoarseWisperer) Tweeted:
    Trump is flailing like a blindfolded drunk swinging at a piñata.

    13 tweets in two hours and counting. https://twitter.com/HoarseWisperer/status/1178673209593487360?s=17

    Reply
  61. rikyrah says:
    September 30, 2019 at 9:40 am

    👏👏👏👏

    Somebody (@sogreat1989) Tweeted:
    For every single person who says Kamala Harris would be a great AG I’m going to say Elizabeth Warren would make a great Secretary of Treasury. https://twitter.com/sogreat1989/status/1178668250462392323?s=17

    Reply
    • Liza says:
      September 30, 2019 at 9:45 am

      Both statements are true.

      Some of the presidential candidates most definitely should be considered for high level positions including Beto, Pete, Julian, etc…They are good people.

      Reply
      • Liza says:
        September 30, 2019 at 9:57 am

        I might also add that rebuilding the decimated Department of Justice will be one of the most important issues facing the next administration.

        Reply
  64. rikyrah says:
    September 30, 2019 at 9:33 am

    Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) Tweeted:
    As the impeachment inquiry unfolds, always remember that cornered animals are the most dangerous. https://twitter.com/joncoopertweets/status/1178514185140998144?s=17

    Reply
  67. rikyrah says:
    September 30, 2019 at 9:12 am

    Elaine Luria (@ElaineLuriaVA) Tweeted:
    🚨PSA🚨: “Fox News has learned that the Pentagon, State Department, and National Security Council were ‘unanimous’ in supporting the aid to Ukraine, and that Trump acted alone in withholding the aid over the summer.”

    https://t.co/3SMkjyEaxk https://twitter.com/ElaineLuriaVA/status/1178485025999904769?s=17

    Reply
  68. rikyrah says:
    September 30, 2019 at 9:10 am

    Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) Tweeted:
    Scott Pelley on CBS just now: “@60Minutes has obtained a letter that indicates” the whistleblower “is under federal protection — because he or she fears for their safety.” https://twitter.com/brianstelter/status/1178455706552426501?s=17

    Reply
  70. rikyrah says:
    September 30, 2019 at 9:02 am

    😒😒😒

    Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) Tweeted:
    MOSCOW, Sept 30 (Reuters) – The Kremlin said on Monday that Washington would need Russian consent to publish transcripts of phone calls between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. https://twitter.com/carlquintanilla/status/1178657775439757312?s=17

    Reply
  72. rikyrah says:
    September 30, 2019 at 9:00 am

    😂😂😂

    Angela Davis (@TheKitchenista) Tweeted:
    Made the mistake of asking my daughter to help organize my shoes. She held up two pairs of wedges and simply said “Explain these.” Use birth control guys. https://twitter.com/TheKitchenista/status/1178337458980872192?s=17

    Reply
  74. rikyrah says:
    September 30, 2019 at 8:55 am

    Tell it 👏 👏

    Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) Tweeted:
    Dear white people journalists: it’s not only on people of color to call out that trash @cnn story that erases women of color and their leading role in impeachment.
    You see what they did there. You know how they are. You have column inches. You have Medium accounts. SAY SOMETHING! https://twitter.com/ElieNYC/status/1178319121605447686?s=17

    Reply
  79. rikyrah says:
    September 30, 2019 at 8:41 am

    Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) Tweeted:
    So today Trump threatened a whistleblower, accused one or more of his top nat sec aides of being spies, demanded a House Chair be interrogated on suspicion of treason and threatened to foment a civil war if he is removed from office. https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/1178515212389027841?s=17

    Reply
  80. rikyrah says:
    September 30, 2019 at 8:37 am

    Fox & Friends just hosted “former NYC police commissioner” Bernard Kerik to accuse Democrats of planting evidence against Trump, and to declare that Rudy Giuliani is the real whistleblower.No mention, of course, that Kerik is a felon, did over 3 years in prison for corruption. pic.twitter.com/wtS09FXUQ8— Eric Kleefeld (@EricKleefeld) September 30, 2019

    Reply
  81. rikyrah says:
    September 30, 2019 at 6:35 am

    Also, don’t forget Congressman Al Green 👏

    Rebecca Traister (@rtraister) Tweeted:
    “Women of color who voiced swift, angry challenge to power are discomfiting, so let’s scold them for incivility, then present the white women who were most unwilling to rebuke the powerful and frame THEM as leaders!” is an extremely old song. https://twitter.com/rtraister/status/1178168317862920193?s=17

    Reply
  82. vitaminlover says:
    September 30, 2019 at 6:34 am

    Dan Rather spoke the truth!!

    Reply
  83. rikyrah says:
    September 30, 2019 at 5:10 am

    Good Morning, Everyone 😄 😄😄

    Reply
  84. TokyoSand says:
    September 30, 2019 at 12:16 am

    It’ll be an interesting couple of weeks. I saw an article just this afternoon about how the White House has pulled together their messaging plan to hammer at impeachment, and are feeling confident after they won the messaging war on Kavanaugh and Mueller. I think we all have an important duty to keep the message focused on the one thing that none of the president’s defenders want to talk about: Trump called the Ukrainian President to pressure him into investigating one of his 2020 rivals, and held up U.S. aid to the country as leverage.

    Reply

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