After months of caution, Ms. Pelosi has become convinced that Mr. Trump’s reported actions, and his administration’s refusal to share details about the matter with Congress, left the House no alternative but to move forward with an inquiry that has the potential to reshape his presidency and cleave an already divided nation just a year before he plans to stand for re-election...Trump knows what's in the transcript, and I see here that's coming out tomorrow. I wonder why the Democrats want to decide today rather than after the transcript comes out. Maybe they learned a lesson from Mitt Romney, who let the mention of a transcript break his stride. Oh! There's a transcript, well, then....
At issue are allegations that Mr. Trump pressured the president of Ukraine to open a corruption investigation of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, and his son. The conversation is said to be part of a whistle-blower complaint that the Trump administration has withheld from Congress....
Mr. Trump said on Tuesday that he would authorize the release of a transcript of the conversation, but Democrats want the full whistle-blower complaint.
ADDED: Trump reacts:
Such an important day at the United Nations, so much work and so much success, and the Democrats purposely had to ruin and demean it with more breaking news Witch Hunt garbage. So bad for our Country!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019
Posts
92 comments:
Pelosi is doing her imitation of Slim Pickins in "Doctor Strangelove."
A formal impeachment inquiry won’t mollify her base for long...
I'm thinking it would be delightfully entertaining if after Pelosi announces the Impeachment Inquiry Trump rescinds his decision to make the transcript available.
When will Biden step down?
I think that Pelosi has inside information that Ginzburg has become too sick to continue on the Supreme Court.
The subsequent argument will be that President Trump should not be allowed to nominate a replacement for Ginzburg while his impeachment is being conducted.
speculation, from Julie kelly that its Andrew bakaj a fmr company operative (Ukraine 2002) sounds like steele no, who was dismissed five years ago, for mishandling classified info, he now works with Charles McCullough, former icig,
To contribute to the hilarity, the Republicans should put Beau Biden's widow on the list of witnesses to be summoned to testify at the impeachment hearings.
I think I'll start calling them damagecrats. The Clintons, Obamas, Bidens have been ass fucking America for decades. Shit gotta cease.
If the Dems actually get Trump impeached and removed from office, the next civil war needs to kick off.
If we can't have the whole 'ok you get power for a few years, then we get it, then you get it, then we do" then it becomes the tyranny of the side that can't leave other people alone over the people that want to be left alone. And when the first is pushing shit that the second finds reprehensible - i.e. baby murder, chopping/hacking/mutilating healthy bodies and pushing that everywhere and to all ages, destroying lives over bad jokes, etc - eventually the people who want to be left alone will snap.
Invalidating their presidential pick over politics and no actual high crimes and misdemeanors should be the final straw. And the war should start in the halls of Congress.
Trump - channeling George Lois' shot of Ali as St Sebastian.
With a shirt on, thankfully.
This could end up being like that time the Nazis accidentally bombed London during the blitz, which caused Churchill to bomb Berlin and so distracted the Nazis from their rational objective of destroying the Royal Air Force, and so cost the Nazis the war.
Hitler never ordered those bombs dropped, but once they were, stuff spiraled out of control.
The left has no idea of the hell they're trying to unleash.
None.
But they'll find out soon enough. And by then, it'll be too late.
Nancy is making the best of a bad situation.
Best outcome for her is that the Ukraine/impeachment folderol will wound Pres Trump and kill Biden- a two-fer.
More likely that it will boost PDT and drag the Democrats into the President's Briar Patch, but it's all she's got at this point.
The Party of Al Green, Maxine Waters, AOC, Ilhan Omar, Jerry Nadler, Eric Swalwell, Adam Schiff, Hank Johnson - these people are a joke. They couldn't manage the night shift at the local AM-PM Mini Mart.
Russia! Racism! Recession! Ukraine!
No sane person buys any of this jive.
Impeach and lose the House, Nancy-Pants!
If they push forward with a benign transcript, I'm not sure what the game plan is.
...And it will fail.
Fail hard.
Just like it did for Slick Willy.
Say it with me now...
FOUR MORE YEARS!
They are now calling it only an "inquiry" which means they can cut and run if the polls turn on them.
They think.
ike Sylwester said...
I think that Pelosi has inside information that Ginzburg has become too sick to continue on the Supreme Court.
Good point. That, at least, would make some sense. Drag it out until January,.
Elizabeth Warren smiles.
As purely an aside, Nancy Pelosi is a really hot octogenarian.
I'd bet $5 that the purpose of the impeachment inquiry is to oppose any nominee to the Supreme Court before November 2020.
The subsequent argument will be that President Trump should not be allowed to nominate a replacement for Ginzburg while his impeachment is being conducted.
Based on timing this makes more sense than the They Know They’re Losing Theory.
> If they push forward with a benign transcript,
They will claim it was altered. My guess is that if they go for impeachment it will be used to go fishing in the executive branch. Not sure how that works if they have no evidence a high crime of misdemeanor was committed.
If our MSM were even close to neutral I would be assured that Nancy is about to light the fuse to her own petard. As Ann surmised this morning the underlying motivation here may be a conviction that there is no other way to even imagine beating Trump in 2020. The Dem primary candidates are truly a train wreck and Ukraine, at the least, is a two edged sword with Biden on the sharp edge.
I think the real weakness of this (aside from pissing off a lot of voters) is the idea that it will distract Trump from what he sees as his mission. As we know he is not a traditional politician who is going to spend his day wondering how what he had for breakfast will affect his standing. He is accustomed to compartmentalizing tasks. Fighting an impeachment inquiry will just be one of many things he keeps occupied with. In the meanwhile the Dems will ignore USMCA, China's theft of intellectual property, the continued shift in attitudes toward anti- illegal immigration; and, of course, our economic success - essentially "the General Welfare" which they are supposed to promote. Which will leave them vulnerable in the general election.
Of course if I were a Democrat I would be bit nervous about what Trump's counter attack will be. There are a lot of skeletons in closets to which he has the key.
If, -like the Dems seem to be-you are convinced that the American electorate is a body of nincompoops then I can see going forward with impeachment. Otherwise I think that it is going to be a bridge too far.
I am genuinely less interested in 2020 than 2024.
The shift has been tectonic. As a soldier during Iraqi Freedom as a CWEAT officer I was and still am genuinely opposed the entire idea of us even being there. They're savages and they should be - and do - killing their own kind.
Bush didn't get it then. Trump actually doesn't get it now. Yes...I said Trump doesn't get it now...as a Trump supporter.
Joe Biden might propose that the impeachment articles include a charge that Donald Trump intends to put African-Americans back into chains.
So they aren’t discussing articles of impeachment. Just pretending to inquire.
"I'd bet $5 that the purpose of the impeachment inquiry is to oppose any nominee to the Supreme Court before November 2020.”
And Cocaine Mitch will take your $5 and buy a cup of coffee and approve the nominee.
"So they aren’t discussing articles of impeachment. Just pretending to inquire.”
They think it gives them extra subpoena rights that simple duty of oversight doesn’t give them. But Hillary showed us that the proper response to a Congressional subpoena is the destroy all of the evidence they asked for, and this Congress heartily approved.
I'm of the opinion the Democrats have no choice at this point.
Their followers have become a torch and pitchfork carrying mob. They demand action. Burn the witch!
They have no way out of this mess they've created. They have to complete the witch Hunt or they'll be the ones burned at the stake.
Landslide coming 2020!!!
2 years of Mueller investigation - no impeachment
1 Ukranian phone call - IMPEACH!
My guess is that if they go for impeachment it will be used to go fishing in the executive branch. Not sure how that works if they have no evidence a high crime of misdemeanor was committed.
Breaking news from 2017.
When you have NOTHING else....
chuck: "They will claim it was altered."
The dems have already floated that.
Somebody asked Nancy is she would wait for the transcript and she said "No it's not about that."
They are going full lunatic.
Somebody asked Nancy is she would wait for the transcript and she said "No it's not about that."
They are going full lunatic.
you pay what you want more of,
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/ukraine-whistleblowers-lawyers-work-for-group-that-offers-to-pay-officials-who-leak-against-trump
Hey, Althouse, you do realize this is aimed at you, at the nice moderately liberal swing-voting women of America, right? I mean, as Pelosi said, this is easier for "the public" to understand. They think you think what Trump did is outrageous, therefore Orange Man Bad, therefore vote Dem.
I know the Russia collusion hoax did not cause you to draw a line against prog insanity. I know the Charlottesville and Kavanaugh lies did not make you come off the neutral fence--in fact, none of the prog depredations thus far. Is impeachment a step too far, or will you keep encouraging them?
"As purely an aside, Nancy Pelosi is a really hot octogenarian."
Nooooo...Joan Collins is a really hot octogenarian.
Can we hire Mueller again to review and summarize the "whistleblower's" complaint? It might be much less taxing than navigating through the early bird menu at Denny's that often vexes him.
> They are going full lunatic.
They are happy and relieved that they can give up pretending they are sane. Could be entertaining if they raise the freak flag and go full loony.
"Leeeeee-RRROYYYY
"nJENGkins!!!!!"
This is about trying to keep the Dems in power. "Why are you there if you won't do anything?"
They are about to see that, as Althouse says, better than nothing is a high standard.
Now might be a good time for the Republicans in Congress to propose a resolution praising Joe Biden for establishing the Biden Rule, which wisely restricts Supreme Court nominations during Presidential election years.
Biden has had a difficult week. He might appreciate this display of appreciation from the Republicans.
They are now calling it only an "inquiry" which means they can cut and run if the polls turn on them.
For the purple district Dems that's true, but only if you think your party is rational enough to stop when it becomes foolhardy.
An impeachment inquiry gives them more power to ask for his tax records, which is what they really want.
They know this is a dry hole, but need a pretext to demand more documents which Mueller foreclosed on them.
Also, Mike is right about Ginsburg.
I would love to have the transcript of Pelosi's meeting with the Dems.
Nancy is a little lost.
It had to happen. Sylwester had to have a plausible idea eventually and this is it. Unevidenced so far but plausible to me.
Most recent Monmouth Univ. poll on impeachment -
Yes/no:
Registered voters: 35/61
Republicans: 2/94
Independents: 30/64
Democrats: 69/25
Men: 26/70
Women: 44/49
Age 18-34: 44/50
Age 35-54: 31/63
Over 55: 32/64
Whites: 27/67
Non-white: 51/44
Swing counties: 32/60
Teacup version of "the XYZ affair"?
Fernandy’s guy Coyne says the call is the last straw. Does that make sense, a last straw? It’s not like turning off a show or firing a secretary. You need an impeachable act. A particular act. There is nothing that can accumulate to a last straw.
But again this is about contempt for the constitution not respect for it
I've heard lefty whispering that RBG is on her way out sooner rather than later, so the new, improved thinking is that impeachment will halt all work in the House and Senate and prevent Trump from replacing her. And since most of our politics is now performed by the courts and not Congress, on balance it may be a smart strategy, given the cards the left has been dealt.
Where is the pressure on Biden. He is corrupt. His son is corrupt. It's all on tape.
And what a surprise. The lawyer who will represent this fake "whistleblower" belongs to the Clinton crew.
Who didn't see that coming?
Trump doesn't work for the intelligence agencies.
Who was listening to Trump's phone calls?
If Trump was urging Ukrainian leaders to look at and stop corruption - why is that a bad thing?
Is it because Biden's son was given millions of dollars in quid-pro-quo deals? Where is the inquiry into that corruption?
Btw, I just want to point out this isn't an impeachment investigation.
It's an impeachment inquiry. Whatever the hell that is.
An impeachment investigation would stop everything and need to be voted on by the House.
I've heard lefty whispering that RBG is on her way out sooner rather than later, so the new, improved thinking is that impeachment will halt all work in the House and Senate and prevent Trump from replacing her.
I've heard that, too, and it may be a plausible reason for what looks like a suicide mission for the Democrat majority, They are taking a dive to try to protect the Court. That, of course would require the Democrat to win the election.
I don't think they have thought it out that far. A bit like a gambler who doubles losing bets in hopes his luck will change,
Well, Democrats have certainly taken the mantle of "The Stupid Party" from the Republicans.
Let's find out what Wednesday Addams has to say about this. I can't make up my mind unless a braided 16 year old tells me what to think.
Or has she left the UN and gotten back in her borrowed yacht?
> If they push forward with a benign transcript,
They will claim it was altered. My guess is that if they go for impeachment it will be used to go fishing in the executive branch. Not sure how that works if they have no evidence a high crime of misdemeanor was committed.
Clapper already did that last night on CNN. That would require calling Inspector General a liar.
In my mind, this IG should be under investigation and explain why he is operating outside of his congressional authority. The IG is limited to action inside the intelligence community. Spooks making a legal decision on what a sitting President is allowed to talk about with a foreign leader, is wildly outside the training, expertise and congressionaly defined power.
’Wednesday Addams’
Well played. :)
The timing of the impeachment "inquiry" is interesting. We know the IG FISA report is in its final stages before release. We're told to expect it in the next month or so.
Notably no leaks from the IG's draft report have been forthcoming. That suggests it's anything but favorable to Deep State/Democrat interests. The strategy of stirring up as much noise as possible to distract from an impending extinction event is quite possibly all the Democrats have in their arsenal.
If Trump was urging Ukrainian leaders to look at and stop corruption - why is that a bad thing?
Is it because Biden's son was given millions of dollars in quid-pro-quo deals? Where is the inquiry into that corruption?
I've heard repeatedly on CNN and MSNBC that the Joe and Hunter actions in the Ukraine have been fully investigated and there was Zero improprieties in anything they did.
That then nullifies the accusation that President Trump was asking the Ukraine to get the dirt on Joe, interfering in the 2020 election. (that is the impeachble offense, election interference) Since no Biden is in anyway connected to any illicit activity, it would be impossible for an investigation to generate any dirt to hurt a candidate.
Pelosi has long held that impeachment would hurt the Dems. She can't control the ultra-left wing of the party any more. Maybe she's come to the point that allowing impeachment proceedings might actually help self-amputate many of the extreme left and help the more centrist (and more numerous) Dems.
Bay Area Guy said...
As purely an aside, Nancy Pelosi is a really hot octogenarian.
She can afford an excellent plastic surgeon, obviously. Hot? Maybe in a nursing home. By comparison.
RE: Trumps's tweet
He's correct, of course, and the Impeachment question polls bear him out.
Trump now poses an existential threat to the D-party's leading candidate. Of course they have to go through these motions. But their blather will get no traction with the electorate, and Pelosi's original instinct (to downplay impeachment) will prevail.
Dems just don't understand that people like to see the deep state gravy train derailed.
"As purely an aside, Nancy Pelosi is a really hot octogenarian."
Not really, at least not yet because she's only 79 years old.
someone on my other favorite board, dubbed her dippy longstocking,
I bet NP was hot at 25. Crazy can be an aphrodisiac too.
Narcisco
“Board”
You date yourself!
What do we think Obama did for the deep state to keep them from trying to take him down? Give them every thing they wanted? Or is this only about Brennan allies?
Pelosi and her Democrat caucus haven't even seen the transcript of the conversation with Zelensky. I guess brains are entirely optional to be a Democrat politician -- or Democrat voter for that matter.
Decisive action is always good.
hive minds think alike,
links are elusive,
https://babalublog.com/2019/09/24/greta-thunberg-glorified-by-media-in-terror-sponsoring-cuba-the-regime-that-craved-to-and-almost-ignited-a-worldwide-nuclear-war-climate-change-indeed/
“They are now calling it only an "inquiry" which means they can cut and run if the polls turn on them.”
The Dems expected the Mueller investigation to have transferred all of their evidence to the House Dems. Didn’t work, and Trump is asserting Executive Privilege (EP) to keep it out of House Dem hands. Much of their stuff is very likely protected by EP.. The one way around that is a through a formal impeachment investigation. But this isn’t one, since it was never subjected to a House vote.
In the future everybody will be famous for 7 minutes. Not enough shelf space for 15.
I'm surprised they announced that since Trump will upstage them with a transcript showing them to be fools.
Trump doesn't work the way the dems want to allege.
With a couple of hours' reflection, I'm actually wondering whether the impeachment inquiry represents a real change, or simply a change in nomenclature for the hearings the House was holding anyway.
The partisan in me hopes they go right ahead and do it, but then I angrily tell that guy to shut up, and I hope cooler heads prevail.
I can tell that Dems and their supporters are in an excited state: They are writing nonsense like:
"Dems apparently assume the country hates Trump as much as they do. President Hillary Clinton had no comment on the strategy." link
ADDED: Trump reacts:
Does this really have to be mentioned? All Trump ever does is react.
If a made-up diagnosis of "Trump Derangement Syndrome" is going to be invented, then surely there has to be a tag for "Trump Obsession Syndrome." Not everything he says is newsworthy or bloggable. In fact, most of what he says is not that. It can generally be discarded in the, "Rantings of a Mad Man" bin.
Don't think too hard about this impeachment issue, Repubs. After all, there can't be a real impeachment because he's not a real president. He just plays an angry far-right version of one on TV.
Nancy Pelosi is such a disappointing speaker. Not only do her dentures create a really aggravating lisp, but she keeps stammering and stumbling over the words in one of the biggest speeches she might ever have to give. This is an important speech, and it deserves a crystal clear delivery by her of it.
I thought this thing he said in particular was on point. Today he and Boris Johnson and NATO leader were meeting one another and the press together and alone and much news of geopolitical significance was made, though almost none of it reported by American press. In fact there was an amusing moment during the joint BoJo Trump appearance when a reporter asked a nasty question asserting BoJo had misled the queen in proroguation request. Trump laughingly called out the reporter and apologized for the nasty American press and it’s petulance and the two men joshed. But anyway this tweet by Trump is quite jolly and indeed he seems these days to be no longer even irked by this stuff, which makes sense given how skillful he’s become at turning this behavior to his advantage.
“Acting is reacting.”
“Trump is releasing everything.”
“Stop obsessing about Trump, Althouse!”
Too funny.
then surely there has to be a tag for "Trump Obsession Syndrome.
I vote for Ritmo and Inga as members # 1 and2/
Have you ever posted anything that was not about Trump ?
@dreams:
"As purely an aside, Nancy Pelosi is a really hot octogenarian."
Not really, at least not yet because she's only 79 years old.
De minimis non curat praetor
HoaxPPT: "Not everything he says is newsworthy or bloggable."
LOL
The ENTIRETY of the lefty media disagrees. Emphatically.
Timing's everything. And timing is purely sucking for the Dems at this point.
The release of the transcript didn't help matters, either.
There's no 'THERE' there at all.
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