Cont: House Impeachment Inquiry - part 2

[Pixel42]

Someone on The News Quiz just compared Trump's presidency with going to see the doctor and finding he's a Labrador, and when you object being asked "but what exactly has he done wrong?".

 

[Stacyhs]

Because that word really is magic. If you can convince the majority of the American people that DJT has committed real, honest to goodness, go to jail sorts of crimes, he will be convicted in the Senate, or at the very least there will be 10 or so Republican crossovers to vote for conviction, and his chance of re-election will be very slim.

The majority of REPUBLICANS would need to be convinced. The senators would still have to be convinced that voting for conviction wouldn't get them voted out of office.

According to FiveThirtyEight*, 52% of Americans think Trump committed an impeachable offense. Yes, I realize an 'impeachable offense' does not necessarily mean a 'crime', but I doubt that most Americans really differentiate between the two.


*https://fivethirtyeight.com/feature...s-think-the-evidence-supports-trumps-removal/

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

I'll see your emails and raise you a Benghazi.

Ken Starr is on the GOP team. Do you think we'll hear about Whitewater and the Rose Law Firm?

 

[Upchurch]

Ken Starr is on the GOP team. Do you think we'll hear about Whitewater and the Rose Law Firm?

Depends. Will it distract from what Trump is doing?

 

[Stacyhs]

Ken Starr is on the GOP team. Do you think we'll hear about Whitewater and the Rose Law Firm?

We've already heard from Trump a la a Matt Lauer interview on an NBC News interview in 1999 :

I think Ken Starr’s a lunatic. I really think that Ken Starr is a disaster.

And for your reading pleasure, more Trump quotes from the same 1999 interview:

He (Bill Clinton) had to lie. I’m glad it worked out the way it did. But it was a long and terrible process. I — I really think that Ken Starr was terrible. But I think the president handled it terribly. And it’s a shame, because he could have gone down as a very good and even great president. It’s a shame.

And even more entertaining is this from Trump during a Larry King interview on the same day:

In an interview with CNN’s Larry King that aired on the same day, Trump said he “would never lie” to the American people.

Also during the Lauer interview, Trump praised New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd as “great.” In Sept. 1999, Trump told Dowd the following about Starr: ”Starr’s a freak. I bet he’s got something in his closet” (Baylor? Epstein?).

Per Kaczynski, Trump also called Starr, “Crazy Ken Starr, who is a total wacko. There’s the guy. I mean, he is totally off his rocker.”

Watch the video on Trump from 1999 and compare it to how he expresses himself today. I see a marked decline.

https://lawandcrime.com/impeachment...ak-and-i-bet-hes-got-something-in-his-closet/

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Depends. Will it distract from what Trump is doing?

Of course.

I forgot to mention, OJ might come up too. And Epstein. That young girl who said she had sex with Dershowitz might have a stained blue dress. That would be sooo fantastic.

Geriatric defense.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

We've already heard from Trump a la a Matt Lauer interview on an NBC News interview in 1999 :

I think Ken Starr’s a lunatic. I really think that Ken Starr is a disaster.

Oh Lordy there are tapes. Please media, play them over and over.

There must be something Trump said about the OJ acquittal. [rubs hands together in anticipation]

 

[Garrison]

Of course.

I forgot to mention, OJ might come up too.

Geriatric defense.

Well OJ does have trial experience...Oh you meant as a distraction.

 

[Sideroxylon]

It's a sad day in the history of this country. The Founders never could have contemplated, much less anticipated this level of corruption and abuse of power. Something must be done to deter future usurpers from trying to overturn an election based on a perfect phone call.

A time of lofty principles and vision for a nation. Conservatives have forgotten these ideals under Trump. You won’t hear GOP senators talking about the founding fathers during this trial.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Well OJ does have trial experience...Oh you meant as a distraction.

Actually, now that I think about it, a distraction is exactly right. Could be the whole point of both of these men is simply news media distraction.

So much to rehash, the media doesn't need to invest in investigative reporting.

They just brought this up on the local news I'm watching:

After Athletics Scandal, Ken Starr Leaves Baylor Faculty

Months after he was removed as school president, Ken Starr's tenure at Baylor University is officially over.

The university and Starr released a joint statement saying he was leaving his job on the faculty of Baylor's law school, effective immediately. That was the only position he had left after a scandal over the school's lax response to allegations of rape among students, especially allegations against members of the football team. ...

Starr was once beloved on the Baylor campus, and he still has strong support among a faction of Baylor alumni. But the scandal regarding the football team has spiraled out of control in recent months. Multiple reports have surfaced of football players being accused of rape with little or no action by the university. A report commissioned by the university found that Baylor had inadequate systems in place to respond to such allegations. ...

The investigation, conducted by law firm Pepper Hamilton, also found "examples of actions by two university administrators that directly discouraged complainants from reporting or participating in student conduct processes, or that contributed to or accommodated a hostile environment."

"In one instance," the report added, "those actions constituted retaliation against a complainant for reporting sexual assault."

In public statements soon after his reassignment, Starr insisted that he knew nothing about the allegations.

"Nothing, I know nothing".... Yeah, that's kind of the problem.


All sorts of competition for headlines there.

 

[Cain]

To his credit, life-long Democrat Alan Dershowitz loves defending the guilty: OJ, Epstein, Trump, Israel.

 

[acbytesla]

To his credit, life-long Democrat Alan Dershowitz loves defending the guilty: OJ, Epstein, Trump, Israel.

The one thing that has been true about Dershowitz from day one is that he's a whore devoid of principle. There is no place more dangerous than any area that separates him from a camera or a dollar bill.

 

[Minoosh]

Is equating a failure to notify Congress within the correct time frame with withholding funds in order to extort political favors from a foreign nation a proper sense of perspective? Asking for a friend.

My vote is no. Seems like a classic case of false equivalence.

 

[Craig4]

The one thing that has been true about Dershowitz from day one is that he's a whore devoid of principle. There is no place more dangerous than any area that separates him from a camera or a dollar bill.

The thing you have to remember about Dershowitz is that he and Trump are implicated in the Epstein scandal. Any evaluation of his view of the impeachment proceedings has to be viewed through that prism.

 

[Minoosh]

We need a Trump Trial thread but I wasn't sure where to start one so I've made a poll over in community.

I think this thread will die of old age soon - it's getting time to split off into a part 3, or just start fresh on the trial.

I'm not certain sending the articles over is the end of the House impeachment inquiry. I could see the trial running with the background noise of more possible articles in the House.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

I think this thread will die of old age soon - it's getting time to split off into a part 3, or just start fresh on the trial.

I'm not certain sending the articles over is the end of the House impeachment inquiry. I could see the trial running with the background noise of more possible articles in the House.

I'm waiting to hear one of the Trump lawyers object to the Democratic team mentioning new evidence. Then what? Will Roberts threaten to hold them in contempt? Tell the jury to disregard?

And you know the GOP is dying to make the trial about Biden and Biden corruption. In the House there was a person in control who could say XYZ isn't relevant.

We're going to need a lot of popcorn.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

The one thing that has been true about Dershowitz from day one is that he's a whore devoid of principle. There is no place more dangerous than any area that separates him from a camera or a dollar bill.

Apparently he's been spouting off on Fox News that the Articles don't meet the High Crimes and Misdemeanors standard.

Like Dershowitz is the last word on what HC&M means.

I was surprised to see Pam Bondi's name. All these people are just collecting payments on the taxpayer's dime.

MotherJones: Pam Bondi Dives Into the Swamp - Talk about a revolving door.

Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general and more recently a lobbyist at a firm with extensive ties to President Donald Trump, will join the White House communications staff temporarily to help with messaging during the ongoing impeachment inquiry, according to reports Wednesday....

But when Bondi left office, she didn’t exactly steer clear of ethical concerns. She joined Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm that touts its ties to Trump. Brian Ballard, the firm’s founder and a former lobbyist for Trump in Florida, launched the firm in 2017, capitalizing on Trump’s election. Starting last January, Bondi helped Ballard lobby the White House for clients including General Motors, Major League Baseball, and the Government of Qatar.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

Of course you can make the argument that everything Trump is proven to have done doesn't rise to the level of Impeachment and that Censure would be enough.

But that is only true if the President is willing to accept that they have violated rules and laws, does some form of apology and takes credible steps to prevent future violations.

Trump has made it clear that, not only, does he still think he did nothing wrong, but that he very much would like to do more of the same.
THAT is what makes Impeachment the only remedy.

 

[Norman Alexander]

I was surprised to see Pam Bondi's name. All these people are just collecting payments on the taxpayer's dime.

Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general and more recently a lobbyist at a firm with extensive ties to President Donald Trump...

When I first read that, I thought it said "at a firm giving expensive ties to President Donald Trump". Quick re-read fixed that.

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

Devin Nunes' lawyer sent Ted Lieu a 5 page letter threatening to sue him, to which Lieu replied with this: https://twitter.com/tedlieu/status/1218301644007333888