Cont: House Impeachment Inquiry - part 3

[JPK]

Good evening. Again, getting Bolton to be a witness is a scam. He isn't going to say anything to harm Trump in the Impeachment. He isn't needed. His documents could be helpful. That's not going to happen.

 

[Craig4]

Good evening. Again, getting Bolton to be a witness is a scam. He isn't going to say anything to harm Trump in the Impeachment. He isn't needed. His documents could be helpful. That's not going to happen.

He already has harmed Trump.

 

[Cabbage]

Have you watched Biden on the campaign trail lately? He's not being written by Aaron Sorkin.

This is the second time I've seen you bring this up.

You know, outside of fictional characters, the only person being written by Aaron Sorkin is Aaron Sorkin.

 

[Regnad Kcin]

There is no crime in the impeachment articles, so no witnesses are needed. The defense lawyers explained that to the Senate in no uncertain terms. Even if Trump actually did what the suspiciously timed leak attributed to Bolton said he did, it is not an impeachable offense. If the RINOs prevail and there are witnesses, I'm thinking all it will do is end Biden's candidacy. Not even the Democrats' fake news action arm can cover up the Bidens' corruption in an impeachment trial.

You’re funny.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

But to use a cliche, what is Bolton's end game here? He wants to be important, to be popular, but whatever his story, once it's told the interest will only last for a few days. I don't know enough about what makes him tick to speculate what he's up to.

Might it be he saw Trump's corruption first hand and isn't happy the GOP Senate is protecting him?

 

[smartcooky]

If Trump had evidence of Biden's corruption, we'd have seen it by now. If Trump wanted an investigation of the Biden's, he would not have asked that it be announced.

Indeed: He would have been tweet-blasting it long and hard for the whole time since the Ukraine phone call story broke.

 

[Minoosh]

Might it be he saw Trump's corruption first hand and isn't happy the GOP Senate is protecting him?

It might. I don't know very much about him. From what I do know, he might be more concerned with national security than corruption. Trump's cringe-worthy enthusiasm for anything that helps Russia probably makes him cringe a lot.

 

[smartcooky]

Have you watched Biden on the campaign trail lately? He's not being written by Aaron Sorkin.

Whatever Biden is doing, it seems to be working well for him in Iowa

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...d-warren-one-week-before-caucuses/4582032002/

Whatever Trump has been trying to do does not seem to be working.

There's hope yet, that Americans might just be smart enough not to buy in to Trump's "Biden corruption" BS.

 

[Ladewig]

I wouldn't go so far as to call it a hypothesis. It's more of a concern. Any lawyer will tell you that you never call a witness unless you know what they are going to say.

This is what is wrong about Trump refusing to allow Congress all the documents and witnesses it needs. If there was enough exculpatory evidence provided to the House, there wouldn't have been an impeachment hearing let alone having articles drawn.

I wouldn't put it past Trump and his cabal to lay a trap.

Here’s the problem with your speculative concern: President Trump doesn’t have the patience.

You could get the president’s most trusted advisors to tell him, “we are going to lay a trap for the Democrats. They are going to come in and start talking. We not going to say anything for ten minutes, and then we will have enough information to spring the trap.” And 60 seconds after the Dems started talking, President Trump would start talking about the critical piece of information that was going to be held back for ten minutes.

 

[I Am The Scum]

BrooklynBaby busted posting fake news
https://twitter.com/SenFeinstein/status/1222286544733704193

The LA Times misunderstood what I said today. Before the trial I said I'd keep an open mind. Now that both sides made their cases, it’s clear the president’s actions were wrong. He withheld vital foreign assistance for personal political gain. That can’t be allowed to stand.

 

[acbytesla]

Here’s the problem with your speculative concern: President Trump doesn’t have the patience.

You could get the president’s most trusted advisors to tell him, “we are going to lay a trap for the Democrats. They are going to come in and start talking. We not going to say anything for ten minutes, and then we will have enough information to spring the trap.” And 60 seconds after the Dems started talking, President Trump would start talking about the critical piece of information that was going to be held back for ten minutes.

I get that. And maybe it's just basic paranoia that makes me suspicious that Bolton would do something that could cause damage to the GOP, a party he's been a member of for 30 years.

 

[Delphic Oracle]

Precisely.

I would love to see Biden testify. Does anyone think he would sit dociley and meekly answer questions? I think he would take every question as an opportunity to rip into Trump. And he would do it guns blazing and take no prisoners. It has the potential to be awesome.

And what would they do? Charge him with obstruction of Congress? That would be just way too funny.

I voted for the guy in the 1988 primaries. I'd vote for him again if he wasn't so old. However, since it looks like he will only have other geezers for serious competition, I'll probably vote for him anyway. I guess we'll see who is still standing when Michigan comes around.

All other matters aside, just going to nibble on this.

The conspiracy-theory part of my brain thinks the leadership wants this.

Biden in the spotlight excoriating Trump, Bernie and Warren forced to sit there in their chairs, unable to participate. Right as the starting gun grows imminent.

 

[smartcooky]

But to use a cliche, what is Bolton's end game here? He wants to be important, to be popular, but whatever his story, once it's told the interest will only last for a few days. I don't know enough about what makes him tick to speculate what he's up to.

Two words....... Book sales!

 

[Segnosaur]

So, another republican tactic that some are adopting to avoid calling witnesses:

Admit that Trump withheld aid in exchange for a Biden investigation (so they don't NEED Bolton to testify) but say that it just doesn't matter. Of course, that does ignore the fact that Trump and the house republicans were claiming that there was no such quid pro quo. So they are using a defense that Trump himself is rejecting.

From: https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/28/politics/republican-trump-aid-impeachable/index.html
...growing number of GOP senators are now acknowledging that President Donald Trump may have leveraged US military aid to Ukraine in exchange for an announcement of investigations that could help him politically -- but they contend that even that conduct does not warrant removal from office or hearing from additional witnesses....The comments are a departure from the arguments made by House Republicans, who disputed the central facts of the Democrats' case and said they failed to prove any link to Trump's official acts...On the Senate floor this week, the President's attorneys continued to argue that the Democrats lacked sufficient evidence to make their charges.

 

[Segnosaur]

But to use a cliche, what is Bolton's end game here? He wants to be important, to be popular, but whatever his story, once it's told the interest will only last for a few days. I don't know enough about what makes him tick to speculate what he's up to.

Could be several things, or a combination of all of them:

- Book sales (as another poster suggested). Probably the biggest factor.

- Maybe he does have a certain integrity. (We may not agree with his 'bomb everything' attitude, but perhaps seeing Trump's corruption first hand has made him willing to speak out. The problem with that argument is that he COULD have spoken during the House investigations but chose not to, so its likely this isn't the sole reason (even if it might be part of it), but perhaps some of Trump's recent actions had changed his mind

- Revenge on Trump, whom he seemed to have conflicts with earlier, including the famous "You're fired... no I quit" exchange.

 

[Aridas]

It is hard to watch as that same great country descends to being a third world basket case tinpot dictatorship. It really is.

America could have been great, and indeed was great. Somehow mediocrity was more appealing to them.

Behold, the power of propaganda outlets increasingly under the control of profit motive and utter lack of actual patriotism. The things happening, quite literally, are the predictable result of the right-wing's long war on truth led by very rich and not particularly savory businessmen.

That's ******* nonsense. A criminal violation is not required. It never has been in any of the previous 14 individuals who have been impeached.

What's more, that they did not specifically cite the laws violated doesn't mean that said laws don't exist. They certainly could have cited said laws and I think that they should have. With that said, though, impeachment is a political process, not a criminal one. It's entirely fair for them not to have included such, given that.

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

McConnell has reportedly said that he does not yet have enough votes to block witnesses

But don't celebrate yet, because there is context:

https://twitter.com/burgessev/status/1222296901451755520?s=19

Confirming WSJ reporting McConnell told senators they don't have the 51 votes to block witnesses ... but the implication is simply GOP leaders have more work to do, not they are on a trajectory to lose or have witnesses. In fact, Rs feel good about beating witness question...

Article embedded in second tweet.

https://twitter.com/Phil_Mattingly/status/1222294429005963273

context here is the votes to block witnesses aren't locked in, but GOP senators coming out of this evening's meeting think they can get there.
four GOPers for witnesses don't exist at the moment. but there are enough undecideds out there to make things fluid/a work in progress

how does this actually go on Fri for the witness vote? it remains unclear.
GOP Senators think the conference has stabilized against witnesses post-Bolton revelations, but enough senators simply aren't committed yet to ensure the vote can be blocked.

in other words, there are about 60 some-odd hours for both sides to make their case to the undecideds - with a lot of competing dynamics at play (several 2020ers spoke today about not dragging this out for example.)

Article embedded in subsequent tweet.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

Mc Connell is probably not happy right now.

He doesn't have the votes to acquit Trump outright
- but -
neither does he have the votes to convict him, should he make the decision that that would be better for the GOP.

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

https://twitter.com/obarcala/status/1222209661518196737

argument against DOJ—just filed a letter telling the DC Cir that Starr's statement "[W]e are not a legislative chamber during these proceedings...We are in a court," contradicts DOJ's position on Mueller grand jury docs

Not dispositive by any means, but it's really stunning how the Trump Admin keeps finding creative new ways to undercut its own positions

Document embedded in tweet.

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

https://twitter.com/Acosta/status/1222201460219424768

WH aides are telling senators that allowing Bolton or other witnesses to testify could trigger a nasty court battle that could last months.