General Trump hilarity free-for-all thread

[Doktor Howl]

Impeachment procedure vote successful, right down party lines.

https://apnews.com/ac8e83d06aea4f1a82b7d1e95bbaeb40

The White House says the House vote approving rules for its impeachment inquiry has enshrined "unacceptable violations of due process into House rules."

Press secretary Stephanie Grisham says in a statement moments after the House vote that the process "is unfair, unconstitutional, and fundamentally un-American."

Thursday's near party-line 232-196 vote was a victory for Democrats, who will control the investigation in the House. It gives them the ability to curb the ability of Republicans to subpoena witnesses and of White House lawyers to present witnesses.

Grisham says President Donald Trump "has done nothing wrong" and that Democrats have an "unhinged obsession" with impeachment. Her statement was echoed by Trump's reelection campaign which accused Democrats of trying to legitimize their process after the fact.

Campaign manager Brad Parscale says: "Voters will punish Democrats who support this farce and President Trump will be easily re-elected."

[Cain]

Investigations are a violation of due process.

[Doktor Howl]

Investigations are a violation of due process.

Likewise, we can't investigate a murderer until he's been convicted.   

[Doktor Howl]

https://apnews.com/e6b5c1b4adbc40dda0bb4f7fba8bae1d

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former top White House official confirmed Thursday that military aid to Ukraine was held up by President Donald Trump's demand for the ally to investigate Democrats and Joe Biden, but he testified he saw nothing illegal about the quid pro quo at the center of the Democrat-led impeachment inquiry.

snip

Taylor's testimony contradicted Trump's repeated denials that there was any quid pro quo.

Morrison testified Thursday that he initially knew so little about Bursima that he had to do a Google search, but quickly understood the Biden connection.

He did clarify one difference from Taylor's recollection of events: He said it was his understanding that "it could be sufficient" if the new Ukraine attorney general, rather than Zelenskiy himself, committed "to pursue the Burisma investigation."

As the security funds for Ukraine were being withheld, Morrison told the diplomat, "President doesn't want to provide any assistance at all."

Their concerns deepened when Morrison relayed on Sept. 7 the conversation he had with Sondland that gave him that "sinking feeling."

In it, Sondland explained that Trump said he was not asking for a quid pro quo but insisted that Zelenskiy "go to a microphone and say he is opening investigations of Biden and 2016 election interference," Taylor testified last week.

The GOP is trying to spin this as exculpatory.

[altered]

https://apnews.com/e6b5c1b4adbc40dda0bb4f7fba8bae1d

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former top White House official confirmed Thursday that military aid to Ukraine was held up by President Donald Trump's demand for the ally to investigate Democrats and Joe Biden, but he testified he saw nothing illegal about the quid pro quo at the center of the Democrat-led impeachment inquiry.

snip

Taylor's testimony contradicted Trump's repeated denials that there was any quid pro quo.

Morrison testified Thursday that he initially knew so little about Bursima that he had to do a Google search, but quickly understood the Biden connection.

He did clarify one difference from Taylor's recollection of events: He said it was his understanding that "it could be sufficient" if the new Ukraine attorney general, rather than Zelenskiy himself, committed "to pursue the Burisma investigation."

As the security funds for Ukraine were being withheld, Morrison told the diplomat, "President doesn't want to provide any assistance at all."

Their concerns deepened when Morrison relayed on Sept. 7 the conversation he had with Sondland that gave him that "sinking feeling."

In it, Sondland explained that Trump said he was not asking for a quid pro quo but insisted that Zelenskiy "go to a microphone and say he is opening investigations of Biden and 2016 election interference," Taylor testified last week.

The GOP is trying to spin this as exculpatory.

As you do, you know.

"Yeah I committed arson but the houses were probably going to be condemned anyway and my buddy who held the matches said it was okay so what's the big deal?"

[chaotic neutral observer]

Investigations are a violation of due process.

Likewise, we can't investigate a murderer until he's been convicted.   

Some of the arguments against the impeachment proceedings have the effect of "the suspect should be allowed to participate in the murder investigation."

[chaotic neutral observer]

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/fireside-chat-on-live-television-trump-says-he-wants-to-read-transcript-of-ukraine-call-to-american-people

"This is over a phone call that is a good call," Trump, sitting behind the Resolute Desk, said in an interview with the Washington Examiner. "At some point, I'm going to sit down, perhaps as a fireside chat on live television, and I will read the transcript of the call, because people have to hear it. When you read it, it's a straight call."

Nixon tried to raise support with the public, too, but he didn't go quite so far as granting legitimacy to the evidence against him by staging a re-enactment of the tapes...

[Cain]

Not to mention the whistleblower has been saying all along that the trascripts are redacted and have specifically removed mention of Biden in particular from them.

So good job Donnie, you go ahead and read your own doctored transcripts, if that helps you keep your story straight.

[Bu🤠ns]

Buzzfeed FOIA requested Muller memos. Will release them weekly over the next 8 years.

First batch takeaways:

Manafort was pushing the conspiracy theory that Ukraine hacked the DNC as early as 2016

Michael Cohen "had to keep Trump out of the messaging related to Russia"

Gates said the Trump campaign was "very happy" about the release of hacked DNC emails

After the hacked DNC emails, Trump told Gates that "more leaks were coming"

Bannon told the FBI that Jared Kushner vacationed with a Russian oligarch

Manafort was advising the Trump campaign up until days before the election

Trump supporter and associate Ted Malloch emailed Bannon before the first debate and said Trump should start by handing Hillary Clinton a "Writ of Indictment."

"Bannon first met Trump in August of 2010. Their first meeting was approximately 2 hours long. David Bossie was present and said that Trump was thinking of running for president in 2012. Bannon said 'for what country?'"

Bannon on recognizing the Israeli capital as Jerusalem

The file for Cohen's FBI interview from August 2018 contained a few handwritten pages, with one note that read, "DJT Jr.: I have a meeting in order to get dirt on Clinton. (or, 'Hillary')."

[Cain]

They're going to be dumping these every week up until the election 

[Junkenstein]

Hey Cain, what's the deal with the no shows to Congress? I'm seeing all sorts of unintended consequences here and it all looks fun.

[Cain]

You mean Pompeo et al for the impeachment investigation? They should be found in contempt of Congress...but they probably won't be.

[Junkenstein]

Pretty much, sets up some interesting precedents for the next few years. Just imagine what competent goons could pull off. I can see some full on bond villain shit being pulled rather than this third rate tat.

2028 candidate making speech from hollow volcano seems electable.

[Doktor Howl]

Sondheim just testified again, described a textbook quid pro quo.

[Doktor Howl]

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

https://apnews.com/fd996ce3e4494a37a4136926cf9425eb

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Latest on Virginia's legislative elections (all times local):

10 p.m.

Virginia Democrats are taking full control of the statehouse for the first time in more than two decades.

Democrats won majorities in both the state House and Senate in Tuesday's legislative election. This is the third election in a row that Virginia Democrats have made significant gains since President Donald Trump was elected.

The win will give Democrats control of the legislature and governorship for the first time in 26 years. Democrats have pledged to pass new gun restrictions and raise the minimum wage once in power.