US Politics, October 2019 — I guess statement you could say with thread. I made a thread. The thread was PERFECT.

"the President isn't getting due process!"

"Hey provide us these people and documents so we can--"

"No"

XP Newt brought it up on The View (which he was guest co-hosting) this morning.

yes, should've put my chips on that vermin

https://www.mediamatters.org/view/view-foxs-newt-gingrich-says-lynching-isnt-automatically-only-black-experience

Lotsa fun details emerging:

https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/22/william-taylor-ukraine-testimony-trump-054259

Pfft.

BREAKING: Anonymous author of NYT Trump ‘resistance’ op-ed to publish a tell-all bookhttps://t.co/wd4Z6728ha

— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) October 22, 2019

"It is I, friend to Pierre Delecto!"

#basta

Taylor's full statement is here.

https://i.imgur.com/6oaREa1.png

wow, john bolton the warmongering asshole...relatively ethical actor in this shitshow? wtf

That detail's been public for a bit but yeah.

John Bolton, welcome to the resistance

Taylor's statement pretty much confirms the exact thing the president is trying to deny

will it really matter is the question

https://i.imgur.com/qFnOCiK.png

Mr. Danyliuk: it seems you have stepped in a Pynchon novel, Mr. Taylor

I mean the crazy thing about this is that Ukraine is just one of dozens and dozens of countries receiving millions in U.S. assistance

Does anyone really *not* think Trump is running his protection racket on them, too?

depends what you mean by "matter" - will GOP congress start to desert him? no

xp

Taylor's statement pretty much confirms the exact thing the president is trying to deny. will it really matter is the question

Matter in what sense? Because asshole is going to get impeached. The sub-question is, will impeachment matter? I don't know!

xxp He only has one Rudy to go around

my guess is that at this point Pelosi is just trying to make sure she has an airtight case that will give enough cover to swing district Dems to vote to impeach. This looks extremely likely, at this point.

The Senate is a different game.

if impeachment were decided by a neutral jury rather than by the Senate, you'd just have to drop Taylor's testimony and then rest

again: impeachment is not decided by the senate

xp but yes

fine, removal (which is deciding whether impeachment was warranted)

his opening statement is very well crafted, and genuinely insightful in certain ways. like this:

https://imgur.com/a/8ZYp9Nw

the trump stooge (sondland) parroting back trump's own alibis/explanations for his corruption: he's a businessman, and these people owe him. which fits with his longtime strategy of taking something hostage (ukraine military aid in this case) and then threatening to sue unless he extracts something that he wants. he's been a conman since he was born - he inherited his bullshit from his fuckface father and got dealt in with $millions when he was 3

https://i.imgur.com/f4GhsUf.png

that is pretty damning

The only defense I can imagine the GOP mustering*, in the House or Senate, is "Yes, this is bad, but does it warrant impeachment or removal? No." But of course that then begs the question, what punishment *does* it warrant? "Let the voters decide"?

*My imagination does not take into account their imagination.

heh

Trump has said McConnell told him his call with the Ukrainian president at the center of the impeachment inquiry was “the most innocent phone call” and was “perfect.”

But when asked about it Tuesday, McConnell said, “I don’t recall any conversations with the president about that phone call.”

“We’ve not had any conversations on that subject,” McConnell told reporters at the Capitol. Asked whether Trump was lying, he demurred. “You’d have to ask him,” McConnell said.

GOP is basically Chappelle in the R. Kelly sketch

the statement did mention pence, who seems to just blindly stumble his way in and out of the scene like a distracted mule. he comes across like a total stooge, but it's difficult to tell if he understands the role he's playing

TPM has busted out the rare full page headline banner. where were you on the day bill taylor totally blew it wide open

https://i.imgur.com/48Y8KS2.png

Abandoned military base in Manjib, Northern Syria

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCKc4JoWgZY

Looks like our troops occupying it really were spirited away in the middle of the night.

don't care about TPM, get back to me when there's Drudge sirens

https://i.imgur.com/ZtEqBQ0.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/9BvAbIg.gifhttps://i.imgur.com/08ZMhoR.pnghttps://i.imgur.com/9BvAbIg.gif

i will say that if taylor expresses himself as clearly irl as he does in his opening statement, he will be a very useful central public witness

I don't think we're going to see any public hearings in the House

he would asked to publicly testify as part of a senate trial, i would hope.

I think if we leave a bottle of rotgut in the prez quarters we might get a full Face in the Crowd meltdown (more his style than Nixon talking to the paintings).

...unless lindsey graham interrupts the roberts-led proceedings to deliver a speech to save the foundations of america, like he did during kavanaugh

he would asked to publicly testify as part of a senate trial, i would hope.

that's assuming McConnell allows sides to present evidence (I sort of doubt it, but who knows)

but this holiday season, it looks like they're gonna wiggle out of impeachment one more time, unless two courageous activists, one uncomfortable senators, a dog that speaks to us and only us, and a pair of elevator doors that just won't shut in time, all come together to temporarily delay the inevitable bullshit for a couple weeks longer

xp isn't that up to roberts?

McConnell told his conference that if the House votes to impeach, the Senate trial would begin every day at around 12:30 p.m. and run six days per week with only Sundays off. All senators must be present and, in a break from norms and nature, they must remain silent. McConnell said after the meeting this “should be good therapy for a number of them.”

House lawyers would serve the role of prosecutors, while White House lawyers would be defense counsel. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts would act as judge. Senators would serve as the jury.

Roberts presides, but I think McConnell sets the parameters of the trial

(I could be wrong! I don't remember the Clinton trial that well, as it was pre-internet and I was at work, not watching the proceedings)

i mean, maybe there would be a entertaining scenario where mcconnell is like "i declare that the prosecutors can present NO evidence!" but then roberts rips off his shirt and says "OVERRULED, majority leader. you may step down good sir, i said step DOWN"

the CJ just presides.

remember when Rehnquist had his own shmancy new robe embroidered for the occasion?

the judge just "presides"?

did anyone finish writing this screenplay, wtf?

what if he's presiding and he sees something he doesn't think is unfair. he doesn't have any authority to do anything?

goddammit, that he DOES think is unfair

my fingers and i are going over to the finger amputation factory, you little bastards, be back later