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

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

http://d279m997dpfwgl.cloudfront.net/wp/2019/03/AP_18334546967309-1000x666.jpg

the dude presides

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/911db7a/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2048x1234+0+0/resize/840x506!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fca-times.brightspotcdn.com%2F02%2Fc5%2F790879352d6f5ec3522115620379%2Fla-na-roberts-conservative-backlash-20150924-002

"I'm the Presider-in-Chief, motherfuckers!"

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/NeuDcriBAZ8/maxresdefault.jpg

https://www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/20091015__20091018_E12_BK18BRIEFLYp2.jpg?w=600

Imagine the voguing he did in that baby when it was delivered.

I can’t abide by that terrible turn of phrase

Now we just need AntMan to go up his ass

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/22/politics/anonymous-trump-official-book/index.html

wondered what happened to this person, also thought maybe this person was one of the whistleblowers.

Does he think a whistleblower literally plays a wind instrument.

well we know they're top brass

Trump orders confiscation of all whistles

Ian Anderson arrested

...from jethro tull?

oh i see

Dogwhistler vs Whistleblower FITE

hmm maybe we will get public hearings, according to the NYT (although they do not quote anybody or cite anything specifically lol)

Democratic leaders had hoped to move as soon as Thanksgiving to wrap up a narrow inquiry focused around Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, buoyed by polling data that shows that the public supports the investigation, even if voters are not yet sold on impeaching the president.

But after a complicated web of damaging revelations about the president has emerged from private depositions unfolding behind closed doors, Democratic leaders have now begun plotting a full-scale — and probably more time-consuming — effort to lay out their case in a set of high-profile public hearings on Capitol Hill.

Their goal is to convince the public — and if they can, more Republicans — that the president committed an impeachable offense when he demanded that Ukraine investigate his political rivals.

even if voters are not yet sold on impeaching the president.

correction: the overwhelming majority of all non-republican voters (including "independent") are sold on it

..Therefore, based on both Media & Democrat Crazed and Irrational Hostility, we will no longer consider Trump National Doral, Miami, as the Host Site for the G-7 in 2020. We will begin the search for another site, including the possibility of Camp David, immediately. Thank you!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 20, 2019

just wanted to go back to this to point out the layer of bullshit under the surface layer of bullshit...
Why would the toughest guy on the planet bow to the pressure of crazed irrational Dems and Media?? If Doral was hands-down the best venue, why you gonna let some whiny bitches ruin things?? They'll criticize you no matter what you do! Right?? Does this mean if they foam at the mouth about something else in the future, big bad Donny will cave just as easily? Why did he not cave to their pressure on other matters? Why would the most popular President in history, elected by a huge majority in the most fantastic election ever held, have to acquiesce to a bunch of deranged socialists who hate America???