The September 2019 US Politics Thread is great Great GREAT GR8

Articles of impeachment must include the violations of the Emoluments Clauses, two critical anti-corruption clauses of the Constitution.

Trump keeps taking substantial money from the Saudi Government eg. That's impeachable.

— Zephyr Teachout (@ZephyrTeachout) September 24, 2019

remember when this dirtbag was gonna save us all?

#BREAKING: In local news interview, former FBI Director James Comey comes out against impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, saying, "I think the American people would be let off the hook if Donald Trump were removed from office."

— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) September 24, 2019

Lol

what a huge fuckin dumbass comey is and always was

his opponent got more votes you dumb idiot

"Let off the hook?" What is that supposed to mean? Like we all deserve 4 years of Trump or something?

"do whatever crimes want for at least four years" is not being let off the hook imo

that guy is so fucking embarrassing it actually causes me physical pain

lames comey

You don’t want to get impeached when so many of your party’s representatives have already announced their retirement in 2020. Will Hurd seems likely to vote for impeachment for example.

this is a good point, but unfortunately impeachment articles passing the House is not the issue. The only GOP Senator I can imagine currently voting for impeachment is actually Romney which is sad lol

i'm not saying he's going to be removed from office, but the size of the vote is not irrelevant. it sends a message.

GOP reps being forced to vote for trump also seems like it could increase the rate of retirements which is good electorally (not that the house seems in much danger in 2020 right now)

*size of the vote in the house is not irrelevant.

Jake Sherman on MSNBC getting leaks from the Dem Caucus meeting: "It doesn't matter how many Dems still have to vote for it; if Nancy Pelosi supports impeachment, they'll all fall in line."

bind every republican to trump, make them defend him. salt the earth

another luminary!

Tulsi Gabbard on an impeachment inquiry: "I think that impeachment would be terribly divisive for our already very divided country" pic.twitter.com/XQMf45ldQK

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 24, 2019

road to impeachment

We'll take that ride

https://img.discogs.com/vEwdE-lKsaVf98Ppke-m6i5MkqI=/fit-in/300x300/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/R-1777835-1416164588-6407.jpeg.jpg

Tulsi Gabbard on an impeachment inquiry: "I think that impeachment would be terribly divisive for our already very divided country"

better to just let a political party whose entire operating goal is "triggering the libs" free reign to break whatever laws they please

well, well:

The Senate voted via unanimous consent on Tuesday on a resolution calling for the Trump administration to release to the Senate Intelligence Committee a whistleblower complaint that allegedly involves President Trump and Ukraine.

Why it matters: The resolution is non-binding, but it's a rare show of bipartisanship on an issue that threatens to spark an official impeachment proceeding in the House. The House will vote on a similar resolution on Wednesday.

about to post that, it's significant

its non-binding, can't Trump just go "LOL, no" like he always does

...i.e., The GOP already has their damage control/deflection angle in place.

The president has returned to Trump Tower "for what is described as executive time," according to pool report.

— Chris Megerian (@ChrisMegerian) September 24, 2019

diaper change

he thinks he's being bugged

anyway the fact that the GOP is cool with this means they're expecting to be fully in control of the media narrative and will point to some suggestive phrasing like "it would be a real shame if anything happened to the military assistance we're providing" as a total and complete exoneration, exactly the same as they did with the Barr letter

Pelosi speaking.

Seeing strong indications she's angling for an impeachment vote, but no public hearings.

so ... what *is* an impeachment inquiry?

lmao

Such an important day at the United Nations, so much work and so much success, and the Democrats purposely had to ruin and demean it with more breaking news Witch Hunt garbage. So bad for our Country!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019

I saw Kevin Kruse tweeting it, but I'm not getting that sense. There's a lot we don't know.

So, to recap:

-Pelosi has backed an impeachment INQUIRY
-Unclear If they’ll vote on opening an impeachment inquiry on the floor
-Unclear If they’ll vote on impeachment
-Unclear If Pelosi supports impeachment

A lot of smoke at this point, very little fire.

— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) September 24, 2019

interesting that Trump is releasing transcript - either he's so stupid he doesn't realize it has damning material in it (entirely possible), or he was sly enough to be obfuscatory and incomprehensible enough on the call to provide plausible deniability.

the transcript may not contain anything more damning than what we already know. they've already admitted asking Ukraine to "investigate" the biden situation, and that say there's nothing wrong with that because it was all in the patriotic name of fighting corruption anywhere it may be found. as for the obvious quid pro quo with the military funding that they were holding up, it's unlikely that trump said on the phone call "if you don't give us dirt on biden, we won't give you the money". it's much more likely that it was the elephant in the room and he didn't even have to say it. it's the standard trump/cohen/mob way of doing business - asking for the thing you want without saying it out loud, in a way that's understood by the person you're demanding it from.

it's not a transcript. it's a summary/readout. and it's apparently one of several conversations/actions that lead to the complaint. so it probably contains nothing. although i guess it might also be like that time jr released his emails and they were like "are you willing to crime? great, i crime too, let me help you crime".

lol

PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019

"Presidential harassment" alright

They're handing his harass to him.

Grab 'em by the phone call!

Binders full of harassment

i still don't understand what their argument is going to be for not handing over the whistleblower complaint to congress, as they are legally required to do. "we did absolutely nothing wrong...and we will do everything we can to stop from finding out what they said we did wrong!"

esp when the whistleblower is supposed to testify as early next week (i think i read somewhere today?)

oh man Chuck Todd of all fucking people has turned into Seymour Hersh interrogating that moronic tub of guts Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana.

I think whatever their reasoning may be is now irrelevant. I doubt they can stop the complaint from being heard by Congress at this point.

Pelosi, Nadler, Schiff and, of course, Maxine Waters! Can you believe this?

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019

interesting that Trump is releasing transcript - either he's so stupid he doesn't realize it has damning material in it (entirely possible), or he was sly enough to be obfuscatory and incomprehensible enough on the call to provide plausible deniability.

where do you think Don Jr. got it from

https://i.imgur.com/yQ8RVY5.png

At least there's another month of baseball.

— Richard M. Nixon (@dick_nixon) September 24, 2019

They never even saw the transcript of the call. A total Witch Hunt!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019

What a whiner.

Senate unanimously voted to bring forward the whole complaint. Now that's curious imo