The Friday afternoon/evening news dump wasn’t as soul-crushing as usual last week. The “breaking news” chyron was overused, of course, but there was some new information, namely that a SECOND whistleblower has come forward with “firsthand knowledge” of all the crimes Donald Trump has committed re: Ukraine and the Bidens. Here’s more from the NY Times:
An intelligence official with “firsthand knowledge” has provided information related to President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine and is now protected from retaliation as a whistle-blower, lawyers representing the official said on Sunday, confirming that a second individual has come forward in the matter. Much is unknown about the official, who has been interviewed by the intelligence community’s inspector general but has not filed a formal complaint.
But the individual has hired the same legal team as the first whistle-blower. That, and the claim of “firsthand knowledge,” suggests testimony that might bolster the impeachment case against Mr. Trump and further undermine one of his main defense claims: that the accusations against him are based on inaccurate, secondhand information.
The New York Times reported on Friday that an intelligence official who has more direct knowledge of Mr. Trump’s dealings with Ukraine than the first whistle-blower, and who had grown alarmed by the president’s behavior, was weighing whether to come forward. The second official was among those interviewed by the intelligence community inspector general to corroborate the allegations of the original whistle-blower, one of the people briefed on the matter said.
I’m glad more people are coming forward and hiring lawyers and preparing to testify before the House committees. But… I do wonder what took so f–king long. We’re coming up on three years of the Trump presidency, a presidency he won by colluding with Russia. And now he’s using other nations to smear his political opponents and I can’t help but think that he’s been trying to do this sh-t the whole time. So I’ll ask again: what took so f–king long?
As for whether or not Trump will be impeached… he absolutely will be impeached by the House. He’s committed enough crimes openly in front of cameras to ensure that. Whether he will be impeached by the Senate is another thing completely, and I’m doubtful. Trump seems to be operating under the assumption that the House will impeach and his allies in the Senate will have his back and that the whole thing will help him win re-election. But sources told Axios that Trump is privately telling friends that any kind of impeachment is a “bad thing to have on your resume.” I just…
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red and Backgrid.
I’m praying that the Senate gets a spine, because if they don’t impeach him based on all the things he’s openly admitted, we might as well agree that there is literally nothing that a president could do that would get him out of office. Sigh.
And hahahahaha yeah, impeachment would look bad on a resume, Donny.
What is the point of governing people if you aren’t prioritizing doing the right thing??? Ugh please grow a spine senate!!! 🙏🙏
They have spines. It takes spines to collect paychecks they didn’t earn and to spin these lies to people. What they don’t have? Morals, ethics, conscience, principles, hearts, brains.
Don’t hold your breath. I think Mitch McConnell has all their spines squirreled away in his neck pouch.
I agree, unfortunately. If anything, I’m trying to mentally prepare myself for the possibility that he will win re-election. I’m not feeling very prepared for it at all though.
You are expecting too much from those sociopathic monsters.
I’m not expecting anything. I said I was praying for it, not expecting it.
My expectation is that they won’t impeach him. My hope is that they will.
I think the GOP Senators that are in favor of removing him will not say so until the moment they vote. I think they will continue to tow the party line right up until the moment of truth.
I think a lot of GOP Senators actually hate Trump, but they fear the power he holds. If he is removed, he won’t be able to extract revenge, so they will wait until the very last moment.
Not if you’re a rich white male
Yep! I tried to give the members of my white race the benefit of the doubt but I don’t anymore. Seeing how trump has gotten away w so much stuff that Obama wouldn’t be able to get away with has just made me so mad. And shown me the full extent of my white privilege. Made it plain as day.
Can we all just use the right terms so people don’t get confused. I’m seeing these mix-ups everywhere.
The House of Representatives votes to impeach.
The Senate holds a “trial” at which House members “prosecute” by presenting their case as to why they impeached in the lower body and the Senate should remove, The Senators are the jury; the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is the judge. The Senate then votes to whether or not to remove the President from office.
Two presidents, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, have been impeached but the Senate voted not to remove them.
A third president, Richard Nixon, resigned the day before his House impeachment vote was to happen because numerous Senators of his own party had made it clear to him that they would vote to remove him.
We are sadly missing Republicans of the caliber of Ed Brooke.
ETA he just handed over the Kurds for Turkey to commit genocide in exchange for a distraction from impeachment and the rights to slap his name on a hotel.
Those reasons and a couple of others. I have never hated anyone so much.
https://twitter.com/davidfrum/status/1181173686239465474?s=21
This is more horrible than I could have imagined. But thank you for the link.
Even Lindsey Graham is not down with this Turkey move.
And can we also talk about how absurd it is that our President is explaining his foreign policy on Twitter instead of an appropriate forum?
Gaslit Nation has a really good break down of the truth behind the Ukraine conspiracy theories Trump is desperately clinging to.
https://gaslitnation.libsyn.com/the-gop-is-an-unregistered-foreign-agent-part-i
FYI the Chief Justice only oversees Presidential impeachment hearings; otherwise the President of the Senate (the VP of the USA) does.
I used to just hope he would die from a massive coronary event or choke on a well-done trump streak. But now I hope he lives to experience the glorious downfall that is coming. Impeachment in the House is just a teeny, tiny part of how history will remember the criminal organization known as the Trump family.
I have watched Republicans…in the 52 years of my life…work OVERTIME to ensure that workers receive the lowest pay…that corporations can do whatever they want to the majority of people in this country and the land and water with impunity…and I have watched Republicans work…OVERTIME…to take away ALL forms of socialized healthcare…take food and shelter away from children/poor people/senior citizens/disabled….and to strip rights from women and anyone who isn’t a Whyte man….I have seen Republican POTUS’ commit some of the most awful treason on record…(and I’m not talking about Tramp)
Yet…folks are STILL asking for THESE Republicans to grow a spine and be decent and protect the Constitution…a document that they work OVERTIME to negate?
It will NOT happen….
EVER….
This.^ It has been proven time and time again that there are no checks and balances. Bush commits war crimes… nothing. Trump commits treason multiple times in one month… nothing. The American government is run like the mob except x10 more stupid and brazen under republican rule.
IMO, problem is that our Constitution was designed to deal with potential threats to democracy from a corrupt executive branch because they were breaking away from a monarchical system. Our founding fathers didn’t think to consider what would happen if the *legislative* branch was the problem. It never occurred to them an entire party would hijack democracy for gain.
What Lala said +1,000
Don’t forget Obama sanctioned the use of drones to execute an American citizen on foreign land without due process. If your (Steff) issue is with checks and balances, the problem is Governmental, not Republican.
No, my problem is Republicans but thanks Natasha!
Your problem is literacy as your name is not Steff!
As long as people keep voting them into their positions this will continue. They don’t end up there by accident. There are millions of people who support their agenda and behaviour.
There will ALWAYS be a large segment of people in this country that supports fascism….folks need to STOP appealing to their humanity for decency…
They have none…they prove it ad naseum at the voting booth
I agree, it won’t ever happen. We may peel away 1 or 2 who have some semblance of a conscience, but I’m not counting on more than that. I also think a good number of them, such as LIndsey Graham for example, are compromised.
My only hope is that people finally vote them out of office in 2020 and swing the Senate and White House back to the Democrats.
Resume? He’s never needed one..his would read “daddy gave me 400 million but I still kept going bankrupt. Conned, lied bullied and fed people’s hate to gain power. And, of couse, I’m a stable genius with the most beautiful resume”
Also, he’s very old so it’s not as if he’ll have to carry this around for 30 years or something.
And, fingers crossed, the moment he’s removed he loses his immunity and no one cares about your resume when you’re in jail 😁
I know, it was such a dumb thing to say. And I’m willing to be trump never said it or thought it, that’s something from one of his minions. They’re embarrassed to have on their resume a treasonous crook who got impeached as their boss.
Impeachment is “a bad thing to have on your resumé”. He’s clever, this one. 🤣
He always looks like he’s sitting on the toilet when he does those press ops.
Just to be clear. I am from Eastern Europe and I know Biden’s family affairs in this part of the world. Everybody knew and knows. The man is rotten and the fact that Obama has left him to his own devices sucks and seriously downgrades him in my opinion.
That being said, Trump is an idiot. He couldn’t make his point even if he had one to make.
trump is more than an idiot. He is a sniveling weasel who will sacrifice anyone to save his rotten skin. He is evil incarnate.
Joe Biden is a grown man many years Barack Obama’s senior. It’s not Obama’s job to babysit Joe or supervise and manage his behavior. Lawd.
So you “know” that the biden family is corrupt because you’re from eastern europe? Have you contacted the FBI with your evidence?
Biden wasn’t “left to his own devices”. That’s absurd and a total re-write of history. It makes me think you are a bot/paid troll, because it is so far from the truth.
Biden advocated for Shokin’s removal because he WASN’T prosecuting corruption. Biden was doing this with the full support of the Obama administration, the IMF, European diplomats, and civil organizations in Ukraine. Biden was the spokesperson for a widely agreed upon priority.
Technically, Biden’s actions put his son more at risk…but it doesn’t really matter anyway, because Biden’s son joined the board of the company AFTER their period of wrong doing.
Nixon didn’t resign because of Democrats.
He resigned because Republicans eventually found him too toxic to stand next to.
Politicians weren’t quite as insane 45 years ago. There were GOP who put the country over party — and there was no Fox News.
But we can hope the tide is turning. I’m too cautious to be even cautiously optimistic — but let’s hope.
Did you hear Rob Johnson (Ron?) this weekend? How he never trusted FBI and CIA? I hope whoever is on his security detail will walk off.
To what job is going to be he applying? He’s already failed upward as high as he can go.
I know, I know – it’s an expression.
He was likely speaking metaphorically.
As if he gives 2 s&*ts about his legacy.
The courts are coming for Donny Boy’s taxes now too… blood is in the water and he’s about to get chomped.
I really think this may be the end. He might not end up being removed but impeachment seems very possible, and I can see him dropping from the 2020 race as a result.
Crossing fingers!
Let’s hope he hasn’t found too many legal loopholes with his taxes. I want to see the whiney orange man in an orange jumpsuit! I am not sure I can handle another 4 years of this. It makes George W even with his war crimes, look better in comparison. At least he wasn’t narcissistic nor made a mockery of the presidency.
I am really doubtful that this was a wise move by the Democrats. If Trump is impeached who will be President? Pence? I think chances of winning an election against Trump are better than winning against other Republicans, who appear less unhinged but are just as dangerous.
Pence is compromised over Moron -Costa (Ukraine Gate) – those are Twitter’s names – so he’s a goner too. There’s a real possibility that Nancy may end up on top.
You just gave me some real hope. Thanks!
If Trump gets impeached, it will be a stain on the entire party and those in congress and the administration that stood by and let him commit crimes. Pence etc. would be tarnished by association.
Doing nothing was never an option. But we know now that he will do anything to distract. He’s a rat cornered and desperately trying to escape. Let’s hope they slap him with impeachment and trials and hopefully a long prison sentence. That’ll keep him busy for the rest of his unnatural life.