Führer Trump’s Impeachment Inquiry Thread. Update: The Senate completes the coverup

[StringerBell]

Ex-Ukraine Envoy Will Still Testify Despite Pompeo’s Letter

Ex-Ukraine envoy Kurt Volker will testify in front of Congress even after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed to prevent department officials from doing so.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Ex-Ukraine Envoy Kurt Volker Still Plans To Testify Despite Pompeo’s Defiant Letter


Former Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker will testify in the House’s impeachment inquiry this week even after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed to prevent State Department officials from doing so.

According to multiple reports on Tuesday, Volker still plans to give a deposition to the House Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, and Oversight Committees on Thursday despite Pompeo’s defiant letter to the committee chairs declaring that he would “use all means at my disposal” to block their attempts to interview State Department staffers about the sprawling Ukraine scandal.

Volker resigned last week after a whistleblower complaint detailed how the ex-diplomat scrambled to clean up U.S.-Ukraine relations after Rudy Giuliani’s notorious contacts with Ukrainian officials “in an attempt to ‘contain the damage’ to U.S. national security.”

According to the complaint, Volker and other State Department officials were “deeply disturbed” by Giuliani and President Donald Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate 2020 rival Joe Biden.

 

[StringerBell]

State Dpt IG Giving ‘Urgent’ Briefing To Congress On Ukraine

State IG Steve Linick is giving an “urgent” briefing to congressional staffers about documents from the Office of the Legal Adviser related to Ukraine.

talkingpointsmemo.com

State Dpt IG Giving ‘Urgent’ Briefing To Congressional Staffers On Ukraine

State Department Inspector General Steve Linick is giving an “urgent” briefing to congressional staffers Wednesday afternoon about documents from the Office of the Legal Adviser related to Ukraine and State.

According to ABC News, the meeting will occur in a secure location on Capitol Hill.

Since Congress is still in recess, the urgency of the meeting suggests a link to the reporting surfaced recently about the State Department’s role in coordinating interactions between Rudy Giuliani and Ukrainian officials. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also admitted Wednesday morning for the first time that he was part of the July 25 call with President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The State Department has been a central player in the rapidly unfolding Ukrainian scandal, with Pompeo trying to hold back the breaking dam by insisting that he will not allow department officials to testify before a slew of House committees.

 

[StringerBell]

Pompeo Admits He Was On Trump-Zelensky Call For The First Time

Pompeo admitted Wednesday that he was on the infamous July 25 phone call with Trump and Zelensky for the first time after days of dodging questions about it.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Pompeo Admits That He Was On Trump-Zelensky Call For The First Time

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo admitted Wednesday that he was on the infamous July 25 phone call with President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time after assiduously dodging questions about it.

“I was on the phone call,” Pompeo said from a press conference in Rome. “The phone call was the in the context of, I guess I’d been Secretary of State for coming on a year and a half. I know precisely what the American policy is with respect to Ukraine. It’s been remarkably consistent and we will continue to try to drive those set of outcomes.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that Pompeo had been dialed into the phone call on Monday, throwing into stark relief how slippery Pompeo was in an interview with ABC’s Martha Raddatz on September 22.

When she asked him what he knew of Trump’s conversations with Zelensky, he dodged, saying that he hadn’t read reporting on the whistleblower complaint and made it seem like his only knowledge of the call came from a readout released by the Ukrainians. While he didn’t lie outright, he sure pulled some impressive verbal contortions to distance himself as far as possible from the call.

 

[StringerBell]

 

[StringerBell]

 

[StringerBell]

 

[CeLLar-DooR]

View attachment 174432

I wasn't feelin' her anyway now it's 100.

This is the most stupid shit smh I hate when laymen say it, let alone presidential candidates

 

[StringerBell]

 

[ImaInfluenza]

Watching the GOP try to sway public opinion on this is fucking hilarious.

They arent trying to sway public opinion, they are trying to enrage ignorant white people. Because white politicians and white CEOs still believe enraged white people are something to fear.

If they raise enough fear of those white people, politicians on both sides who depend heavily on those white people, start coppin pleas, and shit gets quiet.

Only dems out front on this are those running for president and those that dont depend heavily on the white vote.

 

[StringerBell]

State IG Briefing Was About Mysterious, Conspiracy-Laden Ukraine Material Circulating At State

The State Department Inspector General briefed congressional staff and a member of Congress Wednesday on a mysterious packet of Ukraine-related “disinformation,” according to a member of Congress…

talkingpointsmemo.com

Now We Know: State IG Will Reportedly Brief Panels About Retaliation Allegations


The House and Senate Intelligence Committees will be briefed Wednesday by the State Department Inspector General on potential retaliation against State Department witnesses for cooperating with Congress, PBS and Reutersreported.

The request Tuesday by the inspector general for a briefing suggested it was an incredibly important matter, given that both chambers of Congress are currently on recess.

The briefing comes as the House is set to begin deposing current and former State Department officials about allegations that President Trump and his allies pressured Ukraine to dig up dirt on a political rival.

Two officials — the former special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker and the ex-ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch — have agreed to sit for depositions, House Intel Chairman Adam Schiff said (D-CA) Wednesday, and he said discussions are underway with other State officials the committee has sought to speak to.

Their cooperation comes as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sent the House a scathing letter accusing Democrats of bullying State Department employees by requesting their testimony.

 

[StringerBell]

Report: Trump Froze Ukraine Military Aid In June, Not July

President Donald Trump delayed the almost $400 million in congressionally-approved military aid to Ukraine as early as June, according to a CNN report on Wednesday. Citing an unnamed senior…

talkingpointsmemo.com

Report: Trump Froze Ukraine Military Aid In June, Not July

President Donald Trump delayed the almost $400 million in congressionally-approved military aid to Ukraine as early as June, according to a CNN report on Wednesday.

Citing an unnamed senior administration official, CNN reported that Trump had frozen the funds and ordered Defense Secretary Mark Esper and then-National Security Adviser John Bolton to do a policy review in June, not mid-July as previously reported by the Washington Post.

Trump’s order was reportedly “confusing to people at the time” because the State and Defense Departments had already signed off on the aid and informed Congress that they were ready to send the funds after completing their own reviews.

In fact, the Pentagon had sent a letter in May notifying Congress it had “certified” that Ukraine had taken the proper steps to fight government corruption, contradicting one of Trump’s excuses for withholding the aid.

Additionally, Buzzfeed News reported on Wednesday that Ukrainian officials had no idea the aid was being withheld when Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25.

Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Olena Zerkal told BuzzFeed News that they only found out in late August when their Washington Embassy sent them a letter about it, which didn’t explain the reason for the delay.

 

[StringerBell]

 

[Mister]

 

[StringerBell]

Giuliani Confirms That Docs State IG Gave Congress Came From Him

Giuliani confirmed that at least some of the documents in the packet of “disinformation” that State Department IG Linick handed over to Congress came from him.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Giuliani Confirms That At Least Some Docs State IG Gave Congress Came From Him

Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani confirmed Wednesday night that at least some of the documents in the packet of “disinformation” that State Department Inspector General Steve Linick handed over to Congress in an “urgent” briefing came from him.

According to CNN, the packet includes fodder for the fabricated Joe and Hunter Biden smears, as well as rightwing accusations against former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch that forced her resignation.

Giuliani gave the documents to the State Department.

According to CNN, staffers at the briefing were “puzzled” by the urgency with which it was characterized, as the content seemed to be pure Giuliani fantasy.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the sole lawmaker who attended, said that the packet is “a series of somewhat hallucinatory propagandistic suggestions that are very consistent with the things Rudolph Giuliani has been saying,” and fretted that it could be a “distraction” to the impeachment inquiry going forward.

 

[StringerBell]

Washington Post: Top Pence Adviser Was On Trump’s Ukraine Call

Vice President Mike Pence's national security adviser was reportedly on President Donald Trump's call with the Ukrainian president on July 25. The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the…

talkingpointsmemo.com

Washington Post: Top Pence Adviser Was On Trump’s Ukraine Call


Vice President Mike Pence’s national security adviser was reportedly on President Donald Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president on July 25.

The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the adviser, Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, had been dialed into the call in which Trump attempted to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate 2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.

Unnamed officials told the Post that Pence should’ve had access to the call transcripts “within hours,” in the Post’s words, and that detailed notes of the call likely would’ve been included in the vice president’s briefing materials for his meeting with Zelensky in Warsaw on September 1.

However, the officials claimed that Pence probably hadn’t read the the notes before the meeting and that the vice president didn’t know about Trump’s pressure campaign against Zelensky.

Bu it was during that Warsaw meeting that Pence, at Trump’s behest, pressedZelensky on the issue of corruption, though Pence denies bringing up the Bidens in the conversation.

 

[StringerBell]

Giuliani Reveals Trump Is Mulling Filing Lawsuit Against Schiff For ‘Deliberately’ Lying

Giuliani made the President’s vague threats of “major lawsuits” against an unknown group of people, including special counsel Robert Mueller, more specific.

talkingpointsmemo.com

Giuliani Reveals Trump Is Mulling Filing Lawsuit Against Schiff For ‘Deliberately’ Lying

President Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani made the President’s vague threats of “major lawsuits” against an unknown group of people, including special counsel Robert Mueller, more specific.

During a series of interviews on Wednesday afternoon and evening, Giuliani said that House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA) would likely be the target of Trump’s legal vexation.

“It would be a very big case, but Schiff would be at the center of it,” Giuliani told Sinclair’s Eric Bolling Wednesday. “What did he do? He deliberately lied in order to perpetuate a false charge against the President of the United States.”

Later on Wednesday, he took the possible legal action one step further, revealing Trump would like also go after some nebulous group of Democrats.

“What I’m considering now, with my co-counsel — ultimately, of course the president would have to decide this — but what I’m considering now is a major lawsuit against all of them because it’s gone too far, they’ve now perpetrated two false stories, we would call it in the street, they’re trying to frame the President. So they failed on number one, Russian collusion, but they all participated in it,” he said during an interview on the David Webb Show on SiriusXM. “The Democrats think that by screaming about that the bought-and-paid for press is going to turn on us, the messengers and not the message. I think this is a case in which they’ve gone so far that they’ve overstepped their bounds.”

During an off-the-rails press conference on Wednesday, Trump expressed fury over Mueller’s probe and argued the whole investigation was an attempt go after “my people.”

“It should never happen to another President ever,” he said of what he sees as poor treatment at the hands of the special counsel. “I’m have been talking about it from the standpoint of bringing a major lawsuit and have been talking about it a long time. We’ve been investigating the corruption having to do with what they did to my people, they destroyed many people.”

 

[StringerBell]

Trump Says China ‘Should Investigate The Bidens’

President Donald Trump declared on Thursday that the Chinese and Ukrainian governments both should investigate his 2020 rival Joe Biden and Biden's son, Hunter. When a reporter asked Trump what he…

talkingpointsmemo.com

Trump Says China ‘Should Investigate The Bidens’

President Donald Trump declared on Thursday that the Chinese and Ukrainian governments both should investigate his 2020 rival Joe Biden and Biden’s son, Hunter.

When a reporter asked Trump what he wanted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to do about the Bidens during the infamous phone call in July, Trump bluntly admitted that he wanted Ukraine to investigate his political rival.

“Well I would think if they were honest about it, they would start a major investigation into the Bidens,” he said. “It’s a very simple answer.”

“Likewise, China should start an investigation into the Bidens,” Trump added. “Because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine.”

It was another stunning example of the President of the United States outright calling on a foreign power to inflict political damage on his rival. Trump’s efforts to strong-arm the Ukrainian president to drum up phony allegations against Biden have formed the basis for House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.

Besides baseless conspiracy theories about Biden and Ukraine, Trump and his allies have also repeatedly claimed that Hunter Biden made shady deals in China.

During a Fox News interview in May, Trump demanded an investigation into Biden’s alleged ties to China. However, he didn’t push China itself to conduct the potential investigation at the time.

 

[StringerBell]

 

[StringerBell]

 

[StringerBell]

Schiff Blasts Trump For Calling On China To Investigate The Bidens

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) called on Republicans to condemn the comments President Trump made Thursday urging China to investigate Joe Biden. "The President of the United States…

talkingpointsmemo.com

Schiff Blasts Trump For Calling On China To Investigate The Bidens

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) called on Republicans to condemn the comments President Trump made Thursday urging China to investigate Joe Biden.

“The President of the United States encouraging a foreign nation to interfere again to help his campaign by investigating a rival is a fundamental breach of the President’s oath of office,” Schiff said. “It endangers our elections it endangers our national security it ought to be condemned by every member of this body — Democrats and Republicans.”

Schiff said the comments were “an illustration that if this president has learned anything from the two years of Mueller investigation it’s that he feels he can do anything with impunity.”

He made the brief remarks while his committee was behind closed doors interviewing former Ambassador Kurt Volker, who until recently served as a special envoy to Ukraine while Trump was pressuring the country to investigate the Bidens.

Schiff did not comment on the Volker interview.