impeachment inquiry hearings thread

[jimmyjazz 46248]

"Carly Purina couldn't even run a great American company like HP without getting fired like the dog she is.  LOSER!"

[SimonBolivar 10961]

30 minutes ago, Bruh Man said:

I'm sure Trump will handle this with maturity.

 

But she still might vote for him, Jesus.

[Biff Tannen 45750]

Does not compute

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

33 minutes ago, Bruh Man said:

I'm sure Trump will handle this with maturity.

 

Female. He always shows such restraint with women about whom he's speaking.

 

I wish a lot more high profile women would speak out regarding the President, not because I wish for them to be subjects of his vitriol, but to expose just how weak his arguments towards them and their ideas and accomplishments are.

[Pescado_Rojo 19439]

Even the "sane" republicans don't want to lose their seat at the trough errr table. They are trying to balance that fine line so they can still move around in conservative circles, lobbying and consulting gigs and cocktail parties. I hope they fall off that fine line and land head first in the giant pile of shit they are enabling. 

[SuingToGetAMessageBoard? 3861]

Just now, Pescado_Rojo said:

Even the "sane" republicans don't want to lose their seat at the trough errr table. They are trying to balance that fine line so they can still move around in conservative circles, lobbying and consulting gigs and cocktail parties. I hope they fall off that fine line and land head first in the giant pile of shit they are enabling. 

I know this guy.  He was ostracized and never worked in politics again, even as the party basically acknowledged Nixon was a crook.  Party Uber Alles.

[Biff Tannen 45750]

Impeachment rally at city hall in Austin at 5:30 tomorrow.

[henrygandorf 29197]

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

538 is showing a slight downturn in support for impeachment and removal, too.  I have similar questions about how they aggregate the polls as well.  I don't dispute the numbers, I just don't know enough to be confident that every poll included -- or the net of the included polls -- represents a valid cross section of voters.

They also report data for "support of impeachment" by party (Republican/Democrat/Independent), which shows no significant change in almost 3 months.  Of course, this doesn't reflect any shifting between parties or party-to-independent movement.  Presumably those shifts are tiny, but maybe not.

1-2 weeks ago there was a big narrative/talking point being pushed by the right that "polls were showing support for impeachment had gone down", but it was more like what you said.  support and opposition had actually both gone down about 1 point, for whatever reason, but that didn't stop them from spreading the company line bullshit.

in the history of polling, impeachment support has never been this high.  it took over a year for nixon's numbers to get to this level.  typically "impeach and remove" hangs in the 20's or 30's regardless of which side it is, or what the president is doing.

[Bama Chick 28596]

Yep and like I said then it’s the same tactic they used before the midterms - “This Kavanaugh mess is galvanizing the right! Good luck with your ‘Blue Wave’!”.

It was bullshit then and it’s bullshit now. It’s a scare tactic to try and drive opinions to what they claim everyone else thinks.

It’s like FOMO but FOBW - fear of being wrong. Most people don’t like the idea of being on the “wrong” side so republican spin artists are trying to play on that.

Luckily it didn’t work during the midterms and it doesn’t seem to be working now. It’s one of the rare failures of the right wing bullshittery artists.

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

6 minutes ago, Bama Chick said:

It was bullshit then and it’s bullshit now.

Yes, yes it is.

I don't care if I am the only one in my entire city and everyone else polls as against impeachment. One cannot have read the memorandum, read the testimonies, and watched the inquiry and not know that impeachment is necessary to the survival of our Republic.

[Chad Fuck 17815]

No one is surprised, but nevertheless, we're into "one for every occasion" territory with the Rs who were around during the Clinton impeachment.

[Bozo_Casanova 26580]

1 hour ago, Biff Tannen said:

Does not compute

Is that an HP joke? If so, amazing. 

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

15 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Is that an HP joke? If so, amazing. 

OMG, thank you for pointing that out! It went so far over my head the first time I was reading it needed Go/NoGo coordinates. Rep to you and @Biff Tannenboth.

[DixonHur 11395]

1 hour ago, Biff Tannen said:

Impeachment rally at city hall in Austin at 5:30 tomorrow.

City Hall?  Seems like an odd choice.  Wouldn't the Capitol make more sense?

[Biff Tannen 45750]

Just now, DixonHur said:

City Hall?  Seems like an odd choice.  Wouldn't the Capitol make more sense?

There's one at the capitol in the morning I believe.

[TwiceHorn 31576]

2 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

"Carly Purina couldn't even run a great American company like HP without getting fired like the dog she is.  LOSER!"

Something  . . . mumble . . .  something . . . . The Apprentice!  Sad!

[tx 3 putt 77552]

3 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

"Carly Purina couldn't even run a great American company like HP without getting fired like the dog she is.  LOSER!"

She’s a popular business school case study on how not to do things, literally 

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

Those Do Nothing Democrats getting things done...

 

[jimmyjazz 46248]

8 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

She’s a popular business school case study on how not to do things, literally 

I'm not disputing that.

[yoladu 4109]

4 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Even the "sane" republicans don't want to lose their seat at the trough errr table. They are trying to balance that fine line so they can still move around in conservative circles, lobbying and consulting gigs and cocktail parties. I hope they fall off that fine line and land head first in the giant pile of shit they are enabling. 

So um.. swamp creatures defending the President. Does not compute.

[GRHorn 105]

 

[Pasken 1309]

Can she sue him for libel here?

[David Dennison 18951]

2 hours ago, GRHorn said:

 

It doesn't matter. He's getting impeached. That's on him forever.

[notre dame joe 197]

17 hours ago, henrygandorf said:

1-2 weeks ago there was a big narrative/talking point being pushed by the right that "polls were showing support for impeachment had gone down", but it was more like what you said.  support and opposition had actually both gone down about 1 point, for whatever reason, but that didn't stop them from spreading the company line bullshit.

in the history of polling, impeachment support has never been this high.  it took over a year for nixon's numbers to get to this level.  typically "impeach and remove" hangs in the 20's or 30's regardless of which side it is, or what the president is doing.

The public hung on every hearing for impeachments #2 and #3.  I'm not sure about Andrew Johnson.  This is the first modern impeachment where the public tuned out the impeachors.  The news shows are trumpeting how support for Trump is edging up but only muttering that their ratings for impeachment news are falling. 

[Tuco 5084]

You guys put a lot of stock in minor shifts in polling. I assume you believe Trump will be a one term President.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

[Tuco 5084]

^^ ABC/Wapo poll

The Senate fair trial question is a clunky one.  

Quote

7. If Trump is impeached, the U.S. Senate will hold a trial on whether or not to remove him from office. How confident are you that Trump would receive a fair trial in the Senate – very confident, somewhat confident, not so confident or not confident at all?

For one, it's long.  But, it also asks if Trump will receive something he is entitled to.  I think if you asked the same audience: "Will the trial in the Senate be fair, biased against Trump, or biased for Trump?", you'd get different results. 

 

I think there are more interesting results, including the next one that highlights what Dems should hammer on:

Quote

8. Do you think Trump should or should not allow his top aides to testify in a Senate trial?

71% believe he should allow them to testify, versus 22% who say he should not.  

That result may be indicative of Trumpsters not understanding that Trump is blocking testimony.  Or maybe it's a question of "allowed" vs. fighting subpoenas.  

Question 4 has implications on the fallout from the impeachment, rather than just the impeachment itself. 

Quote

4. Do you approve or disapprove of the way [ITEM] handled the impeachment inquiry? 

Trump: 39% Approve/53% Disapprove  [this is a trend up from end of Oct when Trump was managing the response himself: 34/58] 

Dems in Congress: 44/50

Republicans in Congress: 41/52

Granted, some of that disapproval for any of those may be because the ITEM didn't handle it the way we thought they should handle it - wasn't aggressive enough, didn't ask the right questions, etc.. 

Question 5 is weird in that they asked how the HIC treated Trump and how the Judiciary treated Clinton.  I have no recollection on how the Judiciary treated Clinton.  

As far as the HIC, 55% believe Trump was treated fairly by the HIC.   

 

 

Edited December 17, 2019 by Tuco

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

5 minutes ago, Tuco said:

For one, it's long.  But, it also asks if Trump will receive something he is entitled to.  I think if you asked the same audience: "Will the trial in the Senate be fair, biased against Trump, or biased for Trump?", you'd get different results.

I like this take and I agree, the question is clunky. Your question is clear and concise and depending upon the poll method (call, online, etc) gets to the point. I have answered polls before (telephone) and the ones over the dinner hour prep are a pain.

 

[Tuco 5084]

Sounds like skittish Dem Congressman are falling in line.  Honestly, I think the douche from New Jersey may have been good lesson on how to fuck yourself.  

Quote

WASHINGTON (AP) - Vulnerable House Democrats are announcing they’ll vote for President Donald Trump’s impeachment even if it means losing their seats in Congress.

At least 31 lawmakers from competitive districts say they will vote in favor of the abuse and obstruction charges against Trump.

The exception is New Jersey congressman Jeff Van Drew, a Democrat who opposes impeachment and is poised to become a Republican.

A cascade of announcements on Monday came ahead of the House vote later this week.

If the articles pass, Trump will become the nation’s third impeached president.

WOWT

Edited December 17, 2019 by Tuco

[David Dennison 18951]

3 hours ago, notre dame joe said:

The public hung on every hearing for impeachments #2 and #3.  I'm not sure about Andrew Johnson.  This is the first modern impeachment where the public tuned out the impeachors.  The news shows are trumpeting how support for Trump is edging up but only muttering that their ratings for impeachment news are falling. 

It's also the first modern impeachment where TV isn't the main way a very large percentage of Americans consume the news. Just focusing on television ratings is not at all a good way of measuring how many Americans are paying attention to impeachment.

Edited December 17, 2019 by David Dennison

[atomheartbevo 89838]

8 hours ago, Pasken said:

Can she sue him for libel here?

I certainly hope so.   I also like that the President’s personal lawyer is openly talking about forcing out career government employees who were in his way.  

[Biff Tannen 45750]

59 minutes ago, Tuco said:

Sounds like skittish Dem Congressman are falling in line.  Honestly, I think the douche from New Jersey may have been good lesson on how to fuck yourself.  

WOWT

Good.  They need to do their fucking jobs that they were elected to do.

[Lagunamadre 1975]

"Your'e the Kangaroo Court.....No....No....you're the Kangaroo Court"

 

 

[Longhorn_Fan68 33900]

[jimmyjazz 46248]

Seemingly lost in this ridiculous hue and cry over the unfair House Democrats is a little nugget in Donald Trump's favorite Constitutional article (Article 2):

Quote

The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.

Presumably this means a subsequent POTUS cannot pardon Trump for those crimes laid out in the impeachment.  If so, it also points out good reason to expand those articles as time marches along.

[wildcat09 29429]

Just now, jimmyjazz said:

Seemingly lost in this ridiculous hue and cry over the unfair House Democrats is a little nugget in Donald Trump's favorite Constitutional article (Article 2):

Presumably this means a subsequent POTUS cannot pardon Trump for those crimes laid out in the impeachment.  If so, it also points out good reason to expand those articles as time marches along.

I don't think it's ever been litigated, but the seemingly-obvious intent of that language is to prevent him from using his pardon to prevent the impeachment of officials.  I don't think there's a good argument that it prevents him from pardoning underlying crimes for which an official may be impeached for.

[henrygandorf 29197]

1 hour ago, Longhorn_Fan68 said:

this has been posted several times, and although i appreciate the simplicity of it, i think some of the message gets lost.  recently, trump and his minions have been challenging the interpretation of "us".  he's claiming "us" means the american people.  and even though we all know he's full of shit, it's at least an arguable point.

but here's what's not, and what should be the only word circled - favor.

they claim this was part of the u.s. policy in dealing with corruption.  he claims he's carrying out that policy when dealing with ukraine.  if it's so official and above-board, then why would he refer to it as a "favor"?  if this was a legit deal (obviously it wasn't) then he would say, "yes, that's fine, and we have the aid ready.  but enough is enough with the corruption, and until you get to the bottom of it, we cannot and will not release the aid, i thought that much was clear from our previous dealings with your country.  show me you're committed to cleaning up the corruption, and we will move forward on our end."  (obviously ukraine had already cleared the process and the aid had been approved, so this is moot, but yeah).

the key word here is 'favor', not 'us'.

[ndawg 1242]

@henrygandorf in the mind of a Trumpkin, the use of the term "favor" is likely to be perceived as an example of Trump employing his brilliant negotiating skills he developed as a businessman.

[hayden_horn 11365]

3 hours ago, David Dennison said:

It's also the first modern impeachment where TV isn't the main way a very large percentage of Americans consume the news. Just focusing on television ratings is not at all a good way of measuring how many Americans are paying attention to impeachment.

i also think it's the first modern impeachment where people are actively and intentionally disengaged from politics, because it's so in your face with the trump administration. 

remember when we could go days without the obama administration being the lead story? with the trump administration it's all day every day, and while those of us who post here follow it religiously, i would wager that for plenty of america, it's just background noise.

[Bruh Man 3160]

Hope you guys find time to attend one of the impeachment protests going on around the country. I'll be at the one at Colin Allred's office in Richardson. 

 

[Tuco 5084]

I think what also gets overlooked in the transcript: 

Quote

I will say that we do a lot for Ukraine. We spend a lot of effort and a lot of time. Much more than the European countries are doing and they should be helping you more than they are. Germany does almost nothing for you. All they do is talk and I think it's something that you should really ask them about. When I was· ·speaking to Angela Merkel she talks Ukraine, but she doesn't do· anything. A lot of the European countries are the same way so I think it's.something you want to look at but the United States has been very very good to Ukraine. I wouldn't say that it's reciprocal necessarily because things are happening that are not good but the United States has been very very good to Ukraine.

We do a lot for you (military aid.) You don't reciprocate (investigations).  He even contrasts what we do against the European countries, which, when coupled with that he (incorrectly) thought the others weren't providing military aid, makes it pretty clear this is a reference to military aid. 

It's the set up for "I would like you to do us a favor though." which is the next thing out of his mouth.  It's the quid to the quo. And he made it clear that Ukraine was not providing the quid sufficiently.  

 

 

Edited December 17, 2019 by Tuco

[triplehorn 2664]

oh, Mitch.  You really don't want to be sullied by your own shittiness, do you.

[henrygandorf 29197]

they're really pushing hard on this new narrative that "if the house really wanted to be taken seriously, then they should've called all their witnesses in their investigation."

obviously completely overlooking the stonewalling of the witnesses they did call and want to hear from - the republicans seem mad that the dems didn't go to court for that testimony - a process that would've taken months.

seems like most of the strategy coming from the white house (on just about every matter) is "get everything to the courts, where not only do we control a lot of judges, but shit takes fucking forever."

most impeachment matters, i would imagine, are not ultra time-sensitive.  but when election-meddling is the topic, maybe a little urgency wouldn't hurt.

[triplehorn 2664]

^^^ completely agree.

If the House withholds forwarding approved articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial unless McConnell agrees to allow relevant witnesses and documents for the public to see, it stands to not only reflect very poorly on Mitch and Senate R's, but allow more time for other investigations to progress.  House needs to hold its ground and not permit a sham by Senate.  If you force a legitimate trial with public airing of testimony and evidence, it's a Lose/Lose for Mitch.

[sachick 1189]

 

[WhatTheBuck 28810]

2 hours ago, Tuco said:

I think what also gets overlooked in the transcript: 

We do a lot for you (military aid.) You don't reciprocate (investigations).  He even contrasts what we do against the European countries, which, when coupled with that he (incorrectly) thought the others weren't providing military aid, makes it pretty clear this is a reference to military aid. 

It's the set up for "I would like you to do us a favor though." which is the next thing out of his mouth.  It's the quid to the quo. And he made it clear that Ukraine was not providing the quid sufficiently.  

 

 

I think you're reading too much into that. I think he's just talking like the mob boss that he is. Forget all the extraneous stuff about the countries that have or haven't been as generous to Ukraine as the U.S.  That's just Trump haranguing about his personal grievances. 

Here's how it sounds to me. Say this in Don Corleone's voice: 'We've been very friendly to you. We'd like to continue to be friendly to you. But first, we need you to do us a favor.'  He doesn't come out and say it but he may as we'll have said It would be a shame if something happened to the aid we promised.

It's classic extortion. It's straight out of the movies. The other stuff is just window dressing. (Of course he's also implying that no one else is going to step in to help if he withholds aid, but everyone knows that. I guess that just adds to the strong arm tactic.)

Edited December 17, 2019 by WhatTheBuck

[jimmyjazz 46248]

Yeah, anyone parsing Trump's verbiage trying to put too fine a point on it is just asking for heartburn.  The guy is a horribly clumsy speaker.  Take whatever he says from a very high level perspective and don't get down in the details.

[Grade of D as in David 13253]

4 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

I think you're reading too much into that. I think he's just talking like the mob boss that he is. Forget all the extraneous stuff about the countries that have or haven't been as generous to Ukraine as the U.S.  That's just Trump haranguing about his personal grievances. 

Here's how it sounds to me. Say this in Don Corleone's voice: 'We've been very friendly to you. We'd like to continue to be friendly to you. But first, we need you to do us a favor.'  He doesn't come out and say it but he may as we'll have said It would be a shame if something happened to the aid we promised.

It's classic extortion. It's straight out of the movies. The other stuff is just window dressing. 

Some day, and that day may never come, I'll call upon you to do a service for me. But uh, until that day -- accept this justice as a gift on my daughter's wedding day.

 

 

[hayden_horn 11365]

cross posting from trump thread:

 totes normal

https://apnews.com/b5ca596edb800391679d9d75162b73ea

Quote

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is angrily objecting to the House of Representatives’ articles of impeachment, accusing Democrats of “perversion of justice and abuse of power” in their effort to remove him from office.

In a fiery letter Tuesday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the eve of his expected impeachment, Trump maintained that he did nothing wrong in seeking foreign investigation of political rivals, and he attacked Democrats for focusing on impeachment rather than other issues.

Trump also repeated his objections to the process of the House inquiry, claiming “more due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials.”

Trump says he doesn’t believe his letter will change anything, but that he is registering his objections “for the purpose of history.”

Meanwhile at the Capitol, House Democrats and Republicans sparred over the rules of debate for Wednesday’s historic votes on impeaching Trump, dispatching the lofty rhetoric of constitutional duty for the rugged politics of the House action and Senate trial that is expected to follow.

The Democratic-majority House Rules Committee met through the day Tuesday, with lawmakers arguing over the parameters for Wednesday’s debate, which is expected to culminate in votes to make Trump the third president to be impeached in American history.

full text of unhinged six page ranting letter on official white house letterhead:

Quote

December 17, 2019

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi

Speaker of the House of Representatives

Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Madam Speaker:

I write to express my strongest and most powerful protest against the partisan impeachment crusade being pursued by the Democrats in the House of Representatives. This impeachment represents an unprecedented and unconstitutional abuse of power by Democrat Lawmakers, unequaled in nearly two and a half centuries of American legislative history.

The Articles of Impeachment introduced by the House Judiciary Committee are not recognizable under any standard of Constitutional theory, interpretation, or jurisprudence. They include no crimes, no misdemeanors, and no offenses whatsoever. You have cheapened the importance of the very ugly word, impeachment!

By proceeding with your invalid impeachment, you are violating your oaths of office, you are breaking your allegiance to the Constitution, and you are declaring open war on American Democracy. You dare to invoke the Founding Fathers in pursuit of this election-nullification scheme-yet your spiteful actions display unfettered contempt for America's founding and your egregious conduct threatens to destroy that which our Founders pledged their very lives to build. Even worse than offending the Founding Fathers, you are offending Americans of faith by continually saying "I pray for the President," when you know this statement is not true, unless it is meant in a negative sense. It is a terrible thing you are doing, but you will have to live with it, not I!

Your first claim, "Abuse of Power," is a completely disingenuous, meritless, and baseless invention of your imagination. You know that I had a totally innocent conversation with the President of Ukraine. I then had a second conversation that has been misquoted, mischaracterized, and fraudulently misrepresented. Fortunately, there was a transcript of the conversation taken, and you know from the transcript (which was immediately made available) that the paragraph in question was perfect. I said to President Zelensky: "I would like you to do us a favor, though, because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it." I said do us a favor, not me, and our country, not a campaign. I then mentioned the Attorney General of the United States. Every time I talk with a foreign leader, I put America's interests first, just as I did with President Zelensky.

You are turning a policy disagreement between two branches of government into an impeachable offense-it is no more legitimate than the Executive Branch charging members of Congress with crimes for the lawful exercise of legislative power.

You know full well that Vice President Biden used his office and $1 billion dollars of U.S. aid money to coerce Ukraine into firing the prosecutor who was digging into the company paying his son millions of dollars. You know this because Biden bragged about it on video. Biden openly stated: "I said, 'I'm telling you, you're not getting the billion dollars' ... I looked at them and said: 'I'm leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you're not getting the money.' Well, son of a bitch. He got fired." Even Joe Biden admitted just days ago in an interview with NPR that it "looked bad." Now you are trying to impeach me by falsely accusing me of doing what Joe Biden has admitted he actually did.

President Zelensky has repeatedly declared that I did nothing wrong, and that there was No Pressure. He further emphasized that it was a "good phone call," that "I don't feel pressure," and explicitly stressed that "nobody pushed me." The Ukrainian Foreign Minister stated very clearly: "I have never seen a direct link between investigations and security assistance." He also said there was "No Pressure." Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, a supporter of Ukraine who met privately with President Zelensky, has said: "At no time during this meeting ... was there any mention by Zelensky or any Ukrainian that they were feeling pressure to do anything in return for the military aid." Many meetings have been held between representatives of Ukraine and our country. Never once did Ukraine complain about pressure being applied-not once! Ambassador Sondland testified that I told him: "No quid pro quo. I want nothing. I want nothing. I want President Zelensky to do the right thing, do what he ran on."

The second claim, so-called "Obstruction of Congress," is preposterous and dangerous. House Democrats are trying to impeach the duly elected President of the United States for asserting Constitutionally based privileges that have been asserted on a bipartisan basis by administrations of both political parties throughout our Nation's history. Under that standard, every American president would have been impeached many times over. As liberal law professor Jonathan Turley warned when addressing Congressional Democrats: "I can't emphasize this enough .. .if you impeach a president, if you make a high crime and misdemeanor out of going to the courts, it is an abuse of power. It's your abuse of power. You're doing precisely what you're criticizing the President for doing."

Everyone, you included, knows what is really happening. Your chosen candidate lost the election in 2016, in an Electoral College landslide (306-227), and you and your party have never recovered from this defeat. You have developed a full-fledged case of what many in the media call Trump Derangement Syndrome and sadly, you will never get over it! You are unwilling and unable to accept the verdict issued at the ballot box during the great Election of 2016. So you have spent three straight years attempting to overturn the will of the American people and nullify their votes. You view democracy as your enemy!

Speaker Pelosi, you admitted just last week at a public forum that your party's impeachment effort has been going on for "two and a half years," long before you ever heard about a phone call with Ukraine. Nineteen minutes after I took the oath of office, the Washington Post published a story headlined, "The Campaign to Impeach President Trump Has Begun." Less than three months after my inauguration, Representative Maxine Waters stated, "I'm going to fight every day until he's impeached." House Democrats introduced the first impeachment resolution against me within months of my inauguration, for what will be regarded as one of our country's best decisions, the firing of James Corney (see Inspector General Reports)-who the world now knows is one of the dirtiest cops our Natiou has ever seen. A ranting and raving Congresswoman, Rashida Tlaib, declared just hours after she was sworn into office, "We're gonna go in there and we're gonna impeach the motherfl'***r." Representative Al Green said in May, "I'm concerned that if we don't impeach this president, he will get re-elected." Again, you and your allies said, and did, all of these things long before you ever heard of President Zelensky or anything related to Ukraine. As you know very well, this impeachment drive has nothing to do with Ukraine, or the totally appropriate conversation I had with its new president. It only has to do with your attempt to undo the election of 2016 and steal the election of 2020 !

Congressman Adam Schiff cheated and lied all the way up to the present day, even going so far as to fraudulently make up, out of thin air, my conversation with President Zelensky of Ukraine and read this fantasy language to Congress as though it were said by me. His shameless lies and deceptions, dating all the way back to the Russia Hoax, is one of the main reasons we are here today.

You and your party are desperate to distract from America's extraordinary economy, incredible jobs boom, record stock market, soaring confidence, and flourishing citizens. Your party simply cannot compete with our record: 7 million new jobs; the lowest-ever unemployment for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans; a rebuilt military; a completely reformed VA with Choice and Accountability for our great veterans; more than 170 new federal judges and two Supreme Court Justices; historic tax and regulation cuts; the elimination of the individual mandate; the first decline in prescription drug prices in half a century; the first new branch of the United States Military since 1947, the Space Force; strong protection of the Second Amendment; criminal justice reform; a defeated ISIS caliphate and the killing of the world's number one terrorist leader, al-Baghdadi; the replacement of the disastrous NAFTA trade deal with the wonderful USMCA (Mexico and Canada); a breakthrough Phase One trade deal with China; massive new trade deals with Japan and South Korea; withdrawal from the terrible Iran Nuclear Deal; cancellation of the unfair and costly Paris Climate Accord; becoming the world's top energy producer; recognition of lsrael's capital, opening the American Embassy in Jerusalem, and recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights; a colossal reduction in illegal border crossings, the ending of Catch-and-Release, and the building of the Southern Border Wall-and that is just the beginning, there is so much more. You cannot defend your extreme policies--open borders, mass migration, high crime, crippling taxes, socialized healthcare, destruction of American energy, late-term taxpayer-funded abortion, elimination of the Second Amendment, radical far-left theories of law and justice, and constant partisan obstruction of both common sense and common good.

There is nothing I would rather do than stop referring to your party as the Do-Nothing Democrats. Unfortunately, I don't know that you will ever give me a chance to do so.

After three years of unfair and unwarranted investigations, 45 million dollars spent, 18 angry Democrat prosecutors, the entire force of the FBI, headed by leadership now proven to be totally incompetent and corrupt, you have found NOTHING! Few people in high position could have endured or passed this test. You do not know, nor do you care, the great damage and hurt you have inflicted upon wonderful and loving members of my family. You conducted a fake investigation upon the democratically elected President of the United States, and you are doing it yet again.

There are not many people who could have taken the punishment inflicted during this period of time, and yet done so much for the success of America and its citizens. But instead of putting our country first, you have decided to disgrace our cmmtry still further. You completely failed with the Mueller report because there was nothing to find, so you decided to take the next hoax that came along, the phone call with Ukraine----even though it was a perfect call. And by the way, when I speak to foreign countries, there are many people, with pennission, listening to the call on both sides of the conversation.

You are the ones interfering in America's elections. You are the ones subverting America's Democracy. You are the ones Obstructing Justice. You are the ones bringing pain and suffering to our Republic for your own selfish personal, political, and partisan gain.

Before the Impeachment Hoax, it was the Russian Witch Hunt. Against all evidence, and regardless of the truth, you and your deputies claimed that my campaign colluded with the Russians-a grave, malicious, and slanderous lie, a falsehood like no other. You forced our Nation through turmoil and torment over a wholly fabricated story, illegally purchased from a foreign spy by Hillary Clinton and the DNC in order to assault our democracy. Yet, when the monstrous lie was debunked and this Democrat conspiracy dissolved into dust, you did not apologize. You did not recant. You did not ask to be forgiven. You showed no remorse, no capacity for self-reflection. Instead, you pursued your next libelous and vicious crusade-you engineered an attempt to frame and defame an innocent person. All of this was motivated by personal political calculation. Your Speakership and your party are held hostage by your most deranged and radical representatives of the far left. Each one of your members lives in fear of a socialist primary challenger-this is what is driving impeachment. Look at Congressman Nadler's challenger. Look at yourself and others. Do not take our country down with your party.

If you truly cared about freedom and liberty for our Nation, then you would be devoting your vast investigative resources to exposing the full truth concerning the FBI's horrifying abuses of power before, during, and after the 2016 election-including the use of spies against my campaign, the submission of false evidence to a FISA court, and the concealment of exculpatory evidence in order to frame the innocent. The FBI has great and honorable people, but the leadership was inept and corrupt. I would think that you would personally be appalled by these revelations, because in your press conference the day you announced impeachment, you tied the impeachment effort directly to the completely discredited Russia Hoax, declaring twice that "all roads lead to Putin," when you know that is an abject lie. I have been far tougher on Russia than President Obama ever even thought to be.

Any member of Congress who votes in support of impeachment-against every shred of truth, fact, evidence, and legal principle-is showing how deeply they revile the voters and how truly they detest America's Constitutional order. Our Founders feared the tribalization of partisan politics, and you are bringing their worst fears to life.

Worse still, I have been deprived of basic Constitutional Due Process from the beginning of this impeachment scam right up until the present. I have been denied the most fundamental rights afforded by the Constitution, including the right to present evidence, to have my own counsel present, to confront accusers, and to call and cross-examine witnesses, like the so-called

whistle blower who started this entire hoax with a false report of the phone call that bears no relationship to the actual phone call that was made. Once I presented the transcribed call, which surprised and shocked the fraudsters (they never thought that such evidence would be presented), the so-called whistleblower, and the second whistleblower, disappeared because they got caught, their report was a fraud, and they were no longer going to be made available to us. In other words, once the phone call was made public, your whole plot blew up, but that didn't stop you from continuing.

More due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials.

You and others on your committees have long said impeachment must be bipartisan-it is not. You said it was very divisive-it certainly is, even far more than you ever thought possible-and it will only get worse!

This is nothing more than an illegal, partisan attempted coup that will, based on recent sentiment, badly fail at the voting booth. You are not just after me, as President, you are after the entire Republican Party. But because of this colossal injustice, our party is more united than it has ever been before. History will judge you harshly as you proceed with this impeachment charade. Your legacy will be that of turning the House of Representatives from a revered legislative body into a Star Chamber of partisan persecution.

Perhaps most insulting of all is your false display of solemnity. You apparently have so little respect for the American People that you expect them to believe that you are approaching this impeachment somberly, reservedly, and reluctantly. No intelligent person believes what you are saying. Since the moment I won the election, the Democrat Party has been possessed by Impeachment Fever. There is no reticence. This is not a somber affair. You are making a mockery of impeachment and you are scarcely concealing your hatred of me, of the Republican Party, and tens of millions of patriotic Americans. The voters are wise, and they are seeing straight through this empty, hollow, and dangerous game you are playing.

I have no doubt the American people will hold you and the Democrats fully responsible in the upcoming 2020 election. They will not soon forgive your perversion of justice and abuse of power.

There is far too much that needs to be done to improve the lives of our citizens. It is time for you and the highly partisan Democrats in Congress to immediately cease this impeachment fantasy and get back to work for the American People. While I have no expectation that you will do so, I write this letter to you for the purpose of history and to put my thoughts on a permanent and indelible record.

One hundred years from now, when people look back at this affair, I want them to understand it, and learn from it, so that it can never happen to another President again.

 

[Hugo Stiglitz 23367]

It’s like he strung 200 tweets together and put it in letter form.  In fact, that’s probably how he wrote it.