The tape the tapes people, the tapes. Open your eyes. Nobody move until the tapes are turned over.
8
A clear and defining article with given statements. What more can we ask for. Well done, Times, well done.
7
During serious weather emergencies, many publications, including the NYTimes, allow readers to access articles of importance without being a subscriber.
I hope the NYTimes is allowing non-subscribers to read these articles, as well. This is no less of an emergency.
22
The phrase "quid pro quo" is central to the House inquiry. How are people supposed to grasp the importance of what has happened when *everyone* references events with an obscure Latin legal phrase? How about coercion, blackmail, duress, intimidation, bullying, manipulation? Any of those elicit a more immediate and emotional response than "quid pro quo"?
15
Thanks to the NYT for providing these transcripts of the impeachment inquiry. I would just comment that both of the transcripts show the Republican representatives to engage in stunts, tangential arguments about pre-established procedure, and spreading of nonfactual material. They show lack of concern that Trump is negating established US foreign policy in order to extort a foreign government for his own political advantage in the upcoming election. They also appear unconcerned that their words are supportive of a story that benefit our adversary, Russia, by denying our own intelligence services definitive statements regarding the direct Russian interference in the 2016 election. These Republicans are doing severe harm to our democracy and staining their own reputations beyond repair. I do not understand why the whole country cannot see this.
11
After reading the transcript of the July 25 call, its readily apparent the power and influence President Trump holds over President Zelensky. This no doubt will be very embarrassing to the President of the Ukraine given his subservience to Trump and his language re European Leaders and American Ambassador Yovanovitch. He no doubt regrets this now...a bad start for him...made so no doubt by the pressure he was put under by President Trump. Plain and simple extortion by the President of the United States and supported by those that came forward and gave testimony under oath in the impeachment inquiry.
3
If Trump was told that it was Brazil that interfered in the election and not Russia, he would grab it. He would probably think our Brazilian ambassador works in eastern Europe.
4
Apart from the vital insights into Trump’s corruption in these transcripts, what stands out to me is the searing intelligence of Lt Colonel Vittman and Ms Fiona Hill. What remarkable, dedicated patriots who deserve the gratitude of all of us.
24
@Mindy White
I have been heartened to see all the incredible civil servants and patriots come forward. Makes me proud of America, despite having a reality t.v. celebrity nutcase as president.
6
As the Impeachment Inquiry goes open and live, Americans will have to decide if they believe in content or process. The GOP and the President will continue down the process road using character assassination, lies, and distortion of the actual records and the Patriotic Americans involved, served up daily in sound bites to their supporters and state media, faux news. Their rhetoric, screaming, and facial contortions will make the Kavanaugh hearings seem tame. DEMS have successfully denied the item by item legal court room sparing, have logically moved from the closed door questioning to open hearings and it will be essential that Democrats directly involved in the hearings be factual, calm, and with a blend of disappointment and muffled outrage. Democratic Members not directly involved will also likewise have to govern their actions and words. At the same time, DEMS need to remind America of the 150 bills on Moscow Mitches desk, bundle the whole Trump Presidency into a multi faceted bundle of crimes, ineptness, and flagrant self interest in their impeachment charge and conviction, and the 2020 hopefuls again must avoid screaming and indignation and practice the kind of Presidential Demeanor and thought that America and the World needs to see. The heat is rising in the kitchen.
16
I don't really get it. Trump got off the hook for the Russian interference charge and goes right out and does it again in 2019.
Was he emboldened, or just dumb.
11
All you people need is the audio tape of this “perfect” conversation. It’s baffling how you guys avoid the 800 pound gorilla.
7
@Jan Van der Donk
They don't audiotape the calls. I have no idea why, but they don't.
2
Republicans’ impeachment strategy will be:
“Jeez people! It doesn’t matter how many witnesses come forward, because Trump himself assured us there was no ‘quid pro quo.’ What more proof do you need?”
7
It's no coincidence that the biggest hypocrites from Congress occupy Trump's cabinet and orbit - Mulvaney, Pompeo, Jordan, Graham etc etc....and the new generation like smarmy Matt Gaetz. What a rogue's gallery.
19
HR Haldeman was Nixon’s chief of staff. He was charged with perjury, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice for his role in Watergate; he was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Looks like Mick Mulvaney has chosen a similar fate for himself.
26
The sheer brazenness of this shadow foreign policy power play by Trump and his mainly corpulent cronies, is mind boggling if one considers the ludicrous, debunked conspiracy theories that gave birth to it all. Who knows how far this crew could have gone had it not been for the concerned Americans who outed them and will continue to testify about them, inevitably building an ironclad case for impeachment of this cad of a prez who thought he was sitting on top of the world.
20
At 75 years old, I feel like I am reading, and hearing, another version of the Watergate scandal; despite those who refuse to testify, there are several others testifying and it all sounds very bad for Trump, and his henchmen.
In today's version, we have the poisonous social media networks being used to spread conspiracy theories designed to intimidate and threaten the witnesses. It makes the impeachment inquiry look more like an investigation into a mob boss operation.
Oh, wait! It IS an investigation into crimes committed by the mob boss in the Oval Office, and his street thugs ordered to shake down, and threaten, a potential witness.
These transcripts have Trump yelling and screaming to reporters on the edge of the WH lawn. He is in panic mode. He rambles on, waving his hands and proclaiming it is all fake news and a hoax. But it's not.
So Trump hopes the economy will save him. But as we have experienced in 2008, and in other meltdowns of the past, Wall Street has little to do with Main Street. Just because the DJIA is in record territory, doesn't mean all boats are afloat. Corporations bloated with cash from stock buybacks are keeping shareholders giddy while most Americans wait for their share of the promised prosperity.
26
@David Ohman
It does seem like a replay of Watergate, except now about half of all Americans don't expect honesty from the president. Trump's supporters could not care less about all of this. But, I think even they are getting tired of this reality t.v. show.
1
The first few pages of Dr. Hill's testimony provide an interesting window into a chamber where the Committee is trying to get to the bottom of a serious international problem and the Republican members employ their only weapon: buffoonery. The Chairman had to spend the first few minutes throwing Florida-Man Gaetz out of a hearing were he didn't belong. Next the Republicans made an opening statement that could have been drafted by a Rush Limbaugh intern. After that the grown-ups could get down to some serious business.
Dr. Hill is clearly an expert on that troubled and critically important part of Europe. As her testimony proceeds you hear the voice of an experienced, savvy professional who is trying to manage a difficult and dangerous constellation of international relationships while putting up with the interference of rank domestic amateurs. The transcript is over 400 pages long but if you read into the first several pages you will get a sense of how hard it must be to achieve a smart, workable policy in an Administration of dunces.
41
If we are not gripped by fear and anxiety, it's not difficult to foresee how this will turn out. The transcript is a confession. The witnesses who have testified so far have filled in details and, for those who didn't think the transcript enough or just didn't get it, the witnesses have demonstrated how significant this call and the withholding of $391M was. I question what P has got on T.
None of this is going to be refuted once a court orders Bolton (seemingly eager) and others to testify. Be patient Ds, go to court. When they testify, it's just going to get worse for T. If it was going to get better, we'd know by now.
By analogy: When I was practicing law I tried fire cases for a few years. There's such a thing as "flashover," which means that energy in a small space becomes so hot that when it reaches a certain temperature, boom the whole place is on fire and if the fuel load is right even steel will melt. Once that happens, there's no putting out the fire. It's all about keeping the fire contained. Another analogy: Carl Jung wrote about mob mentality. When it suddenly arises, someone's done.
I'm sure there are at least 20 R Senators who understand this and would willingly turn T to t once flashover happens.
18
Are all republicans this unethical? Trumps entire life has been built upon and around and with unethical acts, some of which were also illegal, in a very criminal sense. If you support this man, I will now question your own sense of ethics. I do not care if you are a coworker, friend or just an acquaintance. If I know you are a Trump supporter I will question your every move. And I will do my best to hold you back anyway I can. Pence is just as bad. I wanted Romney. Trump has destroyed the reputation of every single republican politician in Wasington DC. They are all corrupt and unethical in my mind.
29
"I, Donald Trump, do solemnly swear and curse that I will faithfully destroy the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, shred, discard and disregard the Constitution of the United States."
31
@Socrates
Mission just about accomplished!
6
This is looking more and more like the republicans are going to try to make Mulvaney and Sondland the fall guys... claiming it was all them, and Trump knew nothing about any of it.
12
@Chuck Nah, just wait until we get higher up the chain. Rudy always gives incredible testimony on tv and Im sure he'll deliver again!
1
@Chuck
Except that guy is out there yelling over and over how he had a perfect phone call. We know what was in the phone call.
1
If I'm Trump I give some thought to going,
"Oops. I'm not allowed to do that? Sorry. Now I know. It won't happen again."
5
trump knows what he did was against federal law, just as each Republican knows what trump did was against federal law.
How do we know trump knows? Because trump has moved to Self-defense Step number 4: "Even if I did it, it doesn't matter because I'm allowed to."
Step 1. I didn't do it! [I don't know him/her.]
Step 2. It's a lie it's fake news.
Step 3. It's not against the law.
Step 4. It doesn't matter if I did it, because, as president, I'm allowed to do it. [Mick Mulvaney's version is "Get over it!"]
Step 5. I'm the president. I can do anything!
The Republicans are complicit in elevating trump above the Constitution as well as above the law. They are abdicating their responsibility to the law, the Republic and to you and me.
43
This testimony always has a way to shock me even though I have been up to date on the leaks from a couple of weeks ago. Mixed feelings of deep fear Trump and the Republicans get away with it ti glimmers of hope with this upcoming impeachment hearings. I'm trying to have faith here
What I think that the Democrats must do is to appeal to the American public on an emotional basis. We must talk more about how having the aid held up translated into the Ukrainian troops who were killed because they did not have the equipment they needed to fight (our enemy) The Russians, who are invading their land. We must make the case on how this threatens our national security. Where are the stories on the ground in Ukraine? I'm sure the Russian/ Ukrainian mob is salacious and compelling but let's sell this to the public on the human level. Remind them why this matters
20
For years Democratic voters have been wondering when their Congressional representatives were finally going to get tough and fight back against Republican lawlessness. The snippets presented here are concise evidence that the moment has arrived. The Democrats in Congress are handling this masterfully.
18
The White House (or Trump) supposedly closing its/his eyes to all this having decided not to look at the NYT or WaPo, but the Repubs will have to decide how to defend not just Trump's behaviour but his destruction of any sort of policy or rectitude with respect to other nations. I guess the Repubs think it is okay because of all the rightwing justices being put into office.
8
And it looks like "Motor Mouth" Mulvaney suddenly doesn't have enough guts to get in front of the Inquiry Committee to tell what he knows about the Ukraine. He was always so flip when he had nobody to answer to.
12
Whatever else he is, Donald Trump is an incompetent amateur surrounded by court jesters.
He will be undone by competent professionals (whom he despises for just that reason) doing their jobs, as they have their entire careers.
It is frankly a beautiful sight to watch as it unfolds.
32
What other “deals” has the Trump administration made with Putin or Xi or the president of Indonesia where Trump Towers are currently going up, or Saudi Arabia or Israel where a son-in-law who almost bankrupted his family is suddenly making $84,000,000 plus a year?
If this is the trajectory of this country’s moral compass, we all better think twice about just what our ancestors fought for. Surely not for an Oligarchy.
46
@Anonymous I'm looking forward to hearing more about the other calls that were improperly flagged as national security concerns and hidden on a secure server. Guessing at least one or two of the subjects you mentioned are in there.
6
Why do we not hear of anyone pressing for release of a verbatim transcript of July 25? (It must exist, and it sounds mighty interesting by comparison to the amateurishly edited version that was actually released.)
16
@Pat Marriott Rhere is no such transcript. There is only the reconstructed version from those listening in on the call.
1
@Dave Wyman I don't believe that's correct. This is a "summary" of the transcript. We need the one with the ellipses filled in, accounting for the full 30 minute call.
6
@MadNana WH stopped recording such calls after Watergate—Audio tape phobia apparently. Five or so staff people sit on the call and take notes and then compile report on what was said best they can. This chaos probably will get WH back to recordings...
6
This certainly answers the question of why Mulvaney admonished us to "just get over it." Too bad for him that not everyone followed his orders.
24
It should remembered if not emphasized the military aid was approved by Congress. It was in no way Trumps province or decision to provide it.
35
I think we’re in a really different place as a nation with this. So many “leaders” are now on the record making statements that indicate they truly believe standards no longer exist. If you’re a U.S. senator, you have certain sworn (constitutional) obligations, one of which is to be an honest arbiter in an impeachment process. But Graham and Jordan are dismissing the entire process as a “sham,” and claiming they won’t participate. How is this tolerated?
Why aren’t real leaders and journalists responding right back, “So, Mr. Graham, what you’re saying is that the founders made a big mistake when they instituted impeachment?” I mean, if Hamilton, Franklin, Madison, et al didn’t have something exactly like THIS in mind when they instituted an ultimate check on a rogue executive, what did they have in mind?
People on the right are acting like there are no rules, only sides. I think they need to be challenged very explicitly about this. They need to be asked if they will similarly abdicate their oversight responsibilities during the next Democrat executive’s administration.
If we have public hearings where all these serious administration officials — under oath — make the extortion patently clear, yet almost NO senator votes for removal, we will find ourselves near the end of our run as a functioning Republic. We’ll have become a football game with no rules nor officials.
70
I meant “no Republican Senator.” Sorry.
Tim
4
@Tim Couldn't agree more - well written.
6
We'll need to build more jails.
10
Well, we’d better “get used to it” and have plenty of prison cells ready for the executives and the chief executive.
37
The drip, drip, drip of shocking details is now a steady stream of daily revelations. When televised hearings begin next week the floodgates will open.
Place your bets. Impeachment and removal, resignation, or defeat at the ballot box next November? One way or another Trump is finished. If he recovers from this we no longer have a functioning democracy.
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@Dabney L
Try a fourth alternative; Trump rouses his base to fight another civil war to make him president for life.
2
The dam appears to have broken in terms of career professionals consenting to tell the truth. Now we await the testing of Republican senators. Will they honor their oath of office?
Question for NY times knowledgeable readers:
If the President is removed from office, is that removal permanent?
Trump may retain his mindless cast of sycophants even post removal. He might then run for President in 2020 despite his removal. Would that be possible?
17
@Brian Barrett - just my thoughts, if he is removed from office by conviction, he will be very busy defending himself in other legal actions. He could possibly be in jail before 2024.
10
@Brian Barrett
I understand that if the Senate convicts there is a second vote to answer whether to bar him from a federal office.
2
@Brian Barrett
Conviction in the Senate could include a penalty of disqualification to hold any public office again.
Here is what the Constitution says:
"Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law."
4
Best for Trump (uneducated of course) is a "doctor ordered" resignation due to health problems. Problems too serious to even face trial.
33
@Mike Brown
And it would be apt. There’s an article in the Times health section today re a form of dementia that is not Alzheimer’s. Memory is functional but judgement crumbles. Sound familiar?
5
@Mike Brown A recurrence of his bone spurs perhaps?
1
We should stop describing the withholding of aid to Ukraine in exchange for dirt on political enemies by Trump as a "quid pro quo".
The Ukranian president didn't have a choice in the matter. It was extortion.
118
@L
It is also not necessary to have a "quid pro quo" for Trump to be a lawbreaker. Soliciting foreign intervention in our election is a federal crime.
9
I bet the GOP is sorry now that they insisted on the hearings being open. This is not going to die down, it's only growing.
So much winning...
83
@David R -- What if .... and I know this is a HUGE stretch ... the GOP wants this out in public so they can have excuse -- no choice except -- to dump Trump?
When L. Graham says Trump & his staff are too stupid to pull off a quid pro quo, it looks like he is putting "dibs" on becoming the New Trump ... And, have a public "outing" would work just perfectly for that ploy ....
I smell one or more rats here ... and perhaps, just perhaps, they are getting ready to jump off the U.S.S. Trump....
It seems their is much more to this episode related to helping Russia. Making Ukraine feel vulnerable and smearing a hawkish Russia advisor only helps Russia. And so many Russian connections with Trump. Hopefully this line of thought is being investigated.
43
@Tom Add in that Rudy and clan are directly connected to Dmitry Firtash; he's the reason they were all headed to Vienna.
Russian interests indeed.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/opinion/trump-ukraine.html
2
When Vindman is asked about corruption in Ukraine, he says it's a very serious issue. He goes on the delineate many things the Ukraine government can to do to combat it, none of which involve investigating a lone American sitting on the board of one company. The GOP's claim that Trump's request is purely an attempt to fight corruption there is laughable. The Democrats need to push back hard on this thin and lame excuse.
79
Just a thought but as the live testimony unfolds some Americans will see the facts perhaps for the first time. An uptick in voter sentiment favoring impeachment likely, but not meteoric. The Senate vote matters. Republican candidates will be fielding questions about the evidence during the upcoming campaigns. This could prove uncomfortable and penal for some. His conduct is indefensible.
43
Can the power of the presidency, Rush, Fox News, et al, subdue the damning facts? I believe the GOP will, in lockstep confound the testimonies to such a degree, that they will bewilder public support and DJT will skate. The only stopping point is if the finger of justice indicts Mulvaney or Guiliani, they'll turn on him. Pence, no doubt, will go down w/the S.S. Trump.
36
@Sid Trump and his supporters will most certainly subdue these facts by ignoring them, much like Lindsey Graham refusing to read any potentially incriminating evidence.
35
I question the decision not to pursue the testimony of Bolton and Kupperman through court action. Yes, it may drag on for months, and perhaps part of Schiff's reluctance is that the judge drawn for the Kupperman case is viewed as hostile to ordering him to obey the subpoena. That's a guess, only. Nevertheless, the length of the entire process must be considered. While the Bolton/Kupperman testimony may not be obtained in time for the impeachment investigation, several more stages remain: the impeachment debate itself and, most important, the Senate trial. When I served as assistant counsel in the impeachment and trial of a federal judge 20 years ago, the Senate trial included pre-trial discovery, including depositions and hearings, among other investigatory tools. The Senate stage is not likely to occur until next year, despite the Speaker's hope that it all be wrapped up by New Years.
24
@Janice Cooper
It will delay the inquiry by a year if they do this.
The better tactic, which they appear to be following, is to simply roll every refusal to testify as obstruction effort on the part of the White House.
47
@Janice Cooper .... Not sure if the testimony of Kupperman & Bolton will be necessary given how much we've seen already. Also, not sure how reliable their witnessing would be.
And, if Guiliani is a "grenade", Bolton may be a "loose cannon" -- shooting off stuff that may be more for his own benefit than for the American people.
If either Kupperman or Bolton(or McGahn, for that matter) were true Patriots, they'd be appearing whether subpoenaed or not. We don't need "Boy Scouts" the likes of Bolton or McGahn. -- they are not "prepared" to live up the to scouting's creed.
3
@Janice Cooper
I think subpoenas should be issued. Perhaps expedited court action could be pursued, but simultaneously the incredible demand for total immunity by Trump and the persons in the Executive who were subpoenaed should be used as the most important article of impeachment. If Trump gets away with this, we are on the cusp of a monarchical presidency, subject to no oversight and in effect to no law.
7
After spending time reading and listening to many professional attorney's decipher these testimonies, the one thing that is new to me is the involvement of Devin Nunes's Intelligence Aide Mr. Patel this seems somewhat interesting since Mr. Nunes is the Ranking Republican Chair of the Intelligence Committee, therefore, giving him access to information during that telephone call and at the same time giving the Republicans cover on how to spin their defense, the one thing Mr. Nunes was probably not counting on was the whistleblower, interesting however that the Republicans claim this whistleblower was a mole to Adam Schiff, Mr. Nunes, therefore, is in conflict of interest and that is more likely why Jim Jordan a wrestling coach has replaced Nunes, this also will make the secret rendezvous between Mark Meadows, Jim Jordan, no longer a firewall for Trump as well as for Barr, note that during the public inquiry there is no longer a 5 minute rule for questioning witnesses there will be a 90 minute rule for both sides and the questioning will be done by seasoned trial attorneys. One must remember that many Democrats are former Federal Prosecutors however I would think in order to not have bias perception they will allow their own attorneys to interrogate, at this point maybe there will be a change where Mr. Mulvaney who is now being "thrown under the bus" by his former colleagues shall decide to retain his own attorney and testify, Judge Napolitano(Fox)need be a voice to the base
14
Right now, I want to nominate “the whistleblower” for Time’s person of the year. Without them coming forward, we probably never would have heard about this call.
150
I will do my best to read these and all pieces of information that come out of the next weeks and months and beyond.
I will do my best to maintain my engagement during this time.
I will do my best to feel heartened that there are those amongst us that see the blantant 'wrong' that exists right now and fight to restore us to where we should be.
I will do my best.
But in my heart I know this will be a losing battle, no matter what, and that evil *is* going to triumph.
13
Vindman transcript, Page 57: “I’d periodically talked to the Ukrainian officials at the U.S. embassy here. And I would say — when they would ask me, you know, what do we do in this situation, I’d give them the same counsel consistently. The counsel I’d always give them is it’s a domestic issue, stay out of U.S. domestic issues. It could fracture bipartisan support.”
Vindman will be remembered as an American Hero.
89
In reading Vindman's testimony, Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan seem mostly interested in trying to "out" the whistleblower. This starts around page 79 or so. Later on the repubs try to show that it's perfectly fine for trump to ask Ukraine to investigate a US citizen (Biden). The republicans in that room have totally lost track of what their jobs actually are.
99
@voice of reason
They know their jobs. Their jobs are not what you (and we) think they are. The possibility that Putin pays off some of them should not be overlooked; Rep. McCarthy (Republican House majority leader in the previous Congress) mentioned Dana Rohrabacher as one.
6
@voice of reason The section where Jordan tries to get Vindman to out the WB is appalling. You can almost hear Vindman's lawyer jumping out of his seat to push back. Jordan is despicable. The entire nation would benefit if the Ohio State scandal takes him out.
4
@voice of reason
The Republicans know exactly what their "jobs" are: get re-elected; get Trump re-elected; collect political donations (bribes); kill off democracy!
2
My Republican senator (bless him) keeps repeating the mantra "let the voters decide."
He appears to want to jettison the impeachment provision from the Constitution.
sign me "trapped in a Red Void"
45
@Diana
The voters have already had a referendum on Trump's presidency. It happened a year ago when the voters returned a Democratic majority to the House of Representatives.
Perhaps, you could remind your senator of that.
15
@Diana I hear ya. Same thing in red Idaho. It is pathetic. They live in an alternative universe. Nothing is true and they don't want to know anything.
5
The drip of justice is becoming a waterfall, let the public testimony begin.
92
Starting with the public impeachment hearings next week, the only thing of consequence Donald Trump will have done for 3 years as president is significantly boost the TV ratings.
67
@Ken I disagree. He’s always been exceptionally good for lawyers. We are going to reach peak litigation under Trump.
6
@Ken And stuff the courts with many conservative judges.
4
We keep reading about efforts by messengers to pass on revisionist scripts about the Russian meddling in the Presidental election. The information that is stll missing is identity the main script writer(s).
2
Vindman was in the room and the President admitted to what he said on the phone. The obsession with the identity of the whistleblower doesn’t make any sense at this point.
39
Not really, the self absorbed orange one admitted to attempted extortion. Those who watch Faux News seemed to be obsessed with determining who spotted the dead body on Fifth Avenue rather than the dead body itself.
39
All well and good but Donald Trump's story remains that he is an intrepid corruption fighter and as long as that plausible deniability remains Senate Republicans will not only exonerate him but pin a medal on him. Democrats still remain oblivious to the powerful evidence of the Giuliani "investigation" that was turned over to them by IG Linick which proves that Donald Trump did not "ask" Ukraine's president to investigate anything but was instead a blatant extortion attempt to coerce Zelensky to sign off on Giuliani's bill of goods.
17
Bravo and thanks to the people who are putting the Country above Trump and the GOP.
I would say the same if there was a Democrat in the White House, if the Democratic Party was protecting that Democrat President and if the people testifying were then challenging the account of that Democrat president. In such case I would thank those patriots for standing up for the US above the Democratic party.
The fact that the GOP and Republican supporters are smearing and threatening these patriots at this time is an abysmal breach of trust.
135
@GlennC
Still, it is noteworthy that no Democrat has ever been in this kind of situation with this kind of behavior.
As for Trump, it is a continuation of his fawning on Putin and admiring brutal dictators.
6
Thank you, New York Times, for providing these updates as they happen. It’s dizzying to keep up with them all, and I hope the people who might be on the fence with regard to impeachment might see them too. Reading them is imperative at this moment on our democracy.
167
One rather wishes all of these stories has been previously ferreted out...
10
@Katherine S. agreed. For better or worse, we are watching history unfold in front of our eyes.
16
Really??
News is news because it's constantly updated. The breadth of the corruption, and attempts at extortion, of this WH is ever unfolding...And you wish everything would have been "ferreted out " sooner???? That's why Democrats have been conducting all these meetings, questioning all these characters..it's an investigation. It's messy. It's not meant to be wrapped up in a pretty little package.
1
I hope that these career government officials brave enough to come forward are ultimately compensated in some way for the price they have been made to pay in their personal lives.
Perhaps the social media companies who business models depend on the Trump propaganda machine (among many others) for profit can be the first to make amends.
107