"In his head" quoth the former Trump security adviser about these totally false and discredited ideas and they seem ineradicable. The name for this condition is "delusion." For virtually the entire period this man has sat in the White House he has indicated not merely that he is unqualified to be President but that he is unfit mentally as well as morally. He has amply demonstrated that his mental condition is steadily deteriorating. Sure, inquire about impeaching him, but how about the Administration officials demonstrate they are sane and have the interests of this nation not to mention their party at heart and invoke the 25th Amendment?
6
Fox News put those conspiracies in Trump's head and it is destabilizing our nation. Fox's conspiracies are also destabilizing the world via Trump's withdrawal from the JCPOA. And Rupert Murdoch via Sky is destabilizing Britain with Brexit.
11
So, Rudy is the fall guy?
3
“no basis to the theory that Ukraine, not Russia, intervened in the 2016 election and did so on behalf of the Democrats. “
Even if Ukraine helped Democrats, then why would they help the other side? Trump displays the diplomatic skills of an addled Lemming.
8
I'm horrified that someone who is this ignorant and easily influenced is in the Oval Office.
12
The Ukrainian president never did divulge any damaging information about the Bidens. Joe Biden did that himself when he got a prosecutor fired because he had the damaging information on them. He is shown on television saying this.
@KMW Really? Joe Biden was quoted as saying that the reason for wanting the prosecutor removed was because he had damaging information on the Bidens? Could you please provide a source to that effect
9
I wouldn't be surprised if Putin planted the seed about a Ukrainian conspiracy into Trump's head.
11
Was it really debunked? Out of curiosity what is junior Biden doing on board of directors and being paid $600,000 a year ? What does he he bring to the table other then political influence.
3
@Tom
How can anyone wonder about Trump's competency when we have endless posters like Tom here who refuse to believe the very premise of the article, that the conspiracy theory about Hunter Biden and Burisma Holdings has been repeatedly debunked -- let me emphasize that: REPEATEDLY DEBUNKED -- but Tom asks, "Was it really debunked?"
Some people simply refuse to believe reality. They are told that a fire is hot, but they don't believe it until they stick their hand into a flame and burn their skin. They are told that liquid hydrogen can freeze your skin right off the bone, but they don't believe it until they put their hand into a freezing mass of . . . well, luckily, there's not much liquid hydrogen laying around, so Tom and his ilk are saved from losing a few fingers.
What does it take to convince people like Tom that debunked means debunked? Do they honestly think they are acting with skeptical sophistication when they ignore evidence and facts? It is a scary proposition when people like Tom are given the same value as a voter as everyone else.
8
What is debunked is overt corruption and illegality. But should we still be concerned that the family of a vice president accepts lucrative favors only because of their position? Yes. It’s Clinton lite. They’re more focused on feeding at the trough than on serving the American people. Let’s vote that morally corrupt bunch out of our lives.
1
Hunter Biden wasn’t doing anything illegal. So it’s really nobody’s business. Lots of influential people or people from influential families make money they don’t really “deserve.” Is this news to you?
9
If it is true the thresholds for the whistleblower to report hearsay instead of directly observed facts, then it took a cabal of people within CIA to do it...that is, try and take out the President without firing a shot. Haven’t we seen this movie already within the senior leadership of the FBI and DOJ?
@J House
Sorry, J, that's not what "hearsay" means. Hearsay is "unverified, unofficial information gained or acquired from another and not part of one's direct knowledge." But the transcription memo of Trump’s call with Ukraine’s new president matches the whistleblower’s complaint. And it was provided by the White House. It's about as far from hearsay as you can get.
8
Just out of curiosity what is junior Biden doing on the board of directors of a Ukrainian gas company ? Does he’s have a gas expertise to help in decision making ? And if not then what ?
2
Seems to me once Biden bragged about withholding billions in aid until a prosecutor who was investigating a company Hunter Biden was on the board of directors was fired opens the door for a ligament investigation of this incedent.
1
@wes evans Then why hasn't the DOJ opened one? Because even a DOJ headed by Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr knew there was no "there" there.
6
In the Trump mind there is only Trump. As he goes down so does our country. When the prison door slams shut, and the make up taken away,the suntanning is gone, and his connection to social media confiscated will reveal what is arguably the most notorious citizen this country has ever produced- 260 plus pounds of pure concentrated evil.
7
"I reject your reality and substitute my own" seems to be the mantra of the occupant of the oval office. I personally find this deeply concerning, as it won't take much for someone to bend his ear to another extreme point of view that could lead this country down even darker paths than it is already travelling down (I will let you fill in the blanks with your own imagination of worst-case scenarios). This man is not one of sound mind, and this is a serious problem.
6
It’s worse than we all think.
6
No one puts in Trump’s head the idea of a Ukrainian conspiracy against him. Trump, Giuliani, and the rest of the GOP all know it’s a lie. But it’s the lie du jour they think will work. No different from the birther stuff that got Trump the Republican nomination. Trump knew it was a lie but it worked so he went with it.
8
Lindsey Graham speaks out of two sides of his mouth. When this president is ousted they should take aim at his supporters (republican gang) is next to go.
9
Trump doesn't believe that Ukraine did any of this. He just needed to bury the Biden demand in a list of demands, just like he had the nerve to put Rudy in the same sentence with a high American government official. By claiming these ridiculous conspiracies he is putting Ukraine on its back heel to prove a negative -- that they didn't do it. This is another common Trump tactic. Donald Trump is possibly the most cynical human being on earth. I wouldn't even say he is a master manipulator because he doesn't care how transparent he is. His attitude is "What are you going to do about it?"
Well, folks, it's time to show him.
25
Just to clarify: The conspiracy theory that has been debunked is NOT about BIden and his son.
There is abundant, credible evidence that Biden used his influence as VP to get a Ukrainian prosecutor fired who was investigating the oil company that Hunter Biden was on the board of. https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/463307-solomon-these-once-secret-memos-cast-doubt-on-joe-bidens-ukraine-story
3
@Paul
Well, then the IMF, the European Union (including Angela Merkel and Macron), the United States government, and the anti-corruption organization inside Ukraine, were all “in on it.”
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.rferl.org/amp/30181445.html
While I am not thrilled that Biden’s son was probably given the job with Burisma, the Ukrainian natural gas company, because he was the son of the VP, NOTHING ILLEGAL was done.
If it were than l am sure you would also want Ivanka and Jared investigated.
8
I'm so distracted. I'm so distracted. I'm so distracted.
7
If you don't like this, well, you just don't like politics. It is as simple as that. It doesn't get better than this. This is Reality Television at its best. I feel so lucky to be living at a time like this. Great politicians, great journalists all doing great things.
7
@P&L
I could live without the drama.
1
There are right winged people who are now taking out a bounty on the whistle blower! Trump is encouraging his base into a "civil war" if he gets impeached. He is calling for Adam Schiff to be prosecuted for investigating him.
Donald Trump's recent tweet quoting a longtime evangelical pastor who warned of a "Civil War" if Democrats seriously pursue removing him from office could actually be grounds for impeachment, one Harvard Law professor said.
"If the Democrats are successful in removing the President from office (which they will never be), it will cause a Civil War like fracture in this Nation from which our Country will never heal," Trump tweeted on Sunday night.
I watched Sunday morning News programs and Guiliani was everywhere trying to spin the whole thing. The GOP is trying to state that the dems are moving too quickly.
I wish the congress Godspeed in impeaching and removing this horrific POTUS.
15
Why is USA sending so much money to Ukraine and other countries as a “military aid”? That’s the most interesting part out of all this. While we can’t find money to fix infrastructure, schools, public transit, and there is a deficit in every state, this horrible system continues sending our taxes to some foreign destinations.
Does it really matter who sits at the House since policies remain absolutely the same?
1
@vova
Because the Ukraine is a NATO member and it was invaded by a country that is hostile to us, as well.
NATO countries stick together to help prevent WW3
2
@vova
Correcting myself. The Urania is not currently a member of NATO, but a majority of current NATO members would like it to be allowed to join.
1
No surprises here except that he retains the support of republicans in the legislature and presumably at party HQ. It is hard to believe they haven’t disowned him yet. He is clearly not equipped to hold executive office.
Democrats please nominate a reasonable candidate armed with a sensible platform. Dear all fellow voters please cast a ballot for president in 2020.
5
So much sound and fury until republicans change their tune or we find out what other conversations were hidden.
4
"Mr. Trump may not have absorbed it because he was thrown off guard when told about a Democratic-financed dossier that included unproven allegations about his ties to Russia."
Might have been written as...
"Mr. Trump may not have absorbed it because he was thrown off guard when told about a republican created dossier that included yet to be disproved allegations about his ties to Russia."
Both work equally well.
4
POTUS in for a very rude awakening upon the end of his term.
"The President of the United States would be liable to be impeached, tried, and, upon conviction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes or misdemeanors, removed from office; and would afterwards be liable to prosecution and punishment in the ordinary course of law. The person of the king of Great Britain is sacred and inviolable; there is no constitutional tribunal to which he is amenable; no punishment to which he can be subjected without involving the crisis of a national revolution. In this delicate and important circumstance of personal responsibility, the President of Confederated America would stand upon no better ground than a governor of New York, and upon worse ground than the governors of Maryland and Delaware.
-The Federalist Papers : No. 69, Friday, March 14, 1788.
3
It doesn't matter. Trump lives in the enchanted forest. His reality is about at that level. The House will impeach, Trump is stomp his feet and hold his breath and threaten everyone within in twitter shot. The Senate will not convict and we'll have an election in 2020. That's when we get to show if we want him back or not. 1/3 of the country is already convinced and will vote for him. They don't care, are seriously misinformed or not informed at all. So its up to the rest of us.
10
Most Americans believe that they can do whatever they wish because the constitution gives them permission....no matter if what they do is moral or immoral, decent or indecent, or right or wrong. With this kind of total freedom the future will have no need of prisons, law enforcement agencies, nor law books. Why? Because if the law allows you to do what you want, then there is no wrong you can do.
Blessed are those who do not see yet believe. To those who believe in His name: who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
1
A “top adviser”?...I don’t think so. A former (why is he no longer working at Homeland Security?) mid-level bureaucrat at Homeland Security at best, somebody with an ax to grind, part of the swamp that Trump promised to drain squealing as he spirals down the abyss.
6
@Back Up Homeland Security Advisor is mid level? Don't think so.
24
Typical Trump supporter argument. Attack the messenger and don’t deal with the facts. Makes life easier that way.
37
@Back Up if you read the article you will find that the gentleman was appointed by Trump, who apparently thought he had the qualifications to be in charge. Are you saying Trump is not capable of vetting and hiring?
34
The issue is not "Did Biden break Ukraine Laws" but did Biden break US laws, and the opinion of a Ukrainian prosecutor on that issue is irrelevant. Why does a good mind, clarity and the truth no longer matter>? Are we plunging into the dark ages, or into an uprising off the unconscious of such magnitude that neither logic, nor truth serve as a restraint to the press?
37
@logodos How about the even more prescient issue of what Trump has done since he was elected? It is not what Biden has done, because if he did anything crooked it was taking money. What Trump has done in his working life obviously and as President is deliberate lying, cheating, stealing and fraud in one form or another. And it is constant and growing...and what he has not done is lead or do anything meaningful for America. This is the real issue, not his make up about Biden, Hillary or Obama.
18
The fact that one must even clarify and pontificate upon a thoroughly debunked claim of wrongdoing by the Biden family signals that the GOP spin machine is having its intended effect on our national discussion.
17
@logodos
Focus. The issue is Trump solicited help from a foreign government. What the Bidens did or did not do is irrelevant to Trump.
26
The claims about Ukraine have been debunked by who exactly? By allies of Biden and Democratic sympathizers or by an independent investigator?
What I read is SECRET EMPIRE about the activity of Biden and his son in China and Ukraine is pretty damning, and was also supported by painstaking research.
This political theater takes air from better Democratic candidates, younger, smarter, with more energy, better ideas and less baggage.
13
@Alexgri At most, Biden's son hunter used his connections to get the Ukraine gas company to pump and sell more gas making them more money which is perfectly legal and was investigated by numerous components of the Ukraine government and cleared.
There's no question that Hunter was no 'rocket scientist' respecting oil and gas production. But it really doesn't take a genius to recommend pumping and selling more gas. So even if he were as ignorant as the Trump children who are making tons off of this president, which I assume Hunter is not, There's no crime in trying to make money anywhere by perfectly legal and ethical means.
You should just as wound up as Trump and as afraid of Biden as he is. Relax, Biden can handle a little smear campaign with no worries. Chill.
51
@Alexgri: Excellent comment and you are to be commended for citing Schweitzer's book about the shenanigans of the Bidens.Wherever and whenever there is money to be made, BIDEN and his son are present.
6
@Alexgri - Since it is the president's former national security advisor who asserts that the theories were debunked, let's assume that's who debunked them.
33
I think it is poetic justice that the person whose earliest entry into politics involved perpetuating a theory about Obama's birth certificate/citizenship will be brought down by perpetuating a theory about Biden's corruption in the Ukraine. Both turned out to be unfounded and untrue--and yet it did not stop Trump from grinding his heels into the earth and claiming it to be true.
That's the problem with conspiracy theories--they require more effort to keep alive and than the energy required to commit the alleged actions in the first place. [See HRC's emails, the Muslim crowds in NJ "dancing" on 9/11 while the WTC burned, etc etc ad nauseum...]
624
@David S. I wish it was true that conspiracy theories required more effort to keep alive than the truth, but that doesn't seem to be the case -- all of these nonsensical theories were debunked almost immediately, yet people still believe all of them. I'd list the same group of nonsense to show that it's hard to kill these lies. (Especially true of Trump supporters - see today's email from the Trump campaign entitled "quid pro quo Joe")
37
@David S. And of course he lied about it, claiming that his "investigators" were finding all kinds of evidence in Hawai'i, evidence which was never presented to the public for the simple reason that it did not exist.
And the Republican base, having been marinated for years in the toxic lying stew that is Fox, just kept swallowing his endless lies, while he kept swallowing the most nutball conspiracy theories.
Dear Lord, let it end!
57
@Ella McCrystle I agree that is it hard to un-ring a bell - Faux News peddles in this sort of conspiracy reporting and once its out - it is impossible to correct the facts.
30
I am sorry, but there is quite a leap here from what Trump discussed in his phone call transcript that we all read, and what Bossert and the authors of the article claim here.
At no point did Trump ask Ukraine’s president to "produce damaging information about Democrats."
This time of reporting earns the MSM the moniker of fake news.
Trump asked the president to clarify the matter around Biden's request to fire the prosecutor who was looking at the time into Burisma and a Soros non-profit.
Trump, both as a person and as the President of the United States, has all the rights to want to clarify these issues and find out if there was a cover up or not. And it is in the interest of the United States to do so.
The same way the Democrats were entitled to investigate the facts about the alleged Russia collusion, Trump has every right to investigate what happened in Ukraine.
18
@Alexgri - Well, correlation is not causation, but if Biden were not a candidate, does anyone think Trump would be "investigating" him?
47
@Alexgri It is clear from the transcript that there was a 'Quid Pro Quo' being issued by Trump: Coupling his urgent request for an investigation into the Bidens and the President of Ukraine saying '...we are ready...' to purchase more javelins ( or weapons systems ). It's clear from a neutral view that there was a 'something for something' taking place'.
But the far more sinister points are: 1) That the President was actually aiding Moscow by leaving Ukraine defenseless against Russia and 2) that he - the President - was still willing to use a foreign power to interfere with a domestic election in clear violation of American law and after the 2016 investigation. And even if you actually believe any of the Republican 'horse pucky' about the Bidens to be true, it's still a violation of the law.
....and then the cover-up of the crime.
enough said.
65
It’s already been investigated. Biden did nothing wrong. Trump didn’t simply ask the Ukranian President to look into it. He threatened to withhold military aid to a country fighting a shooting war against a sworn adversary of the United States. Trump endangered the national security of the country he swore to protect and illegally asked a foreign country to find damaging information about a political rival which is a gross violation of campaign finance laws. It is also, by the way, exactly what he was suspected of doing with our adversary, Russia. Trump shows no contrition, is willing to collude with a foreign country despite crying “No collusion, no collusion” and has no conscience.
13
Once again, Mr. Bossert is repeating the disingenuous argument that the only basis for impeachment is the demonstration of an explicit quid pro quo between Trump and Zelensky, i.e. military aid in exchange for dirt on a political opponent. That condition may be proven yet. But even without such proof, Trump’s explicit solicitation of foreign interference in a U.S. election, as shown explicitly in materials provided by the White House itself—including violation of the civil rights of U.S. citizens—is more than sufficient grounds for his removal from office.
1426
@Dennis Smith
Spot on. It's not the job of the head of state of any country to do political "favors" for Donal Trump. The fact that he thinks it is, and evidently sees nothing wrong with it, is reason enough to impeach him.
109
@Dennis Smith
“...explicit quid pro quo” seems a pretty weak defense, apparently the only one the defenders have left.
46
@wmferree
Yes, they are down to arguing that as long as Donald did not say, "Let me offer you a quid pro quo," he's on safe ground. Kinda like if someone holds a gun to your head and demands you money, but never says, "If you don't hand it over, I'll pull the trigger and discharge a bullet into your brain, causing your immediate death." Assuming such a threat is just jumping to conclusions or "reading into things"! The pistol may be a mere coincidence!
25
While certainly Trump's adoption of what may be a strained theory on the Bidens' involvement in Ukraine may have been unwise, and ultimately damaging to him, this is politics. It is richly hypocritical indeed that the Democrats are now so shocked, shocked indeed, that Trump is leveling corruption accusations against the Bidens (perhaps unjustly, we will find out) after three years of Democrats pushing a completely phony Trump-Russia conspiracy hoax on the nation. In their case, these Democrats fully endorsed a conspiracy hoax where the lead investigator acknowledged pretty much the beginning that there was "no there there." And beyond just playing politics with false accusations, these Democrat operatives corrupted the US court system with lies to judges to promote the hoax.
It's all politics, and in the end the people will see through the smoke screens of both sides, as they usually do.
8
I’m assuming that the lead investigator you mention is Robert Mueller. If so, he said no such thing!
10
And what will the American people see once they see through the “smokescreens on both sides”?
1
@Chuck French
Keep in mind that the Special Counsel was authorized by Republican and Trump appointee Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. That it found insufficient evidence to charge anyone, and Trump, with a conspiracy, does not make it phony or a hoax. Dems were just hopeful that it would, given the many, many connections and the many, many lies to cover them up.
7
Why does it feel like we have the Keystone Kops running the country? If the Biden thingee was a credible and critical national threat, why not let the normal instruments of the federal government do their work and ascertain the truth?
Instead, we have a bunch of bungling folks making things very easy for 45's dear friend Vlady Putin. The young in the Ukraine want to live in the 21st century, not in Russia's 20th. We should be in the business of fostering democracy, not aiding and abetting it's weakening. Same could be said for our current circumstances under this regime, simply the worst.
23
And why should Trump abandon the Ukraine conspiracy theory? So far, pounding the podium and advancing these cockamamie theories has done nothing but advance his agenda and thrill his followers. The best example, of course, is the "birther" nonsense, which he rode all the way to the Republican convention. When he was finally forced to come to grips with it, he made up another lie about it, saying he was actually the one who had put to bed that awful rumor - that of course Hillary started. And people continued to cheer him on!
That has been his MO all the way: lie, dodge, obfuscate, make up a new lie to cover old ones. When a person has absolutely no moral compass, and is only focused on advancing his agenda, the sky is the limit when it comes to cranking out a story a minute.
Donald Trump has spent a lifetime committing crimes and never facing consequences; no wonder he is shocked at having to do so now.
36
When are the republicans going to start putting the Country above their party? How can they turn a blind eye to the corruption and lies and instability of trump? Trump having meetings with Putin, MBS and hiding the phone calls. They will pay the price at the ballot box, people are not that stupid. Our country is in grave danger with lies, trump and his mindless minions.
6
They need to get the lower men on the totem pole to tell what they witnessed. We know the big fish Pompeo, Barr, Pence etc will dance around. Just like Watergate the small fish will incriminate the bigger fish and hammering away at Giuiliani who knows what that loony lawyer will spill.
6
@ Scrumper
Thank you
Made me laugh.
Needed it.
I can't take any more. Please impeach! I don't care what the senate does or doesn't do. Democrats do your constitutional duty!!
6
" he refused to accept reassurances about Ukraine no matter how many times it was explained to him,"
His refusal to accept REALITY is the obvious indicator of INSANITY. This man is unfit for ANY office, and, besides the obvious election interference by the russians, and the FAILURE of the Electoral College (for the one purpose it was created, prohibiting a despot from becoming president), I place blame DIRECTLY on "Reince Priebus" and the RNC for allowing this person to ever become a candidate.
The irony of the past 24 hours is seeing the actual, SELF-CONFESSED traitor in the WH accuse Congresspeople, performing their Constitutional duties as "traitors". Pathetic!
7
Ain't nothin' gonna happen.
It looks to me that the anti immigration guru.... Stevie Miller is scared as the domingos crumble and he will likely be one of the victims! Keep up Stevie, but I think you are in trouble. Dems, he appears to be corrupt, so get him over for some hard questioning also.
2
NYT, You can go with bigger and bolder titles, find this or that person saying whatever he or she wants about Trump, always negative of course, and bait the readers all you want, which in fact you do not have to since their blind hatred for Trump is proven beyond any reasonable doubt long ago, but this impeachment circus will get you nowhere, and any sane person knows that.
Be careful not to mention Biden at all, in future texts, in the interest of 'fairness', NYT style.
I truly hope that Trump wins next year, it would be some sort of 'cosmic justice' for all he endured from you, liberals, for these 3.5y and counting.
@ss
He said what he did, and did what he said.
L
et me explain: He asked a foreign country to interfere with our election process. Again.
He believes everything Putin tells him and nothing that CIA tells him.
5
The scene in Ukraine scandal is this one for Republicans ,
Leslie Nielsen cannot be this much pinpoint.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKnX5wci404
I am very sorry for those Republicans, they are the slave of what they created a monster voter base, they do not want to hear but their own voice.
How that Gerrymandering working for you.
Today If republicans stuck with bear trap in their leg and their agony of pain cannot be relieved because decades of Gerrymandering and their radical extremist voter base demand to defend what is not belong to America as we know it.
They encapsulated themselves late DRR socialist paranoid state.
Enjoy while Trump feat on your souls.
Mitt Romney , Could you please get your courage and resurrect Moderate Republican party , be the most critical leader in GOP last 30 years of history. This is your fate.
3
The truth is what Our Dear Leader says it is. Remember when he said that he could shoot someone on the streets of New York and nobody would care? Well Our Dear Leader is just testing the concept out on the nation. What is next, the declaration of marshall law until Our Dear Leader saves us from the treasonous vipers and Deep State whistleblowers?
4
Actually, declaring Marshall Law or nullifying a losing election will be the next steps. Very scary.
Maybe the pipes in the Whitehouse have lead in them.
3
@qisl
Made me laugh.
I needed it.
Thank you
Can’t wait for Trump’s memoir “I, Incompetus”.
5
This is the Roy Cohen/Joe McCarthy approach . Create some fictional dirt on your opponents and act like it is true.I think the Russians are good at that too.It is a core practice to be a good fascist.
7
Tweeted by trump:
“I want Schiff questioned at the highest level for Fraud & Treason.”!! [emphasis mine]
This is a president of the United States, squalling like an angry child. Fraud and treason?!
Lindsey Graham is "telling everybody... I think this is a setup".
Graham, who used to act like a fairly reasonable adult, and who espoused all the fine patriotic reasons Bill Clinton deserved impeachment - for lying about an affair - and now sees conspiracies everywhere.
The unhinged Miller speaks of a "deep state operative", a cabal trying to "take down" trump.
An aid said Giuliani "feeds trump all kinds of garbage". And he swallows it.
These people are all ensconced in the highest levels of our government. I find it very disconcerting to say the least, that we have a president who increasingly sounds like a lunatic and so does everyone around him.
If impeachment does not remove this dangerous man, the 25th Amendment needs to be brought forward asap.
4
'Merica has a so-called president who goes with what his gut tells him.
Sadly that gut is crammed with burnt steak and ketchup.
3
Propaganda. Check.
Lazy citizens. Check.
Corrupted politicians. Check.
This is how fascism wins and democracy ends.
5
If Trump is accusing of Hunter Biden from benefiting from his Father's position, and promoting a lie that it's illegal for him to do that, then what would Trump's daughter, son-in-law, 2 other sons, and a daughter-in-law be doing? Isn't Trump's in his OWN business dealings, from which he has not removed himself, be benefiting from Trump's position? Kushner's position, etc. It's the pot calling the kettle black. However, it's much more obvious that Trump and his family are benefitting from Trump's position as President than Biden is from HIS Father's company. Go figure. Is Trump that stupid?
3
Trump and Barr getting too close to the sun looking into Ukraine...where the Obama administration removed a democratically elected president via the 'Euro Maidan' coup (Obama himself says to Fareed 'Yanukovich fled AFTER we brokered a deal) and fostered more cronyism and corruption to follow, not to mention the blow back by putting Putin 'off balance' (according to Obama), thus the annexation of Crimea, invasion of Ukraine and Russian meddling in the U.S. election...it is all right here in the Feb 2015 interview with Fareed Zakaria-
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xAcx5fH4s1Q
NYT=28.65 USD −0.26 (0.90%)
AG, Dean what is going on. This impeachment thing is supposed to be good for business?
More News Analysis.
I like it when you do News Analysis - it helps the simple people understand. This is not a time to relax. Maybe an op-ed piece by Brennan will help. I like that guy. He's smart.
1
Does anyone else suspect that Putin fed this ridiculous story line to the clueless Trump to take the heat off of Russia? We have a traitor in the White House folks, posing as president.
4
Hunter Biden had no qualifications for his board position...but Ivanka Trump is eminently qualified to be a senior White House advisor...uh, right...got it!
5
@Mike Schmidt:
Only in the bizarre world of Trumpism.
And it's characteristics are that of a rapidly spreading, incurable virus.
2
Let's be honest. The NYT is simply cheerleading at this point on the impeachment process.
This article has a nice sleight-of-hand. "Trumps was told there is nothing to the Biden-Ukraine thing." The reader has the impression, the NYT is endorsing the "nothing to the Biden-Ukraine thing" as fact, like saying, "The pilot was told the plane would crash, moments before it did." But then The NYT keeps the dodge open, that the nothingness of the Biden-Ukraine thing is actually the opinion of the person quoted extensively in the article.
Perhaps the NYT wants it both ways, to send the message to readers that there is no reality to Biden-Ukraine allegations, but to keep the door open for an out for the NYT so it won't have to retract, in light of the increased reporting showing there is actually quite a bit to the Biden-Ukraine thing. If you want to read the researched details of the Hunter Biden issues, read the Jim Geraghty reporting in the National Review.
@John Erikson:
As if the NATIONAL REVIEW doesn't have an über-Right bias.
2
@John Erickson But please remember that trump’s actions are being scrutinized because they appear to be impeachable, REGARDLESS of what Hunter Biden did or didn’t do. Whataboutism just doesn’t work here. Even if a million people believe it, repeat it, or want to call someone who won’t swallow it a traitor.
Soliciting interference in a US election by a foreign government is illegal, and impeachable. Look that up if you’re confused or in doubt.
1
This is the same man who insisted there were 3,000,000 (non-existent) fraudulent votes, which he investigated using (actual) taxpayer dollars. Ironic that a perennial con artist should routinely prove himself to be such a sucker for wacko conspiracy theories.
4
Good thing Trump fired him. Drain the swamp! Drain the swamp! Pompeo must be next!
Trump is now promoting the 2019 version of "Pizzagate" This debunked version should bear the title of "Borschtgate".
2
Hm. According to this, it was a "well-known fact" that President Trump wanted "compromising" information on former Vice President Joe Biden:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-ukraine-former-zelensky-adviser-it-was-a-well-known-fact-trump-wanted-compromising-info-on-bidens/
2
Trump's denial of facts in favor of his desired reality shouldn't surprise anyone. He's a malignant narcissist. On the other hand, the embrace of his virtual reality by his supporters (both governing and the governed) is a a more complex phenomenon.
5
trump is dangerously mentally ill, and I have to add guiliani into that pot, as well. I often wonder which deceitful, unprincipled buffoon is sicker. trump's mental illness is clearly visible (as is guiliani's)---pathological lying, malignant narcissism, disordered thinking and speech, constant repetitiveness, off the cuff cruelty and sadism, encouraging malice and violence against his critics. But there is more. 37 psychiatrists wrote a book about trump's severe psychiatric disorders. So it is no wonder that an individual who is so mentally compromised believes in debunked conspiracy theories. And that he doesn't listen to others who give him wise advice? He is vicious, for one thing, but he may have Attention Deficit Disorder. Perhaps he is Bipolar, as he meets so much of the criteria for that disorder: delusions, calling himself "a stable genius," little need for sleep. So while republicans bash the whistleblower, millions of Americans (as well as millions of decent people abroad) give thanks for the patriotism and courage of the whistleblower. While trump and his horde of gop goblins accuse the whistleblower of "spying" and being an agent of "the deep state," millions of others know that so infrequently does some brave and principled person put themselves forward, at great risk for themselves and their loved ones, to report on incidences of corruption and immorality such as those seen in this administration, and with this pathetic, criminal excuse for a president.
6
This story has one interesting, underreported fact:
"In fact, the main server for the committee was in the party’s headquarters in Washington, and was later displayed there, next to a file cabinet that was broken into by the Watergate burglars nearly a half-century ago."
I'd like to see footage of the computer (and the Washington DC exterior of the building) interposed with Mr. Trump's bizarre quest to find it in Ukraine.
"Great news, Sir, it's been found....just down the street."
2
Isn't it long, long past time to 25th amendment this guy? His mental illness is about as glaring as it gets.
5
The president is a crook. Despite:
"While Mr. Bossert was forced out in 2018 when John R. Bolton became national security adviser, he has remained publicly loyal until now to a president who prizes fealty above all else."
How is trump's recalcitrance any worse now than it was when he was elected? The Ukraine story is just another of trump's unsavory activities. Trump should have been impeached when he was elected; the Electoral College should not have voted for trump.
So Bossert's concerns over a lying, traitorous, egomaniacal, fascist, lunatic president are belated. As soon as trump failed to understand that his Ukraine story was false, Bossert should have dropped trump.
Bossert's is yet another story for Rick Wilson in his penetrating book, "Everything trump Touches Dies".
Our democracy hangs by a thread; failure to impeach trump could yield his reelection by a handful of thoughtless voters in the swing states. The U.S. is heading to fascism, enabled by its own electoral system.
Putin had at least an intuition about this. He has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams in disrupting the U.S. We may never recover from the damage that trump, his supporters, Fox Noise and the Republican Party have done to this nation.
3
Maybe I'm alone here but, as much as I'd like to write Trump's behavior off to dementia or narcissism, I think there is more method to his madness than we are giving him credit for. I have reached the point where I think he is an evil genius (not a stable genius, mind you, but someone with a highly evolved ability to devise and execute horrible acts gleefully.) I think he willfully ignored the fact that all signs pointed to no wrong doing by the Ukraine and the DNC because he needed a juicy "liberals are the spawn of Satan" story to feed the hungry little minds of Cult 45. He doesn't care of it's true, he could tell them that Santa Claus is real and taking toys from their kids to give to Central American kids in detainment camps and they would believe him and before you know it there would be a white male shooter at the North Pole, woefully underdressed and very lonely. Trump ignored the facts because they did not further his cause of dividing this country and cultivating hate.
2
No surprise - yet again.
Trump doesn’t live in reality!
Here it is again: Trump doesn’t live in reality!
If it fits his, “I am the best! I win everything! Everything wrong is the doing of my evil enemies.” narrative, he takes it as his. Otherwise, he just rejects reality, substitutes his delusions - and acts - entirely on self interest.
America has to face at last the brutal facts:
We don’t have a President. We have a madman in the White House... and he’s getting worse by the day!
5
Trump is on TV lashing out at the whistleblower, calling Adam Schiff a liar and saying he can't be impeached. He wants the name of the whistleblower. He is abusing his power of the presidency. Get him out before he puts a hit on the whistleblower. He thinks he is the Mafia.
6
Globalists cry that political dirt comes from around the globe.
Never mind that Hunter Biden was getting $50,000 a month from foreign gas company in Ukraine. I'd like to find that in my lunch bucket, Joe.
Talk about China "loans" another day. Impeachment is the aristocrat's answer to such revelations.
@TOM Well, Tom, you seem to be trolling this comments section to ask the same question over and over about Hunter Biden's job qualifications. Perhaps you would care to list for us the resume qualifications of Trump's daughter and son-in-law as pertains to their sudden foray into high level public service, national security clearances, and being on the international stage with NO relevant work experience. Hey -- while you're at it, is there any reason at all they're in the White House now? After that, will you please tell us how many TV shows Donald Trump worked on before he was handed a prime time slot on a national network? I must have missed his first 65 years in TV. As a matter of fact, I also missed his first 70 year in politics and public service. But maybe you can share the details of his resume with us, since you're so focused on the issue of job qualifications!
On Twitter on later on Sunday, he (Bossert) added that he did “not see evidence of an impeachable offense.” But from the heading, it appears that Bossert already agrees to impeach. That means NY Times is trying to mislead the public with fake headings in cohort with Democrats. Most of the Americans think that Trump's action may not be perfect, but do not find anything there to impeach a President.
1
@Alex E Not sure what polls you’re reading, ‘cause all the major ones show a majority favor an inquiry and whatever follows from that. Most polls assume the Senate would fail to convict. A solid majority of Americans believe trump is incompetent, actively destructive of almost everything he touches and a narcissistic, pathological liar.
GOP, Just admit the blatantly obvious: Trump is unhinged.
3
No one should be surprised that Trump believed in the conspiracy theories, he himself has perpatrated many conspiracy theories and long before he was president. Trump is the most poorly educated president we have ever had in office. Fred Trump could have purchased him a PHD, and it wouldn't change the fact that DJT is sorely lacking any intelligence and the only thing he does have is a big mouth!
5
No doubt Trump laughs at the people who actually believe him. He actually secretly despises them, because they’re not the supporters he really wants. He wants the elites and the successful and the intelligent and the respected and the gainfully employe. Instead, all he can scrounge up is his base, and they can’t even win an election without foreign help and the electoral college rejecting the will of the American people.
5
He'll never be convicted, so long as a) there was no crime (there wasn't, no matter how long he sit and listen to CNN and MSNBC), and b) he believed there was something for Ukraine to investigate other than just his political rival (eliminates the murky High Crimes charge). This is yet another waste of time. The problem Dems will have is the economy is good, China is at the table, and illegal immigration is on the agenda; add on conservative judges and no new gun laws, and good luck winning PA, MI and WI. The sooner the Dems get on to why and how they win those states, the better off they'll be.
Hunter Biden is dead, and can't be prosectuted, questioned, or otherwise held 'liable' about anything. Why is Trump (and his groupies) suddenly so fixated on pinning a dead man to a wall?
Because Hunter Biden is dead, I really don't care what boards he served on, or how much he made. He's dead, and nothing Trump does can change that.
He's a reality-TV star. He made his living on verisimilitude, not on facts. He resents the idea that anything about him is a fact, because it can be checked an verified to reveal him as, in fact, a fake, a fraud, and a liar.
He understands that an avalanche of appearance numbs some people, robs them of critical thinking, and induces them to logical fallacies. A swindler knows how to overload the mark with fast talk. Speed, brazenness, fake bonding, are all it takes to pick the pockets of the weak and willing.
So of course Trump didn't care if this was true. He cared that he could use it.
3
That Ukraine interfered in our elections is a Russian talking point. Anyone who was privy to calls between Putin and Trump needs to come forward. To threaten civil war and the life of a whistle blower should be shocking to any Republican, but here we are; dead silence or rabid conspiracy theories spewing out of the mouths of a Steven Miller or Lindsay Graham.
Is this the bottom of the swamp that Trump resurrected, or is it even worse, that is treasonable, than any of us suspected?
We need staffers and Republicans to come forward before Trump carries through with one of his many insane threats, like bombing Afghanistan or firing two thirds of the State Department because they were emailed a news article his cronies found to be partisan.
This is as bad as it gets.
3
-Spreading debunked conspiracy theories
-Threatening a whistle blower to the point that the whistle blower requires federal witness protection
-Falsely accusing opposition Congressman of treason
-Openly soliciting foreign governments and adversaries for dirt on political opponents
-Misusing federal government resources to cover-up criminal behavior
This is what passes for the President of the United States now-a-days.
5
Trump is a man immune to reason and fact, so sure of his own knowledge and competence, yet at the same time so ready to listen his own favourite of the month. The fact that this manchild has access to nuclear weapons scares me beyond words.
3
He's losing it. Sometime soon the nice young men in the long white coats will have to come to take him away. Nancy Pelosi was right--he's self-impeaching now. It's quite clear. The man in the Oval Office is not sane, is not intelligent, is not fit to be president. The credible newspapers are going to have to stop quoting him if it seems that he is encouraging violence on America's streets.
5
Trump has gotten himself into this mess because that's what happens when an erratic president ignores advice from reliable advisers and listens to counsel from a crackpot lawyer.
5
Trump really does mirror the paranoia of the most gun-drunk nation of question evaders masquerading as a democracy.
2
You all ran with the Russian Collusion conspiracy theory for two years so we all can be susceptible to these far fetched ideas from time to time.
I have dealt with relatives who were cognitively impaired. What trait they shared was the inability to comprehend the truth they don’t want to hear. My in laws, for instance, no longer could use the gas stove in their apartment, because on too many occasions they had forgotten to turn off the gas,and the alarmed coop board, finally had the gas disconnected. Yet over and over, my father-in-law would ask when they could get the gas connected again. He just couldn’t accept that it was never going to happen, no matter how many times and way she we explained the situation to him.
Trump’s behavior regarding the debunked Ukraine theory reminds me of my father-in-laws. trump refuses to accept that it was debunked, just like he can’t accept the crowd size at his inauguration or the place of Obama’s birth. However, while it was sad to see the decline and confusion of my father-in-law, a kind gentle man, it had no repercussions to anyone but him and the family. With Trump the consequences for his mental state could be absolutely catastrophic not just to our country but to the planet itself. Will the Republicans ever finally say, enough is enough? We can hope but they seem to just be hunkering down prepared to go down with the ship, and takinfbthe entire country down with the,
10
Good point! Sorry about your in-laws, it’s tough.
2
“an unsubstantiated narrative” pretty much sums up the entirety of ideas and concepts embraced and espoused by Trump.
And yet again we have the GOP demonstrating a twisted form of loyalty, one first initiated by Newt Gingrich, where loyalty to country is nothing, and loyalty to party is everything. And there are no lengths too far to go to defend Trump and other GOP holy cows, regardless of how corrupt and bizarre their behaviors become. Their willingnesss to circle the wagons around corrupt individuals, and concoct bizarre and twisted tales which attempt to exonerate any of their own, or of their own false narratives and bizarre conspiracy theories, but most often this uniquely unfit and unsavory character who now occupies the Oval Office, and who has estranged the US from its allies, and who must be pulled back from causing manufactured existential threats, one after another, just boggles the mind.
Every time they gear up the Gingrich “defend the party at all costs” machinery, they endanger the very core of this country which has been passed down, generation after generation, in order to safeguard its best and highest ideals, those formulated and voiced by the founders, who would struggle to recognize this corrupt dog and pony show as the one for which they all put their lives on the line, and heads on King George’s chopping block when they signed the document which began this great experiment in democracy, the Declaration of Independence.
2
The impeachment inquiry is ramping up with inquiries and depositions. They had better hurry. Trump has just shown he has gone off the deep end. Someone had better watch him like a hawk and take care of our country. NOW
5
Is the argument really going to be that trump didn’t obstruct justice because he didn’t know that the conspiracy theory was false?
11
Wouldn’t be surprised!
1
All of this is, "Trump being Trump." The win at all costs to Trump means, Trump must win at all costs, not necessarily his party, his country or his supporters. You can now see how he must have run his business'. Trump feels and comports himself outside of acceptable social mores. The law, social civility, respect for others, mean nothing to Trump. He will go to almost any lengths to have his way. This is Trump being Trump.
12
Wait a minute. Are we still in America?
13
@Sid lives:
No.
We have become a shell of ourselves, having lost all consciousness that "United We Stand, Divided We Fall" is the most critical oath for our continuing viability.
The Buffoon-in-chief may well turn out to be the catalyst for the complete disintegration of our (once great) nation.
As with Rome, our Republic too can -- and given the path we're on as a citizenry that does caustic political battle through Twitter (of all things), where both parties have come to the point of utterly vilifying one another, leading to ever more extremist thinking -- our demise is ever closer.
The worst part? We're all culpable, and are doing it to ourselves.
Sad. Bigly [sic] sad.
Indeed.
1
“It’s going to bring him down.” One can hope!!!
7
Civil War!? President is threatening the whistleblower, threats the country with civil war. He’s of his rocker and a threat to our freedom. Republicans must reign him in or fall with him.
16
From another point of view ...
Asking the Ukrainian president to check into something ...
Not to make up or lie ...but check into.
This is worse than ...hiring an ex-spy from another country to make up things about a presidential candidate? To FUND the ex-spy's investigation ... then to use that opposition party's investigation to further oppose the sitting president ...
just asking ...
Do you remember that a Republican candidate for President was the first to hire Mr. Steele’s services?
3
The difference is one thing is being investigated to find veracity, and the other thing is a conspiracy theorist's unhinged fever dream.
2
“No puppet, you’re the puppet!”
Trump’s line in one of the debates has set the course. He denies, than accuses his opponents of the same thing. Tomorrow will probably bring the classic “I’m made of rubber and your made of glue...” tweet.
7
Big Lies, just for context …
Obama: Collecting every phone number US citizens dial is not spying.
Bush 2: Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
Clinton: “Ain’t NAFTA great?!”
Reagan: I’m fine and make all my own decisions.
All of them: Government works for you!
1
...and this defends Donald Trump, how?
2
Thanks a lot Ohio.
9
@Walter mccarthy
You're welcome!
Michigan, Florida, and Pennsylvania.
"CIA message to Trump: you mess with us, get ready for a leakstrom of Biblical proportions." ... David Frum, January 10, 2017, ten days before Pres. elect Trump took office.
This "impeachment" hoax is all part of ... "[T]he military-industrial complex creeping into politics with pernicious motives all its own."... Dwight Eisenhower
1. Attack Biden, as though it were he, not you, who'd been caught committing treason. (But note: you can't use treasonous methods to find out whether or not someone else, presumed innocent under our justice system, may have done something wrong.)
2. Attack your accusers, just like your role models Kim Jong-un, Vladimir Putin, Duterte, Mohammed bin Salman, etc do. (well no, not like MBS, god help us)
"I want Schiff questioned at the highest level for Fraud & Treason,” he wrote on Twitter. And he threatened the whistle-blower, who is protected by law from retribution. “Was this person SPYING on the U.S. President? Big Consequences!”
In this context, the following isn't as bizarre as it might sound: "lawyers for the whistle-blower requested stepped-up efforts to ensure his safety, citing 'serious concerns we have regarding our client’s personal safety.'”
3. Meantime, our gratitude to Mr. Giuliani, who seems to have finally done in our unstable, childish leader
10
You mean just how the media and Democrats embraced and sold a "Trump Russia" hoax for two years?
1
@Hank That "hoax" netted us tens of millions in recouped assets, and indicted and imprisoned more than 30 people. That's not a "hoax." Hoaxes don't wind up in jail.
1
GOP motto: Party over country.
10
At heart, Donald Trump, and Rudy Giuliani for that matter, are a first-class conmen. Trump does not believe in these conspiracy theories. It’s a fact that if Trump espouses conspiracy, a certain fraction of his base will truly believe. The ones that don’t (like House Republicans) will dishonestly use them as a talking point or counter argument. What a bunch of hypocrites!
9
As maureen dowd stated in her opinion piece, Trump is projecting (bigly).
5
Wish the Times and other reputable media outlets would stop reporting tweets without more context. If I cared what people were tweeting about, I would open the app and follow my feed. And I’m a verified user.
4
Birtherism redux. Does he actually believe it? Is he just using it? Distinctions without a difference.
8
The “white whale” that Mr. Bossert references, Moby Dick, not only destroys the mad Captain Ahab but the entire ship and crew except for Ishmael who survives to tell the tale. Melville’s story is prophetic in more than simply that of a monomaniacal person of power wreaking destruction on the world he commands, that is, the Pequod. His crew follows him for a variety of reasons. Some are simply sheep and do as told. Some see an opportunity to gain riches. Some question the wisdom, or even sanity, of his actions but choose to obey what they see as the rules of their unique society, the ship. Regardless, the ship is destroyed and they all drown.
Without stretching the imagination, the reader of Moby Dick early on foresees the impending disaster but is drawn onward, much as anyone watching the public deterioration of a larger-than-life public figure . So too the crew of the Pequod, enabling Ahab to continue in his insane, personally driven quest. The terrifying question we now face is whether in our current situation, the Pequod is the Trump administration, the Republican party, the nation or the world. Given the stakes, any of these seem possible.
13
Excellent! Thank you!
This is getting dire. Time to bring in Jared and Ivanka. They’ll know what to do.
14
The concept of "completely debunked" means absolutely nothing in TrumpWorld. No real-word fact exists outside of the feelings, opinions, and paranoid delusions cherished by Trump and his minions. You can only "debunk" propaganda if you recognize the independent existence of something known as "reality."
How many times have we heard Trump, confronted with indisputable facts that contradict something he has just said? He can't face reality, so he just says he doesn't believe in it.
10
@jim emerson
Where are those "indisputable facts" about Hunter Biden? Why haven't any of the reputable news outlets retracted their reporting on him, if they're factually incorrect?
This is important. Bossert is admitting the thing Trump wants hidden almost as much as his tax returns, which is the fact that he is an incompetent buffoon. Perhaps he really believes Putin over the CIA and FBI, because he is an unhinged narcissist, rather than a compensated asset. Either way, he does not belong in office. Bossert is clearly trying to walk it back and stay in the Republican kleptocrat club by casting doubt on whether Trump's Ukraine phone call was impeachable. Unfortunately for Trump, it clearly is.
On that note, why are the Democrats not using the word "Collusion," to describe Trump's interaction with Zelensky? Of course, Republicans are lying through their teeth about the absence of a quid pro quo on that call, based on the notes detailing it by the White House itself. However, Trump made such a big deal during the Mueller investigation that there was no proof he was actively "colluding." Well, now we can say, "Yes, this is collusion." Soliciting the help of a foreign government to invent, to fabricate a scandal to hurt a political opponent, clearly constitutes a conspiracy to illegally influence the 2020 election. Surely, Republicans in the Senate will be able to see that he is a liability to their national ambitions moving forward?
8
I'd love a whistle blower report on Trump's calls with Russia.
10
“Guiliani would ‘feed Trump all kinds of garbage’ that created ‘a real problem for all of us,’ said the former aid.”
Giving us - garbage in, garbage out.
10
To: @Constance Sullivan, It's not our Quisling president to be worried about. He's been this way all his adult life; it’s just what he is. What you should be terribly worried about and sickened by is the nature of a country that could and did elect such an arrogant, ignorant pomposity of a person as its president. I have seen the enemy and it is us. We have finally reaped what we have sown and fertilized with pride, hubris, greed and selfishness. We are now on a ship of fools being captained by the biggest fool of all. The icebergs are dead ahead and the captain is saying to his minions, “Full speed ahead, I don’t want to be late for my tee off time.”
12
Except it's already a proven fact that Ukraine was the country that made their little black book on Manafort available to the FBI.
How is that not interfering in our elections, or the fact the DNC/PerkinsCoie/FusionGPS/ and Christopher Steele were looking for this evidence.
Sounds like collusion and corruption..and a jailable offense for Hillary Clinton.
1
@Erica Smythe
Nuances are so important. Your second paragraph, for instance, ignores the fact that the Clinton campaign paid--and reported paying--for the information. It's legal to hire foreign nationals to do some election work, if correctly reported in campaign finance reports.
And in the first paragraph, conflating the FBI with the Clinton campaign is wrong.
3
Your comment is important however, I must point out that the Clinton campaign didn’t pay foreign nationals. They paid a US based firm. But that simply bolsters your argument that Clinton did nothing illegal.
1
@Andy So you're saying if Trump paid Giuliani and Giuliani paid Ukrainians..it's all good?
Got it.
Just wanted to be clear on the rules.
Trump's incompetence and predilections are on full display here. Imagine if he kept his maniacal narcissism, vindictiveness and penchant for chaos at bay? He'd be cruising to reelection in 2020....
1
Great article By Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Maggie Haberman and Peter Baker, thank you. I do not agree with one part of many of the most recommended comments. I do not think Donald Trump has the mind of a kindergartener, or is stupid, or believes in magic thinking, or in the nonesense, lies and fake news that he promotes and trades in. Donald Trump is evil, dangerous, cynical and as a professional con artist, he is excellent at what he does. It bothers me that his critics keep underestimating him. There are a few new news stories on NPR and the NYT about how Trump does his most stupid and racist tweets, just when the news is getting geared up against him. He changes the channel on the media, like a parent changing the channel of their children's television. To get the better of such a danerous manipulator, the media will have to keep their focus on the big stories, and not run crazy with every despicable tweet.
David Lindsay Jr. is the author of “The Tay Son Rebellion” and blogs at InconvenientNews.net.
4
I hope Pelosi and Schiff are willing to continue this impeach investigation through 2024. Most Democrats expect them to. Maybe they should push this as a campaign promise.
6
On 60 Minutes they interviewed House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy. Three times he was asked whether it's OK for the Prez to ask for election help from a foreign leader, and each time he didn't answer. That speaks volumes!
18
The biggest thing we have to worry about is if the House votes to impeach, but the Senate refuses to convict and remove Trump. He will still be President, and will be privy to all our intelligence information. What's to stop him from getting up at 3 AM and giving Putin the names and locations of all our foreign operatives? And that's just the beginning of what he could do.
6
@Kathleen
I think that ship has already sailed. He's been beholden to Putin since forever.
4
Now is the time for Republicans to be holding their Town Halls... to listen to their constituents concerns and provide them reason to withdraw their support for this out of control president.
Trump will be a giant albatross around the necks of 80% of the Republicans up for re-election.
10
When Donald Trump is caught in any wrong doing his reaction follows a predictible pattern. He always levels an accusation of similar or more egregious acts on the part of his political opponents. This time, however, he publicly canceled aid to the Ukraine prior to making a phone call to the leader of that country. That aid keeps the Ukraine out of Russia's hands. So, when he followed with a demand for illegal intelligence sharing about the Bidens, he was effectively holding another country hostage for his own personal gain. Surely there are still some honorable Republicans in the Senate. Let them find a new candidate.
Trump is bad for our country and, really, for the world.
7
we need more people like this to call out the most corrupt president in US history.
8
Trump is beginning to remind me of Captain Queeg of Caine Mutiny fame.
5
What are we saying here? Trump was told it was "debunked." Ok, so we now have evidence he was telling Zelensky to "unbunk" it, anyway he could. Just manufacture it! Make something up and don't forget to provide phony documentation, fake evidence! Just another day of lies in the Trump presidency.
5
'a “deep-state operative” who is part of a cabal of “unelected bureaucrats who think they need to take down this president.”'
Oh, like Rudy Giuliani?
8
“In fairness, I don’t know that it was Rudy Giuliani that put that conspiracy theory into the president’s head,” he [Bossert] said. “I know somebody did and I was under the impression it was Mayor Giuliani. If Mayor Giuliani wasn’t promoting the D.N.C. server conspiracy theory, then I apologize.”
Whether or not Giuliani was the first to put this -- and other -- Ukranian-based conspiracy theories into Trump's head, he has undoubtedly embraced and promoted them.
Anyone who saw his "performance" on This Week yesterday could see that all that Giuliani was missing was a tin-foil hat.
Waving around his highlighted "affidavits" and rambling on about connections between this and that person supposedly connected with the Bidens and the DNC servers, he made me think that if the Criminal Minds team entered his apartment they would find it filled with photos hanging from the walls, connected by lines and scribbling on Post-It notes.
3
Of course he did. Is this a surprise to anyone? Any credible human that has worked in this white house needs to speak up now...loudly...not anonymously. This is worse than I ever imagined it would be.
4
Once again a misstatement-Trump did not think the Ukraine interfered with US elections- he thought Biden and his son tried to buy the Ukraine Government. Your headline sets up a straw man argument-you mis-state his position and then refute it.
1
@logodos
I don't think you read the article. It is saying Trump did think Ukraine interfered in the US election, on the Democrats' behalf.
4
Somebody in the White House tricked Trump into releasing transcript of the conversation with the Ukrainian president because they know Trump is not smart enough to understand the implications.
5
And Vice President "pastor" Mike Pence is just as culpable.
4
clearly "off the reservation!" unhinged. unstable. delusional. desperate.
OUR PRESIDENT!
6
Calling him a Mafia Boos is a compliment-
What I can’t comprehend is the pigheadedness of some Democrats still against impeachment. Mind blowing.
3
I remember - in the middle of Turmp's birther escapade - thinking that the reason he was so insistent (it had become quite clear to most people that Obama was born in Hawaii) that he, Trump, was a captive in his own hall of mirrors (think Fox News addiction).
Maybe a lifetime of bending the truth erases the ability to intuit.
Years from now I suspect Trump will just be seen as pathetic, really. Just small and pathetic. Maybe those who supported him will be able to hide behind their own fictions - something about serving and saving the country. Right ...
4
We may be divided over the dirty dealings and questionable, at best, business dealings, true or false, of the Biden, Trump, Kushner and Clinton/ Mezvensky clans but one thing I hope we can agree on there are certainly no Jack, Bobbie, Robert Jr. or Caroline’s Kennedy’s around among the latest batch of politicians and their off spring: a lot of truth in what OAC said to quote “they are all in it for the Benjamins baby”, or it would certainly seem so.
2
My hungry friend Bob and me.
Bob "Hey I think I'm going to eat lunch can I borrow $5?"
Me "I would like you to do us a favor though. I understand you know my neighbor. You might know some stuff going on. Really terrible stuff. Bad guy my neighbor. Maybe talk to Pete because I just hear there are terrible things going on at my neighbors house. Pete will come over to your house and discuss it with you. Maybe call my brother John. Maybe you guys can look into my neighbor. You can help us out here."
So does Bob seem to be borrowing the $5 with out strings attached to you? Do I seem to be giving Bob $5 our of charity or kindness? Do I seem to be targeting someone specifically? Maybe someone I have issues with.
Well that's it in a nut shell.
3
The most fundamental question, which has never been decided and would invariably go right to the Supreme Court, is whether, and for what crimes committed where and when can a President pardon himself?
7
One aspect of this that disturbs me: Donald Trump tried to strong-arm Ukraine into digging up dirt on the Bidens after Bossert and others warned the president the theory was completely debunked. Yet Trump went forward with his scheme, and I think it is because he perceives the Ukrainian government as corrupt. What does a corrupt body do when asked to produce evidence? They produce it, whether it is true or not.
It has been amply demonstrated over 10,000 times that Donald Trump does not care whether a thing is true or not, as long as it is effective. It has been his modus operandi throughout his adult life. So was Trump trying to get dirt, or was he asking for it to be manufactured? This is something we'll probably never know. But it's a chilling thought all the same.
10
Brossert is upset that Trump adheres to a completely debunked conspiracy theory (and largely blames Giuliani for Trump's belief) but says that he sees no impeachable offense in Trump's dealings with and relating to Ukraine or his call with Zelensky and the apparent coverup of that and the whistleblower complaint. OK. But if Trump really believes totally debunked conspiracy theories and acts on them for his personal political benefit isn't that grounds for the exercise of the 25th amendment? Brossert is saying that Trump lacks the mental capacity to faithfully execute the office. He should be removed, one way or the other.
9
Nowhere in the article does it mention the fact that, although an American company, Crowd Strike was founded and run by a Ukrainian national, and has deep ties to the Democratic Party. In addition, this company was the sole forensic examiner of the DNC server, not the FBI. Furthermore, the ‘server’ would have been imaged so it’s complete contents can be stored and transmitted electronically. A copy could have easily made its way anywhere, including Ukraine.
@J House no, that has all been debunked
5
The company’s founder is NOT Ukrainian national. Dmitri Alperovitch and his family fled Russia for the US during the soviet era.
4
@J House
Kaspersky went to KGB schools with Putin, and I believe as part of their strategy he founded Kaspersky Labs in the US in Arlington near the Defense Department. Kaspersky software is spyware, I worry. Crowd Strike is also a worry I think.
However, the fact that Mr. Trump repeatedly refuses to admit that Russians manipulated and are manipulating our country.
1
And now Grassley and Ron Johnson are demanding the DOJ investigate if Ukraine helped the Democrats in 2016!!
The nonsense seems endless. Unless the entire rule of law falls apart under and because of Trump's sheer madness impeachment of him and the disgrace of his enablers will be the endgame here.
4
Trump's narcissism forces him into a rabbit warren of cognitive dissonance.
In order to protect his ego he has to compartmentalise frightening and threatening facts and try to block them off.
In order to function in front of other people he seizes on theories that support his need for aggrandisement and protect him from thoughts that diminish his self worth.
This has been obvious for a long time, and in the end is exhausting and self defeating.
His life is so complex that managing his fears has become almost impossible and results in the delusional and unhinged behaviour we see now. It will only get worse.
He is not fit for his office.
4
Stephen Miller looks and acts like someone who is ill-qualified
for his position in the White House and he just gives me the creeps.
Discribing the whistle blower as 'a saboteur try to undermine a duly elected government' shows ol' Stevie needs a civics refresher course on 'government'. Also he and Lindsey and co.
should realize Nixon was also 'duly elected' in a landslide.
Think about that Mr. Miller. Miller was press secretary for the
independent thinking(wink), Michele Bachmann. Maybe that is were he became radicalized. Surprised Trump didn't appoint her to one of his cabinet positions. I guess she didn't make the cut....thank god.
4
It's called a fixed delusion. Don't bother him with the facts...
4
I love how the Republicans are all upset because they think Hunter Biden used his father's coattail to land a job.
ignoring the fact that ivanka trump couldn't find the United States on a globe jared kushner, a real estate agent whose company is $600 million in the red, was ls assigned to fix the problems in the Middle East in spite of no foreign policy expertise whatsoever!
And I'm sure the job interview that eric trump and don jr. had to work at their daddy's company was brutal.
11
So, why Ukraine, of all places? Does anyone feel like there may be some manipulation going on here? And, who stands to benefit from turning the US gov't against the govt of Ukraine? Humm, maybe old Vlad?
The impeachment of trump needs to be done quickly and successfully, but if we had the time and inclination, my money is on this entire mess being the result of still more Russian cyber manipulation. Who's likely the source of weak-minded people like trump (and Republicans in general) believing something as absurd as Ukraine being out to help elect Hilary?
Gotta hand it to Vlad and his happy cyber psychopaths: they know just the buttons to push to get us to do their bidding.
6
I served in the Air Force for over 20 years. It shames me to even acknowledge that Graham was ever in that service.
8
Now is the time for an article that lays out fully and in detail the basis for Joe Biden's trip to Ukraine. It should include persons from the state department and the Obama administration as well as the position of the European countries and the international bodies calling for the ouster of prosecutor Shokin.
3
@JGresham Here's that article (spoiler: Biden did nothing wrong) - www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/09/27/quick-guide-trumps-false-claims-about-ukraine-bidens/
2
@Tommy M
That's not what that article says.
@Tommy M I would like to see a similar and a bit more detailed article in the MYT.
We can go all the way back to Trump's promotion of the guilt of the Central Park Five for evidence of his inability to perceive truth, and then move on to his belief in the birtherism conspiracy. That he admired Alex Jones, the hideous person who promulgated the notion that all of the first-graders who died at Sandy Hook didn't really, is just another bit of evidence that Trump is unfit for public office. That he requires the people who work for him to embrace these lies is even more troubling. Do you remember him telling the American public to not believe our own eyes and ears when he claimed that his inauguration crowd was bigger than Obama's, or that he didn't sexually assauilt all of those women, he didn't pay off Stormy Daniels, and he didn't mock a disabled man?
3
In turning back the calendar to search for past abuse, tampering and corruption in Ukraine, the Republicans seem to have forgotten about a guy named Paul Manafort and his hook-up to Trump.
4
Trump is immune to reason and evidence. That, coupled with his unfounded yet profound sense of infallibility, is why he is incapable of learning. In his disordered, chaotic mind, there is no truth; there is only the relentless pursuit of insane rationalizations that will somehow justify his distorted worldview. It is terrifying to think that our country and the world rely on the judgment and thought process of such a dangerously unstable individual.
3
The President admits to impeachable offenses and then lashes out with threats to Chairman Schiff, the whistleblower, members of the press and an assortment of perceived enemies. It would appear that he is becoming dangerously unhinged and irrational. I hope and pray that those responsible for ordering our military into combat or initiating a thermonuclear strike are being advised to treat any immoral presidential order as null and refuse to follow it. Please, God...
3
Joe Biden's only crime was having two close relative who tried to exploit his position to their own advantage. Republicans like Graham not only know this, but every one of them has friends or relatives who've done the same.
2
Only a bumbler like Trump would get himself into trouble over something that had already been proven false. As we've been saying for years, the man is totally unfit for office.
3
Let's try to clear the air about the alleged Biden effort to stop a Ukrainian investigation against him and his son. All that is publicly known is that Biden's son was put on the board of directors of a corporation in Ukraine and received a big compensation for taking that position. Such compensation is not atypical for big corporations in the US and around the world. It is also not a-typical for celebrities and family members of big shots and politicians to be given a seat on such boards to win prestige for the corporation. To date, no one in Ukraine or in the US has alleged any facts that Biden's son engaged in any corrupt practices in Ukraine or that Biden sought to stop any investigation as to his son. Biden had criticized a pro-Moscow Ukrainian prosecutor who was threatening unfounded prosecutions against Ukrainian officials and the Ukrainian corporation on the board of which Biden's son sat. That prosecutor was sacked. The same complaint was made by numerous western European government officials and the EU. On this basis, right-wing pundits have concluded that Biden publicly rebuked that prosecutor to protect his son for prosecution in Ukraine. As you may have noticed, there are no facts substantiating that the Ukrainian corporation or Biden's son was engaged in corrupt activity or that Biden unilaterally went after the rogue prosecutor. Innuendo instead of facts.
3
Biden's kid was hired by the Ukraine gas company for Dad's name and influence. That he fulfilled the former, and nothing came of the latter, was at best inappropriate and optically horrid....but, not illegal. None of this justifies what Trump did. He's a guy who never read our constitution and is oblivious to his behavior's ramifications. All of this conspiracy theory nonsense and "hearsay" drivel will do what Trump wants. The cloud of dust will obscure the facts and his followers on Fox will have a swell time justifying the events with alternate facts. You can't win against this guy. He'll serve out his term, maybe two.
3
Wait till that highly classified server yields transcripts of Trump calls with Saudis. Anyone want to bet that the friendship between MBS and Jared Kushner and its implications for the US stance on Kashoggi will be revisited?
6
To those who are outraged that Mr. Trump is labeling his critics spies/traitors and wants them to be treated as they "used to", I would say you have no right to your indignation.
The fact is Mr. Trump has been openly telling us that he does not tolerate anyone who is disloyal to him. He fired James Comey simply because he refused to give him the Soldier's Oath of loyalty. And he has fired anyone who has expressed unhappiness with the way he behaves. So, what else do you expect?
What Mr. Trump likes to see in the US is what he sees and admires in specific places overseas. But when he told us about that we did not care, since we thought he cannot be serious. He told everyone that he has no problem with the way Russia's Vladimir Putin, North Korea's Kim Jong-un, Saudi Arabia's Mohammad Bin Salman, Philippine's Rodrigo Duterte, Turkey's Recep Erdoğan, Hungary's Viktor Orbán, etc., treat their own people. In particular, when there were reacting to disloyalty.
So, he is simply consistent. We know he cannot stomach anyone being "disloyal" to him. He is now applying tactics of other dictators at home. So, we need to sit tight and embrace ourselves. If he follows his buddy Putin, soon we will notice a lot of changes around us; like journalists that he does not like start to disappear.
Frankly, I am starting to panic. If the US public does not manage to get rid of this tinpot dictator, soon we all will be in deep "problem". Lordy! What is happening to our world?
6
What do you expect of someone who is a fan of Alex Jones and his conspiracy theories?
6
Trump and Giuliani = classic folie à deux
What more is there to say, except, "Support universal health care," so they can obtain appropriate treatment?
2
It's hard to tell whether Trump is simply an intellectually inept person or a liar just mau-mauing the people who trust in him, but it's a pretty sad performance.
The Ukraine has probably some people involved in the Russian directed election interference campaign but it's all under the orders of Putin, and Trump is just too eager to have Russians doing business with him to confront the dictator. Trump has a way of looking like a callow youth with these killers like Putin and Kim and MBS. I suspect that he fears them but wishes he was like them. Being raised by a man like Fred seems to have left him with no substantial character and a frail sense of self esteem.
3
"Quid pro quo" is not an issue. It's been used by Trump defenders to try to frame the question to his benefit. The fact that he asked a foreign leader to help him with his re-election is the crime, missiles or no missiles. It wouldn't matter if Trump had been on his knees, begging, with nothing to offer in return. It's the request that's illegal. If there was any quid pro quo, it makes the whole thing smellier, but from a legal point of view -- and a "high crimes" point of view -- it doesn't matter.
2
It's not a mental pecadillo that Trump keeps returning to debunked theories about Ukraine being the 2016 election hacker. He knows full well it was the Russians...probably better than anyone. In case anyone has amnesia, he publicly invited them to hack Clinton emails. He has, if it needs to be said, ulterior motives.
2
Of course there is not. Just as there was no rule that a whistle blower needed to have first hand knowledge. All lies from the President for Fox News. Even Chris Wallace reported the “recent change is whistle blower rules”.
1
Trump doesn’t care that there is nothing there with Biden and Ukraine. An investigation is enough. It creates innuendo and a negative association. “Hillary’s Emails” and “Benghazi!” Nothing there, but enough to taint the brand. It’ll be “Biden and Ukraine!”
The Fox News heads will just repeat this line and viewers will assume it’s something sinister.
Mission accomplished.
4
They're all lining up now to distance themselves from Trump and his corruption.
2
The irony of this is that the man who has called “fake news” so many times was actually the person taken in by “fake news”. Either he and Giuliani were completely duped or they have been actively working to manufacture “fake news”. Neither is flattering to them. It seems a weird sort of cosmic justice that the “fake news” meme may actually be their demise. We deserve better than this in America. We deserve leaders who do not peddle fear. I have to believe that all of us as Americans will rise up now and say enough. I believe in President Lincoln’s “better angels”.
7
One thing we can do be certain of is whenever Trump is in an accusatory mood, you can be sure he is he doing the same thing and more.
1
You have to wonder if this wasn't what Mr. Putin was planting in Mr. Trumps' mind in all those private, unrecorded conversations these two "heads of state" were having. Clearly Trump is very easily manipulable.
4
Trump is effectively in a race with jail. Wins the 2020 presidential election, he might just get out of jail. Lose the 2020 presidential election and Trump will face a very strong chance of being convicted of federal crimes and may (should) see the world from the other side of the bars.
4
Trump had 2 goals in his Ukrainian conversation. We already know about getting the Ukrainians to smear Biden. Obvious motivation. Motivation for pressuring Zelensky to provide evidence that the Ukraine was meddling in the 2016 election on behalf of the Democrats is not based on being a "sore winner." This is an attempt to cast Russia in a favorable light when it comes to election meddling. Could this idea have been provided by Putin in his phone call with Trump that has been buried in the depths of the top secret server?
8
I believe that most the of Fox News personnel and those of other right wing media outlets are well aware that the conspiracy theories they help perpetuate are largely, if not entirely, false. But they are sensational and help sell ad space. These people are really just performers, not journalists, and they are paid well to fulfill the role. Salary trumps truth for them.
Intelligent people see through this and are not swayed. Unfortunately intelligent people are not the norm, so these theories become dangerous, fester and spread. Critical thinking and ethics should be required components of the curriculum, starting in grade school. Stupidity is the easy path that will lead is into oblivion on so many fronts.
There should be a disclaimer prior to right wing broadcasts stating that some of the facts stated in this report have been altered, are false, or fabricated. They are provided for entertainment purposes only.
7
Someone explain Rupert Murdock. Spreading falsehoods and anarchy on three continents.
To what end? Once you have a few billion, does one yearn for even more?
Thus according to your survey still 45 % of americans want Trump to stay and continue to rule; And these same people will vote enthousiastically for him in 2020.
As he said, he could shoot a man on Times Square wtihout ever having to answer to anyone for this murder;
In addition, for Trump o be impeached, Republican Senators would have to accept the fact that Trump is a danger to the Nation, and even possibly to the World. But they dont care about that.
The only thing they see is that now they are stuck to his coattails. It is too late to deny him. Voters would not be grateful, and would vote for a Democrat candidate, or would stay home.
So their only chance is to keep supporting Trump to the end...
Only by winning the 2020 elections can the Democrats hope to oust Trump;
4
History is watching. She will rate Trump as our worst president, ever. He will, until his last breath, claim he was the greatest president ever. It is very clear which interpretation is supported by the facts.
5
For Trump, it is TRUMP first always.
His idea of nation is “nation self”
There must be strict repercussions for the liars.
We cannot endure 4 more years, much less another day!
Interview the secretaries.
6
Could this be a bit of misdirection blaming Giuliani when perhaps it is primarily Putin who is putting this idea in Trump's head? Either way, Trump wants to believe or doesn't care that it is misinformation since he finds it useful.
3
I’ve always thought that to Putin, Trump was merely a useful idiot. If Trump gets dumped, Putin will snicker. Consider: 25 years and Trump couldn’t get a building permit in Moscow. Putin will never let him get that permit.
The question that comes to my mind is why in the world Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States of America, would even have ever selected Mr. Bossert as his first homeland security adviser, when he is definitely not on board with the program. Was he ever? Trump needs people who are with the program and dedicated to make America grate again, not to bring it down. Be patient American, all of this nonsense will soon pass. Thank you.
2
@Southern Boy - "all of this nonsense will soon pass."
Yup. Once Trump is kicked out or voted out of office. Only the blind see him as someone worth voting for.
5
@Southern Boy: Trump "grate[s]" on America all the time. Your location speaks volumes about what you think America is.
1
A person who had a history of making paranoid accusations and then threatened people every day — would have to undergo court-ordered mental competency evaluation.
4
Does running for election give immunity from any investigation of corruption?
Or does that immunity only apply to democrats, or just Biden specifically?
2
But her emails....
I would implore reporters/anchorpeople to be less polite and not let Trumps' surrogates ramble on eating up time when asked a simple question. They need to call a lie a lie and cut these toadies off when they are changing the subject and repeating fruity theories. This is horrific and an emergency and needs to be acknowledged as such all the time.
6
@lyricist - They should be like Chris Wallace was with Steve Miller on FOX this weekend. It was almost like watching Judge Judy in her courtroom.
Is it me or do trumpets and their electoral presidents believe that if Secretary Clinton broke the law, that somehow exonerates trump.
Like children do when they're caught doing something naughty.
4
The U.S. Justice Despt. is indeed investigating whether Ukraine or other former Soviet colonies were involved in either the Hillary Clinton campaign or the Paul Manafort prosecution.
Monies sent to pay Hillary off for the Rosatom uranium sale ALWAYS went through multiple other countries even before being filtered through law firms here.
1
@L osservatore All unsupported assumptions on your part. The last part about the uranium sale is pure fiction. Try some reputable news sources, not right wing conspiracy theory.
1
If it is a conspiracy, Trump believes it. That is what happens when someone spends their life in a billionaire's bubble.
1
I was shocked as I watched Dallas Baptist megachurch Pastor, Rob Jeffress on Fox News last night and prophesized "arm insurrection and civil war," if Trump is impeached.
Why would the President of the United States retweet such a quote by this right-wing evangelical?
Calling for Civil War, I thought, was advocating insurrection.
3
Very annoying that people are pointing left and right: Biden, his son, 2016, Mueller, claims of no Russian collusion, no obstruction...
The only point that matters here is a candidate, who happens to be president, asked a foreign government for dirt on his opponent. That, simply, is the issue, and it is illegal (federal election law - gift in kind foreign gov) and immoral.
1
Art. 25 time?
1
This is not surprising he is a huckster and a hawker of shoddy goods. This a presidency predicated on falsehoods and lies - birtherism. Mr. Trump’s paper of choice and journalistic veracity was a tabloid - National Enquirer. He got his news from this waste of paper and disseminated falsehoods and lies in it. His calls to and appearances on Howard Stern ,Rush Limbaugh and Alex Jones shows are the talk radio equivalent. Gossip segueing to conspiracy, at best, should be diversionary entertainment, but now it driving U.S. national and international engagement and policy.
To quote John Dean “I think that there's no doubt about the seriousness of the problem we've got. We have a cancer within-close to the presidency, that's growing. It's growing daily. It's compounding. It grows geometrically now, because it compounds itself. That'll be clear as I explain, you know, some of the details of why it is, and it basically is because (1) we're being blackmailed; (2) people are going to start perjuring themselves very quickly that have not had to perjure themselves to protect other people and the like. And that is just . . . and there is no assurance.”
2
Trump is a master at playing a crowd. He threatens, lies and intimidates to justify himself. He comits a crime and expects to be excused for something Biden may have done that doesn't even come close...... It is very clear that he and his gang are very afraid of Biden - - to the point that they tried to conceal it in a secure server.
2
Trump needs to be removed immediately using the 25th Amendment. He is obviously a clear and present danger. His threats to Rep. Schiff indicates that he is engaging in obstruction of justice and other high crimes and misdemeanors. What is he and Putin so worried about anyway? I sure would like to see the "transcripts" of those phone calls!
3
What troubles me more than Trump and a complicit GOP .. is the electorate that supports them. Without these people, Trump would be back doing what he has always done well, namely, con jobs and serial bankruptcies.
The moral degradation of the whole lot takes your breath away.
3
Donald Trump has developed a complete immunity to facts and science. He totally ignores the advice of experienced, well informed advisers and embraces the lunatic conspiracy theories of people like Rudi Guliani that would not fool an intelligent child.
Whether it is dementia or some other medical condition the President is undeniably unfit to serve in the nation's highest office. Day by day his comments get wilder, nastier and more bizarre.
The senior Republican officials know this yet continue to defend his bizarre behavior because their fortunes are tied to his. They, even more than Trump, will be judged very harshly in the long term when the damage he and they have done to the United States is no longer deniable, apart from the Presidents cult of followers, who literally believe every baseless statement he utters, no matter how absurd.
The most disturbing question of all is - How have a very significant minority of the American people fallen for this demagogue and his henchmen? Is it a reflection of the Republican's relentless undermining of public education? Or of unscrupulous propaganda outfits like Fox News and right-wing talk radio masquerading as journalism?
I have always thought that the NIxon years would sober up enough Americans, but clearly I was wrong. The threat of the charismatic demagogue remains. I am beginning to grasp how many Germans and Italians in the 1930s came under the spell of such men.
2
This is a story rich in ironies.
Our president is a man incapable of accepting facts - viz his continued inability to reject birtherism and the guilt of the Central Park Five. And now he may find his presidency brought down by the pursuit of yet another non-factual theory about Ukraine meddling in the 2016 election.
The other irony is in the president's - and Republican's - indignation about any hint of nepotism between Joe and Hunter Biden. Not only is this also not factual, but doesn't the president's own practice of nepotism in providing actual government jobs for his family cause these people to pause? He has not only installed his son-in-law in senior government roles without any qualifications, but bent the rules to provide him the highest security access. And yet there's a rush to judgment about Biden's son sitting on a Ukraine company board?
It's so absurd as to be unbelievable.
2
Thomas Bossert sounds like a disgruntled employee who wants to get back at President Trump because he was terminated. This article mentions he was loyal to him until now. Why didn't he reveal the Trump Ukrainian investigation before? Why now? The one mistake President Trump made was hiring this man in the first place. He has an axe to grind and should never have been hired.
Notice we’re not hearing much from Biden’s Democrat rivals about this although they were quick to condemn Kavanaugh a few weeks ago. Either they have developed a sudden appreciation for the need to let all the evidence to come in before rushing to judgment or they’re just waiting for Biden to be slow-cooked in his own juices.
President Trump will win the 2020 presidential election.
The Democrats overreached and helped President Trump become a sympathetic figure. The perception is that he is being harassed by the media, bureaucrats in intelligence agencies and the democrat party.
In short, President Trump has become a martyr of “swamp” creatures. Is this characterization wrong? It doesn’t matter. In areas the democrats must win to elect the next U.S. President, calls for impeachments and accusations of “treason”, no less, are dismissed as white political noise. People know the elections are a year away and they should have a say in electing the U.S. President. By attempting to undo the 2016 presidential selections voters will react virulently against the President’s accusers.
The drumbeat of “Trump is a traitor” is easily dismissed as a political slogan. Impeachment proceedings will be the democrats undoing. No Republican senator will vote to impeach President Trump based on this whistleblower allegation because the Democrats have done the very same thing in a much more blatant and direct form. Just read a letter from three democrat Senators in July 2018 to the Ukraine and listen to Mr. Biden’s demands to remove a Ukrainian prosecutor.
What do the democrats offer for the next election as their platform? Not very much as it turns out. “Trump is a traitor” is not a good presidential platform when compared to “I stand against China”.
2
Why is everyone neglecting the obvious evidence of violation of the emoluments clause in the Ukraine president’s offering that he stayed at a Trump hotel as a point in his favor—and no push-back by Trump saying, ‘Oh no, I can’t have a thing of value from a foreign government official.’
4
Graham is the best Trump can do as a supporter on T.V.? Give me a break Who trusts Graham? About as many as those who believe Trump. The two sidekicks that wouldn't know the truth if it kicked them!
3
Current events seem to be unfolding as a result of information in the released transcript about the Ukraine call of July. It was noted that it was not verbatim, which indicates information was not disclosed. An actual oral recording would show how Trump used his words to signify implied meaning and understanding. Meanwhile, other efforts from Trump and his team amount to his usual tactic of distraction.
3
This situation echoes eerily of Nixon's final moments during Watergate.
Supposedly it was his own paranoia that led him to spy on his opponents, against his better judgement and that of his advisers. Similarly, we have Trump acting on his own paranoia and engaging in likely illegal activities against the better judgement of his advisers.
Normally, I think people are quick to incorrectly apply the "-gate" suffix to everything. However, I think this is a scenario where that suffix is quite fitting.
4
Wait a second... We're supposed to see that the Democrats (pretty much the majority of the US House of Representatives) are serious about inquiring into the removal of the most serious impediment to the good progress of our Democracy since the beginning of time and they take a two-week recess after coming off an entire month's vacation? Really?
3
Just because a criminal admitted to the crime does not mean that what he committed is no longer a crime.
In judicial parlance, it is called a confession.
8
The judiciary decided to pass and is in full swing. You can eat your hat now.
1
To become lost in the narrative in one's own mind, one that does not concur with reality and has been repeatedly debunked by folks who are clearly allies, folks you hired to support you and your agenda, is a sign of someone with a profound psychological vulnerability. Normal egoic structures for ones operative beliefs and principles, foundations for evaluating incoming information and perceptions in a grounded and centered way, has been co-opted. This precedes the current situation that Donald Trump faces, but these stresses on his ego state is forcing these fractures to the surface, for all to now (sadly) witness. These unconscious processes will often appear as a projection onto some other. It's interesting that Trump in his AM tweets cautiond of a civil war-style fracture. A projection of his current inner state, an insecure ego that is desperate and will grow increasingly desperate, to keep its sustaining myths alive. The GOP needs to face up to these dangers.
5
How is this for a highly unlikely scenario? Both Trump and Pence are found to be complicit in constitutional "misdemeanors" and removed from office installing the next in line to the presidency, the Speaker of the House. President Pelosi has a nice ring to it. If only real democracy worked this way.
3
It may seem like a reach, but there is scant difference between Trump refusing counsel on Ukraine explaining that the conspiracy theories aren't true and the Sharpie circle on the hurrican map.
Both things open a window into this man's mind.
Kellyanne Conway had an early innings term for this - "alternative facts."
Given where things are at the moment, the alternative facts living in Trump's mind are virulent and spinning brutally out of control.
Captain Queeg is on the witness stand, his ball bearings clicking away in his hand. The strawberries are missing from the freezer.
The Caine is about to sink.
5
This conspiracy theory fits nicely with the theory that Russia has some sort of control over Trump. His years of entanglement with Russia whether it being borrowing large sums of money, putting on a Miss Universe contest in Moscow, or attempting to build real estate projects in Russia are rather unusual for an American real estate developer to say the least. And his interactions with Putin have been very strange for a US president in the company of the leader of an adversary. Trump going after Ukraine on this computer hacking may mainly serve to give him some more brownie points with Putin whom he must be counting on to help him win re-election.
2
@Bob
Astutely said. I agree. A worry. In the only serious hand slap to Russia, Mr. Trump admirably was moved by photos of children killed by chemical weapons in Syria and ordered the strike. However, Russia so far as I remember coverage, was told where the strikes would be so stores could have been moved. I do not recall if there was proof the strike was effective. It is worth noting that Mr. Trump ordered a strike on Russia's ally.
I fear for the safety of the whistleblower as well. Undoubtedly his or her identity will become known to Republicans. Most assuredly it is already known to William Barr, and most likely Trump as well. This person will (perhaps) need asylum in another country.
Regarding the impeachment proceedings - these are not Nixon nor Reagan Republicans. They lack even one iota of fidelity to this country, as they have amply demonstrated.
This is about to get nasty with Lindsey Graham calling for a special prosecutor to investigate Joe Biden. No doubt Hillary Clinton's name will be evoked as well. Further, there is nothing that is going to keep witnesses nor Trump allies from obfuscating, obstructing, and lying to protect Trump as they have done in all the hearings thus far. I would also imagine there will be foot dragging on the release of Justice Department documents.
How all of this will affect the 2020 election remains to be seen. It could go either way, because none of Trump's supporters and so far very few Republicans see this as the betrayal of this country that it is. To that end, I hope the Democrats will focus on taking both Houses of Congress in the next election. Control of Congress would certainly give them far more power than they have now to impeach Trump should (God please forbid) he emerges unscathed from this and is re-elected.
4
Where is Ivanka when you need her? Wasn’t she supposed to be an adviser to the President? What has she done lately? She clearly isn’t advising the President.
2
@MC Astoria I noticed her missing from the limelight and interviews quite a while back. Since Trump and his actions have become COMPLETELY unhinged (more than before) she is nowhere to be found - this is because Trump and his actions have become more and more indefensible (and more and more common) and she refuses to be questioned on topics where she cant lie and spin for her father, while still keeping her pristine persona spotless (remember how incensed she became in an interview early on, causing her to walk away from the interview) She is just like her father in many ways, but she is not an unhinged lunatic and as such, realizes that there's no defending Trump's behavior and still keep herself unsullied. Besides, she's not needed for that anyway, the rest of the GOP and Trump's supporters are perfectly capable of defending the indefensible and they don't mind how absurd they look or get.
1
If the conspiracy theory is nothing more than that, then there is nothing to worry about.
A request for an investigation is just that; a request. And it is justified given that the only debunking has been by Democrats and Ukranians - neither of whom can be trusted to investigate themselves, and that the appearance of impropriety is right out there for everyone to see.
Climing that this is, somehow, an act that is regulated under campaign finance law, or an abuse of power (when, in fact, it is a constitutional duty of the president) is simply risible.
2
Wow!! What Constitution have you been reading? Asking a foreign power to investigate a political opponent is illegal.
4
@Andy
According to what statute? Hint: there isn't one. that's why Obama was able to do it.
@Andy
Is it? Which part of the Constitution do yu think says that? And think about this:
If asking a foreign power to investigate a political opponent is illegal, then wouldn't it be true that if Hillary were Pres, and running against Trump as a challenger, and she received news that Don Jr. was getting financial help from France, that Hillary would not be able to ask the French to investigate without committing a crime? That can't be right.
It is a bad four years for this country when we are led by a president whose thinking is completely divorced from reality.
It's not just this - it's everything, from climate change, foreign policy, economics, etc. Trump's refusal to make policy grounded in reality is compelling reason enough to remove him from office
3
The most telling point in this article is the whistle-blower's deep concern for security against the Trump regime's efforts to prevent him/her from testifying. One would think they were dealing with a gangland mob- and they would be right. There is nothing Trump would not do to stop impeachment proceedings. Remember, Trump boasted that he could shoot down someone on 5th Avenue and his base would stay loyal.
2
Facts are annoyances for Donald trump. They do not appear to alter his pre determined path which is guided by what is best for trump and trumps. Period.
2
It’s looking increasingly promising that Trump has finally painted himself into a corner that he can’t refuse. After a lifetime spent in the steaminess of his personal delusions the Don of truth relativism is rapidly approaching the concrete sidewalk of reality. There is a God. Hallelujah!
3
There is no proof that President Trump was looking for damaging information or "dirt" on the Bidens. He wanted facts about what actually occurred with this 50,000 a month job that Hunter Biden obtained and what Joe Biden's involvement was. Was there influence on the part of the Vice President. It certainly looks suspicious. Hunter Biden had little experience and your average Joe or Jane would not have been hired for such a cushy position. This should have been investigated.
Do the names Ivanka and Jared ring a bell?
2
@KMW - should it have? when any conspiracy was continually debunked, even by Trump's own people?
3
At the very least, this illustrates that Donald Trump is cognitively unfit to govern.
Temperamentally, he presents a clear and present danger to our national security.
What fit holder of the office would feel it appropriate to speak whatever is on his mind in calls with foreign heads of state? Especially those likely to be surveiled by a hostile state, like Russia?
I suppose it could be that Trump wants Putin to know that he's continuing to undermine HRC's legacy and legitimacy-- and that he's working a smear campaign against Biden in order to "win" a second term. And that he's also potentially supporting Putin's attempt to rebuild a Russian "empire" that includes Ukraine. That weird bit last week about inviting Zelensky to the WH after referencing some sort of conversation with Putin (with the usual unattached referent "he") is puzzling.
And I do recognize that this verges on conspiracy thinking, but that's what the "quality" of this administration's governance has reduced us to-- speculation in the absence of any sort of clarity in communication or meaningful consistency with known facts.
Democrats need to leave off the whole "it rightly rests with the voters to remove Trump from office." Impeachment is the constitutional remedy for this sort of behavior, and it doesn't matter what odds they're laying on conviction in the Senate. To fail to take this all the way to the Senate is to renege on one more constitutional duty (like AUMFs instead of voting on war).
2
Yesterday the Editorial Board crafted a number of important lines of inquiry for the Intelligence Committee to pursue, and maybe Mr. Bossert should be included in the line up.
Rep. Schiff acknowledges that the Whistle-Blower's report provides a "road map" for an impeachment inquiry, but the litany of questions and actors the Ed. Board provides will certainly help the Intelligence Committee get to the bottom of this matter.
Given all the questions the Board has laid out for the investigators to pursue, Speaker Pelosi's political instinct to hold off on building an impeachment inquiry solely on the Bob Mueller findings was dead on.
Now with Trump's fumble around manipulating Ukraine for his political ends, he has indeed ended up in Pelosi's "wheel house."
But the question at the heart of all of this for me is this one: "When and from whom did the president first get the idea to pressure Ukraine?"...And change the narrative to show Ukraine sourced the DNC hack?
This is the question that might be answered from evidence in the classified server that White House aides used improperly. And it is a question that leads the investigators back to the foundational findings of the Mueller Report: Russian agents backed the Trump presidential campaign.
Good Luck Chair Schiff and all others tasked with getting to the truth.
2
Trump listens to the right-wing commentators on talk-radio, FOX News and their conspiracy theories, not to his security or intelligence advisors.
Sean Hannity, Laura Ingram, Rush Limbaugh etc. are his main source of intelligence information.
Add that to a man who doesn’t read or has no aptitude for critical thinking, and you have our present situation. It is frightening.
4
One has to wonder what other conspiracies are lurking on Trump's codeword protected server in the White House. What 'quid pro quo" giveaways has Trump agreed to with his mentor Putin? What kind of investment money is Trump making, in his US armament deals with Mohammed bin Salman? Hopefully, historians will have access to this treacherous man's dealings while he was pretending to be a US President.
3
I wonder if others in the administration are now considering exercising the 25th amendment as a backdoor to escape this president. I’d prefer the impeachment process be completed to shine a bright light on as much of the nastiness as possible.
2
The quid pro quo for republicans appears to be, he signed our tax bill putting billions of dollars in our supporters pockets plus in those of individually wealthy congressmen (and also Trump and his family), so now we support him even though he has also attempted to shake down a foreign friendly government adding to his known criminality, which we have also given him a free pass (another quo) on. The quid pro quo has been going on for a long time, with Republicans always passing when confronted with Trump's depraved and criminal conduct.
On oil, from fighting wars in the Mideast for them using false intelligence, it is now denying climate change--"We finance your elections; you deny that it's happening and sabotage all efforts to confront it." Not only a huge criminal quid pro quo, but Ms. Thunberg's rage is not misplaced in calling it out. ALL these republicans need to go.
Just from what we know it's hard not to believe there was a shake down of Qatar to get $1billion in financing for a white elephant real estate property in NYC. Let's also see all the conversations with the Saudis and Russians in the "locked down" computer. How much personal profit for Trump and following orders from Putin, including possibly the Ukrainian tack, are involved? All Trump's tirades now are to prevent further evidence from being disclosed.
4
Brossert was among the first wave of the president's national security advisors who were removed because they dared to try to advise the president.
4
It is certainly unsavory the Hunter Biden sits on board of companies in which he has now qualifications but I wouldn't call it illegal. However when his father Joe Biden VP of US demands that a prosecutor who is investigating the company Hunter works for is fired then that is a crime. Biden says the prosecutor was corrupt but where is the proof. Of course the new prosecutor immediately ends the investigation thereby allowing the media to say there was nothing there. Nobody knows since it was halted.
Biden's strong arming the Ukraine is the crime that must be investigated.
If Trump is impeached and a trial occurs in the Senate I expect Joe Biden will be called to testify under oath before the Senate about his actions in the Ukraine.
1
GOP LEGISLATORS, WHAT DOES IT TAKE? We get that you supported Trump initially -- after all, he was your party's candidate. We get that you hoped for the best -- even those of us who disagreed on matters of policy thought that being elected POTUS could not help but inspire him to want to live up to the responsibility and gravity of the highest office in the land. We get that you were willing to give an outsider a chance -- we're all frustrated with "politics as usual." We get that you chose to accentuate the positive and minimize the negative -- we all do that, to some extent, because none of us are perfect. America doesn't demand perfection of its leaders, we never have. But we do demand honesty, open-mindedness, integrity, and a moral compass.
It's clear that the current occupant of the Oval Office has none of these things. So it's time for you to stand up and say, "This is not what I stand for. This is not what our party stands for. This is not what America stands for. And this is wrong."
It's hard to say, "I was misled." It's takes courage and strength of character to stand up to members of your own party, to constituents at home, to put the good of your country over politics. But now if ever is the time to do that. Those of you who are willing to do so would be respected and honored, today and for years to come.
258
I would say that Republicans would have a much better chance of holding on to the White House by replacing Trump with a reasonable Republican..like Mitt Romney. I am a moderate Democrat, and Elizabeth Warren's leftist policies scare me. I would vote for a sane Repbublican before I would vote for an Elizabeth Warren or a Bernie Sanders. They paint corporations and the rich as totally evil. Have they ever considered the fact that these very rich people, for the most part, are very philanthropic...they contribute millions of dollars to worthy causes such as world health, education, the arts and many more. Bernie Sanders says there should be no billionaires. Well, most of those billionaires give away a lot of their money.
25
@axeldbljumps
We all appreciate the wealthy of America giving large sums of money to the Arts, NGOs of the world etc.. but what is needed more is the rich and the corporations pay their fair share in taxes -or pay at ALL - to give you a personal personal perspective from a micro level of not paying taxes and getting out of them by paying large sums of money to their CPA’s let me tell you about my step father who was a self made millionaire owning a small business - he would scream at his CPA telling hime “ find away not to pay property tax on the strip mall he owned as a landlord - and guest what, that year he didn’t pay taxes on that income making property. That is only one example from a small fish out there not paying their share and mind you this is local tax that goes towards our public schools and other city utilities. I can’t images someone like Amazon who does pay any taxes what would happen if they did, in rergarda to local, State and Federl - just think of the projects, schools and social programs that would be funded if they did pay their fair share. So No, we do need a Bernie and Warren in the White House for that is how unbalanced the system has gotten and what the rich have gotten away with since Reagan came to office.
15
@axeldbljumps So many Americans do not have health insurance. Business's can't afford to pay for their employees policies. Family health insurance policies just hit an all-time high, comparing the premium to buying an economy car every year. And even if they do have health insurance, there is a running bill from providers 3000-5000 dollars per month that isn't covered, all this in addition to paying premiums. Citizens who have worked their entire lives can't go to see doctors or specialists because of all these reasons. Maybe the billionaires can come up with philanthropic initiatives that serve our people here. Privately funded initiatives for health care rather than waiting for the federal government to start to care, lets get the billionaires going on that.
9
Trump knows exactly what he is doing. There are a large number of people who really want to vote for him, but lingering pangs of conscience, morality and ethics are compelling them to pull the lever for Biden instead. Trump knows that just one allegation, however preposterous, is all they need to justify their preferred choice and make peace with their vote.
I suppose the question for the rest of us is, how much do we need to worry about that. Are these people as numerous as we think, and would they have found an alternative justification anyway?
15
@Joyboy - - Economies decide elections, period.
So, how is the U.S. economy doing?
How does life here compare to life in the rest of the world?
That's really all there is to it, just ask Bill Clinton.
1
@Robert
Biden isn't Hillary. They don't even look alike.
@L osservatore
No. Just ask Obama.
The fact that the president of the most powerful nation of the world believe these kind of conspiracy theories is far scarier than if it had just been a ploy to discredit a political opponent.
54
I want everyone who hears the Republican talking points to remember one point - The President of the United States asked a foreign government to investigate a political rival and give information on that investigation to his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.
He doesn't care about corruption or doing what's right for the country, he wants to take down Biden. If this was an above the board request there's literally no reason his personal lawyer should be involved.
48
Bossert is quoted: "I don’t know that it was Rudy Giuliani that put that conspiracy theory into the president’s head,” he said. “I know somebody did and I was under the impression it was Mayor Giuliani. If Mayor Giuliani wasn’t promoting the D.N.C. server conspiracy theory..."
Earlier the article mentions: "Another former senior official said it was a constant struggle to convince Mr. Trump that Russia, not Ukraine, had interfered in the election."
President Trump is following a prepared script that he got from someone, and I doubt that Giuliani is the one who concocted the alternative narrative that fingers Ukraine as the source of the hack.
Though the Whistle-Blower's complaint focuses on the President trying to get "dirt" on the Bidens to gain an electoral victory in 2020, it also peels back a layer of conspiracy that I assume will lead back to Mr. Putin.
The Russian purpose for supporting and advancing the Trump campaign (as found by Mr. Mueller) was to get someone friendly in the White House whom the Russians could work with.
Julian Castro, Schiff and others have all signaled they want to get hold of the physical server that holds the records of Trumps calls with Mr. Putin.
The House Intelligence Committee needs to read the phone call history to see if the Whiste-Blower's complaint does return to Mr. Mueller's Report that finds a Russian intelligence operation at the bottom of the Trump presidency.
22
They’ll get Trumps server when he gets the DNC server which supposedly was hacked. Unfortunately Hillary’s server and its contents are in another world.
@Chuck
Better to not stray from the facts as you do when you end you " Mr. Mueller's Report that finds a Russian intelligence operation at the bottom of the Trump presidency...."
That is not represent what Mr. Mueller and years of work show, the Russians interfered and worse, are still interfering in our politics by use of social media (includes NYT, WaPo) to polarize and paralyze.
1
The article states that Trump was briefed on Russia's interference before the inauguration and then given a full technical briefing by the Director of the NSA in February. You would think that would be enough for someone who has risen to the highest office in the land to get a lock on the facts.
However Mr. Bossert made a choice to "not re-educate him" when he repeatedly got it wrong at his never ending rallies. This says to me that people at the highest levels of our government knew that Trump was not up to the job from day one. They also knew that he was either incapable of absorbing vital information or a pathological liar.
Why is this only coming to light now? The whistle-blower is about 3 years late.
18
@BC After leaving the White House, Bossert became one of Trump's most relentless critics of the way he's been conducting foreign policy.
2
@BC
What did Rex Tillerson say, way back in the stone-age of the Trump administration?
4
@BC How many people who were responsible for information Trump got have been referred for prosecution, fired, demoted, retired, or quit? When the IG reports on FISA abuses comes out, more liars will be referred for prosecution. Yates, Comey, McCabe, Rosenstein, Brennan, Clapper, Powers, Strzok, Page, Baker, Lynch, Biden. and Obama all had reasons to lie. Everyone was trying to cover themselves when Trump was taking office. Susan Rice, minutes before Trump to his oath, emailed herself how everything was done by the book. We are about to find out. This latest stunt, is to detract from the abuses that are about to be revealed, and to cast doubt on Barr. Biden threatened to stop a billion dollars in aid if a prosecutor wasn't fired in 6 hours. That was a threat. Biden must explain what authority he had to blackmail a NATO ally.
The full range of Trump's lunacy and fixation on the Ukraine will now likely be the theme of the entire impeachment hearings. This article by Peter Baker guarantees that Tom Bossert's testimony is going to be a sell out when it finally happens.
10
The NY Times had a piece this weekend that touched on Giuliani's business dealings in Ukraine. Giuliani is made of the same feather as Trump but he is a lawyer with experience in government. There can only be one explanation for his jumping with gusto into a fishing expedition that he knew would land his client in hot water. Giuliani was intent to use his position as Trump's consigliere for his own financial gain in Ukraine. Follow the money.
It is time to expose the hypocrisy and the role of former US officials in promoting Corruption in 3rd world countries as they seek to play away from the watchful eyes of US regulators.
13
Take this entire scandal out (bad enough as it is) and look at the bigger picture. Trump refuses to listen to his staff, the military, legal advisors or policy experts. He and he alone is the expert on EVERYTHING. His GUT tells him what to do. That isn't how leaders lead. That is how dictators dictate. It usually doesn't end well for dictators. This one will be either be thrown out of office by legal means or by the voters in 2020.
24
Re: "...a worrying development for a White House that until now has been able to make the argument that the public opposed impeaching Mr. Trump..."
I'm NOT on twitter, presently, so I am spared the empty, rhetorical stench of criminality and diplomatic nonsense which IS the Trump presidency...
Sadly...it seems like NONE of this mess is worrying to the president, even for the duration of his, (repeatedly, alleged), '30-second-to-5-minute' (presidential) attention span!
9
@R.G. Frano His reactions thus far indicate to me that he is very worried.
2
One would only hope that by this time, at least a family member or a close friend would call for an intervention to prevent any further dysfunctional and destructive behavior from causing any greater damage to our democracy and its future. Unfortunately, they're all complacent, complicit and hypocritical.
20
It was last May or June that Nancy Pelosi said Donald would "self-impeach."
Many people heard that as "give him enough rope."
As we have seen often in the past, Miss Nancy was prescient.
29
Guiliani..... who paid for all his trips back and forth to Europe that he made to further this whole mess? I want to see the answer.
And regarding Hunter pulling in $50k per month.... sure that is a lot of money unless you are a professional athlete or Brad Pitt, but where is the crime? I wish the Dems would push back with a big 'So What!' and force Trump's troops to put up or shut up.
13
NASA: Mr. President, would you please release the funds for the Space mission
TRUMP: I need you to do me a favor. Many people are telling me that moon landing was faked. There are serious doubts.
16
Trump's behavior is shocking enough, but the Republicans mouthing the misleading, lying "talking points" about this outrageous scandal are far worse. House minority leader Republican Kevin McCarthy on 60 minutes last night appeared to not have even read the whistleblower complaint. Others misquote or misrepresent the document blatantly and shamelessly. This is a cover-up of a cover-up of a cover-up. Not only should Trump be tossed out of office, but every toady sycophant who is lying to protect his crimes needs to be removed as well.
21
If Stephen Miller wants to see an unelected deep state cabal associated operative, he need only look in the mirror.
25
I think it is becoming increasing obvious that Trump is mentally unbalanced. That his inability to grasp (not much granted) the importance and seriousness of his inevitable impeachment by the House indicates a man thinking he's still on a game show with zero consequences. This is reality, Donnie, get a grip.
14
“It’s what’s going to bring him down.”
Bossert- from your mouth to God’s ears.
Please let this be the “thing” that rids us of the Trump pestilence so we can start the healing and the rebuilding of our alliances, our republic and moral integrity.
The GOP will have to appeal only to its rabid base and continue the degrading of government and ethical norms or it will have to rise from the ashes of its pusillanimous and reprehensible behavior to save itself. I say good riddance to bad rubbish.
8
That “thing” is called an election. Apparently the Dems still haven’t figured out how to win one.
1
@Edward Because of election interference by the Russians. And the Saudis.
1
Venal and dishonest to the end. It is time for the US Congress to do it's job and remove this criminal from office.
9
Listening to the unhinged Stephen Miller attempt to turn this situation in the President's favor is like hearing dialogue lifted from Armando Iannucci's, The Death of Stalin: as absurd as it is terrifying.
12
Trump lied for years with his sick "birther" nonsense - and he held on like a rabid dog, no matter what the truth and facts are. Same with the 5 young black men from the Central Park crime years ago, and trump never apologized for either. From Pizzagate to the 12,000 other lies, this man is either very ignorant, has a bad case of dementia, is a pathological liar, and / or is criminally corrupt or some combination of all. Regardless, he is completely unfit to be president of anything, especially the U.S. His Republican enablers in Congress are simply lying dogs who have clearly shown that their priority is trump, not America. They are unfit to lead anyone or anything and must be crushed an eliminated from office in Nov 2020. Trump's and the Repub climate denying and pushing coal - for example - are the epitome of corruption, lying and ignorance, clearly demonstrating they care far more about the money from the coal barons than the well being of their own children. This is quite sick and must end.
14
Trump is a danger to this country--period. His mentality is warped from accepting ideas that only validate his exceptional, unique self. (www.dangerouscase.org) It is now totally unnecessary for informed people to keep remarking that the Hunter Biden case was closed long ago.
Once Trump gets it into his head that something may benefit or threaten him, that's it, no matter what may be independently found as factual or not. It is self-absorption to the extreme and further indication that this person has always been unfit for that office. He has used his con artist skills, knowing full well how to use deception (as he deceives himself), to gain and keep gullible voters, while preempting invalidation from others by projecting "fake!" onto them. Monstrous, hideous... This man's got to go.
7
Trump feeds off of the conspiracy theories that Fox News propagandists like Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson spew everyday. This nonsense is then echoed by Mulvaney, Miller, Barr and Pompeo. The White House has become akin to George Orwell's "Animal House", with Trump pretending that he is Napoleon, shouting "off with their heads".
12
@Joe Miksis
In truth some shows on FoxNews, and only a few, are better balanced than CNN. Fox's website and CNN's are worthless assemblages of AI driven polarization and spin.
The problem is that there is no mass stream media other than WSJ that a conservative might pay attention to. Someone said that Epoch Times (online) was worth reading.
I just think our country needs a NYT that might not have endorsed Democrats year after year. I want David Brooks as Editor.
@Joe Miksis
Animal Farm. There's enough ignorance about without your adding your bit. Unless that was a clever allusion to Casque & Gauntlet.
Animal Farm.
It is all Giuliani 's plot...Trump, as usual, is throwing an aide under the bus! But this time we have the smoking gun.Too bad Trump but you are history
5
Trump is moving ever closer to racking up another historic first:
first ex-POTUS to make license plates for the presidential limousine!
11
“But George, if he continues to focus on that white whale, it’s going to bring him down.”
I like that analogy... Debunked conspiracy theories about Ukrainian interference of the 2016 election, in favor of Hillary Clinton, as Moby Dick and Trump as the obsessed Captain Ahab. The deranged skipper's obsession could sink the entire Republican whaling ship.
5
Trump suggesting a “treason inquiry” on Adam Schiff giving him a taste of his own medicine. It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
4
@Edward Trump wants the Whistle Blower Executed; Trump wants a Civil War; Trump accuses Schiff of Treason . Who sounds like the criminal here?
The core of Trump’s base is composed of three tiers. The bottom most is an illiterate 20%, who were dejected and listless till they found the Trump of God. The middle, overridden with millions, (not sure what percentage) of the population of elderly over 65, who are retired, idle minded and receptive to a movement that awards them power through hate and please exclude the small number of folks with clarity. The top most layer, the frosting, is the younger republicans who are narcissistic mercenaries.
The first 20% are a lost cause. It is the group of elderly who need to be evangelized. They live in a haze of white washed memories that glow beautiful. We need an elderly, charismatic foil to the hyenas in Fox, to convince them that love and moving forward as democrats is a fantastic religion and they can be born again. If Trump loses this base, we have a great chance of moving forward into a blue future. The frosting of young mercenary republicans will automatically change allegiance as the wind blows blue. So in love with their own idea of self greatness, they could hardly stand to be associated with a crumbling leader.
I think that the frosting is starting to disintegrate, judging from Bossert’s coy hints on Trump being part of the dark side. It would help gather evidence against Trump quickly.
6
The Ukraine theory originated in RT. Trump never accepted that Russia interfered in the election, agreeing with Putin against US intelligence. Putin is someone he admires. Trump did not want to help Ukraine fight Putin. Any excuse to suspend aid and create instability for Ukraine was desired.
If Ukraine became concerned that US would not provide help to fight the Russians, they might seek a deal with Putin. If Ukraine could settle with Putin, the sanctions could be lifted. As a bonus, if Ukraine cooked enough data to tie Democrats to conspiracy with Ukraine to fix 2016 election, Russia is off the hook for that too. It's an audacious plan, but let's not lose sight of the main goal: press Ukraine into settling the dispute with Russia to lift sanctions. Do this by making the aid seem unstable and not a sure thing.
7
I’ve thought this all along. Putin is playing chess; Trump hopscotch. Or, Trump is going along willingly due to kompromat.
1
@Debra
I think a billion $ Trump Tower in Moscow is driving the whole mess. He pretty much told us so. He's kissed up his whole life to further his financial interests, why stop now?
1
"Other former aides to Mr. Trump said on Sunday that he refused to accept reassurances about Ukraine no matter how many times it was explained to him..."
Russian programming is obvious here. No matter what public lip service Mr. Trump pays to Ukraine, his motivation is Russian empowerment. What's good for Russia is good for Trump.
12
I followed the Ukrainian Revolution carefully. It was supported by the US Executive Branch under Obama and Biden. It was an illegal revolution against an elected President of Ukraine, according to International Law. The illegality of the revolution is still in question, which will become a full blown revelation in the American Press.
With Trump's propensity (as a 'Business President') to normalize relations with Russia and Putin, it was not surprising he was withholding arms from Ukraine that would have exacerbated a more violent war between Russia and Ukraine. Significantly, Trump had many more reasons for stalling the delivery of advanced arms to Ukraine than coercing the Ukraine government to investigate his political opponents.
The Ukraine Revolution was fomented by Ukrainian billionaires who owed Russian Gazprom debts for Russian oil flowing across Ukrainian pipelines, who charged huge baksheesh to the Russians for oil flowing from Russia to Europe. Hunter Biden worked for these Ukrainian billionaires, and sat on their Board of Directors, denying their obligation to repay debts to Russia. The IMF was asked to pay these debts and refused. It is still a mess, and that is the central theme to the current Ukrainian crisis.
If anybody has a viable political solution to this aftermath of the Ukrainian Revolution, and its inequities, please let me know!
4
This isn't about Ukraine, it's an abuse of the US President's power to use foreign policy leverage to pursue political rivals with baseless allegations.
2
@Wolff
The US government foreign aid statistics show that the Trump administration have Ukraine more aid on a yearly basis than Obama ever did.
1
@ben
From Trump's and my (and certainly Putin's) point of view it is about the illegal overthrow of the democratically elected President of the Ukraine by the US administration under Obama and Biden, and Biden's son Hunter's sitting on the Board of Directors of Ukrainian oil billionaires supporting their illegal revolution and rejection to have negotiations with the Russians over debts owed to Gazprom.
Also smacks seriously of Nepotism by Biden, who was in charge of Ukrainian Affairs under Obama, and used his political power and position as US VP to place his son in a lucrative and ethically questionable position on their Board of Directors under the heads of the new ruling revolution.
I understand Trump's questions to Zelensky were Trump's wish to understand the whole political basis of the overthrow of the elected government and likely not only Joe and Hunter Biden's part in it but also the parts played by Obama and Hillary Clinton.
I expect the investigation of the whole matter under the House Impeachment investigation of Trump must also uncover the entire stinking mess.
1
Ron, I thought Clinton was reckless and irresponsible but at least he was smart and he didn't beg foreign powers to help him win. And yes he obstructed justice once, but Trump did so at least ten thoroughly documented times (firing Mueller being just one) during the Russia investigation, and just keeps on lying and trying to get dirt on his political opponents from foreigners. A President colluding with foreigners was one of the main concerns of the framers in including impeachment power in the Constitution. Trump's a dangerous scofflaw and has been so all his life, so much so that he is incapable of learning right from wrong, learning from experience, or controlling his worst instincts. I did not think the dress stain put our nation at risk, but Trump does. But I know Republicans like to equate the two.
5
Mr. Bossert appears to be disingenuous is his assertion that he doesn't see the link between Mr. Trump asking for a 'favour' and the withholding of $391m in military aid. According to Michael Cohen, the President has never asked for any political favours without leverage. The implied threat has always been there and obviates the need to spell it out.
Defending the actions of this President will leave everyone with a permanent stain on their character and political legacy.
5
How long did it take for Mr. Trump to admit that the birther hoax was wrong?
The question I have is this:
Does Mr. Trump actually believe the Ukrainian/Crowdstrike conspiracy hoax or is it just a convenient narrative for him to avoid disclosing his unsavory Putin/Russian oligarch connections? Or worse, to justify withholding support for Ukraine? I know Mr. Trump’s friend, Mr. Putin, would find that even more friendly than a penthouse suite in Trump Tower Moscow.
As for the Biden/Biden son apparent conflict of interest, the following question must be asked:
Why didn’t Sen. Graham and other Republican lawmakers spend some time investigating this apparent conflict when they had control of Congress? Is it perhaps that they were too busy looking for attack opportunities on the presumptive Democratic nominee?
And, of course, now that apparent conflicts of interest involving children of elected officials are in the news, maybe we should look at the Trump children.
11
Let's go over the evidence on America once again.
1. Spends as much as the rest of the world on defense.
2. Has more people in jail than any other country.
3. Way more gun deaths than others.
4. Most UNEQUAL of advanced nations. Go to Finland to find the American Dream. A handful of the super-rich now own half of the country. But that is changing - getting worse.
5. What have I forgotten? There is so much to the American swamp.
It's not OK to be a Republican. It hasn't been OK for a long time already. Friends don't let friends vote Republican. There are only two kinds of Republican: Rich ones and dumb ones. But all are mean spirited.
10
@Tracy Rupp
I have never seen the land of Trump/McConnell more succinctly described. I intend to affix your final paragraph to all my emails starting today!
1
This was the lowest of the low for the president and senate republicans. Even Trump supporters and Republican senators like Lindsay Graham, John Cornyn, etc. know that to withhold funds from another country unless they are willing to help you with your own personal campaign, is extortion. If they continue to follow that man down this dangerous slippery slope of a rabbit hole they should lose their seats in Congress because they do not care about our country. This is as black and white as to what you cannot do as the President of the United States. If you’re king maybe but we are a country built around democracy so Republican Senators had better get behind Pence because he’s really who should be the President now.
3
So we can add “delusional” to the President’s symptoms.
Can you imagine how long a CEO of any company, displaying these symptoms and erratic behavior, would last? Even the most incompetent board of directors would have the crazy dude removed quickly before he did any more damage.
And yet, for over two and a half years we have had to watch as this destructive force shreds our country.
4
Trump tired this nation.
I do not know in its history , this was ever said toi decribe a President?
But
Trump tired, exhausted and worn out us till the bone marrow. We all have daily life, work, family to worry about and take care of.
The last thing is my mind, worry for a child burned down everything what we have in this life.
very very tiring.
No way 2020 January 20 , he is out.
5
Why do Republicans keep saying, "it's all just Trump being Trump."
They are acknowledging the severity of the problem. He's mentally unsound and can't help it. He needs help-- out the door.
5
Yet Bossert did nothing at the time? I think that will be repeated many times as history books retell this train wreck.
3
The path is simple: investigate the allegations. GOP, if you feel like Trump is being railroaded, let this play out in the legal way it should.
The more you fight it (and, most importantly, fight it with ridiculous counter accusations like “what’s really a crime are the leaks!”) the weaker and more dispirit you look.
The American people are not stupid. Stop talking to us as if we are.
4
It is interesting that the same people who pushed an unfounded, extra-governmental "deep state" conspiracy theory were the ones who felt it necessary to run their own extra-governmental (and probably illegal) contacts with at least one foreign government - even when those people WERE the government!
They make up lies and repeat them enough that they believe them, and worse, act illegally upon them.
Dangerous, and Un-American, and real Patriots need to stop them - legally.
4
So, according to Rudy this past weekend, HRC, the DNC, Soros all conspired with Ukraine in the 2016 elections. Apparently they did this in order that HRC could lose the election?
Makes about as much sense as anything these days I guess.
10
We are lucky that a president so immune to facts has not gotten us in more trouble that he has so far. If we get through this admin. with the earth not reduced to a pile of radioactive rubble, it will be a victory.
4
More nonsense.
Please, let's just move to a vote on impeachment so this can go to the Senate and get voted down.
But the Dems don't want that...they need to drag this whole disgusting episode out to coincide with the election cycle.
I'm sure the Dems believe they can position the Senate's denial of impeachment as a "win" against the Republicans.
But, it won't work.
Mainly because, as much as people despise our President - they fear a leftist, socialistic U S government even more...and THAT's why our President will be reelected.
This whole "impeachment inquiry" etc has nothing to do with "abuse of power" or "constitutional justice"....the Dems do not care one iota about these issues...they only care about winning in 2020..at whatever cost necessary..even it it cleaves open an already divided nation.
The Dems just cannot fathom another scarring, damaging loss as they experienced in 2016.
And Pelosi, Nadler, Schiff, Cummings et al know it.
2
“But the Dems don’t want that..,they need to drag this whole disgusting episode out to coincide with the elections.” Actually, Dems are rushing to issue Articles of Impeachment as soon as possible. So your comment is utterly baseless.
1
What is so puzzling about this whole thing is why don’t GOP lawmakers realize that this is the perfect opportunity to dump Trump, put a relatively harmless person in his place, and run a popular, sane, decent candidate like Romney or Kasich in 2020. This is the perfect opportunity to save their party, and yet they loudly defend the indefensible. They should put their energy into explaining to their base why they are expelling this crazy person from office. GOP- save yourselves!!
8
@NRS. The Republicans don’t want sane, moderate or decent candidates, They want the corrupt, the undereducated and weak, like Bush and Trump who don’t know their job and can be easily manipulated.
With Mr Trumps loose grip on facts and reality, would you want him flying the plane, teaching your child, driving the taxi, piloting the boat? Nope. He has made stuff up to suit his reality his whole life. Did anybody really believe it would be different when he was president? Unforgivable.
4
The Ukraine conspiracy theory that Trump ascribes to the Democrats rather applies to himself as it was he who hired Paul Manafort first as the go-between foreign agent shuttling from Ukraine to Russia, and then his campaign chief.
3
It has been quite clear for some time that Trump and his supporters (90 percent of the republican party) and his media stooges (foxnews) are willing to promote lies to remain in power. They are also willing to bribe and use foreign adversaries to remain in power, at the expense of national security. Their hatred knows no bounds. Tune into foxnews and watch their yelling hatred. I saw a clip of guiliani yelling at guests until his eyeballs popped out. They have completely lost their minds.
2
Giuliani and Trump, two grifters. Giuliani fills Trump's head with misinformation, Trump wants to believe it and acts on it and gets into legal trouble and needs a lawyer. Who is his lawyer? Giuliani.
3
Just as Anthony Weiner was used in previous election for HRC, Hunter Bieden seems to being used for the current election.
So what are you going to do about the fact that the US has a treaty with Ukraine (ratified in 2000 at the behest of then President Bill Clinton) that allows for the very type of investigation that Trump initiated with the Ukrainian president?
Oops!
2
Even if true, the investigation was debunked.
And the US president should be ordering an investigation using US resources first. Oh wait, he did, and they said there was no crime.
And there we have it.
1
@Susanna. It allows for mutual assistance in the investigation of a crime. There was no crime committed by the Bidens. Joseph Biden, as VP, had already pushed for the investigation of a corrupt prosecutor and he had been removed. An investigation of the son found no evidence of a crime, even though he shows poor judgement and is probably a bit of a sleaze. Just like the current bunch in the White House.
No treaty exists which allows a president to use a foreign power to interfere in a presidential election. That is why Trump is being investigated for possible impeachment . He is the potential lawbreaker here, not the Bidens.
2
This is just dis-information without following up. Please provide more information if you have it.
1
“ “But it looks to me like the other matter that’s far from proven is whether he was doing anything to abuse his power and withhold aid in order to solicit such a thing.” On Twitter on later on Sunday, he added that he did “not see evidence of an impeachable offense.””
No, it’s all a huge coincidence that military aid was stopped by Trump himself only a few days after Zelensky won the election for his party, because trump didn’t know if he was going to “do him that favor”. Therein lies the problem even with decent Republicans. Cowardice. They’re all cowards.
5
Each time Mr. Trump opens his mouth, he gives the country ample reason to impeach and remove him from the White House forthwith. The man is a threat and danger to the normal working of our constitutional and legal system, while all the time stoking violence in the country.
One more thing: Place Mr. Bossart and Rudy Giuliani's words and conduct side by side. You begin to see the wisdom behind the adage that a wise foe is better than a foolish friend. Had Mr. Trump not engaged Giuliani as whisperers of foolish words in his ears, he might not be facing his present difficulties.
Mr. Giuliani would "feed the president all sorts of garbage" that aides would have to rebut. With friends like Rudi, who needs enemies or a so-called "deep state" also known as the "complicit state" by Washington Post op-ed contributor who resigned rather than continue to go along with life destroying Trump policies. The dumb state or deliberately ignorant state that Trump and Giuliani run and promote as true and good instead of idiotic and corrupt deserves our condemnation. So sad to see a friend help bring down this leader, a leader who can't stop himself from spewing lies and threats. The lies are bad. Threats to see "spies" killed by firing squad or something--he never spells out the details, just hints at criminal acts. Sociopaths similarly ignore laws and push boundaries. Rudi and Trump may both fit that suggested diagnosis.
2
What really frightens me in this report is what it reveals about Trump's mind.
He apparently doesn't listen, doesn't absorb what he's told, can't pay attention because he's distracted by something irrelevant or untrue, can't hold two ideas in his mind simultaneously, and reacts with forceful emotions that blind him to real information. He buys into only comforting but untrue narratives that absolve him of all responsibility.
The fact that he has to be told over and over and over again a confirmed truth, which he then continues to reject, again and again and again, is terrifying.
598
@Constance Sullivan
Although I concur it is frightening to contemplate a person in charge of the federal government being the way you describe, I don't think it is quite accurate. He has two mental bins: one contains political hype and spin and the other hard facts. He can differentiate between the two. For example, he uses statistics a lot to win elections. The other bin contains what he considers to be a matter of spin and political machinations. In the case of Ukraine he put Biden into the wrong bin.
His essential error is that he assumes all people he can fool all the time and thus make things in bin B whatever he wills. But in this particular case he failed to see that the American people's interests are obdurate: we want to be governed by a constitution and that means, when push comes finally to shove, we will not move from that position. Spin won't work.
He can be viewed as a tragic figure. Like Oedipus Rex he had some interesting character traits, but then a tragic flaw slowly evolved: pride in an ability to control reality. He's going to tear his eyes out with rage.
@Constance Sullivan: What frightens me is Lindsey Graham and almost all of the Republicans on denial about Trump's communication with the Ukrainian leader when the facts are right in front of them. Now, that is frightening. I hope that the Republican Party face the facts and engage in protecting the Nation instead of their party. I don't know if their constant denial and their diversion of facts are going to work this time but I remain concern about the stability of the nation.
37
@Constance Sullivan He does not listen? In the end you will see that this impeachment effort was a scam, going nowhere-Trump will be acquitted by the Senate-he had the power and duty to ask a foreign leader if there was an unlawful prior attempt by a Vice President to buy his nation to fire a prosecutor. When that happens -ask yourself-whose ears were shut -who was so angry that they would say and do anything to get rid of Trump.,
Remember Trump deals with alternative facts. These apparently do not have to have any truth in them.
8
He's still loyal. Here's the key statement by Mr. Bossert:
“It is a bad day and a bad week for this president and for this country if he is asking for political dirt on an opponent. But it looks to me like the other matter that’s far from proven is whether he was doing anything to abuse his power and withhold aid in order to solicit such a thing."
I think the strategy here is to try to define a discrete, slender thread of the narrative - the link between the military aid and the solicitation - as the only thing that's impeachable, and then to dump a big mea culpa on the table about everything else. And on that everything else they're throwing Mr. Giuliani under the bus as a Svengali. Granted he's no angel and one can easily imagine that it's his own idea to get under the bus. But whatever the case, let's not forget that all the stops are being pulled out now - from floating the Saddam Hussein-esque idea of arresting Congressman Schiff to playing subtle thought games as here - as this president confronts his ultimate accounting.
9
The Democrats are going down a slippery slope. If they impeach President Trump for an act that did not meet high crimes and misdemeanors, this will set a precedent that may affect them when a Democrat is in office. They may rue the day if they go down this path. They better act slowly as what goes around comes around.
3
I think the incomplete “transcript” of the phone conversation contains enough evidence to start impeachment proceedings. As Trevor Noah pointed out when comparing Trump’s MO to the way the mafia operates, a mafioso doesn’t threaten overtly- he suggests: “You have a nice family, a nice wife and kids- You wouldn’t want anything to happen to them. That would be a real shame.” Not “if you don’t do what I want, I’m going to kill your family” (or withhold funds.) Trumps reminder that the US has done a lot for Ukraine is immediately followed by “ I want you to do us a favor.” That’s how it’s done, “Don style.”
4
@KMW The slippery slope is that it took this long. Trump was making congress obsolete. The whole administration was thumbing their nose at the Constitution heading towards a dictatorship.
2
KMW,
You got snookered by DJT. Just pick another leader, maybe this time one who actually believes what he spouts.
This impeachment procedure will in no way prevent you from picketing outside Planned Parenthood, which you've previously stated is part of your mission.
Donald Trump is a heel. You saw what you wanted in him because you saw him as a means to an end. You can regroup. I'm sure you will.
1
Sham conspiracy theories are synonymous with Trump. This is the guy who shrugs and says "I don't know, who knows, could be true, I heard somebody say..." about everything. Nothing is objectively true in his world.
9
Trump never asked anybody to dig up dirt on the Bidens. He said there were accusations that Joe Biden fired a crooked prosecutor looking into the company Hunter worked for. He said it looked bad, and asked him to look into it. He also mentioned AG Barr would help him. If the Bidens did nothing wrong, they would be exonerated. How is that digging up Dirt? Biden said the prosecutor he had fired was corrupt. How could anything he did investigating a company that had assets frozen in Britain be credible? The same company Hunter was on the board of. Kerry's son turned down the same deal? We all know why.
5
Trump repeatedly asked a foreign government to investigate his main political rival. Done. Impeached.
How does Putin win elections? False charges and investigating and imprisoning his political rivals.
I love the United States for all the core principles that I learned in grade school. Reps seem to want to fight for the right to tear down those core principles. Im glad that the Dems are standing up in defense of our constitution.
2
@Jay. It is truly frightening that you and so many others here think it perfectly OK for any foreign government to investigate the political rival of a president. After military aid has been held up. You want to give the country away without even a fight.
2
“But it looks to me like the other matter that’s far from proven is whether he was doing anything to abuse his power and withhold aid in order to solicit such a thing.” On Twitter on later on Sunday, he added that he did “not see evidence of an impeachable offense.”
It looks to me like the transcript that was released by the White House itself clearly shows that he was abusing his power.
There's none so blind as those who will not see.
11
Since when can a vice President control a billion dollars in aid to protect his son from prosecution. The idea alone should tell anyone that it is a silly story.
9
@Thomas The Story of changing the narrative with a fake story? We just had our current president threaten a whistle blower with execution!
2
45 is simply a dishonest individual, and in a lot of ways at that.
45's dishonesty is severely damaging the United States, its people and its standing on the world stage. It is also challenging the US constitution.
45's telephone engagement with the president of Ukraine, so far, appears to be a quid-pro-quo. Considering the circumstances, and sequence of events, there is a strong case supporting such an action, that constitutes a violation. It has to be proven though. The White House's highly secretive server may very well be our twenty-first century Nixon's tapes.
My hope is for the American people to acknowledge that a corrupted president has no place in the oval office.
4
Trump embraced? Trump believes? You don't know what Trump believes. What we do know is that Trump's MO is to deny his own ciminality while redirecting attention by libeling and defaming his adversaries. If we are going to GUESS what Trump is doing, it would make more sense to say he is asking Zelenskyy to manufacture evidence that will abet his desire to stay in the Whitehouse. He knew Russia had hacked the DNC emails and announced that they were coming in advance of the event. He was in contact with Russia, not Ukraine;
6
Erm...can we get him to give up on the Hillary Clinton e-mail thing as well? Republicans have gotten sufficient mileage out of this human error. They can't possibly think they'll all ride to re-election this again, do they? It's been like 8 YEARS since Hillary Clinton has held a public office - is there any relevance to continually demonising her anymore? GIVE. IT. UP.
9
@Sean O’Neil
I think the bigger point is to take any number of members of a future Democratic administration off the table by making it impossible for them to pass a security background check. A preemptive strike, typically Republican. A letter in their file that they may never know about over a reclassification done many years later, sounds sufficiently twisted to qualify as Republican trouble making.
2
@trader
This would make any Republican incapable of passing that same background check, if they had done the same thing. And that's a good thing. See Jeb Bush and the destruction of his public office servers in FL.
If refusing to hand over a subpoenaed server to the FBI for forensic investigation, and instead having a private firm do it, is okay then be careful what you wish for.
Would you be okay with the Trump administration hiring a private company to examine the WH server on which communications with Ukraine, Russian, and Saudi communications are stored? Would you be okay with him cherry-picking which documents on that server to hand over?
Yeah, didn't think so.
@Sean O’Neil
Trump and the GOP lackeys will never give up on their most cherished potent fantasy target that the Gingrich/Hastert cabal invented back in the early 1990s. Everyone ought use their google machine to travel back in time to read some of the vile things the GOP bible bangers said about Hillary Clinton even BEFORE she was First Lady and certainly when she first ran for president in 2007/2008.
Fifty-five trump cabinet members have left this administration, of which over 50% were fired for not being sufficiently on the trump team. Their names could be on the list of individuals to be subpoenaed to testify before the Intelligence Committee.
The Committee may not interview all 55, perhaps begin the interview list with a small subset that includes Bossert:
4 ex-national security advisers,
3 ex-homeland secretaries,
2 ex-directors of national intelligence,
2 ex-attorney's general,
2 ex-secretaries of defense, and
6 ex-communications chiefs
10
When the president’s own advisors and aides are describing how gullible and suggestible he is, it becomes pretty clear that he is entirely unfit to be in charge.
7
Why is Trump fixated on Ukraine? Probably because Putin tells him to be fixated on Ukraine. If Ukraine hacked the DNC server and carried out the disinformation campaign during the 2016 election, Russia couldn’t be the culprit. It would then follow that Russian sanctions should be removed. Who knows Russia might join the G8 again. The US might stop giving military aid to Ukraine. All of these things are wins for Putin and Russia. If it doesn’t work Putin doesn’t care that much because he will have proved our belief in democracy and free elections is a fraud. Look how easily he installed a puppet and ripped us further apart. Thank goodness Trump isn’t the brightest star in galaxy. He can’t shut up and exposes his own corruption every time he opens his mouth.
6
@Redone
Heads Putin wins, tails Putin wins and America loses. Congratulations President Trump!
1
maybe some journalists or tv anchors could ask the republican talking heads: "if you are so concerned about the biden/biden influence and corruption in the 2016 election... and you control the senate... why hasn't the senate just opened formal and public hearings into the topic? "
6
...a sham conspiracy theory?
By definition, all conspiracy „theories“ are sham. And, btw, they are not theories, either, not even hypotheses, just outright nonsense.
Nonetheless, it’s entertaining, albeit in a somewhat morbid way, to get a glimpse into the mind this particular believer :)
2
How about Sean Hannity putting the idea and keeping it in Trump’s head?
1
With each new corrupt act, trump is turning the presidency into a Borgia reign.
2
No body should be bamboozled by ANYTHING that Donald Trump says, regardless of what the topic is. If he says that Obama was born in Africa, you can be sure that he was born in the USA. If Donald says that he knows better than anyone how to solve our country's problems, you can be sure that he doesn't have a clue, but he but he doesn't care. He'll just say whatever comes to his mind. And he will lie about anything and doesn't care whether he's telling the truth or not.
Those of you who remember the disgraceful lie that Donald told his draft board when he was told that the country wanted him to serve in our armed forces during the War in Vietnam. He was AFRAID, and pretended that he had a physical problem on his leg and wouldn't be able to serve in the armed forces - he was lying through his teath, but he didn't care.
How can a lying coward be qualified to be the head of our armed forces? How could a habitual liar become our president? We made a very bad mistake!
He deserves to be impeached!!
6
Desperate men do desperate things.
3
The president has said before that he takes the word of Putin over what his intelligence agencies tell him. That preference has led all of us to this point. Some day we may uncover why this preference exists, but it’s crucial that we put an end to it now.
29
Speaking of board appointments, remember that time the Trump Foundation had to disband following a lawsuit over campaign-finance violations and abuses of its tax-exempt status? And how foundation board members Don Jr., Ivanka and Eric, in failing their fiduciary duties, are facing a ban on being allowed to serve on the board of any other New York nonprofit?
20
@Lady Edith
Remember that time the Clinton group of foundations had to redo 10+ years of financial statements because of "errors"?
Or about the time they disbanded most of them because their foreign donations tanked after it became clear nobody in that family had political influence any more?
@Viv A charity had to file an amended 990? Gasp! (And for six years, by the way, not 10-plus; facts matter, despite what Trump wants people to believe.) Were there criminal charges filed as a result? Did the Clintons lose the right to work in the non-profit arena as a result of malfeasance? And what a shocker that a celebrity-driven foundation loses momentum when the celebrities leave the spotlight.
The article states that Mr. Bossert had remained publicly loyal to Trump until now implying that his statements now are evidence of disloyalty. As I see it these statements are evidence of the finest kind of loyalty. It's too bad that there are not more people in Trumps circle and family who provide him with this uncomfortable kind of loyalty.
17
I don't understand how the act of falsifying an official weather map in the middle of a national emergency isn't an impeachable offense. First falsifying it, then lying straight to our faces about it. Seriously. That alone would and should bring down any other administration.
21
This is no surprise. Trump's enormous ego (he has an infinite ego to brain ratio) was damaged with the proven Russian interference in the election as it meant he might have been elected with outside help, whether or not he encouraged it. So grasping for a fictitious counter story, regardless of the evidence showing it is nonsensical, would be a natural thing for him to do. Believing it despite evidence to the contrary is not a surprise, not only for Trump but for Republicans in general. They disbelieve science, history (which they love to distort) and common sense, which mostly finds no place among the members of the party. It is a dangerous situation for the US, given the US public's infatuation with conspiracy tall tales and anti-reason in general. This is a natural consequence of the US infatuation with pop culture, beginning with television decades ago and now transferred to the preferred sources of "truth" such as internet websites, music, films (especially for historical miseducation) and for those who can read a little, books espousing "theories" with no viable reasoning or evidence to back them. Welcome to the 21st century. I still expect Trump to be re-elected and the Republicans to regain control of the US, though I hope to be wrong.
4
Lindsey Graham if it becomes obvious Trump will be impeached:
"The clouds have lifted from mine eyes, and faced with the incontrovertible evidence, I have no choice but to accept that President Trump has done this ..."
He's banking on the fact that there won't be 67 votes in the Senate to get rid of Trump and he wants to be the last man standing. VP Graham 2020. Thanks for honoring your oath of office Lindsey.
7
As someone once said, “You can’t handle the truth!”, Lindsey (starting with yourself).
As we have seen before, multiple times, Donald Trump is protecting Russia whenever he can. Whether by telling the American public "..Putin told me and I believe him" regarding Russian election interference, or inviting the Russian Foreign Minister and Ambassador to the Oval Office and telling them "We do it too".
The question of his immorality should be more a question of his allegiance to a country. The answer should be applied to his acolytes who we elected to represent American voters, not Russian oligarchs
13
Of course Mr. Trump knew it had been debunked but that was inconsequential. What was important was not whether it was true but whether it could be effective in harming his adversary.
And so Lindsey Graham is calling for a special prosecutor to look into the debunked hypothesis. I understand why a serious newspaper treats the words of a president seriously but why even report on the silly things this other silly man says?
8
I'm a lifelong Democrat and I despise Trump, but I'm glad that Trump asked Ukraine to investigate Hunter Biden.
Why? Because both of our parties are thoroughly rotten. There should be an "equal time rule" for investigation of both the Democrats and the Republicans. Any time and money spent in investigating one party, should be also be applied to the other.
Biden's son was already investigated? By who, his dad's administration? That is what is called a "whitewash", not an investigation.
Exactly what was Hunter Biden being paid $50,000 a month for? An investigation is needed. This is the rare instance, where Trump, the "wrongest" guy in America, got something right.
Note:
Q. If I think both parties are corrupt, why am I a Democrat?
A. Because their #1 policy isn't hating the poor.
12
Um, no. The Ukraine government and many members of the international community condemned the prosecutor who was investigating Hunter Biden. It’s not a whitewash. Trump insisting on pursuing this is only for his own gain (he has gamed the country before and ever since his “election” - what possibly makes you think he is acting in America’s best interests?) he has not “got it right this time”. And Board members everywhere get paid for little work: it’s not corruption it’s the system. Lots of people get overcompensated and not just those in power. But glad you’re voting Democrat despite your reservations: the rest of the world thanks you for your part in getting rid of the cancer that is Trump and the current GOP.
2
@Peter Zenger Exactly! I don't understand why people are just letting this pass. This is reeking of corruption. If this were Bush or Romney's son, we would be demanding answers for this immediately, and rightfully so! Just because it's Biden's son doesn't make it appropriate.
I'm getting to the point where if a true progressive like Sanders is not on the Dem ticket, I will heavily consider voting for Stein in 2020.
2
so you are okay with a sitting Presidentasking a foreign government to investigate his opponent? Despite the fact that it has been investigated and found baseless? Or even if it hasn't. The only reason this is important to Trump is because Biden stands a chance if beating him in 2020. if Trump cared about corruption, he, his family, and most of his appointees would be gone already. What do he or you care why Hunter Biden was payed more than you think he should be? A great many people are.
Trump's thinking on Ukraine is probably based on commentary in Fox News and Breitbart and a few other very misleading news sources. They don't have researchers and reporters trying to dig out the truth. They have writers who make up the conclusions first and then imagine how their version of the truth happened.
And this is the danger of Mr. Trump spending so much of his time listening to these outlets. They don't convey truth; they spew lies. Done often enough, the lies become believed and truth is shunted off to the fake news file.
Trump believed lies. Now it has gotten him into trouble and on the brink of almost certain impeachment. His only barrier of protection is still "the base." The base stands ready to primary into oblivion any Republican who bases a vote on truth rather the lies.
My biggest hope is that some Republicans believe more in the country than in extending their jobs for another term.
10
Now we get a so called adult in the room speaking out. Seems like the white house finally realized that this is serious. Though I hope this isn't going to constitute a get out of jail free card for Trump, he deserves to be impeached. And he certainly does not deserve to be president for one day longer.
11
Russia annexed Crimea and pushes a revolt in eastern Ukraine. Mr. Trump withheld aid from Ukraine. Now Mr. Trump is working with the story that the 2016 election interference came from Ukraine but was falsely blamed on Russia.
What exactly is the hold that Mr. Putin has on our president? Business deals? Embarrassing compromat?
Will we ever find out?
16
I think that it involves a pizza shop.
What is this latest finding proves is that tyrants, even though they appear to be invincible at the time, always fall. These words by Mahatma Gandhi have never been more true than they are today.
And because the Founding Fathers were well aware that absolute power corrupts absolutely, there is the hope that in the middle of this mess that Trump has created, that our system will still work in spite of the malignant narcissists who once in a while rise to power .
6
Perhaps I'm a bit confused, but can anyone explain to me why Hunter Biden was making up to $83,000/month on the board of the largest Ukrainian gas production company? He had zero experience in either energy or E. European geopolitics. I mean the guy literally was kicked out of the military for cocaine use on Feb 2014 and ended up on the board of that company in Apr 2014.
Seriously, how does anyone not see anything wrong in terms of corruption/ethics from this?
If Biden is the Dem nominee I will be voting for Stein this year.
10
@Michael - Most of Trump's cabinet have no experience with the jobs they are supposed to be doing. That should bother you.
4
@Michael
The question is why is Joe Biden even up on that stage and running for president, again?
There are 3 more qualified candidates than Joe Biden, it's just they are all women. This remains the achilles heel of the Democratic Party just much less so than the Republican Party. I detest both Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Thankfully, there are other choices; only a peculiar myopic sort of voter goes with Stein over Warren or Klobuchar, even Harris.
@DR #whataboutism. I assumed this level of argument was used primarily only by Trump's base, but I guess I was wrong.
To engage the topic though, although I may disagree with many of the cabinet member choices, I'm sure not any of them had "dishonorably discharged from the military for cocaine use" as the last most recent experience on their resume.
2
We may never know, but betting these Ukraine conspiracy theories come directly from Putin himself.
10
Bossert is to be largely commended for coming forward now and reaffirming that the bogus Ukraine-meddling-in-the-2016-elections theory was, and continues to be, unequivocally debunked, and that such was clearly and repeatedly explained to Trump when Bossert served as Homeland Security Adviser.
However, not unlike seemingly most, if not all, of Trump’s advisers — both past and present — he speaks of Trump as though he were an impressionable child, unable to make reasoned decisions in the face of overwhelming evidence produced and confirmed by multiple agencies, as is disturbingly evident from the following..
“I am deeply frustrated with what he and the legal team is doing and repeating that debunked theory to the president. It sticks in his [Trump’s] mind when he hears it over and over again..”
Bossert seems to be providing cover to Trump in throwing in the “it sticks in his mind” malarkey, again, as though Trump were a child, unable to think independently. Of course, Trump is not a child, and, irrespective of what critics suggest, clearly not an idiot, either.
All this to say, it must be so painful working for Trump, and, service to country notwithstanding, one has to wonder at why any established and respected professional would do it, whether in the past, or now.
8
To use Trump's own favorite terminology, isn't Trump engaging in a "witch hunt" in regards to Biden?
The recent tweets from the President of the United States has been both shocking, disgusting and frightening. And yet, where are the Republican voices opposing his outlandish statements? No doubt hiding in their closets afraid to speak up.
Send the only message Republicans will understand. Vote all Republicans out of office with the next election. Stand up for America.
12
“[Stephen] Miller denounced the whistle-blower as a ‘deep-state operative’ who is part of a cabal of ‘unelected bureaucrats’...”.
Mr. Miller obviously has no sense of irony. He is, his very own self, an unelected bureaucrat.
13
Lindsey Graham sees nothing wrong with the phone call. John McCain is officially rolling over in his grave.
12
The real news story would be
finding a sham Trump hasn't embraced.
10
It’s become clear to me that the Republicans have a concerted effort to spread conspiracy theories and false information as a way to get votes. That was the effort by Flynn and his son in spreading the lies about “pizzagate”. Consider the Facebook data breach from Cambridge Analytica in the last election and the number of Facebook users that received false news reports. And now the same people are working on the Trump campaign with Brad Parscale. Also, take a look at Instagram. Through Facebook and Instagram, news reports are fed from right wing websites like “Sarahpalin.org”, and “The Western Journal” (founded by Citizen’s United founder Floyd Brown), and telemarketing from companies associated with David Bossie, Director of Citizens United. Companies donating dark money to superpacs is very important for Republicans no matter of they have to spread conspiracy theories to do it. No doubt Trump and his team were trying to get some sort of vile narrative going about Biden, just the way they did about Hillary in 2016. This is an attempted disinformation campaign 2.0 And the Russians would quadruple the efforts most likely.
9
Alas, I’m afraid the good faith, judgment and common decency of anyone who has ever served in this Administration or advised this President, including Mr. Bossert, will be forever in doubt. Was he a fool or merely naive?
6
This is what collusion with Russia really looks like. Protect Putin while shifting the blame to Putin's problem, Ukraine. Brilliant, for a 3rd-grader.
10
Stop for a moment, and really think about the following: The President of the United States is arguing that US Government employees engaged in whistleblower actions deserve to be executed, and that the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee should be arrested for treason. The President of the United States is also encouraging the idea that his impeachment would lead to widespread violence across the country - the very country whose Constitution he swore to preserve, protect, and defend against all enemies, foreign and domestic.
Had our collective senses not been deadened by the last several years of Trump's daily outbursts - which have been routinely minimized and dismissed as "Trump being Trump" - there would be widespread public support and bipartisan calls for Trump to step down, or be removed from office, immediately based on his behavior over the past few days alone.
1124
@David
There should be bipartisan calls for Trump to be charged with intimidating a witness and for him to be held in custody.
72
@David
This person, and most everyone I know, have recognized the risk of this president. But now, with the cow out if the barn, his brazen acts have escalated exponentially.
He must resign or be removed from office with all deliberate speed. He is a risk to the U.S. and the world.
78
@David And yet it won't happen. For one thing, the dems don't fight hard enough and for another thing, Fox News and other extreme right outlets don't provide the facts of the case to the viewers/readers and make trump look like a victim and the viewers/readers won't seek information elsewhere.
17
First, I think that Trump wasn't merely asking Ukraine to investigate Biden, I think he was asking Ukraine to manufacture evidence. And furthermore, I think that there's possibility that if evidence had been manufactured that Ukraine had meddled in our election and Biden was part of it, it would have then given an excuse for further military aggression against Ukraine by Russia. I think the tight spot Ukraine was in here was even more perilous than what has been presented.
19
Don't confuse the issue with facts even if they are alternative ones. For Trumpists, the truth doesn't seem to matter. The desired ends always justify the means. What we are learning is that if the President/Commander-in-Chief appears to be guilty of wrongdoing, the systems of checks and balances becomes moot as a result of politicization. Our President has become an Emperor or King, a position that George Washington was offered but declined.
7
The president, who is driven by conspiracy theories and his senior advisor (Stephen Miller) who talks about the same deep - state nonsense are leading a pluralistic democracy based on freedom and individualism? Seems like there is no deep state. But there is a democracy with checks and balances. They both sound like autocrats.
So i personally hope they are checked and balanced out of office.
The deep state nonsense really came to life in Europe after 9/11 and contributed to antiamerican tendencies in Germany and Europe and helped to open the door for Russian desinformation and meddling in Europe. It hurts. The US and Europe are allies and partners of the democratic and pluralistic world. We must stick together. There are really true autocratic dangers in the world, apart all of these conspiracy nonsense.
7
Obviously Hunter Biden was retained in the hope of getting connections with his father and he should have registered as a lobbyist, but this is trivial in comparison to Trump's whole family being paid as White House employees while they use their positions in government to advance business interests, and that includes Melania's marketing of clothes and Jared Kushner's huge real estate holdings in Baltimore slums as well as Donald's holding government meetings in hotels he owns.
16
@Dan Woodard MD True. But the economy is doing very well and the Democrats are running on the high-moral ground, with a corrupt candidate and we are supposed to vote for him because Biden is supposedly a hair less corrupt? With so many honest people in this country?
The attention span of a gnat, the reactivity of a reptile--great combination.
15
@John
With the skin of a butterfly no less. Anyone think something could go wrong? No, of course not, never happen.
2
Not at all surprising that Trump continues to embrace a discredited conspiracy theory. I mean there are many that still embrace the discredited Russian collusion theory.
2
@BD Until the unreacted Mueller report is released, nothing has been definitively discredited. The fact that an administration that claims the report completely exonerates the president, but will not release the report or allow people mentioned in the report to testify, has to give one pause to consider that it may not exonerate Trump at all.
3
@MD ... Congress has read the unredacted report. A lightly redacted report has been for sale for a couple of bucks at Barnes + Noble and Amazon for months. Alas, not many buyers.
@BDAnd The NY Times helps them all spread the fake news by publishing most of comments. They don’t seem to have any problem with publishing comments that push points that are completely contrary to what has been published in news articles in this and other mainstream media. The published comments aren’t even opinions. They are distortions of the facts of the story meant to further the White House talking points.
The Times is assisting Trump and probably his Russian friends to destroy the campaign of Biden. Next they all will start in on Warren again and are probably even now searching for Kamala Harris’s birth certificate.
Who gains with Trump's fictitious Ukraine storyline? Trump's storyline not only hurts Biden and helps himself, but it's a storyline that Putin wants deeply. We have to find out if Trump was following Putin's orders.
8
The sordid affair with Ukraine is the sleeper in Trump's desire to destabilize western democracies, falling in with Putin. An even more alarming story is the meeting Trump had with Russian diplomats soon after his inauguration because Americans learned about the meeting Russian TV not American journalists. Apparently, he told the diplomats he's not at all concerned Russia tried to destabilize American democracy, the heart of this sordid affair with a president who bragged he'd take foreign interference in his reelection campaign. Turncoats come in many colors.
10
Trump might have been warned but i don't think he cared. When you consider that a lot of what Trump thinks and where he gets his ideas comes from opinions he gleans from the internet and not sites, well that's all you need to know.
6
Mr. Miller is correct on one point: there is a saboteur working to undermine our government. President Trump can find him simply by looking in the nearest mirror.
18
There are several comments here about the Fox News echo chamber. I just searched the Fox News online archive for news articles that included Thomas P. Bossert to find out if it had reported his comments on the Trump's Ukraine conspiracies. I found nothing.
I know that when I read the Times I can learn what Trump's supporters are saying in his defense. Looking at Fox News, it seems that they only report about news critical of Trump if they can find a way to skewer or debunk it. I also find inaccuracies and generalizations in their reporting. It is unfortunate that too many people depend on Fox as their sole source of news.
16
"A senior White House aide tried to turn the tables by arguing that Mr. Trump was the real whistle-blower because he was uncovering Democratic corruption."
I laughed out loud when I read this. Just incredible stuff. Sadly, many of the "President's" followers may actually start to believe this if it's repeated enough times on Fox News.
10
“Well, they’ve been investigating President Trump for two years, making way for baseless allegations,” Mr. Scalise finally said. “They’re investigating everything.”
The only reason why “they” are investigating so many parts of Trump’s campaign is because he has violated so many laws. And BTW, some investigations would be over if Trump had not directed every single witness in the investigation to refuse to comply with subpoenas and testimony. Trump has obstructed every single investigation into his campaign, his finances, and his policies. Scaliness forgot that there are 3 co-equal branches of government and Congress’s role is to “oversee” wrongdoings.
7
Why let facts get in the way of an effective (if dishonest) political campaign? For a businessman, it would seem that Trump has a weirdly skewed sense of how business is done.
3
Maybe conspiracy theories involving Ukraine are a set up. Maybe Giuliani didn't put that idea in Trump's head. Maybe it was Putin. You have witnesses no translator notes, to what was discussed with Putin. He probably told Trump "very strongly" that it was not Russia but Ukraine that messed in the election.
3
It's almost as if Trump got played - and how!
I wonder if someone fed the false conspiracy theory to Trump, knowing that he would run with it without checking its validity.
4
If Trump is the whistleblower (hint: no he's not) and has evidence of corruption, all he has to do is pick up the phone. He has investigative tools to hand - some of the finest in the world. The number in DC is (202) 324-3000.
4
I'm curious as to what Ken Starr would say now? How are The President's actions defensible? I don't get it. It doesn't matter who is the president. It is the use of the office. If you can investigate your opponents directly, what to stop you from taking them out back and shooting them.
3
Trump repeatedly chooses lies that suit his purposes over the truth that contradicts or serves at cross-purposes to his objectives. The central issue here is what was Trump's clear, and self-pronounced objective, and that is explicit in the transcript. The Ukrainian president says he intends to ask for more anti-tank missiles from the U.S. in order to protect against an invasion led by Russian tanks. Trump says, "OK, though, first I want you to DO THIS FOR ME: INVESTIGATE THE SON OF MY POLITICAL RIVAL." End, stop, go no further. Game, match, treason, impeachment, indictment, conviction, judgement and imprisonment.
4
Unfortunately, this is irrelevant for Trump voters.
Please indulge me for a moment.
I went to a suburban mall in the SF Bay Area over the weekend.
There were 4 women set up outside chairing a voter drive.
They were all GOP voters.
I am a registered Independent and I wanted to better understand them.
All of them peddled in conspiracy theories, outright lies and GOP talking points. Big shock, eh?
I consistently and respectfully pointed out to them that their statements on specific policy issues and Trump were to a point not factual.
Their sole source of news information was again no shock, Fox News.
You will never change his entrenched group's minds.
They are locked in and sadly, perhaps more importantly, the truth does not matter one bit.
10
Happy days may soon be ours again, the ours being those of us--I guess now at least 55%--who value living in a democracy that has rapidly sunk into the swamp created by the person sitting in the Oval Office.
2
The thread common to everything this proudly inelegant Donald has been doing – is the damaging of this country, seemingly for the supposed [indirect] betterment of Russia. He is consistent, persistent, and unrelenting in trying to damage this country – physically, socially, politically, morally, financially, technologically, and psychologically. Evidence of this pours in almost daily, seen or unseen. That there are those who refuse (not simply don’t, because it’s in plain sight) to see this is equally troubling.
4
Bossert has personal experience in dealing with Trump. He has tried repeatedly to inform him of the facts. Yet Trump still chooses to believe a false narrative. Why would Bossert, a seemingly intelligent man, continue to support the president? I am in total amazement.
1
“Former aides said the President has a particular weakness for conspiracy theories.” It looks like Trump’s impeachment defense will be mental instability and incompetence.
2
Trump's request to investigate Biden is a sideshow, a detraction to keep us from uncovering the real crime. Why is the White House delaying the $400 million promised to Ukraine? I'm pretty certain Putin does not want the money to be sent. The money is the real story; follow the money.
6
So conspiracy theories put forth by Democrats are good but Republican conspiracy theories are bad. Am I getting it right?
4
@Bill No, you're not. I'm prepared to argue that Mr. Mueller's investigation was thorough and aboveboard and it did reveal an actual Russian operation aimed at helping Trump in the election, that the Trump campaign was happy to receive this help and that Trump obstructed justice numerous times to cover it all up.
So now tell us all about the DNC server that's hidden in Ukraine.
2
Nope, acting on conspiracies without corroborated evidence from your own intelligence agencies is no way to run our government.
1
@Bill Which conspiracy theories are you referring to?
1
Trump organized his administration just as a mafia boss organizes his crew -- based on loyalty alone. No credentials. Perhaps some similar vision among them, but, just barely.
And we are watching it fall apart in real time. And now it's gaining momentum as it circles the drain.
7
So...if it's a crime to dig up dirt on a "political opponent," are Warren and Sanders going to recuse themselves from the Senate hearing on Trump??? Isn't Trump their political opponent? Therefore, they should recuse themselves.
1
It’s a crime to use your political office to dig up dirt from a foreign country. Congressional oversight is not a crime.
4
@david Please explain how they are "digging up dirt" when they are addressing a telephone call that the president admits making, and a whistleblower complaint that the president's own IG has investigated and deemed credible?
3
No it is not a crime to dig up dirt on a political opponent. But asking a foreign government to fabricate evidence to help you personally is unethical. Withholding tax payer funds that have been approved by Congress to help an allied nation defend itself from a foreign invader is not acceptable and is in violation of separation of powers. Using extortion to get anything is illegal. The phone call by itself warrants removal from office.
1
“It is completely debunked,” Mr. Bossert said of the Ukraine theory. This is Deep State at its deepest.
2
Trump's world like Putin's in the antinomian sense as Orwell wrote: Evil becomes good, inhumanity is interpreted as charity, egoism as compassion. Masha Gessen writes of this in her book about Russia, "The Future is History." Rather interesting that the two countries w/these two "leaders" are the show at the current time in history. Zelensky just the jester.
3
I can understand Lindsey Graham wanting to pursue the Republican agenda to the degree that he's willing to put up with a lot. But the stuff he's said recently seems demented. Hate to throw ageism in here, as I'm 65, but really? What's up with this guy?
7
A reptilian brain only responds to the most recent external stimulus and has no capacity to assimilate and analyze multiple inputs. It attacks any stimuli it deems it can eat or is a threat. Such is the brain of our President Trump
19
@John MD, strange that the rest of the brain that we’re so fond of dwelling on owes it’s existence to that old relic. First to come, last to leave, they say.
1
I think the US media should not complicate the contoversy by digging into Trump's embrace of conspiracy theory, etc, etc. This is only for the consumption of the political elite. The issue here for an average American is pretty simple: Did the President of the US withhold military assistance to an ally who desperately needs it until the ally does him a personal favor? And if so, will that constitute abuse of pesidential power that will merit impeachment?
Some people argue that politicians in general, once in a while, do all sorts transgressions, from unethical to illegal, from illegal to criminal. It is possible that other presidents before Trump may have also done similar if not exactly the same thing, they posit. True. It is possible, and even probable. But the problem with Mr. Trump is, he got caught, and got caught red handed. Faced with glaring evidence, what does Congress do?
The US is the beacon of Democracy in the world. Other young aspiring democracies look up to America's stong democratic institutions as a model. This basic tenet of checks and balance enshired in the Constirution will be tested in a major way. Soon enough, the world will know whether or not America can live up to its ideals.
After the evidence are all in, I have a strong feeling the Honorable men and women of the US Congress will do the right thing.
22
@Q Victoria I'm sure the honorable men and women of the US Congress will do the right thing. The question is whether the Republicans in Congress include any of those honorable men and women?
4
I would love to hear Senator McCain comment on his "good friend" Lindsey these days. Graham has lost his soul and American spirit to the dark side of the force.
I saw Tom Bossert yesterday on ABC and believed him. He's always been smart, rational and logical. The Graham's of the world are lost for words and just resort to hyperbolic gestures.
This is just another example of a problem created by trump.
18
“As Democrats pressed forward, a new CBS News poll showed that 55 percent of Americans supported an impeachment inquiry.”
The polls at the beginning of the Nixon impeachment inquiry showed only 19% of Americans approved of impeachment. Halfway in the hearings 38% of Americans approved, after learning more about Nixon’s dirty tricks.
Americans will also learn more about Trump’s dirty tricks in the upcoming hearings & that will increase their impeachment approval.
16
I hope to goodness you are right, but part of me worries that even testimony under oath will prove not enough to convince Trump's base.
"former aides to Mr. Trump said on Sunday that he refused to accept reassurances about Ukraine no matter how many times it was explained to him"
The aides with the warnings and reassurances were ignored. Maybe they should have drawn him a picture.
Who was Dear Leader listening to about Ukraine? Putin?
Some of the phone conversations hidden away on the top secret server were with Putin. They should be examined, if Dear Leader is to be exonerated. He couldn't possibly have anything to hide.
16
I am so tired of hearing and seeing Donald Trump. I regret having wasted a portion of my life under the zeitgeist of his presidency. He has got to go.
26
I missed this angle entirely.
So Trump is extorting Ukraine to get dirt not only getting personal gain against his 2020 election rival but also getting revenge from debunked allegation of 2016 election.
This scandal getting richer my boy.
I wonder when Qatar extortion blows to this nihilistic administration face. That one will be very ugly in the face of US worldwide stature, President son in law needed money to cover his loss in Ny real estate deal and placed embargo on Qatar.
When that story appeared in News paper with evidences that will be a field day
7
The biggest, latest news is Trump threatening the whistleblower, the same way a mob boss would, using pretty much the same language.
Backstory on whether he did or didn't embrace a conspiracy theory pale in comparison to Trump revealing that he is a white-collar gangster with Tony Soprano overtones.
He likes to threaten witnesses, whistleblowers, and investigators.
He disseminated "she supports terrorism" lies in an attempt to endanger Ilhan Omar.
All these things are impeachable and should be exposed in the impeachment inquiries.
19
@Steve Davies - Trump is also accusing Senator Adam Schiff of treason. That's a very dangerous road to go down.
10
Speaking of the silence of the lambs, James Mattis, the most respected Marine in the land, has a lot on his mind, according to the Atlantic, but is reluctant to open up about the coward in chief. His new book, not being a confessional, says almost nothing about Trump. But he does say his silence is “not going to be forever.”
We’re waiting.
12
So White House aides assert that Trump has a weakness for conspiracy theories-this is not a frivolous frailty.Those who search for villains to excuse their behavior are called paranoid personalities, There should never be a paranoid person in the Oval Office-they are a danger to themselves and more important to our national security, they are a danger to others!
16
Trump is certainly unfit for office but not because he has dementia like some readers suggest but mainly because he is simply out of touch with reality for a very specific reason: he lied so much and for so long that he lost track of what is real and began to believe his own lies. Whatever was left of his intelligence had to become preoccupied with keeping track of his own lies.
Trump shows a great deal of (self-serving) intelligence though. For ex, he understands that repeating ‘no collusion’ in the face of countless instances to the contrary does fool many. Most importantly, Donald Trump was able to falsely convince many Americans that he is running the country first and not Trump Co. out of the Oval Office.
6
Interesting that Steven Miller would paint the whistleblower as an "unelected bureaucrat". Who elected you, Mr Miller?
34
@Midd America - I wish a reporter would ask this question.
4
@Midd America Touche my friend!
trump’s attack on Biden and son for political graft is a little rich! He and his spawn have raked in more money from his presidential connections in the three years since he was elected than Biden could make in ten lifetimes.
13
A very smart man, Noam Chomsky, has state that the Republican Party is the most dangerous organization on earth.
14
@Frank
Nonsense. First of all, half of Americans voting roughly are Republicans and the majority have the same sense of morals and responsibility as the other half. But more important, the title to the most dangerous organization goes to the NRA. Evil personified, not before in the roots of the NRA but now.
In his book stunning Between the World and Me Ta-Nehisi Coates quotes Solzhenitsyn: "To do evil human beings must first of all believe that what he's doing is good, or else that it's the well-considered act in conformity with natural law."
These white men believe the power is theirs to with as they please. Good heavens why not? -It has for ever been thus!
3
Tell a lie often enough then weak minded people (GOP supporters) will start to believe it. That's Trump's strategy, and it's a very weak one because of all the other indiscretions that have come before this! IF this were the only thing me might have avoided this but he has done this at least 3 times now. 1) Asking Russia for Hillary's emails, 2) telling George Stephanopolis he would take information from a foreign government on opponents and 3) now pressuring Ukraine for dirt on Biden. If he would just shut his big mouth he might have gotten through this OK. Not now, he will be impeached for sure.
6
If he hasn't already, Trump will soon be tweeting that Mr. Bossert is a loser.
7
@Marilynn Bachorik how many hours do you give it? We should all pitch in $1 and guess and the person closest to the correct hour wins!
There are Malignant Rats running around in Trump's narcissistic brain... I have to say he does have an amazing talent for creating a constant narrative of lies.
9
What a bear trap for Pelosi to clean-up the swamp infested by male alligators- Republican and Democrat alike, in the DC swamp! All president's men and Trump gang member are in the Trap including Pence and it is conceivable that Nancy may become the first female president.
7
It's no surprise that stubborn stupidity has become Trump's greatest flaw. Nixon was devious and at least skilled; Trump is just a clueless clown in way over his head.
6
"Crowdstrike" was almost certainly originated and propogated by Russia. The propaganda was successful. It deferred military aid to Ukraine for months. Trump is the useful idiot doing the bidding of Russia to harm American allies and brave Ukranians defending their country from Russian aggression.
12
Trump is unhinged, and that he doesn't bother to read security and intelligence briefs and is prone to believe conspiracy theories reflects his gross stupidity, incompetency, and stubbornness. It is indeed a bad day for the president, but it's been a bad three years for the rest of us.
10
@Birdygirl
But look at the percentage of our country that thinks what you state is a good thing! Makes you wonder doesn't it?
I find Mr. Bosset's position interesting and problematic. He seems to be a reasonable man, and he finds the President's actions unacceptable but also not impeachment-worthy.
I imagine the House Democrats will find many similar arguments from their Republican colleagues. And lord knows anything is going to fail in the Senate. Graham's about-face from the early days of the Trump presidency tell all the story you'll ever need to hear about the Senate's current position.
It's a simple fact: impeachment isn't going to work.
So how about this for a different approach: sell the impeachment. Offer to drop it in exchange for bipartisan support on vital issues like infrastructure, health care, and climate change. Draft a condemnation of the President's actions on the phone call. Reject any attempt by the President to claim victory by pointing at the condemnation. Grant the appropriate agency even stronger watch-dog authority to avoid situations like this in the future. The Democrats and any willing Republicans come out looking like they actually give a hoot about getting things done.
The alternative is to spend 9 months to a year just to have the House basically take Bosset's position, and the Sentate to take Graham's. Where does that get us?
Maybe I'm just too much of a utilitarian, but impeachments are a political tool - just ask Hamilton - and when you're constantly playing politics for the sake of politics, the other important policies take a back seat.
4
In the first place, this impeachment’s about whether Trump’s trashed his oath of office and basic responsibilities. Why in the world would you trust such a guy on anything at all?
In the second, negotiations run on mutual trust as well as mutual antagonism. And if there’s an example out there of Trump bargaining honestly and sticking by his deals once in his entire life, I’d like to know what it is.
And in the third. How come it’s always only the lib’ruls gotta do this, this Democrats gotta do that? Why’s it never what Trump and Republicans MUST do? Why’s it not THEM trying, “Okay, we’ll accept censure, and in return we’ll give you...”
Because at the moment, all Trump’s done is crank the volume, threaten the whistleblower and half his own Cabinet and staff, scream about locking Joe Biden and (surprise, surprise, surprise) Hillary Clinton up? And, despite your claims, yell about how there’ll be no deals on anything.
Briefly, why don’t YOU lot ever, ever, take responsibility for fixing anything?
3
@Robert
This seems worthy of a clarifying response.
I'm a "lib'rul." But if you sit me down and ask me which is more worrisome:
a) Trump asking Ukraine to dig up political dirt on Biden, or
b) Trump standing up in front of the U.N. last week and saying each nation needs to go it alone, including on climate change,
my answer is B, all day every day. Maybe we should stand on principle and defend the institution of the presidency, no matter the actual outcome. But I'm not sure that's the solution here, given the plethora of other problems currently facing our nation, things that can only be solved with bipartisan support.
In short, we want the same thing: Republicans to get off their hiney and actually fix things. I'm just spitballing a different way to get there.
As a New York based attorney, Giuliani is subject to the state codes of legal ethics. His talks with and advice to Trump may be covered by attorney-client privilege, unless he knowingly aids or abets criminal conduct or conspiracy. However, privilege not cover his other actions with people not his clients, in Ukraine or anywhere else.
Trump cannot pardon him from disbarment. Lying when not under oath is not a crime per se, but slander is, and is among several reasons to consider his disbarment.
20
@Speakin4Myself
I think Rudy Giuliani should be disbarred for his involvement in trying to dig up dirt on Joe Biden and his son in the Ukraine, and continuously lying about them on television shows, is there anyway to push this action?
1
"Speaking out for the first time, Mr. Bossert said he was “deeply disturbed” that Mr. Trump nonetheless tried to get Ukraine’s president to produce damaging information about Democrats."
"While Mr. Bossert was forced out in 2018 when John R. Bolton became national security adviser, he has remained publicly loyal until now to a president who prizes fealty above all else."
In other words, the former HEAD OF HOMELAND SECURITY remain silent despite having known that the President of the U.S. had been trying to get Ukraine’s president to produce damaging information about Democratic rivals ,placing his loyalty to Trump over his loyalty to the United States, to it's Constitution, and to Homeland Security, and was complicit in the President's attempts to get the leader of another nation to produce damaging information about Trump's Democratic rivals, in an effort to influence the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election.
Mr. Bossert should be held accountable for the role that he played by remaining silent.
He could have filed a whistle-blower complaint just as the brave whistle-blower has. The same is true of all those who remained silent, who were complicit by remaining silent.
11
Does the article say he knew of the efforts to dig up dirt, or just that he knew Trump stubbornly held this belief?
1
Yes, most of America is “deeply disturbed,” including Republicans who have expressed this privately and a few public ally.
Now what?
We can also expect that the whistleblower incident will reveal other “deeply disturbing” calls to other world leaders, other misuse of hiding transcripts, perhaps shocking revelations of treasonous behavior by Mr. Trump and his coterie.
Now what?
Will there ever be a tipping point by members of his party?
If there is, it may be too late to matter. We may have lost our republic.
8
Remember that Bill Clinton was impeached for lying under oath about having an extra-marital affair, after he was set up for this by Ken Starr (after Starr couldn't find anything re. Whitewater). If it weren't for Ken Starr, the offense for which Clinton was impeached simply would not have happened.
Today, it was Trump's most loyal aide Giuliani who fed him the lie that he wanted to hear, enabling Trump to commit the most visible of a long string of impeachable offenses against his own country.
The irony is there. Could the Republican Party be any more corrupt?
12
Trump losing his mind, his common sense and his ability to govern based on the constitution.
Mentions of "civil war and treason" are evidence of his instability and his emotional balance.
I will hold his fellow republicans responsible if they don't stand up and join this critical dialog at this important time in our history.
13
"...he refused to accept reassurances about Ukraine no matter how many times it was explained to him, instead subscribing to an unsubstantiated narrative that has now brought him to the brink of impeachment."
"....Trump appeared to register that it was Russia. But periodically after that, he would say at rallies that he wondered about the server. Mr. Bossert would not re-educate him each time."
Of course Donald Trump always has known it was Putin's Kremlin, not Ukraine and not Hillary, that conspired to interfere in the 2016 election. It wasn't that he just couldn't absorb the truth or that Giuliani put garbage into his head: he simply saw an opportunity to use the leverage of withholding military aid to get Ukraine to "investigate" the Democrats at least until November, 2020 and thus sell the public on his preferred narrative.
Bossert's line is one of several patently absurd story lines Trump loyalists are floating to defend a blatant abuse of presidential power and a betrayal of our country.
12
The only problem with your theory is that there doesn’t seem to be a private Trump and a public Trump … one who acts rationally behind closed doors and irrationally for the cameras. He seems to be consistently infantile and paranoid. He really believes this stuff.
And it’s extremely troubling to me that all these otherwise rational people who work with him just accept it and try to work around it, when they should all report that he’s clearly unfit to hold office.
2
Trump's lies, they have always been the best estimate of what will eventually sink him, and the GOP. Now his statements will be his downfall. All his cronies can't lie enough times to give Trump an out from his illegal activities. Hopefully these are positive signs of America returning to democracy. It is a start, it is positive.
5
Not surprised at all by this....however there needs to be a fleshing out of why Biden's son was hired, and paid so much, as he doesn't appear to have had anything to offer, other than access to Joe. And interested to learn the particulars of Biden's alleged pressuring for firing of the prosecutor purportedly investigating Hunter B.
All that said, I think the impeachment move is a mistake;it has potential to backfire if there's anything to the Biden angle.
We should just nominate an electable candidate, and be rid of the Trump nightmare thru the normal election process.....
2
Those “particulars” have been out for years, amd for all Hunter Biden’s serious problems, he’s a Yale-trained lawyer with experience in the Clinton Admininstration and a long list of international relations.
Come on, already.
3
@DJSMDJD - As I understand it, Hunter didn't even join the board of this company until two years after the company was investigated and then cleaned up its act. Hunter wasn't being investigated at all.
3
@DJSMDJD Haven't been paying much attention eh? Well Sedona can be a bit distracting.
It was the official position of the Obama administration that this was a corrupt prosecutor who had to go. That was also the position of the EU and of various NGO's.
As for young Biden why exactly is it important to know why a private Ukrainian company chose to hire the son of an important American? Quite likely they hoped it might be helpful in some way, so what?
So far there is no evidence whatsoever that young Biden obtained any favors for said company nor that he, a board member, was involved in any dubious activities of this company.
No evidence whatsoever, you know like with the claim that Obama was not a US citizen. No evidence whatsoever.y
1
All staff and Republican senators/representatives that went along with and conspired to cover up the President's actions should be named and dismissed. We can hope they will feel shame. We can hope a criminal organization like this won't ever again take power in this country.
9
This is the NYT article in 2015. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/09/world/europe/corruption-ukraine-joe-biden-son-hunter-biden-ties.html
It is a starting point. No one who reads it can come away without asking the key questions. Note that the case against Burisma was dropped because the Ukraine government would not cooperate with the British. Note that " white washing" was a common practice , i.e., to put " Western names" on the Board to influence the letting of contracts.
Now we know why...It was his and others names that were used as a cover. Does anyone really think, therefore, that Burisma did not use Biden's name at the drop of a hat?
Who will have the honesty to objectively investigate all of this. As i recall, this is what the President of Ukraine said he wanted to do.
So, let him do it and see where it leads.
3
Bossert is defending the president. Once again the GOP come to his rescue. It is a tired refrain we hear from them: “ This is bad behavior, but Trump broke no laws “.
8
So which is it? Last week POTUS and his supporters claimed the phone call was a nothing burger and now they claim the disclosure was treasonous. Pretty harsh punishment for someone reporting the content of a "perfect" phone call.
15
Please investigate the role Fox News is playing in furthering this false claim. That's where false news comes. It's their mission to always paint Trump as the good guy and Democrats as bad.
11
@Sherry
Did you defend Clinton over the dress stain just as strongly?
1
Why are we so indulgent of this spoiled ego maniac who has made a mockery out of our democracy, our most respectable citizens, and our honorable institutions? Why are so many journalists and politicians going out of their way to be fair and honest with someone who never lived a fair or honest day in his life? Donald Trump has shown us what can happen to a country when it is overrun with corruption and its wealthiest citizens only concern for its poor is profit driven. We have become a worldwide laughing stock where most all out there see the truth in our desolation. The time for coddling and catering to Trump has long since passed. Our forefathers would not have shared our questionable, long-suffering tolerance for this man and would have cut this cancerous growth out of the presidency a long time ago.
11
Donald Trump is an odd man. He is calculated, impulsive, gullible, vindictive in the extreme, and overwhelmingly egocentric. Since some of those defining characteristics are contradictory, it can be hard to discern where he is coming from on any individual statement. His constant attacks on the media are calculated - he is intentionally sowing doubt to blunt the effects of negative reporting. His waffling on the Ukraine server hoax displays his gullibility. His ongoing, one-sided feud with John McCain shows his vindictiveness.
Trump's predominant trait,however, is egocentricity. He is at the mercy of powerful narcissistic compulsions at all times. His other defining characteristics are subservient to egocentricity. Anything that challenges his mastery in any area must be crushed. Crowd size, popular vote, Russian meddling, court decisions, any criticism, praise for another administration member, legal restrictions, all challenge Trump's dominance and he is compelled to lash out. The U.S. president isn't truly making decisions much of the time, he is simply and involuntarily reacting to his personality disorder.
7
The Dem's need to stay focused and move with lightening speed!
3
The President subscribing to a (not) unsubstantiated narrative. That's only allowed if it's about Russia.
Hahahahahaha. Instead of relying on Trump’s false claims of ‘complete exoneration,’ read the actual Mueller report regarding Russian meddling in the 2016 election. It very methodically substantiates that Russia worked to influence in Trump’s favor, and that the Trump campaign knew this.
Folks that refuse to do this are stuffing their heads in the sand.
3
Lindsey Graham must really love his Senate seat.
"Trump should appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Biden..."
"Joe Biden and I had a close working relationship, but that does not stop me from obsequiously spreading lies about him in order to curry favor with Trump."
I wonder if Senator Graham has any mirrors in his house.
6
Future division of the country.
1
Accusing Schiff of treason?!! Trump has gone completely off the rails. How could people like Lindsey Graham, Kevin McCarthy and Devin Nunes continue to defend this tyrant or they must be as slimy as Trump is. Time for the rats to desert the ship. I fear Trump's next move. I hope the Joint Chiefs remember their oath to defend the Constitution and recognize an illegal order when they see one.
8
Let's hope this former Trump stooge coming clean is the first of many.
4
President invokes “Civil War” !? The Senate and House should have a joint session to discuss what to do about the President. He’s off his rocker and is about to incite violence upon the American people.
6
From this President, the irony that he goes after lesser, when not debunked, conspiracy theories, but he of course stays away from 9/11, Kennedy, Gulf of Tonkin.. I guess to discuss those would take some real guts. And maybe a death wish, as well...
President Trump doesn't need the Russian propaganda that it was Ukraine not Russia behind the 2016 hack to be true. When he retweeted the Sen. Cruz lie that his father was behind the JFK asasination he knew it was bogus. He knew the Birther lie was a scam yet he promoted it for 5 years. It doesn't matter. Pizzagate, the Seth Hill was murdered by Hillary whopper, I could go on and on. Trump spreads lies and conspiracy theories like a fire hose and knows that some of it sticks. The truth is not a factor in what Trump decides to tweet out
8
It doesn’t matter. No one cares.
2
Sounds like Rudy and DJT are engaged in a folie a deux.
3
A sham president who peddles sham conspiracy theories? Wow, thanks GOP voters.
6
Trumps flip flopping really, really, really makes him appear senile.
4
A senior White House aide tried to turn the tables by arguing that Mr. Trump was the real whistle-blower........well yea. The dog whistle, for his "followers".
Little by little the ship takes on water and the GOP roaches can be heard scurrying.
5
There is a defense fund to help the whistleblower pay their legal bills after Trump and Friends try to destroy them.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-anonymous-intelligence-official
4
It is time for White Hose folks, present and former, to speak out in numbers!
Heck, maybe someone from UPenn/Wharton could even leak Trump's college transcripts.
5
Was able to catch Lawless Lindsey on Face the Nation yesterday. Always fun to compare his views on impeachment today, versus 20 years ago. Another shameless hypocrite.
9
It looks like this article is an attempt to put the kabash on the developing story of Ukraine’s role in the 2016 election and the potential involvement of Democrats who colluded with Ukraine against Trump. This explains why the NYT leads off with this issue which has been slipped into its coverage of the whistleblower’s complaint as if they are one and the same. This goes back much further in time than Trump’s phone call and is of a much more serious nature. Whatever the outcome, by leading with Bosser’s denial the NYT has effectively inaugurated a new issue that eclipses Trump’s phone call and even the question of Russian collusion—the collusion of the Obama administration with Ukraine.
@Edward
More conspiracy theories? Regarding Russian (not Ukrain )collusion in the 2016 election to support Trump.
17 Security agencies in the US determined, that the Russians interfered in the 2016 election.
Excerpt from Director National Intelligence , Intelligence Community Assessment
quote
"We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump. We have high confidence in these judgments."
Full document here,
https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ICA_2017_01.pdf
3
Yes, by leading with a knowledgeable insider’s utter repudiation of the Ukraine 2016 fiction this article certainly does that. That’s pretty much what journalism does.
Want to counter this article? Come up with any actual evidence that the Ukraine 2016 story Trump is clinging to is based on fact.
3
Commenter Stewart Dean earlier stated, “Trump wanted there to be dirt on Biden in Ukraine, so it *had* to be there. This magical thinking has become a major dysfunction in the right-wing psyche.”
I could not agree more, other than to divide the right-wing into two camps. Camp one contains those who genuinely believe in their magical binary world. A world, for instance, where abortion is criminalized, every pregnancy no matter how unintended or unviable is cause for celebration, the world would be knee-deep in chubby, gurgling, smiling, cooing babies, and peace would somehow resultantly reign in the land. This camp sees it as a simple fix for a spiraling-out-of-control world which has displeased God. The abortion issue is the alpha and the omega. All evil stems from abortion. Any co-opting of evil is a temporary necessity until they can straighten things out.
At least this camp believes its own hype. I guess that’s something, anyway.
Camp two is much smaller but more loathsome. Members of this camp don’t believe a thing other than what’s politically expedient.
Since Mr. Dean mentioned “magical thinking,” I’ll close with a common fairy tale:
Once upon a time in a Land of United States, there were Republican men and women of Decency and Honor. Then came a soulless boastful King who cared not about Steadfastness or Truthfulness, and the people were lost.
You now how the story ends.
16
I can understand that the Democrats wish to keep the focus of any impeachment proceedings narrow, in this case confined only to Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian president, but we should remember that the reason that Mueller did not make a determination concerning obstruction in his report was that, because of the Department of Justice policy that a sitting president cannot be indicted, it would not be fair to charge Trump with an act that he could not defend. In an impeachment proceedings, Trump can now defend himself. Perhaps it makes sense, therefore, to at least consider including the obstruction counts that Mueller discovered in the present proceedings.
22
@JH
I agree, let Ukraine be the main event and public focus. Obstruction be in an additional article.
2
This ‘whistle-blowing’ matter draws attention to the deliberate trump slow-walking of Congress-directed funding support of the Ukrainian efforts to confront Putin’s territorial aggression tactics. It is also a reminder of trump slow-walking sanctions imposed by Congress for Russian meddling in US elections for over two years now. Incredibly, prominent GOP senators McConnell, Graham, Cruz, Cornyn, Burr, Johnson, and Thune are all in lock-step support of trump’s kowtowing to Putin’s demands for US sanctions relief on Russian oligarchs and their business interests. They voted for such relief just this year. Romney was among them. It shows how deeply and all pervasively trump’s obstruction in plain sight is seriously jeopardizing national security. Under normal circumstances this kind of abject support of blatant political meddling would sound alarms all over the place. But a kind of public malaise about these developments seems to have settled in, emboldening these senators to sense that they can turn a blind eye to presidential activity definitely within the realm of outright treason with impunity,
10
Trump is a reflection of what the US- a divided country. Democracy gets everything it deserves no better or worse whether one likes the image in the mirror or not.
3
@tedc "Trump is a reflection of what the US- a divided country. "
People say that, but I don't know what issues really divides us. Are we this mad over protectionism vs free trade? Are Republicans able to support trillion dollar a year deficits but angry about Democratic promises of handouts for medical care and education? What are we really angry about?
Biden's dealings with Ukraine smacks of cronyism/ quid pro quo pressure. It is unsavory at the least to put his son on the board when he knows nothing about Ukraine or the gas company Burisma. I don't think we give out aid to most countries without some expectation in return.
4
@John Fair enough. Now, what do you want to do with the Trump-Giuliani-Ukraine, situation?
1
Trump’s refusal to believe that it was Russia, not Ukraine that interfered on Trump’s behalf in the 2016 presidential election, is not a reflection of Trump’s ignorance or bull-headedness. It is simply a reflection of the fact that he only believes what suits his interests; a common tendency of people who are deeply afflicted with narcissism.
18
Establishment Democratic centrists keep insisting that the corruption allegations against Biden have been "thoroughly debunked" when nothing of the sort has occurred. Thanks to the Democrats' very curiously narrow focus on possible Trump impeachment charges, attention is back on Biden for his and son Hunter's activities in the Ukraine, but China may be worse. In December 2013, Hunter Biden flew to China on Air Force Two with his father on a trip to meet with Chinese leaders; just two weeks later, it was announced that Hunter's firm would be creating a $1.5 billion investment fund with the government-owned Bank of China. Hunter's personal stake in that fund as recently as last June was in excess of half a million dollars. How is that any different from Ivanka Trump's accompanying her father to China, sitting in on the President's meetings with top leaders, and leaving the country with her businesses' Chinese trademark applications approved? That, by the way, should be a prime impeachment charge against Trump -- a clear conflict of interest and monetization of the Oval Office for personal gain, simple and easy to prove. But the Democrats' mania for blaming anything or anybody other than themselves for their 2016 debacle has limited their impeachment "inquiry" to only Russia-related or Russian-adjacent charges -- even if it drags down their putative frontrunner. Pathetic.
3
Trump's blatant disregard of our U.S. Constitution and other laws of land show that Trump is utterly a grave danger to our democracy. No one is above the law--not me, not our citizens, not wanna-be king Trump. Soliciting the interference of an American election by a foreign country for personal gain clearly and overtly fits the definitions of treason and 'high crimes and misdemeanors'. Only two solutions can end Trump's sordid reign: removal from office by impeachment or by the electorate in 2020. I now see a glimmer of light at the end of this long, dark tunnel that our country has been perilously traveling since 2016.
6
@Retired Educator
That “glimmer of light” you see is far, far away, probably just a mirage, your mind is cluttered with educational dogma. This country is on the return road to prosperity and fairness that it has been detoured from since the Great Society and the war on poverty (how’s that working out?). Trump is creating jobs, raising wages, making beneficial trade deals, stopping illegal immigration, facing off with tinpot dictators and reducing taxes among other positives. You can deal with that because you can’t get over the idea that he’s a jerk. You’re concerned only with the image - he doesn’t look or act presidential - and not the results. He’s getting the job done, people are working, making money and improving their lives, maybe slowly but surely. That is essentially the task of a leader, that is something Obama, Bush nor Clinton never did, they were too focused on appearing presidential rather than being so. That’s why Trump fills the arena, that’s why he will be re-elected, jerk or not.
1
I’m afraid the light you see is the train on the tracks heading for a direct collision with Democracy and the US Constitution. We are soon to see just how robust our systems are in the face of one tin hat wannabe Dictator threatening everything that is civilized and decent about America.
2
It's time for the scales to fall from the eyes of those who support this man. I am speaking mostly of so called religious Evangelicals. This president is a proven liar who bears false witness against the innocent for his own gain. Politically, it started with the birther movement and now Joe Biden.
Trump trades his loyalties and even his marriages for anyone or anything that he believes will advance him. It is who he is.
15
@Diane L., evangelicals are not blind, just not quick to assume the righteous seat of judgement as their “enlightened” counterparts on the left are. The more we beat on Trump with our own pious definitions of morality the more it affirms their convictions and beliefs which goes beyond just their own self interest.
Trump is not interested in truth. He does not traffic in it. He seeks to sow Doubt, to Confuse and Befuddle. How can Biden or anyone disprove fantasies? Remember how Ted Cruz's dad killed JFK, or so "people were saying". If you present real evidence, they say the Deep State is hiding the actual proof in the basement of a pizza parlor that has no basement, so there.
Throw your logic out the window. Who do you Want to believe, lying Liberals or your President? That is the basis of Alt-Truth, of Trump and his minions.
11
“deep-state operative” who is part of a cabal of “unelected bureaucrats?” I believe Steven Miller is confused as I believe it’s pretty well documented that the “unelected bureaucrat” running around trying to smear a political person and party is Giuliani!
4
“In fairness, I don’t know that it was Rudy Giuliani that put that conspiracy theory into the president’s head,” he said. “I know somebody did and I was under the impression it was Mayor Giuliani. If Mayor Giuliani wasn’t promoting the D.N.C. server conspiracy theory, then I apologize.”
It was Russia. Putin. He put it in their heads. Giuliani was on his way to Russia to get paid for just speaking to them. About what?
4
We have conspiracy theorists in the White House - more than one.
Stephen Miller, and Guilanni have been out on the FOX talk shows promoting the latest Ukraine conspiracy theory, and calling themselves the whistle blowers.
As long as we people like the Hannity and Infowars who are willing to trade integrity for ratings and promote this stuff, the consiracy theories will get traction.
The Trump presidency has been about facts vs. lies from the day he was sworn in. That is not going to change. People have to look at the facts, and separate the conspiracy from reality.
4
God, it boggles the mind that what is believed to be intelligent sensible people would fall in line behind a president that is known to be so off base as to be as ignorant as a doorknob and a known liar, a charlatan.
Why, why, why???
Trump doesn't care, but many of these POLS have their entire life ahead of them.
They have children who will read or hear about their parents' actions for years.
I just don't get it.
7
He was warned....nevertheless, he persisted.
Sometimes it is a good time to ignore the stupid warnings of the ignorant.
Other times it is good to listen to the wise admonitions of the intelligent.
The wise person knows when to do one, and when to do the other.
"“The D.N.C. server and that conspiracy theory has got to go . . . " Bossert said.
Can't disagree with that one bit.
But look how well the "Kenya-birther" conspiracy theory went, and still continues.
No hope for the D.N.C. server conspiracy theory to go away.
3
In my mind Trump and Giuliani have become the “Twilight Twins,” both dimming, fading spectacles from a blessedly dying era.
4
Enough already. Get him outta there.
3
Oh, Lindsay, Lindsay, what do they have on you??
5
Remember that Trump is a fan of Alex Jones and InfoWars. Alex Jones has made a living by propagating vile and unhinged conspiracy theories. That Sandy Hook shooting massacre was a false flag operation by the government to take away people’s guns. That the parents, who lost their 6 and 7 year old children, were actors. That 9/11 is an US government inside job.
Here is what Trump said about Alex Jones: “Your reputation is amazing. I will not let you down.”
It becomes mind numbing to keep up with all of Trump’s constant outrages. But we have a President that openly supports a man who makes a living by peddling Sandy Hook false flag conspiracy theory, 9/11 inside job conspiracy theory, a President that 40 to 45% of Americans support, majority of white Americans support, 80-90% of Republicans support, 80-90% of white Evangelicals support, that Republican Senators like Lindsey Graham will defend no matter what criminal act Trump commits.
Trump got his national political profile jump started by propagating the racist birther lies and conspiracy theory about Obama.
Of course, Trump believes in the conspiracy theory that Ukraine and not Russia interfered in our 2016 elections. Trump has always been a conspiracy theory nutcase. And, as Putin’s puppet, of course, he accepts and propagates a conspiracy theory about Ukraine that originated in Putin’s Russia.
How did this man become our President?
How can so many Americans, the overwhelming majority of Republicans continue to support him?
6
Thank you, Mr. Bossert, for stepping up and speaking the truth about what is going on. It takes guts. It's also vital to our democracy that people of good faith step forward and tell the country what they know.
With so much disinformation out there, people have to put politics aside and clearly speak the truth. THAT is putting America first.
4
Donald Trump's guiding philosophy is best summed up with "My mind is made up. Don't confuse me with the facts."
He refused to believe the conclusion of his own staff regarding the subject of Russian influence in his election of 2016. He could not accept the fact that Barack Obama was born in this country. And while we can laugh when he claims that the moon was originally part of Mars, it isn't funny when he states that the United States government is taking in billions of dollars in new revenue as a result of Chinese tariffs. (We're paying for them in the form of higher prices.)
Willful ignorance by this president is dangerous for all of us. That's a fact regardless of what he believes.
17
Impeachment will become moot if Trump resigns. He’d not only lock in his pension and lifetime SS guards, but it would give Pence a full year to exhibit his Presidential posture. It would make sense. Which is probably why he won’t do it.
4
@JONWINDY "if Trump resigns"
It would be so hard on Democrats who at least publicly are focusing primarily on how bad President Trump is and how to beat him. They will be in trouble if something happens to Trump and Democrats have to run against a traditional mainstream Republican.
Isn’t the most basic problem that Donald Trump believes the debunked theory that the DNC hack originating in Ukraine after being told repeatedly by his own homeland security chief that it is false?
Since that information was imparted to him 2 years and seven months ago, in what way is he fit to be our president? He cannot or will not accept facts and is more than willing to incite civil discord to stay in power. His bias towards Russia threatens us all. Is this how Donald Trump plans to make America great again?
7
It has been reported that Mitch McConnell urged Trump to release the transcript of the whistle blower's complaint. Why doesn't Trump take all of his vitriol out on McConnell? Why doesn't Trump accuse McConnell of treason? And has far as Adam Schiff's opening statement at last week's hearing it's apparent that Trump and his minions don't know what "satire" is. Adam Schiff said it best when Trump insulted him again in his infantile tweets "I'm proud to be insulted by a man of Trump's character."
6
Generally, weak-minded and willlfully ignorant people hold fast to conspiracy theories. They need to "control" the world around them, to simplify the complexities of reality. For people who see themselves as victims, conspiracy theories paradoxically give them a feeling of power along with a need for a "fixer" or "savior." They discard logic and they are too lazy to pursue knowledge and facts.
It makes perfect sense that this "president" would believe any conspiracy theory that serves his interests. It's part of what makes him appealing to his voters: he's one of them.
8
OJ Simpson got cocky when he got acquitted in round 1. And committed another crime . Round 2 did not go well for him.
Similarly for Trump. He got away with impeachment in round 1, the Mueller report, where the bigger crimes were committed. Then Trump got cocky and commits a crime out in the open. Now he is getting impeached, round 2. Let's see if it goes well for Trump. I doubt it as more and more coverups come into the open. How much more are GOP willing to defend him?
3
It seems the whistleblower's revelations were quite timely in bringing up further questions, however spurious, about Biden.
1
When Bossert states: "...far from proven is whether he was doing anything to abuse his power and withhold aid in order to solicit such a thing.", one must realize that trump has always abused his power in business and now as president. Contractors, architects, businesspeople, business partners, banks, builders claim they were swindled and manipulated by trump, so this is how he rolls.
Want some proof? Ask those who he hired and cheated, those he partnered with and cheated, those he contracted and ruined, those he borrowed from and bankrupted. And now, he's doing it to the American people. We've been duped by the grand duper! This is how he rolls.
"far from proven"? Come on! Who do you trust to decide this? 'sneaky deal and deny it' trump or 'waited for proof' Speaker Pelosi?
5
Thomas Bossert in one of the over 40 who have left the Trump administration--so far. Some have quit in frustration & others have been fired, usually because they didn't show complete loyalty to Trump. Those who remain defend & deflect for Trump no matter how idiotic he is. Many who remain are Trump appointed 'Acting' head's of various govt. dept's & agencies. IF they don't completely support Trump then they'll quickly be fired so the weak do as Trump wants. It's up to Democrat's & enough Republican Senators with a conscience to stop this disturbed president from doing even more harm.
5
Why would the GOP not believe Putin's story, as related by Trump?
3
@gratis
Good one!
The only things that surprises me is how long it has taken to get here given how outrageous conduct and words Trump has used since seeking candidacy to the WH and that anyone is continuing to support him (Miller excluded). People talk. They always talk and you can't stop them from talking, no matter the threats or the level of intimidation. And when they don't talk, the take notes and a save documentation of all the stuff that bothers and disturbs them for "just in case". I know this because I talked, took notes, and saved stuff. McCarthy and Graham look like idiots at this point, and craven ones at that. They surely can't imagine that, if the inquiry moves to actual impeachment, that they have any political future after their current term? I suspect I the coming week we will hear more talking and more evidence revealed of just how much at risk Trump has placed this nation.
5
This is so typical of Trump. Tell an enormous lie, keep telling and telling it. Disgusting. The Dems aren't smart enough or devious enough to have done what Trump alleges. Trump's business history and proven penchant for lies, constant lies, is well documented. He needs to go. Now.
2
Yep, 45 is mixing-up a large, fresh new batch of conspiracy flavored, kook-juice for all the members of trump-town. And they’re all lined-up for their dose. Artificial intelligence, indeed.
7
“But George, if he continues to focus on that white whale, it’s going to bring him down.” Then by all means continue!
3
as to the increasingly hysterical tweets and statements by Mr. Trump and his puppet minions: this is what rats look like when they can't jump off a sinking ship.
5
How do you “debunk” the fact that Hunter Biden, with zero qualifications, was paid $50k a month by a Ukrainian gas company, shortly after his father, the sitting Vice President, was made point person for Ukraine by the Obama administration? Voters may be stupid, but they understand you don’t get paid that much for nothing. It’s the Swamp, folks, and the Biden-China facts are worse. Biden was already going down in the polls based on his so-called “gaffes,” but now he is toast.
3
Are you familiar with the names Ivanka and Jared?
5
@anne.This has nothing to do with the Biden's. If something comes out later, so be it. You're President has sold us out over and over. The man is a thug and has always been one. Nothing is off limits for him as long as he wins. I respect your opinion but disagree. At least we still have freedom of speech, for now.
6
@Anne
There is no need to debunk that fact because it is irrelevant to Trump's wrongdoing.
Voters also understand what it means when the President of Ukraine assures Trump that he stays at Trump properties (money going directly into Trump's pocket) in the midst of asking for help in fending off Russia.
6
Who believes Trump at this point?
5
Let me guess: did Putin tell him, "No, it wasn't us. It was that upstart new guy in office in Ukraine." Killing 2 birds with one stone.
4
Everyone has to first understand that Trump’s point of reference has always been the National Enquirer and other ‘truly fake’ news outlets. He’s always had a soft spot for ridiculous made up stories. From the Obama birther issue to Hillary’s pizza pedophile parlors. It’s been going on for decades. He can’t hear the truth.
10
It didn't matter to Trump if the story was true or not, simply that it could be useful. That's his MO down the line. He understands clearly that a "story" has more value than truth.
17
It is puzzling that Mr. Bossert asserts that a connection with the suspension of military aid to Ukraine and trumpsky asking for political dirt on Biden from Zelensky is unproven, and YET no apparent effort by George Stephanopoulos to elicit an explanation from Mr. Bossert WHY the military aid was suspended.
So Mr. Bossert, why did trumpsky suspend the military aid to Ukraine?
9
Finally, a breath of fresh air. A (former) member of the administration who is willing to speak truthfully. Incredibly rare. One wonder what talk each departing official has gotten, and what threats are made if they come forward with anything damaging. Because from Tillerson to Mattis, to Kelley to Kristjen Nielsen, and never mind the sycophant Nikki Haley, no courage or care for the constitution or democracy has been shown. Thanks Tom Bossert for bringing clarity where other seek to obfuscate in fear.
11
“I’m openly telling everybody in the country I have the president’s back because I think this is a setup,” he said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” Is Senator Lindsey Graham gambling he can step up as de facto leading presidential contender once Trump exits? Or is he just afraid of the backlash from solid Trump state? Either way, his past judgments on Trump stands in HUGE contrast to his sycophantic Trump defense today.
12
Sounds like he’s truly lost it.
Removal from the office he was never qualified to hold is the only course.
7
In the personal world of a narcissist, objective reality does not exist; that which he feels to be true at any given moment is true in that moment. Anyone who has struggled to convince a narcissist with logic and reason yet failed after seeming to have succeeded needs to understand that the narcissist retreated to his personal, comfortable, feeling-based reality zone - as dysfunctional as it may be.
12
With Trump demanding to meet his "whistleblower" accuser face to face, he has taken this in a totally different direction. He needs to be locked up for the safety of all Patriots, current and future. What a piece of work.
16
"Mr. Trump has known Mr. Giuliani, the former New York mayor, for years and likes his pugnacious approach and the fact that he never pushes back..."
The very definition of a "yes man".
9
Looks like Putin has been able to get Trump to do his bidding and Trump is going to go down in ruins for it. It's Putin who wants the Ukraine to be blamed for interference in the 2016 U.S. elections and not Russia. Why Trump is willing to be Putin's puppet is still the big question. With Trump, it's always Russia/Putin first, not America. I want this impeachment investigation to find the answers to: why Trump is constantly defending Putin, advocating to get Russia into the G7, wouldn't allow notes to be saved by a U.S. interpreter when he met in private with Putin. When the dots are all connected they show that Trump is a Putin puppet and it's NOT America's interest that he puts first.
11
I am tempted to write something snarky about Republicans and the deeply disturbed" quote but I will refrain.
However, for Bossert to state that it was “a bad day and a bad week for this president and for this country if he is asking for political dirt on an opponent" then I must ask - where has he been the past 2 1/2 years?
Guys like Trump don't suddenly wake up one morning and decide to be deceitful and misleading, to put it mildly.
Other Republicans need to begin addressing and calling Trump out for the many questionable and illegal acts he continues to commit.
What Bossert is stating is not a message from a disgruntled former employee or Homeland Security adviser.
Bossert KNOWS what is true and what are bold, face lies.
It's time for Republicans to decide if they want to continue to be cowards or to be heroes and come forward.
12
And I wonder what country, currently at war with Ukraine and with a history of US election tampering, may have told President Trump such a tall tale? Yet, the US can’t consider a giant, obvious danger because half the country is too busy denying that the sky is blue. I would bet this is KGB 101.
10
For the conspiratorial mind (these people are mostly right-wing), the absence of any evidence towards a theory only makes it seem more true. You would assume that malign actors would try to cover it up, so if there's not any evidence then the cover-up is just THAT good and goes THAT deep. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. It should come as no surprise at this point in time that facts and objective reality mean nothing to this White House.
Just after the Notre Dame fire there were similarly phony conspiracy theories - people like Glen Beck talking about how, if it was in fact that case that Muslims burned the cathedral down, we would never get any confirmation of that because it would be too explosive. So, the lack of any evidence pointing to a Muslim plot becomes fuel for believing that it was a Muslim plot.
3
I find it disgusting of my fellow Americans who support Trump that they ignore his threats against the whistleblower.
David Gergen wrote today that if something bad happens to the whistleblower blood will be on trump's hands.
Will my fellow Americans wake up then?
I'm more disgusted with the trump voters than anything.
11
In this boondoggle, the thing I find more delusional is this thought.
Democrats may loose election?
Trump has maximum 40% support, This is never happened before who was elected 2nd term. Trump is also not willing expand that vote either.
Democrats and moderate republicans are totally alienated from the Trump presidency.
And yet
This talk, this cowardice of pundits and representatives , literally appalling.
at least solid 50% doesn't want Trump president any more, could you get remaining 10% on the board democrats. Could you?????
3
Such sweet irony if Trump is brought down by believing fake news.
6
Trump doesn't care if the theory was debunked. He is a strong proponent of "repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth". Blasting his non-stop egocentric rant 24/7 (combined with blackmailing, bribery, and well funded troll farms) is how he accomplishes everything.
4
My guess is that Putin is the one in Trump’s ear telling him that Ukraine is conspiring with the Dems to bring him down.
3
Neither Trump's mouth nor his ears have any regard for truth.
6
Trump has to go. Valuable time and resources have been and continue to be wasted upon this disruptive creature. His style is chaotic, partisan and reactionary. He shows no indication of “Keeping America Great” or of anything else positive for the country at large. An incompetent leader at his best and a traitor to his country at his worst. We deserve better. Enough is enough.
7
@tgemign
I really hate to say this, however do you deserve better?
When you have as large a group of Americans who don't believe in education or science, perhaps you've been given exactly what you deserve.
It's a horrific thought, however as I watch Trumpism spread to other countries, including mine, maybe we all need to go through this to purge those tendencies.
2
Americans don’t deserve it, those at our borders don’t deserve it and the world at large doesn’t deserve it. Shortsightedness, bigotry, ignorance, nihilism and inequality should never be exclaimed away and least of all propagated by the leader of the “free” world. A better world means looking forward with hope and clarity. I hope to never enter into the abyss willingly or without a fight.
We have a Conspiracy Theorist-In-Chief who will stop at nothing, absolutely nothing, to falsely attack his political rivals and stay in power.
4
Investigating a Democrat is looking for dirt, investigating Trump is protecting the country. "There are allegations" preface news about Trump, "Trump supporters say" preface news about Biden and Democrats.
Got it.
2
Because there is utterly no evidence that Biden broke any laws. That issue has already been investigated. And Congress is legally investigating Trump and has in it’s possession damning evidence of wrong doing. Trump on the other hand has no evidence and illegally requested that a foreign leader investigate a political rival. And finally, It is a Republican, Trump appointed aid who is stating that Trump stubbornly and irrationally clings to long debunked conspiracy theories, not The New York Times.
3
Schiff, what a weak poor choice. On purpose. Why is that? Nancy is still hoping to drag this out so long that people will move on to other things and she can keep the status quo in DC.
Such limpness. Why is she so against impeachment? And what happened to Nadler? Oh what backbone those Dems are showing! This is how you lose elections. And honestly Biden should be investigated again, just to clear his name. It is no crime for his son to be making 50K a week but honestly it does smack of nepotism and people should know about it.
1
“Trump Embraced Sham Conspiracy Theory on Ukraine, Ex-Advisor Says”
As opposed to a genuine conspiracy theory?
Is the theory that Epstein’s suicide was assisted also a sham conspiracy theory, or is that one a genuine conspiracy theory?
1
The guy who controls the nuclear button.
2
Hoisted by his own petard OR how exquisite the dialectic.
If this gets him impeached it will be because he insisted on putting what he wants to believe before the facts. This shines incredible light on how he has been governing, his style and the very idea he has of fake news, which he once explained is just a convenient way of calling out what he does not like. He believes whatever he wants, and acts upon what he wants to believe, all the way down to the point of his own destruction.
The final act of this morality play is soon upon us! May its lesson be for the books, for History, and not be lost on us common folk.
17
Arizona once had a governor who was delusional and corrupt. Evan Mecham (R). He was impeached. Unqualified and morally rudderless people obviously can and do gain high office, and destabilize government. But there are remedies, and recovery can occur even when serious rot has set in at the helm. This will never be done through landslide votes, but through dogged civic leadership, careful reporting, insistence on proper procedures and a motivated political majority willing to apply pressure on elected officials. If Arizona could do this, our nation surely can as well.
Write to your legislators. Show up at town halls. Visit their offices. Phone. Not just an email or emoji. Make them feel the pinch of democracy and the punch of being unseated come the election.
20
@Vanderpoel Great post and excellent advice.
1
@Vanderpoel Well said and so true. The public needs to act, as you suggest, vigilantly! Our democracy is at stake.
1
Does Trump really believe this stuff? Or is just convenient to pretend he does?
9
What has Trump done for the American people since he was elected? He has passed a tax bill by one vote that has lined the pockets of the wealthy at the expense of the poor and middle class. He has degraded all the public environments. He has misused tax dollars and the people hired to defend Americans on wild goose and fence building expeditions. Mr. Giuliani's comments about defending his client the best way he knows, essentially by lying and pandering to Trump's willful delusions, should also be actionable. Even lawyers are supposed offer advice and not just go along with criminal acts. Trump is essentially enabling the misuse of the American Intelligence agencies by supporting a host of investigations into his rivals and those that are investigating him. And when Trump is impeached, just watch all the Republican crocodiles move away from the president's flanks with amazing alacrity.
12
Look at the latest job figures, and you will understand.
@Edward
Job figures, Obama left office 4.7 trump is 3.8
So what you are presenting idea , Job creation is doubled even tripled like.
The performance of economy same.
You are anot even acknowledging auto industry's troubles at this moment.
2
@Edward - "Look at the latest job figures, and you will understand."
Look at the graph of jobs created in the US since 2010 and you will understand. Job figures has little to do with Trump and much to do with what President Obama put in place.
2
I think it’s time we have a serious talk about the President’s use of Twitter to disseminate demonstrably false information—lies. Because one thing his lies have in common, be they venal ones or whoppers, is that Twitter has been his medium of choice to spread disinformation. I think future generations will look back on this and wonder why we didn’t take more proactive measures against this blatant abuse. And what about Twitter’s corporate responsibility? I think we’ve reached a point where Twitter executives can’t hide behind the mantra of “free expression “, which provides cover for them to do nothing.
15
The text and the headline are not aligned. Bossert focused on the Crowdstrike role in the server and this is not the focus of the concern regarding Biden. I have yet to hear the actual support for why people wanted Shulkin out.
Show us the verification that he was corrupt and match it to Guiliani's assertion that he was not. Lets' see who has the best evidence. It is as simple as that
1
The World Monetary Fund, the European Union, the US State Department , the US Department of Defense , and the Ukrainian Parliament, all said Prosecutor Shulkin was corrupt, but Rudy says no, who do you go with?
3
@Joel Levine
The answer is simple: People wanted Viktor Shokin removed because he failed to do what he was mandated to do — root out corruption in Ukraine.
4
Uh...Trump screamed about Crowdstrike all last weekand this last weekend, is why.
And as for Shulkin, our government—and all involved European governments, and the IMF—wanted him gone because he was probably in Vlad Putin’s pocket, and was REFUSING TO INVESTIGATE corruption.
How you missed this, I’ve no idea. It’s repeated again and in the papers, it’s all over factchecks, it’s in Wikipedia. It’s on NPR even as I type. I can only assume that either you don’t want to know, or that you know perfectly well and are just trying to muddle issues.
6
When federal employees must create and/or cherrypick facts to support Trump's preconceived notions America's becoming a Banana Republic.
5
Let’s be real no one hates DJT because he’s a Republican but for who he is as a human being; liar, cheater, bully, thief etc overall dishonorable. Democrats have survived Republicans administrations before and vice versa. He’s managed to spin everything to be about him while putting our country at risk by discrediting our intelligence people whose job should be to protect us not constantly trying to convince a US president that he should listen to them and not a foreign government. And for all those conspiracy theorists and Deep Staters, you have the freedom to pursue these theories because you live a free & democratic country.
12
The integrity and security of the USA is dangerously compromised by the criminal Trump, and his co-conspirators. I propose we relocate them all to Guantanamo until all of the trials are completed.
4
" a White House aide tried to turn the tables by arguing that Trump was the real whistle-blower because he was uncovering
Democratic corruption." This sounds like KellyAnn Conway speaking with her "Alternative facts."
10
Ridiculous conspiracy theories are basically the Republican platform these days, and will continue to be until Trump is gone.
8
The problem with Hunter Biden is not that he did anything criminal in the Ukraine. How could he engage in criminal activity when he held a no-show job without any real work. The only report of any work he did was attend a weekend of drinking and gambling in Monaco as a board member.
Hunter was hired as an insurance policy - and it paid off. When his employer was being investigated Joe Biden helped lead an effort to smear the investigator. Then Joe Biden blackmailed the Ukraine government into firing the investigator. That was the reason Hunter Biden was hired. He was an insurance policy to protect them in the event of government investigations into corruption.
That type of corruption is common. Federal investigators in Chicago are now looking into such corruption in city government. No wonder President Obama was willing to look the other way when such corruption occurred in his administration. This is a common scam for organized crime.
What is amazing is how many “reporters” see nothing wrong with this.
1
@DanC
Reporters see nothing wrong with Joe Biden's action because it reflected what basically all of the EU and other world allies wanted and expressed, as well as reflecting US policy. Everyone wanted this guy gone and chose Biden as the spokesman for his credibility.
4
@DanC You're just repeating the conspiracy theory about Biden that this story says is debunked. What's your source for your information?
6
What a load, Prosecutor Shulkin was removed because he refused to investigate corruption. the European Union, the Ukrainian Parliament, the USState Department, The US Department of Defense, all wanted him out. After he was removed the next Prosecutor did investigate, HunterBiden’s Company and found no wrongdoing (he has reiterated this recently). So Biden had a Prosecutor who wasn’t investigating his kid removed, and replaced with one who did investigate the company. Not exactly a Trumpy move.
6
It is ABSURD that we are in this situation. We have a crook in the White House and an impotent Republican Party, which cannot do the right thing even when they’re given the opportunity. The only leadership going on in DC right now is in the House of Representatives. Getting rid of Trump should be a bipartisan effort. I pray that the American people wake up to their responsibility and insist that this president be held accountable for his despicable behavior.
8
Guiliani assumes his spinning the Ukraine story will work for him since he has successfully spun major stories in the past - a major example would be how on 9/11 he was called "america's mayor"
despite the fact that firefighters in the north tower didn't hear the orders to evacuate because they were using poorly functioning firefighter radios that Guiliani forced on the city in a no bid contract with Motorola. Nothing is beneath him.
7
When do prosecutors go for Giuliani? It feels like that Giuliani is behind if not all but at least the worst of Trumps wrong doing.
Giuliani is criminal. And belongs to prison.
4
When the President wants to charge his critics with treason, including members of Congress, we are in the greatest crisis and danger since 1861.
9
This is what happens when we elect a completely unqualified time share salesman to the highest office in the land.
11
"Trump Was Repeatedly Warned That Ukraine Conspiracy Theory Was ‘Completely Debunked’.............
Talking to
"don't confuse me with the facts" Trump
or
talking to the wall --
SAME THING
7
One suggestion for Trump supporters: Take everything we know about attempts to gain intervention in U.S. politics by President Trump, and just imagine for a moment if Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama had done the exact same thing. If President Obama had sent his private attorney to meet with foreign officials, outside the established lines of diplomacy? Withheld foreign aid without the authority to do so, in order to obtain political dirt and advance his chances in an American election? Publicly work to gain favor with Putin? And ask yourself, honestly - if President Obama had done those exact same things, would you still believe it was not a violation of American people's trust in the Presidency?
14
I have a family member who has the same problem as Trump of not taking advice from a reliable source. This member is 77 years old who's only income comes from Social Security and cannot afford to pay for Medicare Plan B medical coverage.
This member has refused to re-enroll into a government program that gave her Medicaid coverage which paid her Medicare Plan B medical coverage. Social Security then deducted almost $200 from her very small monthly income to continue her Medicare Plan B coverage.
The reason the member refused re-enrollment was because had a bad run in with a government Social Worker. She was advised to re-enroll into the program so that Social Security would cancel the deduct, otherwise, she would clearly have big financial problems.
She refused this advice because she did accept that Medicaid was paying for her Medicare Plan B. It is very well known within our very large extended family that this member has mental problems. Everything is always about her including blaming others when she makes a mistake.
Experiencing this first hand, I can state Trump is never going to change his M.O. Unless Trump resigns, he is going to be driving most sane people nuts until January 20, 2021.
6
Trump deals from his own set of "facts" that have no basis in reality. His enormous ego will not allow him to admit that the Russians interfered in the election on his behalf. The man is not well in the normal sense.
9
This is really beginning to scare me. I do envision a civil war, and the anti Trumpers haven’t been buying guns like bon bons, like the pro Trumpers have. I listened to FOX yesterday and felt like I was listening to a broadcast from Mars. We are a very divided country. I’m not sure anything will join us.
5
One little question: how come the CIA’s whistle blowing requirement for first-hand, direct knowledge of the subject matter was changed just before the complaint was filed? Adam Schiff is saying that he wants the whistleblower to appear before the committee, but what can he testify to? He himself has no direct knowledge of anything. He could inform the committee of the identity of the “multiple US officials,” or are they now protected, too? In other words the hearing is a sham. Final question: what about Adam Schiff? What role did he play in setting this whole thing up?
@Edward The most important first-hand source, the president of the United States, has admitted the truth of the whistleblower's information. I don't know why the present thinks the transcript he released is exculpatory. I sure don't. As for Adam Schiff's role in all this, listen to Admiral McRae's testimony. A letter was sent to Schiff by a Trump appointed Inspector General informing Schiff of the existence of the whistleblower report.
11
One little answer:
A conspiratorial article in The Federalist falsely claiming that until recently, intelligence community whistleblowers were required to have “firsthand knowledge” of wrongdoing to file a complaint is being used by other conservative media outlets, Republican members of Congress, and the president himself in desperate attempts to discredit a whistleblower complaint that is at the heart of an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
4
I suspect the Trump just wanted for Ukraine to make something up to implicate the Biden's is a shady deal. Then he could go with that. He did not care whether any of what Ukraine came up with was true just that they would say something negative about Biden.
10
It is clear Trump needs Ukraine to be responsible as he is collaborating with Putin for reasons already known through the Steele dossier - while even more corrupt background will have to be uncovered in the coming years. Putin wants Ukraine and the USA’s still existing democratic remains are backing Ukraine against Russia, so Trump needs Ukraine to be his scapegoat in order to both please Putin as well as his own nationalist agenda.
Frantic Trump supporters will back any narrative that will exonerate him. Giuliani will be taken down first: but be sure he is smarter than any of his predecessors and will be meticulously prepared for such a case. The mud fight has only just begun.
3
Ah, I see that the “deep state” has entered the stage once again. This time, it’s the nefarious troll, Stephen Miller, who’s the message bearer. If there is such a thing as the deep state, I d expect Miller to be one of its leaders.
In this “Alice in Wonderland”, aka. The Trump Administration, I expect at some point to see them stating that aliens from Planet 9 are also involved.
9
Trump has been unfit for the Presidency since his election and in spite of the Ukraine revelations and countless other allegations, Trump continues to lie just as he has since being elected. What troubles me more than Trump, his behavior and lies is the complicit GOP. The GOP have illustrated their allegiance is to themselves and not the country many times over. There is clear and present danger with Trump in office and the GOP continues to support Trump’s outrageous behavior towards our Democracy, people and country like it was an afternoon walk in the park.
755
@A.A.F.
"What troubles me more than Trump, his behavior and lies is the complicit GOP. The GOP have illustrated their allegiance is to themselves and not the country many times over. There is clear and present danger with Trump in office and the GOP continues to support Trump’s outrageous behavior towards our Democracy. . ."
Thank you.
That paragraph sharply and briskly says it all.
As long as those around Trump continue to support him in either their silence or spoken delusional comments, he will continue to do what he does. Frankly, the GOP is WORSE than Trump because they are using him to enrich their own personal lives and agendas. They finally found someone they can manipulate, all under the guise of what's best for this country.
60
@A.A.F.
I respectfully state that Trump has been unfit for the Presidency since he first drew breath. He was never the "man" for the job.
36
@Susan
I respectfully state that the 'merican system is unfit to manage a country, to elect a fit person to handle the affairs of state.
9
Trump and Giuliani: two deeply insecure men whose need for the limelight borders on pathological. Giuliani, Trump's Iago, knows just how to push his client's buttons by feeding his appetite for conspiracy theories, his persecution complex, his vanity, which blinds him to the fact that his election will be forever tainted by Russia's interference. But I'd wager that Giuliani will lose his place in the sun in a matter of weeks, if not days - or as long as it takes for his boss to realize that his consigliere's whispers have landed him in a deep, deep hole.
520
@Charles Michener, Giuliani as Iago? Really? There is NO way Trump is Othello, or any Shakespearean hero, or any hero of any kind. He is as evil, villianous and culpable as they come.
34
@Charles Michener At his age, we should be able to assume our "stable genius" is an adult capable of thinking on his own. But each one of the ridiculous conspiracy theories he promotes indicates otherwise. Even if Guliani and others promote these theories, its the president's responsibility to accept or reject.
24
@Charles Michener
I cannot understand why Giuliani has not been disbarred. Anybody know why?
23
One characteristic of people who believe in conspiracies all over the place is that they are impervious to facts which go counter to that belief. The idea that Ukraine and not Russia interfered in the election appeals to Mr. Trump in several ways. It absolves an authoritarian leader he admires, lets him believe that his friend Putin is telling him the truth, and, most important to his fragile ego, suggests that people tried to rig the election in favor of Hillary, but that he STILL won (because he is so very wonderful). The idea also supports his long-running sense of victimhood, i.e., all kinds of evil forces out to get him, yet still he prevails.
1222
@Anne-Marie Hislop
Great summary of what is going on here. Sometimes his craziness seems so hard to fathom. But why do so many around him protect him? It’s the ultimate corruption of power—they want to keep their power even when they must surely see what’s going on. That is even harder to fathom.
104
@Anne-Marie Hislop There ARE forces out to get Trump, but they are the forces of decency and justice. And they will prevail. Trump will die in a prison cell.
92
@William Burgess Leavenworth I sure hope so.
49
Bossert is still defending Trump in a backwards sort of way. He's using a variation of "no quid pro quo."
"...far from proven is whether he was doing anything to abuse his power and withhold aid in order to solicit such a thing."
Effectively, Bossert is still arguing Trump didn't commit an impeachable offense if he wasn't bargaining for something in return. Neither the law nor the facts support this reasoning. However, Bossert isn't the first person to make the argument.
What is new is the conspiracy theory tact. This is an intelligent variation on "Even if it was a crime, it wouldn't have mattered anyway." Ukraine didn't hack the DNC. The President therefore couldn't have illegally coerced Ukraine over make believe. Even if there was a "quid," there was no "quo."
Granted, Bossert sounds a lot more intelligent than Lindsey Graham and Stephen Miller. However, the substance of his arguments are still insufficient. Did or did not President Trump pressure a foreign leader for election assistance? Not surprisingly, the answer is "yes." That qualifies as an impeachable offense.
370
@Andy Exactly - this isn't a make believe crime just because the President had a delusional belief. And it's hardly reassuring that "the president just fell for a cockamamie conspiracy theory folks." Oh, ok. So what other cockamamie things does he believe that endanger our country despite all of his advisers telling him otherwise? Little things like "Global warming isn't happening?"
25
@Andy Yes, exactly. But the long slow degradation of our notions of what is permissible, or at least unexceptional, by this president has slowly lowered the bar of what crimes Republicans consider "impeachable". Just ponder for a minute what they would be saying if the same thing were known about any Democrat....think of the now-quaint Clinton email server controversy for example!
4
@Andy Actually, it is important to parse this very carefully and compartmentalize.
Bossert is clearly saying that asking Ukraine to investigate Biden is deeply disturbing. This alone clearly should be investigated and put to vote as an impeachable offense.
Bossert is giving Trump some leeway -- in the transcript quid pro quo is implied but not spelled out. Perhaps this too will be proven during the investigations and put to vote.
The point is that the former is clearer than the latter.
1
Congratulations to Chris Wallace for his handling of Mr Miller. Mr Wallace's questions were clear and to the point underscoring the evasiveness and hysteria of Mr Miller and the White House spinners. There were no talking heads propounding spidery arguments spun out of thin air.
This was solid journalism and a moment Edward R Murrow would have been proud of.
449
@Dave
You have to wonder why Chris Wallace , who is capable of doing good work, is on that channel.
It's a stain on his journalist credentials that will never go away.
And they used to criticize his dad for hosting game shows in the 1950s....
32
@Dave His dad, Mike Wallace, undoubtedly would have been proud of him as well. Stellar journalist.
18
@Baba
What I really wonder about is how broadcast networks using publicly owned air waves (not cable) are able to get away with doing no documentary programming with few exceptions since the Vietnam War.
4