Balderdash! No oversight of the executive? We fought a bloody war in 1775 to shed ourselves of a no oversight executive. Now trump and repubs want us to believe the replacement system we immediately created does the same thing? What kind of fools do they take us for?
20
Quick question: What would happen to me if I ignored a subpoena from Congres? Just askin' ...
10
You really do wonder whether Trump believes history is going to paint him as anything better than the absolute worst president in US history. Does he believe his own hype? Or is he melting down because he knows the jig’s almost up?
7
To quote"Heraclitus" in 500 BC,
" The unapparent connection is more powerful
than than apparent one."
5
Why are the Democrats not calling on the Sergeant at arms of the house to go out and haul these subpoena dodging Trump fascists in for testimony?
24
Democrats, keep pressure on the criminality of 45. His behavior since before his win has not changed since his win. it is about money and the power to change actions and behaviors to favor him. it is not diplomacy. it is bribery. it favors him and his brand not America and Americans. Devin No-News, in his prologue, said the Democrats were at blame. No-News, you inept Sith Lord, you forgot about the American public. You know, the citizens who have been protesting since his election. You know, the ones who created Baby Blimp 45. You know, the ones who shout "Impeach him".
7
#45 is a liar. An habitual liar. Always has been, always will be. Since he is not a lawyer and actually uses lawyers to do his dirty work, I doubt he is schooled in, or cares about the Constitution or the powers or restrictions of the executive branch.
I never thought after Obama we would have a 'president' like this guy, much less have the Republicans support and stand by such a flagrant misogynistic, con man who seems to care only about power and money. He must be lining the Republican's pockets.
Too bad the climate crisis will roll over just about everyone, including the very rich.
14
What really is worrisome is the US voters who do not read, listen to Rupert Maddock's Fox News report one half the news and have little interest in real events. I wonder what is Rupert Maddock's motivation in working to destroy our democracy? He supported a huge tax cut to the riches families in America causing an annual treasury deficit of one trillion dollars. He supports a President who steals from our own treasury every day.
13
IMHO the should send Marshalls to the private homes of all of those who have ignored the subpoenas, make them do a perp walk and book them into the jail in the basement of the Congress. They could start with Bill Barr, Rudy Baby, Mick Mulvaney and see what happens. This crew is rotten from top to bottom. Get rid of all of them.
18
All hearsay today by most accounts. Is the left embarrassed yet?
Re: '...We are hearing what we are hearing only because brave government officials, including people in Mr. Trump’s White House, have defied the president’s orders..."
This paragraph / the last 4 words in it should be the basis for a separate impeachment article!
Who died and let this Usurper_President decide who does / doesn't testify in ANY investigation...let, alone an investigation into this traitor, himself??
8
For anyone actually interested in the truth, the testimony to date & the fact that Trump will not allow key witnesses to testify should be proof enough of his guilt.
18
Watching the Congressional hearings today the thought kept coming back to me that there is a lot more that is not known. The one major form of the unknown consists of the day to day activities of the Trump White House that have not been leaked or reported by outraged aides and other officials. The other possibility is that Trump knows the Russians threw the election to him and the Ukraine operation was a bold attempt to change the subject. This would be the ultimate big deal.
The latter potential is made more likely by the Republican claim that it was really Ukraine all along that interfered with the 2016 elections. This is silly. So, too, is the claim that the Democratic National Committee server was physically located in Ukraine.
The Democrats will keep probing and the potential for a real bomb shell. earthshaking development remains, just over the next hill perhaps.
The basis to impeach Trump was readily apparent before the Ukraine mess popped up. If one assumes there is some strategy and maybe even some intelligence at work, it is fair to ask if Trump and the Trumpsters are using all of this as a diversion, shifting the subject to a blatant but still weak issue, drawing the Democratic out on a limb. It is not impossible.
If that were the case, they would be assuming that the impeachment might guarantee another term. Unfortunately, then the whole impeachment wold have to start all over again as long as the Dems control at least the House.
2
Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi SHOULD USE ALL the remedies that the Constitution provides to COMPEL these White House “officials” who are DEFYING their subpoenas To TESTIFY or GO straight to JAIL!
Why should they be allowed to get AWAY with defying subpoenas when I, a regular American Voter cannot?
11
Everything Katyal writes is true. Democrats should get more aggressive with compelling the Trump administration to testify. Everyone who's been deposed hides behind executive privilege so they don't have to take responsibility for their obfuscations. If this is the most transparent presidency ever, according to Trump, and the Ukraine call was "perfect," why won't anyone who was actually on the call testify under oath?
4
retired federal attorney F/71
In the spinning circles of rage and reason, fact and fiction, Neal Katyal, Esq., our former Solicitor General, always all ways nails the bottom line. Here he marries facts to law and concludes: all attempts by any president "to hide the truth is itself a grave wrong" and blocking Congress' constitutionally-mandated investigation and report to the people is an "impeachable offense."
I agree. This is our now moment. This Congress' answer to one question sets our future pathways long after I'm gone: is one man, the one now in The White House, above the law? While his allies and enablers are in prison.
12
Guilty of obstruction of justice. PERIOD
8
Over the past few years I have paid more attention to American politics than I ever have and what I has surprised me is that an American president has way too much power. Initially I heard over and over ‘don't worry, we have checks and balances and coequal branches of government’. I keep waiting for these to kick in; however I fear these were put in place assuming the president of the United States would not be a narcissistic amoral conman who gleefully disses his oath of office at every turn.
11
This is the only question you have to ask the republicans:
If a Democrat President did this would you have voted to impeach?
I think we all know the answer to that don't we.
7
While obstruction to lawful investigation is sometimes subtle I am convinced 45 has repeatedly crossed the line by illegally/immorally obstructing legitimate investigations. We will surely see future democrats mirror the immoral behavior of current republican enablers by obstructing future investigations on a democratic president. The right will scream like stuck pigs but demos will hopefully ignore their hypocrisy.
3
Simple question...
If Trump was so concerned about “Ukrainian corruption”, why authorize aid in 2017 and 2018 then wait til AFTER Biden announced his candidacy to withhold aid dependent on investigations specifically focused on Burisma?
9
Re: "...The president’s efforts to prevent the House from doing its job are just as worrisome as the Ukraine scandal..."
I've seen Mr. Katyal on many tv programs by now, and if some Republican were ever to display the moral integrity Mr. Katyal (routinely) displays, via various news programs...
I'd consider voting for a Republican for the 1st time in my 44+ years of voting!!
I want to see the dems impeach Trump but more important keep him from re election so he can face the multiple fed-state-local charges awaiting him in Jan 2021.
This is a wake up call. I thank him for being so blatant, so uninterested in understanding, so insecure that he hires and fires people over loyalty, not excellence. For seeing the presidency as one more way to enrich himself.
We need major restructuring of government.
(1) term limits for congress - 3 - 4 yr terms.
(2) ditto for judges - even sc - 16 or 20 yrs.
(3) electoral votes awarded in proportion to popular vote
to avoid constitutional amendment, states could 'decide'
as some do now ... smaller states who fear
being 'underrepresented' ... the senate takes care of that.
(4) vastly reduced # of lobbyists - only when specific
expertise is required - the way it was originally.
(5) public funding of elections.
This is unrealistic and will not happen quickly but anything less is tinkering ... Now, congress people establish long term relationships of dependence ... this generates long term resentment so too much legislation is merely 'gotcha' or 'you did this, I'll do that' ... Another issue is certain legislation helps one area at the expense of another, creating resentment ... we need to accept differences and trust there will be other legislation for everybody.
Yes, this is unrealistic, even idealistic.
So was The Declaration of Independence.
12
Our constitutional checks and balances are short-circuited and our republic’s days are numbered unless there is change. Just because this nation has emerged from past crises does not mean it is destined to get through this one or any future one. This crisis won’t resolve itself.
It is time to make a choice and take a stand. Trumpism must be repudiated, and Republicans must be defeated so resoundingly as to go the way of the Whigs and Know-Nothings. Nothing less than the future of the American republic and liberal democracy is at stake.
5
Gathering and sharing evidence is part of any trial and this is a trial.
Neither side -the government in this case the House or the defendant in this case the president— gets to decide what to turn in and share.
To a non lawyer, this is simply obstruction of justice.
8
It is way past time for the courts to weigh in on the "privilege" of not testifying as called. This administration needs to be held to account. Some people forget that the president is OUR employee.
6
This is obstruction of Congress. By the time the House votes, I expect it will be included in the articles of impeachment.
8
We need to codify limitations on executive powers, and force our presidents to obey the rule of law. Obviously, the honor system does not work on presidents who have no honor.
11
I beg to disagree. The threat to our democracy is from the progressive liberal Democrats.
They have promised impeachment of Trump since before Trump was sworn into office. They have claimed each time, that this time we have the evidence, only to fall short. The progressive liberal Democrats were running out of time, so they created this new "event" on which to base their promised "impeachment".
The progressive liberal Democrats has tried to prevent Trump from administering and carrying out his responsibilities as the duly elected President of the United States.
All the progressive liberal Democrat federal judges refusing to do their jobs, but rather rule against the President's actions, particularly when they were within his discretionary powers, just to undermine his administration.
In this current impeachment process, the progressive liberal Democrats are not calling the so-called "whistleblower" to testify, even though Pelosi and Shitf kept saying how important he was to their case against Trump. At least the progressive liberal Democrats are making the hearing public finally, although they are not allowing unfettered cross examination, or the calling of witnesses that refute the progressive liberal Democrats case.
Clearly, the progressive liberal Democrats are the biggest threat to our democracy, not the Trump administration. Are the progressive liberal Democrats going to continue impeachment for the next four years once Trump is reelected?
7
@Steve Baker
I was unaware the progressive liberal Democrats,
were responsible for the following.
The US trade war with China,
Pulling the US out of the Paris Climate Accord.
Withdrawing the US from an international nuclear deal with Iran that was working as intended.
Weakening both consumer and environmental protection. Pushing the budget deficit to close to $1000 billion in 2019 from $585 billion in 2016.
Attacking long term allies who spilled blood fighting US wars of choice.
Backing Putin over the CIA in regards to Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The high turnover of staff in the Trump administration.
I appreciate your blaming progressive liberal Democrats as I was unaware of the damage they are doing to the US.
48
Right on!!
9
@Steve Baker Spin it till you’re dizzy Steve, but your boy is Still guilty of bribery and obstruction.
41
'Mr. Trump’s stonewalling is a grave problem because it means there is no way to police executive branch wrongdoing.'
You'd think this would mean something to conservatives, being all patriotic. I mean, my granddaughter is thinking about which Democratic candidate to vote for; trump will not be president for life.
Republicans, are you incapable of even imagining another person as president after trump? President whoever (Michelle Obama maybe?) will refuse to follow the law, refuse to turn over documents, answer questions or even allow any other private or public citizen to answer questions!!
That wouldn't fly with republicans, and it shouldn't. But when the president is trump, suddenly it's like the playground bully they used to envy has become the school principal! They have permission to do their vandalous worst (I'll pardon all of you!) and they just chose to do that instead of defending the larger concept of their school.
One lie to Congress, about consensual sex, was enough for republicans to impeach a president with malice. He sat through all humiliating testimony, turned over many thousands of docs, and you all howled for his blood. Now, after stonewalling and refusing to obey the law, trump's defenders here are reduced to hoarsely croaking 'Biden.....'
Hypocrites and betrayers of the constitution. In favor of Putin/trump power ploy.
341
@deb Don’t think for a minute that the hypocritical party which resorts to gerrymandering, scrubs of voter lists and under supplying polling areas with the apparatus to vote — all in a nationwide effort to depress the votes of Democrats will stop in 2020. The dirty tricks that destroyed the vote in Bolivia this week will make their appearance here as well in 2020, along with Internet bogus tales and all the undermining of confidence in the vote that it is possible to create.
The only sure way to be free of Trump is to impeach, convict and remove him from office. I have zero hope that Republicans will adhere to truth and no belief in their desire to deliver on their oaths office to defend the US and the Constitution from threats external or internal.
Everything we see from Right Wing “Conservatives” in the Congress and on the Supreme Court indicates that they value power and control over truth and individual freedom.
Don’t think that this democracy is immune from becoming a tyranny of one — one man and one Party.
57
@deb Extraordinarily said! Amen. So shameful that republicans have decided to take such a lawless path.
37
@deb
I disagree with your third paragraph -- Michelle Obama has more class and integrity than that.
26
Why aren't they going after those who refuse to appear or submit requested documents? If they were able to threaten jail time for those would not cooperate during Watergate, why not do it now?
The same can be said for the Mueller investigation. How is that people can simply refuse to cooperate? The bad precedent set then is being applied again. It should never have happened.
Under these circumstances, it is no wonder they can openly refuse. No one is coming after them.
11
My brief survey of these comments suggests that almost every commentator thinks that the President is guilty. One of the most important things that I have learned as a lawyer is that the presumption of innocence is designed not only to protect the accused but also to protect the rest of us from making premature judgments.
1
Are you a litigator? You conduct discovery, obtain documents, and take depositions of witnesses. We have seen texts and emails, we have deposition transcripts, and we have heard admissions from Trump, Giuliani, and Mulvaney! It is disingenuous to suggest that the public has not heard evidence. Trump should be impeached and removed from office. His partisan enablers and toadies should be voted out of office. All good and decent citizens should strive to cleanse this stain from the body politic.
4
Are you equally concerned that some GOP senators, who will be part of the jury at the senate impeachment trial, have publicly announced that they've made up their minds that trump is innocent, and no amount of evidence will change their minda?
Republicans keep whining about due process. Under that rubric, a substantial number of the members of the GOP jury pool should be disqualified.
4
No question that this guy is profoundly corrupt, self-serving, a chronic liar and malignant obstructionist.
That said, here's a devil's advocate question (and I am **not** defending this diablo), but is it possible that *some* of his blocking of info, documents, and testimony is less about what he's hiding and more about adhering to a mob-boss stance of "dis ain't no body's bizness but my own (and i aks for toadal respect and loyalty)"?
Just wondering.
2
Sure, but that strikes me as a difference without a distinction. Either way, it is impeachable obstruction.
1
"What kind of system would permit an impeachment investigation to proceed without hearing what Mr. Bolton has to say because the target of the inquiry orders his silence? How could a system that allows the subject of an investigation to block all the witnesses from testifying be consistent with the rule of law?"
That is really a key point and an apparent failing (at the moment) in our system. Congress is given this power and duty, yet the president supposedly can simply prevent relevant witnesses from testifying about facts relevant to the crime or abuse of power in question. Since Congress no longer wishes to use inherent contempt, probably from fear of abuse in the future, what's left but lengthy court hearings, which take so long as to effectively work on behalf of the president.
Such testimony should be settled law. If a president wishes to claim executive privilege related to certain sensitive matters other than the issue under investigation, I fail to see why the witness cannot be granted permission to not discuss those sensitive parts but then must discuss the relevant parts. If they are so tightly interwound, then potential abuse of power or a crime should supersede the other matters. Closed-door hearings on such interwound topics could be held to get around that.
If we do not fix this system, then Congress has no real power of oversight if most witnesses choose not to comply.
9
Why is Trump working so hard to block government officials from testifying on the House impeachment inquiry? Why is he working so hard to keep his tax returns from being seen? Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!
10
The Democrats seized on Ukraine for impeachment because it is a dramatic example of a president who believes there are no limits to what he can do or try to do and who is largely, provable ignorant of the Constitution, laws and the limitations of presidential power.
Why is Trump resisting efforts to find the truth if he believes he did no wrong? Of course, that has been the way he has operated throughout his presidency and reflects his way of life for decades prior. Always sue others, or countersue, always deny having done anything wrong and blame everyone else for problems. Standard procedure.
Watching the Congressional hearings today the thought kept coming back to me that there is a lot more that is not known. The one major form of the unknown consists of the day to day activities of the Trump White House that have not been leaked or reported by outraged aides and other officials. The other possibility is that Trump knows the Russians threw the election to him and the Ukraine operation was a bold attempt to change the subject. This would be the ultimate big deal.
The latter potential is made more likely by the Republican claim that it was really Ukraine all along that interfered with the 2016 elections. This is silly. So, too, is the claim that the Democratic National Committee server was physically located in Ukraine.
The Democrats will keep probing and the potential for a real bomb shell. earthshaking development remains, just over the next hill perhaps.
8
Of all the astounding developments coming out of the House impeachment hearings, I'm pleased to note that there is no hyphen-gate nomenclature attached to these particular presidential shenanigans.
3
it's the self-help/i'm above the law contempt of congress/obstruction that is equally impeachable. even Nixon didn't pull that S
4
maybe they will start teaching civics seriously again in our schools.
7
Just watched the hearing. I think Jim Jordan’s inability to adequately answer questions from the press after the hearing did more to convince the public of Trump’s guilt than the hearing did.
7
So, again, it comes down to strategy, and the perceived inability of he Senate to convict. Strategically, threatening to jail those who defy subpoenas opens up yet another drawn out distraction, and, after all, the result of those forced to testify under threat of jail (Bolton, Pompeo, et al), while potentially "enlightening", would only, in sum, result in a separate article of impeachment: contempt of Congress. No matter how many articles are in the final impeachment document, the trial in the Senate would still, most likely, fail to result in a conviction (and removal from office). Then what? We're back to the RNC convention, and the November, 2020 election.
BRIBERY is specifically listed in the definition of impeachable offenses, in the Constitution. There should be no reasonable doubt that the "president" was engaged in bribery and extortion of Zelensky, to affect the 2020 election. A more clearly defined impeachable offense would be hard to imagine (although 5th Avenue comes to mind).
The strategy of expecting the SCOTUS to resolve this crisis is very weak, as the clock is running, and the conventions and election are VERY near. Our Constitution may not survive this president, not in any form we would recognize.
7
When will the privileged be held accountable to the same standards we all would. If any of us tried to ignore a subpoena, we would expect to quickly find ourselves locked up in prison. No one is above the law unless we are applying a different set of laws to the privileged than to the commoners.
Sadly it seems we are treating some humans different than others in the eyes of the law and the GOP leadership seems to be okay with it.
How can anyone construe that the GOP represents the people if it is fine with privileged people violating the law where it would have no issue sending a commoner to jail for the rest of their life in a heartbeat for acting the same?
7
I looked up the law on ignoring not just any subpoena but a congressional subpoena. "The criminal offense of "contempt of Congress" sets the penalty at not less than one month nor more than twelve months in jail and a fine of not more than $100,000 or less than $100."
14
I agree. Those who fail to appear who have been subpoenaed should be jailed. The impeachment process can only work when the Congress can hear from the witnesses it calls. If the President tries to prevent witnesses from telling the truth about his actions, that should be additional proof of wrongdoing. Innocent men do not fear the truth, they welcome it!
9
Schiff looks like a young sensitive deer and very aware he is on camera. Why would anyone pick someone who is not a fighter for his job? What was Nancy really thinking. Do the corporate Dems love to lose? Why are they so weak when they have strong case? Maybe they do not want to win the election after all, maybe they are paid by their donors to be losers. They should put in jail all those who ignore the subpoenas. No wonder the two of the top candidates in the polls are non corrupt real fighters Bernie and Warren. America is sick of the corrupt Dems and their barely standing up for the rule of law and constitution at times. They certainly never stand up for the middle class and poor. Let us hope that Schiff doesn't get his feelings too hurt, he looks as if he will crumple at any moment.
3
“President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has refused to testify. Secretary of Defense Mike Esper, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, have ignored congressional subpoenas related to the investigation.”
The rule of Law requires truth. To deny any public servant of the United States the ability to tell the truth before The People, a court of law, or a public proceeding based upon the law, is obstruction of justice.
The people listed above should be presented before a court of law to answer for obstruction of justice, not because they were ordered not to, but because they themselves chose not to appear. They are actively obstructing justice.
And should anyone else order another to withhold truthful information from The Public, that person also is actively obstructing justice.
10
This president is corrupt, self-dealing and incompetent, especially in foreign affairs. Therefore it is axiomatic that he will want to hide all he can from public view. He may not love his job, but he loves the power his office affords him. He doesn't want to give that up.
Republicans, especially those in office, should see through this and do the right thing, which is to remove this president. That is not a negation of the 2016 election. It is protecting our country and our democracy from a shameless demagogue.
6
One real question is why every one of the Trump syncopants who refused to comply with supoenas is not in jail. If I were to refuse to comply, they would jail me in a heartbeat - and rightly so - no US person is above the US law, and that includes the clown who occupies the position of POTUS. The alleged crimes commited by the POTUS are serious as a heartbeat and anyone that is summoned to provide the information they have about the alleged crimes must comply with the law or BE JAILED UNTIL THEY SHOW UP AND PROVIDE THE INFORMATION.
13
How about a deal with the GOP. We'll let them add their witnesses and see if they can find out why Hunter Biden was hired by Burisma. In return, they impel the President to let all the witnesses testify so they can tell the public all the "good" he was supposedly doing. GOP have indicated they think we should have witnesses with first hand knowledge. Indeed Pompeo, Mulvaney, Rick Parry should testify.
7
I know this sounds like circular logic, but Trump could and should be impeached for the way he has responded to the impeachment investigation. Obvious obstruction of Congress. Obvious witness manipulation/intimidation.
One could reasonably argue that Trump has committed so many different impeachable acts, each one sufficient to remove him from office on its own merits, that he has overwhelmed the systems designed to hold the President accountable.
Trump, with full, uncritical support from the entire Republican Party, has ignored the Constitution and trampled on every democratic norm holding our country together.
The Republican Party has literally gone rogue. They have rejected the rule of law. They are enthusiastically aiding and abetting a criminal President for the sole purpose of maintaining power. They have actively undermined public trust in our national security apparatus (FBI, Intelligence agencies) and in our justice system (DOJ). All to further their own selfish interests. I don't think many people could have imagined that something like this was even remotely possible just a few short years ago. Yet here we are.
The first step in ridding ourselves of this cancer on our society is to vote Trump and his Republican enablers out of office in the next election. If he is impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate, even better.
13
It is important to understand that if Democrats had not gained control of the House of Representatives in 2018, all of this lawlessness would not have been brought to the attention of the American people at this level.
There would have been strong coverup efforts.
10
I believe that one of the biggest reasons that Republicans continue to stand by Trump and refuse to vote to impeach him and have him removed from office is because were this to ever really happen, the long-term damage to the Republican party would be massive. The fact that the individual that they said was the best person their party had to lead this country turned out to be a criminal who truly placed his own interests above the interest of this nation would be a stain that would last a generation. Large swaths of people- who may have sometimes voted for Republican candidates in the past-would be forever suspect about who the party nominates.
6
The testimony from actual witnesses and not from Democrat politicians, has been uninspiring so far. “I heard that he heard from somebody that they heard...”. I hope Schiff has a fallback plan. His comments that corruption occurred 7 years earlier (when Obama was President) seem to indicate that if someone gets away with a crime for a few years, they shouldn’t be investigated or prosecuted. Maybe Schiff can start proceedings about Trump paying over a hundred thousand dollars to Stormy Daniels as a blackmail payment.
Please stop covering this as an issue of honest disagreement.
The President has been obstructing the legitimate impeachment investigation. The Constitution gives this power to Congress.
Call this what it is. Dangerous. An affront to our democracy. Obstructionist.
538
@Anon Don't forget to add "unconstitutional" to your call-it-what-it-is list.
12
@Billv "UNPRECEDENTED " & "UNPRESIDENTED" covers all democrat criticism of President Trump ever since he was elected; including these hearings.
Forget Military Industrial complex. Think Family Political complex.
4
@Anon
They say that Republicans and Democrats need to work in a bipartisan manner. I’m not sure how to do that when one side wants to preserve the Democratic Republic set forth by the founding fathers, and the other side demands a Russian style Oligarchy. Common ground might be hard to find.
36
As mentioned what does Trump have to fear since Democrats do not have anywhere near the 67 needed to impeach Trump. It will have to overwhelming evidence to convict. Maybe that is what Trump is afraid of.
As a side issue for the 2020 election, the Supreme Court already has been compromised with two nominees that passed the Senate by 54-45 for Neil Gorsuch, and 50-48 for Brett Kavanaugh. If Trump is reelected in 2020 the Court will be so far skewed to the right it could take decades to undo the damage.
5
Can anyone answer my query: The actual transcript of Trump’s call w/Zelensky was hurriedly hushed up by his staff by placing it on a server reserved for ultra-top secret matters. They then released a carefully edited ‘summary’ of the call — and keep referring to it as ‘the transcript’. WHY isn’t the inquiry DEMANDING that the actual transcript be released?! That call is the smoking gun that the American public will understand! The actual transcript is the equivalent of the WH tapes that clearly demonstrated Nixon’s guilt. Is there a legal and/or strategic reason Dems have not pursued release of the actual transcript? This is a sincere question: is there a good reason Dems have failed to demand the ACTUAL transcript be released? Would appreciate a knowledgeable response, thanks.
11
The classified “document/transcript” is I assume a taped phone conversation between
The two presidents- Trump and Zelensky. I wonder if incriminating minutes have been or will be
bleeped!
3
@PetesieNC
Trump would resist any effort to release a real transcript all the way to the USSCT, of course. It would take too much time. If it is exculpatory. wouldn't Trump release it to put an end to this?
2
Trump's orders that people should ignore subpoenas is sufficient grounds for impeachment.
9
Sort of makes the House Republicans' dramatic indignation about not having their sham witnesses seated for the hearings seem a little hypocritical, doesn't it? I'd feign surprise at the hypocrisy but it is Republicanism 101 these days.
4
Trump knows that if his staff testifies, the truth will come out that all roads lead to Putin. Impeach for treason or else the impeachment will not result in removal.
5
Arrest anyone who refuses to testify. Problem solved.
4
A scam artist is ever fearful of intelligent, thoughtful and competent people who know what they are doing. Trump is nothing more than the scam artist in chief- and he's too dangerous to allow to continue
5
I still think that what Trump and his thugs are hiding can be easily found in his tax returns Russian criminals, organized criminal gangs, Deutsche Bank deals, offshore stashes, bribes and much more I am sure. So, once again, for the record, the question so many have asked so often from the start of this disgusting infestation: when will his tax returns see the light of day?
5
And why aren't aren't Pompeo, Perry, Esper and especially Rudy Giuliani languishing in jail? And for the matter of that, why isn't Barr there right along with the rest of them?
Trump can't get what he want's because the pitches fits, screams and pouts. Do what any good parent would do: If one can't spank him, give Trump a presidential timeout for the rest of his sorry life.
11
The bizzare thing is that Trump's 'digging for dirt' is at best, just filled with a few pretty rocks. Yeah, I suppose if you can demonstrate that Bidden's adult son did something somewhere looks bad for Bidden, but it doesn't show candidate Bidden doing anything wrong.
At worse, what Hunter Bidden did doesn't look good. There is zero evidence of actual wrong-doing which Trump is on tape doing. and Hunter isn't running for President. His father is.
There is no evidence of Joe Bidden even being remotely involved.
If you are going to engage in extortion and bribery, do so for the goods on an actual political opponent. Doing so for dirt, especially questionable, pretty weak-sauce dirt, on the opponent's adult son is hardly worth it..... In fact, it looks downright dumb.....
You can't tell me Trump isn't regretting doing all this overt illegal stuff, HIMSELF, nonetheless, not a close lacky, but himself, and for so very little.....
.
1
And yet there is no practically effective way to compel testimony.
Filing a lawsuit to ask a federal judge to order compliance is time-consuming. Appeals cause even more delay. Even if a subpoena is upheld and a court orders compliance, the House of Representatives would have to depend on the Justice Department to enforce the order.
The US Attorney in DC is certainly not going to prosecute any administration official for contempt of Congress, even if the statute says she is supposed to do so. Barr would never allow it.
The administration is unmoveable with the power of the purse. Trump can sign the appropriations bills or not and has said he will shut down the government rather than cooperate with the inquiry.
The House's inherent contempt power, which could theoretically allow the arrest of a contemptuous witness by the Sergeant at Arms and detention in the Capitol jail cell, has not been used in a century. And what if the witness filed for a Writ of Habeas Corpus? Then we're back to scenario one.
The House and its committees can assume the recalcitrant witness' testimony unhelpful to the President, but that won't likely be too persuasive either to the Senate or to the public.
Finally, the House can include contempt of Congress or obstruction of the impeachment inquiry in any articles of impeachment adopted. However, that won't end up with the American people or members of Congress receiving the information they need.
I'm not sure what the answer is.
3
If there is not an effective mechanism to hold the president accountable, we have paved the way for an authoritarian or dictator to rule this country. This is exactly what the founders were trying to prevent by creating the process of impeachment. The lock step behavior of the republicans and their disinterest to even feign objective engagement is frightening. If this impeachment fails and the president gets another term, I truly fear for the future of this country. Many of us have been patient in our hope that the constitution would ultimately be a safeguard, but we are rapidly losing confidence that the rule of law and justice will prevail.
10
I'd like to know why when just listening to the proceeding, the Republicans don't ask any real questions, but just make outlandish accusations and fabricate another reality. This isn't about anything but upholding the Constitution. If the democratic majority hadn't brought this to this point, I say we should have thrown every last one out of office. And if the Senate can't bring itself to see this for what it is, the same thing goes.
Why should we allow Trump to go further than we allowed Nixon? When in fact we've already done that. Does he have to shoot someone on the White House lawn? I'm glad one of the previous commentors was a Republican that can see this. This is not about party, this is about the Constitution and reality.
8
@Nowa Crosby: I don't see any Republican on that panel I think worthy of consent to govern a dog kennel.
3
Republicans have the gaul to criticize that the witnesses with direct communication to the President are not here. It's not a case where there are no witnesses but that the witnesses that Congress sent subpoenas to have refused to do so. It is outrageous to allow these witnesses to hide. If there is no case as the Republicans are trying to make then get all the witnesses there to tell their story instead of suppressing their testimony. If this is such an overreaction then why are they hiding so much?
11
"But the Senate Select Watergate Committee held firm and insisted on the witnesses appearing, going so far as to say it would jail any witness who invoked executive privilege." Why is this not being done now? Allowing a subpoened witness to decline to testify or provide subpoened documents is beyond comprehension.
16
The GOP hyper partisanship and willingness to condone executive imperialism is the death knell of the Republic. By enabling Trump to defy Congressional oversight the last barrier to imperial dictatorship is being removed before our eyes. Trump isn't going to be the US dictator solely due to being too incompetent to effectively seize power. However the institutional barrier to dictatorship is removed by Trump placing himself above the law and not being removed for doing so.
11
@Federalist
I think this is the biggest take home. Trump as most will last 5 more years. But the precedents set forth the Trump administration and enabled by the GOP will allows for a far greater autocrat to take over -- be it a republican or democrat. voters of both parties should be fearful.
6
While it may be getting harder to say, I am a Republican. What shouldn't be hard to do, is stand up for the constitution. Allowing this rogue president to continue stonewalling, claiming executive privilege, etc. will only take this great nation to brink of dictatorship.
At the outset, we said, "No more kings." Veterans (as this week had Veteran's Day) like myself have fought to preserve our democracy.
While I disagree with a lot, or most, of the policies Democrats espouse, I agree on protecting our country. We don't need another king any more than we need a playground bully.
308
@Gillday: The Founders would have made Washington a king, but he rejected the office.
14
Actually he “just can’t wait to be king.”
13
@Gillday
Recall what the Roman senators did to Caesar when they thought he might become an emperor? Let's just say they rejected the idea....
18
Though the past history of Donald Trump has shown that he is corrupt to the core - and this NOT a rhetorical comment because of the VAST amount of evidence known publicly - there is NO WAY that he could do it alone in a democracy, let alone in a democracy with strong supportive institutions.
It is IMPOSSIBLE to undertake ANY nefarious activity WITHOUT sycophants and other enablers. Those that are supposed to provide checks and balances are DELIBERATELY refraining to do so.
If Trump somehow escapes censure - which is certainly a possibility - and somehow wins in 2020, this commentator STRONGLY believes that the USA will almost certainly be on a slippery slope of decline.
That decline will be mostly invisible but also insidious.
Rule of Law and superior governance are concomitant. It can also be shown that wealth and governance are interlinked. If Trump is allowed to continue, one can quite easily argue that the US power will dim continuously even after he leaves - which will ONLY be rejoiced by adversaries such as China and Russia.
Perhaps some in GOP, who do not seem to see or hear no evil, will still change their respective minds - seemingly an improbable occurrence.
If they don't change and Trump is allowed to run roughshod over the Rule of Law, history will almost certainly prove that Trump's sycophants and other enablers were responsible.
But they will also NEVER, NEVER admit their collective or individual responsibility!
8
Republicans in public hearing capitalizing on the fact that the persons with first hand knowledge are not testifying today at the opening. Those persons he refers to are refusing to respond to congressional subpoenas in the White House. How dare they act with reproach when the real witnesses are hiding at the President's request.
9
There is no Ukraine scandal, and the Dems are preventing themselves from doing their job by not passing any legislation. Correction: the only Ukraine scandal was the fact that Hunter Biden was taking home more than $50K a month from "working" in the energy sector of which he has zero expertise. Let's get him on the stand to talk about all his energy expertise.
2
@PJABC, The House has actually passed a lot of bills since the Democrats took over the majority last January. Why haven’t you seen any evidence? Well, probably because you haven’t looked for the right sources. However, the MAIN reason is because each and every bill is lying somewhere beneath Mitch McConnell’s desk. If he won’t bring House bills up for discussion and vote in the Senate, no legislation. If you’re concerned about this, as many of us are, go ask Mitch.
One more thing. Sure, Hunter Biden could be called to testify ... as long as the questions relate to any involvement in the scandals surrounding the gas company. If you are just upset they paid him a ton of money, I hear ya .... but it’s not relevant. And if you’re concerned about adult children of presidents or VPs getting plum jobs because of family connections, you might want to find out why Ivanka Trump has a high security clearance and a White House Office.
2
The House has passed scores of bill's to improve our lives, but they rot on "grim reaper" McConnell's desk!
1
what has changed since the Nixon era that congress can no longer arrest those who refuse the subpeonas? i think the issue at hand is the dems are still coming to a gun fight with padded boxing gloves, hoping for a favorable scorecard in the end.
6
Every possible witness subpoened to testify at the House Impeachment inquiry who refuses to do so should be issued a warrant for their arrest for contempt of congress and jailed. Simple as that.
15
Trump is hiding witnesses. Amusingly the Roger Stone trial is sinking his 2016 election campaign irregularity explanations. My bet is the Stone trial may yield further witnesses and add charges in the Trump articles of impeachment. Stay tuned!
5
Even if Bolton, Perry, Esper, Pompeo, etc testified, I would be hard pressed to believe that they weren't lying.
5
I still believe that all roads lead to Moscow for Trump, and that the media has done a poor job (perhaps an impossible job to be fair) of unearthing where Trump over the past 20 plus years has been getting his money.
Trump long ago ran out of banks in America that would lend him money. Yet, Trump seems to have found new sources to keep his businesses afloat to some degree after developing relationships in Moscow over the past 10 years. Without Moscow money would Trump still be rich, or even solvent? I wonder.
Is it just possible that Ukraine-gate is really about Putin putting personal financial pressure on Trump to not support Ukraine, along with clearing Russia's involvement in the 2016 election, and that the Biden investigation was merely a nice add on for Trump, and a cover for Moscow?
In my opinion, the Bidens for arms, while real, is also a giant smoke screen for what Trump has really trying to do...sell out the Ukrainians to Putin the same way Trump sold out the Kurds to Erdogan...and for the same reason...money.
9
As someone who spent an entire career working with Congress, I could not agree more with Mr. Katyal’s piece.
There has never in history been a more blatant disregard for congressional oversight, one of the key checks and balances embodied in the Constitution, than by President Trump.
Imagine if President Obama had forbidden his aides from testifying before House committee’s on the Benghazi investigation. The GOP-controlled House would have been apoplectic, and rightly so.
If Trump is not held accountable for his obstruction of this deadly serious impeachment investigation, all bets are off on our ability to maintain the rule of law hereafter.
Whether they know it or not, Republicans will be ushering in a new norm if they fail to hold the President accountable.
It’s time for the GOP to put country above party as the future of our democracy hangs in the balance.
13
@David So,you obviously know that the Intelligence Committee does oversight and the Judiciary Committee has jurisdiction over impeachment. The importance of this distinction is evidenced by the Speaker's continued denial that Dems are already engaged in impeachment proceedings.
Therefore, as to requests/demands from the Congress to the Executive, as oversight, the arbiter of any dispute arising therefrom would be the Courts and until the Executive refuses an order from the third branch, it would not seem that such a dispute could be "treason, bribery or high crimes or misdeameanors."
1
Would it surprise anyone if the quid pro quo was indeed only the tip of the iceberg of Trump's corrupt actions in Ukraine?
12
Our three branches of government, 2019:
The GOP
The Major Donors
The monarchy
Everyone else is just the help.
10
@Pottree
You forgot the religious conservatives and the power they sway. God help us.
3
he's a russian asset, as well as Moscow mitch. it's simple.
10
What has happened since Trump took office shows that many of our processes we thought would protect us, have no teeth, no enforcement. When there is enforcement it is through the court system which is slow. We definitely need to write some new rules, policies, and regulations in the event we are unfortunate enough to run into a future Trump-like president.
7
@Suan: The Electoral College has to go, and the first amendment prohibition of faith based legislation needs to be vigorously enforced, to stop Congress from being an attractive nuisance to people on religious crusades.
4
I agree with everything said in this article, so the mystery to me is why Schiff does not push for a quick hearing before the Supreme Court to force the White House to comply? It took just short of three months for the Senate Judiciary committee investigating Nixon to get a Supreme Court resolution to the White House tapes in 1974. Surely the House can wait three months to get the whole truth about the Ukraine affair?
5
@Scott Werden agree! let's not forget that the watergate scandal nearly took 2 years of investigating to untease and bring to justice, during which Nixon won a re-election. the expediting of this process at the cost of giving up real power to enforce subpeonas is just so illogical to me.
3
@Scott Werden: Decades of abortion politics have infected the judiciary since Nixon's presidency.
This is just silly avoidance of the facts. Where is the recognition that the President has been harassed by the Democrats in the House since his election, including false assertions that the President had colluded with the Russians, and worse?
Further, there is more than a little ambiguity as to when a House Committee can demand, whether by letter or subpeona, testimony or documents form the Executive Branch, ostensibly for an impeachment inquiry, when the House itself has not authorized such an inquiry and when the Committee involved was not the Judiciary Committee. Even today, we have not yet gotten far enough along for the Judiciary Committee to gear up its authority. In disputes between the Congress and the Executive over document sharing and testimony in the oversight function of the Congress, the resolution of such is for the third branch, the Courts, to referee. Thus, the fact that the Executive may intially refuse to comply with oversight requests cannot properly be characterized or charged as "treason, bribery or high crimes and misdemeanors."
Conclusion: we are just seeing partisan initiatives and wishes puffed up and dressed up to tar and feather an elected President because the opposing political party fears that it cannot win the next election and is under unprecedented pressure from interest groups to get rid of the President before the election.
2
So, it appears that Trump's obstruction is the reason for the impeachment investigation.
Sounds right to me. What else can we do with a liar who wants to silence and persecute anyone who gets in the way of his absolutism and treachery?
Meanwhile, I just made a contribution to Devin Nunes' opponent. His wholesale speechifying based on an alternate universe in which lies are truth and truth is a lie doesn't cut it with me.
I hope some other people will wake up as they watch the grandstanding from R's and careful revelation of corruption and extortion coming from D's.
This is still my country, and I hope it will return to sanity soon.
5
The oligarchs in Russia and China are laughing, but not at the process that is exposing the rot of Trump.
They are laughing because so many voters were manipulated by ignorance and fear to select the most unqualified individual to serve as the leader of the free world.
The Russians and Chinese who aspire to eclipse the United State are sill laughing because so many people here remain ignorant, fearful, and foolishly support Trump.
Those oligarchs, whom Trump aspires to emulate, continue to believe, with some justification, that too many Americans are "ripe for the picking." That will mean that our preeminence in the world will wane.
Maybe all will be o.k. when the Chinese (with some help from the Russians) become the premier power on the planet. After all, many developed and pleasant countries in which to live have functioned in the shadow of the United States, at least since the end of WWII. So, maybe, the U.S. will end up like those nice places, for example, in Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand.
But, somehow, I doubt we Americans will get as good deal from the Chinese as the rest of our peer countries have gotten from the United States.
Reread and cherish our Constitution. It may, within a generation, become a dead letter. In the meantime, read up on Chinese history and try to understand their government's view of what the world order should be.
5
We are at a crossroad in our nation's history. Trump must be impeached and found guilty of his numerous self-evident crimes despite the disgraceful, anti-patriotic actions of the Republican leadership, or we face an extreme right wing dictatorship and the end of our constitutional form of government. there is no middle ground in this fight for the survival of the rule of law.
7
Why not send the Sargent at Arms to arrest some folks, e.g. Giuliani. Put him in confinement, and then play the court system like Trump et al. do, i.e., force his administration to wait for a resolution as the case winds its slow and methodical way from hearing to appeal?
6
This is the most terrifying part about the impeachment proceedings. If he refuses to comply to clear his name, what is to force him from office if he loses the election in 2020? Such classic dictator behavior.
9
Republicans are proving the American government to be as corrupt and duplicitous as most of the world already believes it is. There’ll be no recovery from the Trump presidency, with or without a second term.
7
I am curious about the lack of discussion, and the lack of questioning of witnesses, about the fact that the President of the United States was willing to withhold weapons from a country that has been attacked by Russia. Does that not look like the US President directly supporting Russia's efforts to seize by force portions of The Ukraine?
5
Perhaps the tactic here is to begin by laying out, for the public, what sticks out like a sore thumb: the President used his influence to withhold funds granted to Ukraine by Congress, and to tarnish Biden. The hearings are exposing these wrongdoings transparently and forthrightly. The Republicans can no longer claim that this is happening behind closed doors. Based on the evidence, the House may issue new subpoenas to the non-compliant: at that point, their refusal to appear would justify sending the marshals with power to arrest.
7
Precisely. Trump should be impeached for obstructing the impeachment process which is in the US Constitution. If Trump gets away with this, say goodbye to the American Government as we know it .
14
Republicans are stalling, Democrats are putting on a show, (with some legitimacy). Trump, will get impeached in the House and nothing more will come of it. Of course, Trump is writing the playbook for all future impeachments, mainly because the Democrats are not playing tough enough, (arresting people who ignore subpoenas and throwing them in jail.) Let’s get serious, it’s time. Accontablity is what’s missing, and that will never occur without key inside witnesses forced to testify under oath.
8
I would have everyone of the subpoenaed officers of Trump’s government arrested and force them under the threat of imprisonment to speak to Congress. Secondly, I would jail the President for attempting to block the Congressional tribunal. How am I doing so far?
21
Just make sure the republicans never get control of Congress because what goes around comes around. Eric Holder (Obama’s attorney general) was held in contempt of Congress for not cooperating in the fast and furious investigation. The Obama administration went to great lengths to block investigations (spying on AP and Fox reporters). Where were you then?
1
@3Rs Hillary Clinton sat in front of a republican Congressional committee for 12 hours and answered questions about Benghazi. What happened next? Nothing, because her answers proved that Republicans were blowing hot air.
Why isn't Donny willing to let people testify?
2
@3Rs
I never worried about inappropriate behavior, presidential incompetence, or the corruption flowing like a tidal wave from Trump’s administration with Obama.
2
“The attorney general, William Barr, has said a sitting president cannot be indicted.”
Nonsense. Impeachment is an indictment, one that the Founders specifically defined in the Constitution.
Mr. Barr, with this has demonstrated his incompetence for his job and his distain for his Oath of Office.
He is one more of the criminals that need to be out of our government and in jail as soon as possible, if we are to maintain our Republic.
18
Hiding evidence, blocking testimony, claiming special privilege, lying, accusing others of things he does himself - what’s new here? Nothing. We saw all it during the Mueller investigation. And in fact if we examine his life and dealings prior to becoming the President, its all there from his earliest days. Why do we choose to ignore or makes excuses or justify his acts with the words “the economy is great!” This is the person WE chose to lead our country and represent us in the world. Wrong and sad.
15
“What kind of system would permit an impeachment investigation to proceed without hearing what Mr. Bolton has to say because the target of the inquiry orders his silence?”
So, we must change the rules. If impeaching a president whose government is about to fulminate from corruption, the act of impeachment is our only way of investigating and stopping this person by way of the Constitution. Therefore, the president cannot block the fact finding necessary to make the tribunal work. He cannot prohibit members of his government from cooperating with Congress.
13
This is what I have been thinking, although not being an Constitutional Lawyer such as the author of this piece. Why can't the Committee throw these witnesses in jail for ignoring a subpoena?? I bet they would come in, claim the 5th, if they were forced to testify, but at least come in to talk. And, Congress needs to change the laws so that a sitting President CAN be prosecuted while in office. Just common sense, or we will have another out-of-control president like Trump.
14
Executive privilege as insisted on by Trump is tantamount to the privilege of a dictator. I feel quite strongly that this is not what the Founding Fathers had in mind.
24
While I do not disagree with anything here, I blame the Democrats more. Trump is simply a corruption of humanity who will do whatever he is allowed to do. The Republican party has been totally corrupted and they lie at Trump's feet. The Democrats should have and still should use the congressional power of contempt. They have been too cowardly. Their needed to be contempt citations, arrest warrants and bounties against every defiance of subpoena. The presidency, the state department, the justice department and the supreme court have all been corrupted by the Republicans. The Democrats have watched it happen.
The should at least have Pompei and Barr in Congressional jail. All others who defied subpoena there should be contempt citations - sort of within 24 hours. They should not appeal to the Supreme Court which may well be Trumpian.
12
It would seem to me that there are recordings of the phone call with the Ukrainian president so no one has to rely on anyone's "transcript" or recollection of the call. Is anyone asking for this?
8
Trump is unlikely to resign as Nixon did due to the possibility and probability of an existing sealed indictment. Even the "writing on wal"l will not dissuade from fighting to the end as his future holds to roads in the fork. Re-election or jail
2
Add this OBSTRUCTION to that from the Mueller Probe and we have absolute IMPEACHABLE offenses.
There has never been anyone in our government more demanding of impeachment than Donald J. Trump. Several of his operatives (like Barr and most of the Cabinet) are close, though.
12
This will be the greatest impeachment in history... until it gets to the recumbent senate.
Then Donald will claim he's been entirely exonerated by Mueller and by McConnell.
That's the part of this process that really is a hoax.
8
There is nothing new in Trump's lifelong use of lies and threats to cover up his fraudulent activities. What is shocking and most worrisome is that the Republican Party has adopted Trump's scheming methods. They reject truth, honesty, decency and respect for the American people to protect the corrupt incompetent, and dangerous Trump. They have no shame whatsoever as they use the same propaganda techniques used by the fascists in the 1930's to pursue their agenda of hatred and deceit.
14
First of all, love the pic..it's very apt. He doesn't have people spending 100s on getting themselves a baby trump balloon for nothing.
Just one other comment that trump has contempt for true professionals and highly intelligent people as they embody everything he is not. But I think that's what his base likes about him which is odd to me.
If some punk rolled up in their town, refused to accept authority and broke laws left and right without regard for anyone, wouldn't they want that person locked up?
Just saying...
8
If someone rolled up in their town, pulled out assault weapons, and shot their fellow citizens to death in a school, a theater, a church, a shopping mall, a music festival, wouldn’t they want to make it harder for nutcases to get their hands on military grade weapons? Nahh. You are confusing the logic of 1, 2, then 3 with the beliefs of about a third of Americans which follow no such logic but are steeped in strongly held faith in the magical and unprovable, all in a matrix of fear and jealousy. Have a blessed day.
1
That cha-ching sound you hear is another obstruction count being added to the ever-growing total.
3
If there is nothing to hide, then stop hiding everything. End of story.
447
@beaujames
There's everything to hide. That's why "the most transparent President in history" is, in reality, anything but transparent.
17
Before this latest presidential hullabaloo, what had prevented the House, and the Democrats, from doing their job --- attending to the business of the country. The Democrats in the House have done NOTHING for the past three years to benefit the country, aside from smear the sitting president at every turn. Our government is a farce --- and not because of Trump.
@Santa Monica Susie, glad you agree that holding the President accountable (what I assume you mean by "smear," since a proven accusation of wrongdoing can't be a smear by definition) is a benefit to the country.
Wrong. The Democratic-controlled House has passed many worthwhile bills over these past couple of years, but almost all of those bills have languished unconsidered on McConnell’s desk. It is McConnell and his perniciously partisan Republican-controlled Senate who are being obstructionist and ignoring the wills of the majority of people in this country.
4
At one point Taylor says something very interesting, namely that Trump considered that Ukraine actually “owed” him something. That before signing onto aid, Ukraine had to “pay up” what it owed him. To be specific, Trump seemed to believe that Ukraine (not Russia) was responsible for funny business during the 2016 Election.
I think this is clearly an indication of how Trump’s mind alters reality so that he is never responsible for events. (Here, for example, it is clear that he denies his own request during the campaign for Russia to help in finding Clinton’s emails, ignores the information his campaign got from Obama concerning Russian interference and lies about the purpose of the meeting in July 2016 of his son and campaign members with Russian representatives.).
Most Intriguing is the distinct possibility that Putin convinced Trump during their meeting in Helsinki that it was Ukraine doing all this to make Russia look bad, and not trusting anyone in the American government or knowing anything about the history of Russia and Ukraine, Trump of course believes Putin.
Thus, one conman easily cons another who then turns around and pressures Ukraine to generate information to smear Trump’s own possible election opponent. The “debt” that Taylor is told Trump thinks he is owed byUkraine would thus be paid before the military aid is released. Too bad for all of us that T’s request is an abuse of Executive power and a security threat to the US.
7
If congress can subpoena a presidents staff, looking into possible corrupt activity, can the AG investigate possible corrupt activity by members of Congress? Can the Senate investigate congressional abuses. Can the executive or legislative branches subpoena Justices of the Supreme Court, or their staff? Impeachment can take place in all branches of government. Eric Holder refused to testify before congress on the Obama Administrations policy of selling guns to Mexican Drug cartels. He was held in contempt of congress, and nothing happened. Lois Lerner plead the 5th, and retired with a nice pension, rather than answer questions under oath about the role the Obama Administration played in a policy denying tax exempt status of conservative organizations. I don’t remember any calls for impeachment, or forcing people to testify. Lerner could have been given immunity, forcing testimony. She never claimed she didn’t need to testify because of executive privilege. Why were these instances of congressional oversight ignored. Should there have been hearings of impeachment for Obama because of their unwillingness to testify? Just wondering what the difference is, other than it’s Trump, instead of Obama?
1
@Jay: Congress has legislated policies to regulate itself, like the whistleblower protection law.
2
@Jay
I think you’re wrong about Holder — he did testify, but there were disagreements over certain documents that led to the contempt finding. Never tried to completely avoid testifying like here with Trump staff. Regarding the program, “Fast and Furious,” that was a Bush program that was continued by Obama. I’ll leave it to others to explain, distinguish Lerner situation.
1
@Jay: Yes, and Congresspeople are investigated with some regularity. The latest Congressman to feel the heat is likely to be Pete Sessions, the guy who called for the removal of the Ambassador to Ukraine after getting a nice check from Parnas and Fruman (you know, the guys who were either working for Giuliani or hiring him on behalf of somebody else to pretend to represent Trump while simultaneously lobbying him on behalf of pro-Russian oligarchs).
1
They are pushing back hard, the GOP, because this is the tip of the iceberg. They will do anything to protect their hold on the levers of power, the avenues to money, and to stop the truth from coming out about their treasonous dealings with foreign powers, especially the Sauds and the Russians.
7
@Sam: Who gets to produce the remaining allowances of fossil fuels is at stake.
1
It is a sad day when the feckless Democrats in the House let the people they have subpoenaed get a pass. They need to stand up for the rule of law and put these people behind bars until they do testify. trump seems to rule like an autocrat now and nothing is being done to humble him and his cronies. Sad day for democracy.
3
All we really need to do is look and listen to what is happening every day and ignore the White House's many smoke screens. Take a look at Trump's Foundation and Trump University for clues. Look at the people this President surrounds himself with. Look at the Access Hollywood tape. There is much in plain sight, although complicit Republicans want us to ignore what we are seeing by telling us it is not really there. This President is obviously incompetent, deranged and a criminal to boot. Any thinking person knows that he needs to go. He should take all his corrupt Republican enablers with him too. It cannot happen soon enough!
6
Why are those witnesses who ignore subpoenas not in jail _right_ _now_ ?
Why are Mnuchin and Rettig not in jail (and being fined) _right_ _now_ for contempt of congress when they withheld Trump's taxes?
The democrats are treading too lightly.
In firing Comey, Trump is obviously, shamelessly GUILTY of obstruction of justice and nothing happens.
With Ukraine, he is obviously, shamelessly GUILTY of extortion.
He is obviously in Putin's pocket, knowingly or otherwise.
What ELSE is he guilty of that we don't know yet?
8
@PG: Comey's election eve stunt with Anthony Weiner's computer elected Trump. Nobody even wants to think about how that came about.
1
None of Trump's stonewalling would be effective if the judicial system acted in a timely manner. If it did, the courts would act immediately and order the witnesses to testify.
3
@hark: US courts are under-funded, under-staffed, and under-supervised.
Cannot Congressional subpoenas be treated as similar to those subpoenas people receive from law agencies? What are the punishments for refusing subpoenas?
5
The Executive is in a position to complicate it more than you or I could. They can claim exemptions through privilege, national security, and special cases invented by Barr but never yet challenged. They can refuse to comply with requests or orders from Congress, but since the Executive carries out the directives of Congress, who would actually arrest those serving under the President, the chief law enforcement officer, and what jail could hold them other than the little dungeon under the Capitol? Who could be William Barr’s prison guards? The House May have right on its side, but it seems to a layperson they have no good way to enforce their orders - other than the power of the purse. The most egregious offenders in the Executive all are (or appear to be) fabulously wealthy, so garnishing their pay would be less than a slap on the wrist; withholding funding from whole departments of the Executive would mainly punish the innocent and would lead to cries of extortion. Personally, I don’t much like the composition of the present Supreme Court, but even if I did, the glaciers are now melting faster than they move, so I don’t see any possibility of relief there anytime soon. Meanwhile, plenty of lawyers are making plenty of money on this power struggle and we are not yet Hungary, Venezuela, Mexico, or Bolivia. Neither are we Denmark or Cañada. Yet none dare call it treason. sad.
"But the Senate Select Watergate Committee held firm and insisted on the witnesses appearing, going so far as to say it would jail any witness who invoked executive privilege." Apologies in advance if this sounds uninformed or naive, but could the threat of jailing those who refuse to appear to testify not be used as an option these in the current situation? Why/why not?
4
They say that Republicans and Democrats need to work in a bipartisan manner.
I’m not sure how to do that when one side wants to preserve the Democratic Republic set forth by the founding fathers, and the other side demands a Russian style Oligarchy.
Common ground might be hard to find.
10
If the Nixon administration was threatened with jail if they refused subpoenas, why does that not also apply to the Trump administration? That contradiction is very troubling.
The most important reason the public does not trust our government is that too many politicians "craft" what they do to suit themselves, and do not follow trusted, accepted traditional laws, practices and procedures that have been in place for centuries, and are the base foundation of our Constitution. That same disregard happening now in our government threatens America's future in the most severe and potentially tragic way since its very origin.
5
@richard conner: US politicians are typically responsive to those who most generously donate to their campaigns. Studies have shown that they are unresponsive to ordinary constituents.
It is imperative that the House finds those who ignore its subpoenas in contempt of congress and has them arrested. Otherwise our entire system of checks and balances is meaningless and our democracy shredded by an autocratic president and his party of crooks. I live in hope that the House will do what it should at the end of the current round of hearings.
15
Republicans have sold their souls, if they ever had them. It is disgusting what is unfolding. Dumpty complains about witch hunts, but they are reactions to his behavior, his crimes. The fact that the biggest winner time and again is Russia/Putin/the mob and the GOP has not one issue with any of it is treasonous.
9
@JaGuaR: Every sentient creature has a soul built of acquired behavior. Republicans have adapted to Trumpism. It is now normal to lie most of the time.
4
We are teetering on the brink of falling into dictatorship. That's how it seems to me, because of his cult following. Trump must be stopped.
13
Trump is the most guilty 'innocent' person in history. A 'perfect' call? In fact he innately believes it was 'perfect' because he made it, he orchestrated the bribery and extortion, and as such he has a plethora of things to hide. If he were a private citizen he would have been arrested, tried and convicted one-hundred times since taking office. He's a disgrace and deserves to be impeached, convicted and removed posthaste.
10
Yes, what is Trump hiding? Your logic appeals to me: the released info and the testimony all agrees about the facts of the Ukraine caper, so why all the obstruction? It doesn’t make sense unless there is more damning evidence of further, more criminal behavior. What other plots are afoot right now?
Moreover, what constitutional process do we have to check an Executive Branch if we cannot prosecute and we cannot impeach? The logic suggests that there is no other process, so what are the Republicans saying is our constitutional duty going forward beyond Trump?
I am left concluding that now Republicans strictly advocate declarative prerogative: our country, our constitution, and our laws are what Republicans say they are, and there shall be no further discussion about it.
9
Too understand Barr's defense of Trump, one must first look into his Opus Dei background where anything is justified in order to reach the desired goal. From the people that brought you the Spanish Inquisition.
12
I don’t understand why the House decided to focus on Ukraine when there are so many other impeachable offenses that he could be charged with.
Example: perjury. In the Clinton presidency the Republicans created the precedent that perjury is an impeachable offense. At his inauguration Trump swore to defend the Constitution, which he had no intention of ever reading. The proof of this is that when questioned by journalists about the Emoluments Clause last month, Trump had no idea what they were talking about and even accused them of making it up. Trump has been an illegitimate president ever since he took the oath
Once the crisis is over and Congress is passing reform legislation, I think they should pass a law requiring all candidates for federal office to be tested on knowledge of the Constitution, and their scores published. No penalty would be attached to a failing grade, but the candidates would look pretty stupid.
3
Sour grapes from someone who was fired by Trump and who worked in the single most politicized federal prosecutors office in the entire nation.
Trump must go, it’s past time
4
A simple solution: "Lock him up!" Repeat and chant: Lock him up! Lock him up! Lock him up! Lock him up! Lock him up! Lock him up!
And take Pious Pence with him.
3
Are you all that afraid of an election?
@Pjlit I'm not sure who you are asking that question to?
Trump stonewalled. In the dissent to the decision to require release of documents, his appointee, Judge Rau stated that the release would only be required in an impeachment proceeding. The democrats were opposed to impeachment and willing to wait for the election in 2020.
I'm guessing it was Trump that was afraid of an election and that's why he was using his office to rig it. When Trump was found to be using his office to rig that election, it seems the Dems were left without any choice but to impeach
What I have so much trouble wrapping my mind around is all of the republicans stating how much the impeachment will help the president. Yeah, stonewall, obstruction, bribery. lock him up
Disparition .....like a rabid animal hungry and in survival mode that is the Democrat Party of today that has not done anything since it has taken the Majority of the house, the Leaders of this Lame uncalled for Sabotage will either pay in the polls or the people Whom really need to Wake Up and smell the economy Will Pay in the Pocket for investors will Run from any of these Democrat Candidates and the sheer Lunatic Ideals they have been suggesting!
If Trump gets off because of his blocking and stonewalling, every potential future presidnent will take note and follow accordingly
6
I have been listening to Nunes's Opening Remarks. Senator McCarthy's bullying and plagiarism comes readily to mind. What a disgusting time for our country. Mr. Nunes you are no hero.... you are a complicit bully in the deplorable, treasonous crime.
7
I’m just watching the impeachment hearings now. Once again the Republicans are demanding the unmasking of the whistleblower. For what purpose other than to destroy him and make him a target of violent Trump supporters with the intention of trying to prevent anyone else coming forward with evidence of Trump’s crimes. These Republicans are pathetic! They can’t defend Trump’s actions so they attack the messenger.
11
The thing about this Ukraine imbroglio was the ridicules corruption of the Democratic party in its dealings with the natural gas company that gave Hunter Biden his lucrative window dressing job. The huncho in chief gave out money to Democrats connected with John Kerry and the Atlantic Council. The fact that Trump is a big mouth with little sense of limits on conversation is being clobbered by impeachment is sorry indeed. The problem is that Democrats of the Victoria Nuland neo con branch of the State Dept., which are dutifully screaming to high heaven, wanted to flip Ukraine to harm Russia. Use Ukrainian nationalist armed thugs to overthrow the legal Ukrainian gov't. while Russia was distracted by the 2014 winter Olympics that were in Russia. Now they had a hand puppet in post coup Ukrainian president Poroshenko, who wanted to fulfill Nuland et al. desire to promote ethnic war in Ukraine, but Zelensky won a huge landslide as a peace candidate. The Democrats have become so unhinged with the Trump election they transformed from a party that somewhat promoted peace to a fully formed bunch of warmongers.
There is so much EGO swirling around this entire fiasco. Every republican politician (including Miss Nikki Haley) is vying for something more than they already have and they believe trump is going to provide whatever they think “that” is.
They are all pathetic.
And we have to suffer their human failings.
This is very sad.
5
Donald Trump is a profoundly anti-democratic executive. He seems to believe that he enjoys the divine right of kings, and is exempt from all Congressional control. He also seems to believe that he can grant such exemption to his vassals. This is feudalistic nonsense! This malignant cancer on the Presidency require surgical removal. Via impeachment, indictment or the 25th amendment, the narcissistic sociopath Donald Trump must and shall be removed from office.
10
Thank you for perfect cover pic with hands over ears.... “la la la la la, I can’t hear you!” Toddler.
7
Blah blah blah -- yes, we know Trump is corrupt, but unless the GOP decides to honor their oaths to the Constitution, it is all just background blather. BUT -- why can't we force the Spineless Republicans by charging them with obstruction of justice? Seriously. By ignoring their oaths for this destructive moron, they are jeopardizing our rule of law. They are the definition of obstruction of justice. Trump on the one side is talking about civil war -- but we on the other let it all pass. Subpoenas get ignored, lies get told to congress -- it's time to get tough or our country will fall to these traitors. We need to start enforcing infractions big and small.
9
Do what happened in Watergate and lock up anyone defying a subpoena! Get real Dems, obviously Repukes will not play by the rules!!
6
Mr. Trump's efforts to paint this impeachment inquiry as a shameless hoax on the part of the democrats is pretty crazy even for him. One really has to wonder. He's protecting himself by forbidding people who have information from testifying. This is truly unbelievable stuff and cannot, should not, be allowed to continue.
6
Demanding his staff not testify before Congress when subpoenaed is itself an impeachable offense. It needs to be added to a very long list of impeachment charges.
5
Deja vu all over again. First Trump pontificated "No collusion, no obstruction" regarding Russia's interference in the 2016 election; now he's carping that he did nothing wrong in attempting to collude with Ukraine through bribery and extortion by leveraging security aid in order to sabotage the candidacy of Joe Biden and obstructing the search for the truth by refusing to cooperate with House committees' subpoenas for documents and testimony of subordinates. Trump has much to conceal. These hearings will expose him as a man who is concerned not with defending the Constitution but rather with saving his own neck, at any cost.
1
@meg
Giuliani can claim lawyer-client privilege as Trump's lawyer . I know that the claim is specious but how long would this defense languish in the courts before being resolved? The Dems impeachment problem is that they have a limited time to tee up the issue and get it to the Senate for its inevitable acquittal. Compare how long it took the Mueller Report to be finished, with little effect. This whole exercise (and Katyal's insightful comments) show how defective our impeachment process is. Just one more problem with out arthritic constitution.
One arrogant and ignorant white man betrayed his nation and changed the course of its history after a devastating internal war that killed over 650,000 men. He was racist, criminally negligent and incompetent. He was impeached by the US House of Representatives, because of his terrible character and actions, but was saved by a complicit and self-serving Senate. Better for thieves and robbers, to have an incompetent fool in the most powerful seat in the world, than to replace him with an ethical, just and responsible leader. The US, following a destructive Civil War that ended the enslavement of an entire population of people, declared freedom to millions formerly bought and sold as chattel, should have bloomed into a model for the world of democracy and progress. Instead, one man, racist and compromised, scuttled the moment, tossed away the opportunity, and left an America that has never yet shed his failings and the ugliness and hate he embodied and spread.
I wish I was only talking about history.
1
before their boxing match, joe louis said of billy conn - " he can run but he can't hide."
the testimony is in the open. trump can't hide. the opening statements are difficult to listen to because most of us can't imagine the president of the united states - any president - to engage in such appalling behavior.
now the questions are starting. the republicans started the session by using delaying tactics and the nunes statement had little to do with the subject matter, but about refocusing criticism away from trump and toward democrats.
i don't belong to a political party. i think that politicians are generally less than trustworthy, but they need our support to lead the nation to safety and prosperity. it is obvious that republicans, to this point, have little interest in upholding the Constitution or adhering to their oaths of office. their intention is to obfuscate the facts and abet and protect trump's misdeeds and lawlessness.
if the facts and the truth are ignored, we are in bigger trouble than anybody has suggested. trump is a tyrant - he behaves in the manner of a dictator, which he effectively has become. putin must be loving this.
4
The acquiescence of the House in letting the Executive staff ignore subpoenas is just another and perhaps the final step in their fecklessness and cowardice over the last 20 years in confronting the blatant criminality of the Republicans' war on freedom and democracy. Their humiliatingly feeble excuse of having an air-tight case and winning in the House alone is good enough just covers their own desire to get this over with and get back to raising campaign funds and winning their own re-election.
The ugly details and proof are in the testimony of those refusing to cooperate. Everyone knows this as including the All the Presidents Men. The fight for this country is now in the trenches, and the Democrats are rushing to the rear.
147
@Glenn - Don’t blame the Democrats. Please see what Betty Ann, of Media, PA, wrote a few replies below: “Don’t you need a functioning Justice Department to support Congress when they issue subpoenas? With Barr at the helm, that is not in the mix....” So true.
33
@Glenn Nope. Coming to the fore. Nancy a gem. Democrats organized and patient. Republicans - self preservation mode - scrambling and focusing on shoring up their "supporters". Party first, country (not on their radar) - a distant second. Vladimir won in 2016, America lost. Never again. VOTE!!
24
@Glenn Don't you think they will charge them with contempt?
6
Trump claims not to have known he was doing anything wrong is the most concerning statement of all and proves in is totally unqualified to be sitting in the Oval Office but you cannot impeach stupidity.
14
In other words our President is pleading stupidity. Nice.
2
@DPT You can impeach stupidity when it leads to criminal wrongdoing and corruption.
2
@DPT Actually, you can, if it proves you are unfit for the office you hold.
3
The president is absolutely hiding a LOT. He won't turn over his tax returns although he promised to do so. He is blocking turn over of financial documents from Deutsche Bank. He Is stonewalling on the House investigation and telling his throng to ignore Congressional subpoenas. An innocent person doesn't do all of that.
4
Something else, IMO is being kept secret... during the period military equip. was held up, why did Putin not take advantage of a disarmed enemy being led by a new president who used to be a comedian? Seems like the right time to strike , in some way. Could it be , it was to Putin' s advantage as well as his protégé Trump to increase Trumps odds by sinking his perceived challenger? So was anybody talking to Russia telling them to hold off for awhile. Just sayin....
3
Don't you need a functioning Justice Dept to support Congress when they issue subpoenas? With Barr at the helm, that is not in the mix. Add a 24x7 propaganda channel, Fox News, as an extra step into alternative facts.
This is a hard task and one Nancy didn't want to take up. Trump's daily flaunting of the law pushed the issue.
He abused presidential powers for personal advantage.
Simple as that.
5
Anyone that understands that the Constitution provides checks and balances will know that trump can be impeached for just trying to obstruct the investigation that is now being conducted by the House of Representatives. The Ukraine issue is just the tip of the iceberg. Anyone that tries to obstruct the proceedings, including the trump administration , congress and government employees are in violation of the law of the land.
6
When has the accused ever been able to silence the witnesses? If you take Trump at his word, and that nothing he did was wrong, then the witnesses would confirm his innocence. Fox News brought us to the edge of an autocracy. If he is re-elected, we will complete the trip.
12
'The rule of law' is one of those concepts like 'democracy', 'the free market', 'freedom' of this and that, that Americans must profess to believe in. Our commitment to these ideals is so profound that practicing them doesn't matter.
Katyal is absolutely right about the gravest threat presented by neo-monarchism: it's not the crazed spasms of Trump & co., but the permanent distortion and reshaping of the institutions of civil life.
But the bottom line is that 'the rule of law' is a cherished slogan, not a demand. Its collapse is a subject for the occasional worried op-ed piece. As the assault progresses, savvy analysts debate tactics and figure the odds. Balance is maintained. Concern is voiced.
The survivors will find it hard to figure out how all this happened.
1
A rational person would expect someone falsely accused to welcome efforts to discover "what actually happened". A true leader would set an example of respect for due process and the rule of law, especially if he felt himself wrongly accused. To do otherwise is to admit to wrongdoing from the outset.
13
Perhaps the bigger problem is that our government is not acting as 3 independent branches.
Mitch McConnell and the rest of the Republican senators know Trump is a terrible president. But they are defending him anyway.
All so they can give tax cuts and Federal judges for the donor class.
The Ryan / McConnell / Trump tax bill will increase the deficit from $600 Billion to $1 Trillion.
The projected ten year increase in the debt is $12 Trillion which is $80,000 per taxpayer on our Federal debt credit card.
To be paid for by us, our children, and grandchildren.
Every Republican senator voted for it. Not one Democratic senator voted for it.
16
@Independent: The functions of the three branches of the US federal government are inherent to all governments. No government works well when these functions come into conflict with each other to produce discordant public policy.
2
@Steve Bolger
I'm not worried about discordant public policy.
I'm worried about Mitch McConnell protecting Trump.
And throw in Merrick Garland and the 2017 tax cuts while we're at it.
1
Yes! What he is hiding is very important. And yet, it seems to me that the one event that is standing right in front of us in plain view that he has admitted to, and publicly invited China to do as well, is The Ask.
He asked a foreign power to investigate a political rival which would only help him win re-election. This is firmly a fact blatantly admitted by the president. This is Impeachable: The Ask.
6
Why aren't we putting these potential witnesses in jail?
14
Sadly, these symbiotic Republicans control all the levers of power. This extremely corrupt individual will quickly weasel out of this impeachment, no worse for wear. He may be reelected with the continued assistance from Russia, his loyal minyan, gerrymandering, voter suppression, and the electoral college.
After this, the rule of law in America will have been destroyed and this experiment in Democracy left to ashes. Power corrupts totally. The American oligarchs will become fantastically wealthy and the rest of us pawns in the game.
4
I wonder what Republicans would have done if Hilary Clinton had refused to appear at the numerous Benghazi hearings, claiming the protection of executive privilege?
13
I wish that someone would ask Trump, or a White House spokesperson, or heck, even a Republican Congressperson, if Trump's telephone call was so perfect, why won't he release the word-for-word transcript?
8
I fear that we will go through the impeachment process—and the 2020 election—without ever knowing the extent of this administration’s corruption.
6
It is far worse than mere stonewalling impeding the functioning of democracy, as troubling as that might be. That is a surface symptom of a much deeper problem.
As has been said about this president, all roads lead to Putin. Trump has been working hard to further Russian foreign policy goals since the moment he took office - undermining confidence in NATO or in democratic government itself, to name just two examples. Subverting Ukraine is yet another Russian objective. That Trump has gotten mixed up in it should be no surprise to anyone.
Why? It seems to me that it is all of a piece. The behavior is too consistent for there not to be a root cause. But what is it? Your guess is as good as mine. That is what Trump is hiding, and hiding it has defined his entire presidency.
8
To save time and money, Trump should alone be automatically impeached for "outperforming" Nixon's level of corruption, which eventually forced his resignation first instead.
If the hypocrites in his Republicans see it otherwise not to remove him in turn later in the Senate, then this country being already in a Constitutional crisis, is at risk to become soon later in total state of Anarchy under Emperor Trump and his his likewise lawless administration.
2
Whatever happened to being arrested for failing to comply with subpoenas? Put these scofflaws in jail when they fail to comply!
10
Imagine if a defendant in a criminal proceeding labelled the process a 'sham' or 'hoax' (I am not at all certain that Trump knows the actual definitions of those words, by the way) and refused to participate. Think of what these republican enablers would say about that defendant ... I'm sure he'd get zero sympathy and they would say 'if he's so innocent, then why is he afraid to go to trial and establish his innocence'?
7
The Republican Whitewater investigation of Clinton was about his personal finances before Clinton was president.
It took 4-1/2 years and $100 Million in today's dollars.
I'd go for that for Trump.
And we already know Trump lied about Stormy Daniels.
6
Nearly everyone, including the GOP, is fed-up with Trump. But the GOP won't give up the Presidency. Oddly Nikki Haley is in the news like she's waiting in the wings. Might she replace Pence in 2020? It would be a stronger ticket and provide a fail safe if Trump craters during his second term (a real possibility). I'm surely not the first Republican to have thought this. Trump would likely fight it hard (he's not stupid), but it's possible.
3
What disturbs me most is that many Americans don't care if he is lawless or if he hurts the American people. Many Americans think this whole proceeding has to do with not winning the election, as if the Democrats are just "sour grapes". And those people wouldn't be swayed even if the impeachment proceedings uncovered Trump had broken the rule of Constitutional law and betrayed the American people. They just won't hear it. They will believe Hillary is somewhere, with an illegal email server, creating lies and should be locked up. But they won't see a traitor who betrays their own because they don't care. They just want to win at something in life and they belong to the Republican party. Period.
8
If some of Trump's toadies refuse to testify, they should be forced or put in jail, for the good of the US Constitution and our country.
The precedent of law-breaking with impunity is dangerous.
10
If the House impeaches DRT, in the Senate trial, can the Presiding Judge (John Roberts) (similar to judges in a court trial) subpoena White House staff among others to give crucial first hand testimony which has been missing in this important case so far?
Bolton has said that he “was personally involved in” many “relevant meetings and conversations that have not yet been discussed in the testimonies thus far.”
Bolton is pumping his forthcoming book, and quite possibly if forced to testify will whitewash everything involving Trump. That would crush book sales, so Bolton isn’t going to testify before publication.
2
@John✅Brews
Yes, but...
Bolton didn't have to come out and make that statement. Methinks he's deliberately messing with Trump's head and putting him into paranoid overdrive as to what Bolton *might* say.
1
Let us have the DC police pick those who ignore Subpoenas and drag them to the hearings or jail.
6
In troubling times, I am grateful for clear, informed voices like Neal Katyal’s.
6
Trump’s gig is up. He is trapped and delusional which spells loose cannon. Wrecking havoc is his strategy, and he feels perfectly justified doing so. His victimhood frame of mind is on fire. Going forward I wouldn’t put anything past him.
4
It's time for Bolton to step up and do the right thing by testifying before Congress and the nation.
6
As Deep Throat(Hal Holbrook) says to Bob Woodward(Robert Redford) in “All the President’s Men), “Follow the money!” Trump’s only motivation is “What’s in it for me?” All of his actions as President, everything, has to be viewed through the lens of his pocketbook. A Trump Tower in Kiev? One in Istanbul? Money filtering to every Republican lying for him? The list is endless, and we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg here. More than a thousand days in the White House, and hundreds, maybe thousands of calls just like the one to the Ukrainian President. The subversion of American democracy, all done by a white collar criminal who tests the fences of the Constitution, and when he finds a weakness, exploits it for his own monetary gain.
5
I just figured out who Anonymous is: Kellyanne Conway. I’m just watching George Conway with Neal Katyal on MSNBC and it’s the only thing that makes sense. Fingers crossed.
3
he's not the only one abuse power, most GOP doing exactly the same thing.
3
The partisanship of our political representatives is on full display for all to see. None of them have any motivations beyond catering to one particular constituency or another for their relevancy and privileged status. Trump is a flawed and very small man in terms of his own ego, but one that cannot be bought out or bullied into submission and who truly desires what is best for our nation. Both parties hate him for not being as corruptible as them and their attempts to either throw him under the bus or obliterate him respectively, are a sad epitaph from a once great nation. The freedom and self determination of our citizenry was once the single principle all Americans could agree on, but alas those days are long gone and every self-serving partisan is picking at the carcass of American freedom for the very best tidbits to line their nests with. Our nation and it's citizens should hang their heads in shame. The only way to salvage anything from our failed Constitutional Republic is to convene a convention of the states to remove lifetime political careerists, remove influence peddling as a profit motive, and reinstate the sovereignty of We The People. Trump and the current mess on Capital Hill are simply symptoms of a disease that is destroying our nation like a slow motion train wreck. The only cure is for the States to step in and redraw the lines of power in our Republic.
1
I'll say what I've said for the last 30+ years - it is hard to imagine a more feckless, incompetent and politically incoherent opposition party than the Democrats! Eventually, Democratic voters will have to face the fact that Republican's political domination directly results from the Democrat's failure to mount an effective opposition.
As recently as yesterday, the guy leading the opposition, Schiff, hasn't even decided whether anything will come of this. He hasn't even committed to pursuing Articles of Impeachment. Nancy Pelosi - we'll follow the evidence and see where it takes us. Really?? Where has Nancy been the past couple years. Does she read the NYT?
Katyal is right. Democrats have only investigated what we already know with certainty has happened. This is only the tip of the iceberg!
You cannot defend the rule of law if you're not even willing to use it. Nobody is going to go to jail for Trump - nobody!!
Unless Democrats invoke inherent contempt upon witnesses and send them to jail, this will continue to be portrayed by Republicans as a partisan witch hunt or a political stunt.
Democrats continue to have no clue about the lengths that Republicans will go to preserve their brand and protect their power. Republicans (all of them!) have demonstrated over and over their willingness to put themselves before country. Is that acceptable?
How hard can it be for Democrats to make that case to the American people?
312
@OldLiberal
Watch today's hearings. These are contentious times so the Democrats are proceeding cautiously but with purpose.
Armchair politicians like armchair generals are a dime a dozen.
What can YOU do? YOU can communicate and demonstrate to inform the public with the facts for making impeachment the logical and correct response to Trump's abuse of his office.
61
@OldLiberal Let me ask you this: Why are all of us sitting home and not out there protesting? Why aren't we doing what we should be doing given what is at stake?
58
@OldLiberal How hard is it to convince people that have deliberately refused to see, listen and learn? the country is as ideologically divided as any time since the civil war. If the right-wing news sources spin the facts and ignore the news that their viewers do not want to hear; how do you get through to them? I sympathize with your frustration, but you are not seeing the real problem: half the American people.
52
Mr. Trump is a stain on American history. He is deeply unsuited to serve as president. Deeply so. That the presidency comes with the title "commander in chief," is chief among the tasks Mr. Trump is unsuited for.
5
If Trump is successful in stonewalling every demand for transparency, the precedent will be set and our democratic republic will be finished. And so it appears the answer to Benjamin Franklin's question is, no, we can not keep it. But thanks anyway.
4
Trump's enablers have lost sight of just how far out on the limb they have ventured. "Just a little further," they think, "and Heaven on earth will be ours!" They neglect to look down and see the bodies of those who fell from Trump's grace before them, only to be used as crushed stone for paving his road.
6
Kaytal has contempt for 2016 voters who elected the President as a disrupter. He's correct we believe the deep state employees of State and other agencies paraded on cue by Schiff deliver a message, but it is as predictable, as it is irrelevant. If the Founders were here, they would not object to Donald Trump's conduct as "worrisome", "stonewalling," or be worried about the "indictment" issue. They would be astonished that in 2019 a vast and permanent bureaucracy, of which the witnesses starting in the House today are a part, consider themselves the arbiters of our lives, although we elect political leaders including the President for public policy. Nancy Pelosi may have a surprise in store if she believes the public will "destroy a reality President from hearings starting today."
You view would have merit if the Pesident allowd all his people to testify as to what they view the truth to be. It is clear he does not want the truth aired and therefore, your purporting a “deep state” rings hollow.
5
I believe that the house should follow in the Nixon tradition and lock up those that refuse to testify. This is quite simply unacceptable.
14
What I've never understood is how Republicans blindly support Trump's lies. Wouldn't the path to furthering a Republican agenda be much smoother if Trump were removed and Pence was in the Oval Office? Ideologically, I would generally disagree with what Pence would bring to the presidency and the domestic agenda. However, I feel he would at least restore stability to the Oval Office and reinstate US respect and leadership on the world stage.
6
As always, Neal Katyal makes a clear argument regarding the need for impeachment of the current president. Not only his past and present shady behavior, there is the matter of the Ukraine and ahem a certain Vlad Putin. There's so much afoot and underfoot with the Trump and Putin plans for adding Ukraine to Putin's view of a renascent Russia greater than the last USSR nation he was such a part of and with the help of the US president helped by none other than said Vlad to become president, heads spin. From Manafort to Guiliani, Biden to Sondland and all those in between this melodrama and the tragic present, our part is to remove the man in the White House. Rather like Yeltsin's stand in the former Soviet capital where their White House had a fire, we find our country in this place in history. Let the tribunal hearings begin! Onward!Thanks to Madison, Jefferson, Washington, Hamilton, and Adams.
3
If contempt of Congress was one of the articles of impeachment against Nixon, and it was, it certainly should be one against Trump as well.
10
Look at the effort Mr. Katyal has gone to in order to outline the reasons Mr. Trump should be held accountable for his actions as POTUS. It is astonishing and deeply disturbing that he has had to do this. Why has he had to do this? Those of us who have watched news reports on Mr. Trump since the 1980s realize Mr. Trump has conducted the business of his life by bullying, lying, cheating, and stealing from business associates and anyone who tried to hold him accountable or stand in his way. But, that is almost irrelevant in this situation. What is relevant is Mitch McConnell's playbook that is being used to shield this lawless man from accountability for his crime (or crimes) as POTUS for the sake of creating a permanent GOP power structure that has been ongoing since Nixon made his deal with the southern bigots, and has included gross gerrymandering and voter suppression. For his part, Mr. McConnell has stolen a SCOTUS seat, stonewalled bipartisan legislation for a decade, except to provide tax cuts to the uber-wealthy, and refuses to cooperate with Democrats in any meaningful way. He has made it very clear that Mr. Trump will be acquitted in the Senate. When are we going to do something about this man's destruction of our democracy?
14
The behavior of Trump and his minions during the impeachment process is a direct parallel with their behavior during the Mueller investigation. During impeachment, the Administration witnesses have been forbidden to cooperate. During the Mueller investigation, they all lied. In both circumstances, we were left to wonder, "what are they hiding?". There can be no doubt that they are hiding something quite nefarious.
3
Agree that the behavior on exhibit here is appalling - but there is a reason Trump is going so far to obstruct justice. This phone call is just one item in a long pattern of impeachable events involving Ukraine and Russia. This is not just about a single call, and Trump trying to force Ukraine to dig up dirt on Biden. And because Trump successfully (and without penalty) obstructed justice with Mueller, he is just repeating conduct that has worked for him in the past, and may well work for him again.
4
It is simple. Republicans can not stand on the facts so there only two options for them, lie and obstruct, which in itself makes them a Trump pawn.
6
If the Senate Approved Watergate Committee said they'd JAIL any witness who refused to testify during Watergate, WHY is that not happening now? WHY is no one being jailed for refusing to testify?? Also, WHO would be the person(s) who'd actually jail the individual(s)? I've never seen this question actually answered in either The Washington Post or The Times.
4
I believe the Congress has their own ‘police force’ and a jail in the building.
1
Kudos to the author for providing this sound logic related to the impeachment inquiry.
2
As far as I can tell, most of what Donald has done or attempted to do benefits Putin. When we allowed him to keep his tax returns secret, we missed our best chance of understanding his motives and priorities. All government officials, elected and appointed, should have to show their tax records in full, for at least the last ten years. No exceptions. Anyone unwilling to do so should be automatically disqualified. Period.
2
What I have not seen in this or other pieces is a concrete idea of new laws or other changes needed to reduce the capability of future administrations to hide wrong-doing.
@Don: Maybe the scheme as prescribed by the existing system will work properly. It all hinges on the integrity, or lack thereof, of Republicans in Washington.
1
Integrity? Republicans?
2
@Steve Bolger: true, but I'm from the 'trust, but verify' school when it comes to depending on others. Seems there's an awful lot going to the courts for adjudication, not a sign the system is working properly.
The House has to impeach. If the Senate doe not impeach they must be on the wrong side of the law, along with Trump.
5
The Republican party is a cult of Trumps bidding.
5
The man in the white house is playing "catch 22"...
2
Are we really having a "debate" among a bright, educated man like Katyal who has argued many times before SCOTUS, and trump, mulvaney, barr, nunnes, jordan?
3
What Donald J. Trump is hiding from the Impeachment hearings and the American people, is he’s a traitor to his country and all the free world in favor of his buddy Putin and Russia! I feel there is testimony that we have not yet heard that will attest to this fact.
“All points lead to Putin!”
5
Republicans, please put the country before the party!
Would you be making these same ridiculous arguments
about process if this was Obama???
3
A new impeachment every week until the end of Trumps second term !! That will show him !! Demand some document and testimony he won't provide absent a court order, do this every week, and issue new articles of impeachment every week. Every future President will learn to bend the knee to the opposition in the House lest they too get regularly impeached !!
1
Is there any scenario where Trump is investigable?
2
"there is no way to police executive branch wrongdoing."
This statement clearly summarizes what the American people have had to endure during this entire Presidency. It is this that one would hope we will learn from; would thus create more laws and remedies during upcoming presidencies, to prevent these low standards to overrule us.
Only criminals know how to circumvent the laws and find the loopholes to make those whose job to make them accountable more difficult. Only criminals will prevent the truth from being told.
Our president is hell bent in preventing laws to work. The fact he protects Russia is yet another huge red flag. In addition: His tax returns are a red flag and a shame that it too cannot be pursued in a more expedient manner.
I can only hope justice will prevail in the end. Most of the time I am doubtful. Our system needs to change to accommodate people like Trump and his White House, even the GOP that protects him and all that prevents justice for the American people.
2
I’m sick and tired of reading about Trump.
5
And the Fox News crowd laps up the Trump lies. Pathetic.
4
"The attorney general, William Barr, has said a sitting president cannot be indicted. "
What a sweet deal. Get Russia to help you get elected. Appoint Steven Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary. Appoint Mick Mulvaney as Office of Budget Management, appoint others to Offices with huge huge budgets. Hire Bill Barr as top cop. Connect the dots.
Not that this president would try to loot the U.S. Treasury, he is too honorable. But imagine another president without moral constraints. Lie, Cheat, and Steal with impunity. Grifter's Heaven.
3
Take it from an ambivalent Independent, you don't know what Trump is hiding, it's hidden from you. You don't know what Shiff is hiding, it's hidden from you. The only thing that is in plain view—the devil is making a fool of you.
Brilliant piece.
Democrats, are you doing enough? Are you fully prepared to make your case?
Republicans, have you found your lost souls?
2
The political climate that the United States presently finds itself in is confusing and downright scary. I remember the Watergate scandal, and the hearings that took place, though as a child, I didn't really understand much about it at the time. Now, it's happening again, and the rules have been changed somehow. It is not right that one man can change the rule of law. NO ONE is above the law - not even a sitting president.
4
"How could a system that allows the subject of an investigation to block all the witnesses from testifying be consistent with the rule of law?" We have a country based on the rule of law...or we do not. Many Americans and most of the Republicans in Congress apparently don't believe that. The evidence already presented by government professionals points to obvious attempts at bribery, extortion and abuse of power, not only by Trump, but by members of his immediate cabinet and staff. The judgement to come will reveal exactly what kind of judicial system we have in the United States and far it has been corrupted. The people will be watching.
9
All it would take is two policemen picking up Mulvaney by each arm and take him to jail for obstruction of a crime. He was not elected or confirmed just another Trump lackey like Cohen, Manafort, Stone, or Giuliani or.........
9
Who dares to besmirch the dignity of King Trump and his men with the accusations of peasants?
4
If our leader thought that inviting his fellow tyrant, Erdogan, to the White House today would deflect from the Impeachment hearings, he is delusional. Seeing the two of them together only serves to confirm what many of us believe. Mr. Trump has always been a dictator. It is the way he ran his many companies and the way he is trying to run our country. I saw recently that even Boris Johnson is trying to distance himself from Mr. Trump...when the rats start fleeing the sinking ship you know you are in big trouble.
9
It would take less time to ask what he isn’t hiding.
8
Trump doesn’t do “Public Service”.
Trump is a transactional person.
Letting Turkey take over Syria?
He got something.
Giving tax payer dollars to Ukraine?
He wants something.
The something is either personal political or personal financial.
Trump doesn’t do “Public Service”
8
Ultimately, I think we all know and fear how this is going to go down. He's going to echo a previous racist with, So what? Let's see you try to enforce your decision. In that case, it was only a governor...
2
Smoke 'em out. Best strategy against stonewalling. And by all means, don't cut off DJT's Twitter account. He is the smoke of his own fire.
5
His refusal to stop the Russian election interference should be one of the biggest impeachable offense.
12
Perhaps, the greater scandal is the behavior of the republican congress, Barr and selected cabinet members and sycophants as they enable this president to continue compromising our national security and our place in the world.
8
Brazen obstruction, wanton contempt for our sacred institutions and incessant obfuscation on so many fronts have been the signature behaviors of this criminal regime and its cronies from the beginning. Keep up the pressure, Congressmen and push very hard against the lesser obstructors so that we may get to the Obstructor-in-Chief. No king in America! Duty...honor...country!!
8
The time that I marched into that accursed bank, fully armed, and attempted to rob it at gunpoint, my defense was that I didn't really mean to do it. And you know what? The judicial system let me off scot free, no questions asked.
Ain't accountability great?
2
this has been trump's operation his whole life - abuse the law for his own gains.
8
His base doesn't care at this point.
4
They are worrisome. But the people who really matter (the members of the United States Senate) don’t seem as worried as the writers in the Opinion Section of The NYT. You’re “preaching to the choir”.
2
Madison would agree!
3
I want ALL of those who helped Trump brought to justice
9
It's called obstruction of justice. It's what the guilty do when they can't defend the indefensible. And it's what the Republican Party is doing to try to protect their mafia don.
7
Bribery, Extortion, Obstruction of Justice, Accepting Foreign Emoluments, Asking Foreign Powers to Influence Our Elections...hmmm, looks like 6 Articles of Impeachment to me.
7
This is obvious...why haven't we hear more about Trump's obvious obstruction (again) as the other major "high crime and misdemeanor" from all you pundits? The obstruction of Trump should be a drum beat on the news EVERY single day!!
3
Trump can continue on because of his brain washing machine. Everyday I here folks repeating Fox News sentiments verbatim. For years trump made lying a way of life and despite his bumblings, has managed to convince half of America that he is a genius. Like all con artists, he uses deflection and projection. So, he finally got the big prize and applies the same techniques he learned from his mentor, Roy Cohn. Another part of his strategy, beyond the lying and stealing, is suing those he has harmed. We are now at the very heart of his corruption and like the mob boss, he orders his underlings to do his bidding and cover for him. Let's hope that the system that has allowed freedom for us works as well as the carnival barker grifter's WH schemes and that his desire to be a dictator fails like his casinos.
6
Will anyone please explain how a 'summary' of a conversation with the Ukraine president becomes a complete transcript? And as long as you are explaining, will anyone explain to me why prior legal decisions, i.e., Nixon and Clinton concerning that even presidents must obey Congressional subpoenas but DJT has a right to waste the court's time chasing some sort of new decision, based upon identical issues as previously decided in the Nixon or Clinton impeachments? After all the law hasn't changed related to obeying Congressional subpoenas, has it?
When did it become acceptable/not criminal for a POTUS to take a duly passed foreign aid appropriation turn that into a situation where the foreign country must announce an investigation of an American citizen, who happens to be a possible political opponent, in order to receive the [appropriated] funds? Call me stupid, but that sounds like extortion to me. BTW, just how much nonsense can result when DJT says in effect, no investigation of my political opponent then no money for you? Should the USA rely upon such nonsense from an extorted formerly USSR member where our elections are concerned? If POTUS cannot understand that, then DJT, his VP, appointees, & fellow supporting Republicans are unfit for public office.
And finally, how can not some of the 10,000+ lies told by DJT not be considered as part a bill of impeachment which has lead to a crime increase against non white races, various ethnic groups and immigrant?
5
This is where I get frustrated with Democratic messaging. Every single time one of the Democratic leaders appears in public and answers questions regarding impeachment, they need to say:
"These are very damning facts. If the President has witnesses to the events that dispute these facts, we urge him to let them appear before our committee. But so far, he has refused to let his own staff come to Capitol Hill and testify under oath. Why is that? If it was a 'perfect call', what is he afraid of? What is the President hiding?"
7
There has never been a more lawless, undemocratic, unconstitutional, and unpatriotic POTUS in the history of our country.
There never will be again. If cannot ouster him in 2020, no longer will there be a democratic republic to defend.
It is already possible, like dynamic climate change, that we are past the point of return.
7
"The bottom line is that President Trump is out-Nixoning Nixon."
With this eloquent sentence, Professor Katyal perfectly encapsulates both Trump's strategy for dealing with the goddess Nemesis (in the form of Constitutional checks and balances), and the GOP's (or maybe I should say the far right's) remedy for the aching, the long-running pain from the thorn-in-it's-side that was, and still is, Watergate.
On “Hannity.” Geraldo Rivera said, “If it wasn’t for your show, Sean, they would destroy him absolutely. You’re the difference between Donald J. Trump and Richard Nixon.”
Mr. Hannity demurred, of course, but still said of the president's perceived enemies, "They lie, and I'm sick of it."
Nixon, seen as a sympathetic person?
Roy Cohn, Roger Stone, and Roger Ailes, Hannity's old boss, are actual direct links between the dirty tricks and propaganda used by both presidents, at various times in their careers.
There is no concern at Fox (and therefore any right wing media) that the lesson the president basically learned from Watergate was, that you can the commit the crimes, as long as you don't break your stonewall defense.
Just like he learned from the coverage of the Clinton email "scandal", that just to have to face the coverage itself was enough (let alone the Russian bots on Facebook and Twitter, the echo chamber of the 2016 interference). The Ukrainians needn't really "investigate" the Bidens; just put the Ukrainian president in a "box" by saying so, on TV.
3
"The bottom line is that President Trump is out-Nixoning Nixon."
With this eloquent sentence, Professor Katyal perfectly encapsulates both Trump's strategy for dealing with the goddess Nemesis (in the form of Constitutional checks and balances), and the GOP's (or maybe I should say the far right's) remedy for the aching, the long-running pain from the thorn-in-it's-side that was, and still is, Watergate.
On “Hannity.” Geraldo Rivera said, “If it wasn’t for your show, Sean, they would destroy him absolutely. You’re the difference between Donald J. Trump and Richard Nixon.”
Mr. Hannity demurred, of course, but still said of the president's perceived enemies, "They lie, and I'm sick of it."
Nixon, seen as a sympathetic person?
Roy Cohn, Roger Stone, and Roger Ailes, Hannity's old boss, are actual direct links between the dirty tricks and propaganda used by both presidents, at various times in their careers.
There is no concern at Fox (and therefore any right wing media) that the lesson the president basically learned from Watergate was, that you can the commit the crimes, as long as you don't break your stonewall defense.
Just like he learned from the coverage of the Clinton email "scandal", that just to have to face the coverage itself was enough (let alone the Russian bots on Facebook and Twitter, the echo chamber of the 2016 interference). The Ukrainians needn't really "investigate" the Bidens; just put the Ukrainian president in a "box" by saying so, on TV.
1
Trump hides behind words his supporters can’t understand like “quid pro quo.” The honest and specific word is “bribery.” Trump bribed Ukraine.
3
History will not be kind to the GOP and the frat pack—Jordan, Nunez, Gaetz—who are like high school freshmen who are trying to make the quarterback of the football team like them enough to get invited to the big party on Saturday night.
OMG:The GOP has become a bad John Hughes movie.
2
He's committing new impeachable offenses every day. I just hope he can be stopped.
6
"Out-Nixoning Nixon" is good. But what epithet for the sycophants and grifters and cowards and Putin-o-philes of the Republican party without whose support Trump would be finished?
2
Hillary Clinton came to visit the UK, and commented that she was surprised our executive would not reveal the (cleared) report on Russian interference on OUR elective process. The comments on the BBC site about this are full of ENRAGED "voters" about HER "Interfering" in our election!!! Just so you understand, your problems are migrating all over the globe, to the delight of autocrats/dictators everywhere. For god's sake, get a grip America, we need some sanity returned.
2
Just following orders from the supreme overlord, Vlad P.
It's not good if you have to borrow money from a
foreign country, take down your own political party and ruin
everything and everyone in your path.
3
“Unbidden guests are often welcomest when they are gone.”
William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1
3
This article is vital in explaining to the public the necessity for an impeachment inquiry. What is more urgent, however, is explaining simply why.
Yesterday, I had a conversation with a Trump supporter who said “Trump was mixing things up in a Washington DC that wasn’t getting anything done", and I agreed that was a possibility. So, I asked what about Russia meddling in our election? His response was chilling. “What about Russia? I’m not afraid of Russia?” I was surprised, but he went on. “My father was in WW II, a few of my uncles never came back, and I was in the navy during Viet Nam.” I was speechless, but he continued. “We do the same thing to other countries.”
I did regain some of my sanity, and we did continue our conversation amicably, but how in God’s name could this type of thinking from Trump supporters make America great again?
Democrats and Republicans too need to spell out how dangerous it is for Russia to try to take over Ukraine. Further, how self-destructive it is to not understand the difference between a President welcoming foreign interference into our own government and electorate, and routine spy-craft, as unpalatable that can be. America will not be great for long if our core values are undermined by a so-called change-agent who, on every normal measure is only in the game for himself.
4
If this Impeachment process fails to remove Trump, it will energize Trump for next years election and he will be reelected. I hope Democrats know that. This Impeachment Process now is actually BLESSING IN DISGUISE for Trump.
Nancy Pelosi’s statement that “Article 2 does not say the President can do anything he wants” is indeed very sobering. The fact that Trump seems to think it does mean he can is sad. When Democrats say they did not want to start this process, I believe them - who would? Most people want their President to be basically competent and understand and respect his duties and limitations.
3
I had the thought that Mitch McConnell could put a stop to the presidents stonewalling, that he too would be interested in hearing what Bolton has to say. What others in the admin have to say. Transparency, right? That the Senate would most likely convict him minus those witnesses. Transparency, right? Then I woke up.
4
The impeachment hearings are incredibly important and all witnesses should be able to testify. I would like to see a side investigation about Trump's insistence that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 elections even though the entire intelligence community agrees that it was Russia. Did Putin ask Trump to do this, either directly or indirectly (and I am thinking of the very private meeting of Trump and Putin)? This possibility is even more unsettling than Trump trying to extort Ukraine.
4
OK. So the bottomline is that the President can't be prosecuted or even investigated until he's out of office?
This ignores the Constitution, of course, but more importantly, it ignores game theory. If the president can simply turn the Power Oval into an impenetrable bubble, he can, basically, do anything to protect himself from impeachment OR prosecution - even ignore the Twenty-second Amendment. Some on the Right have said that at that point, he can be impeached. Oh. How? After giving him the right to not be prosecuted, good luck with that.
But there is a way. Might I refer you to the prosecution of Pope Formosus in 897. This kind of prosecution stinks, but sometimes, it is the only way.
2
If Trump has nothing to hide, what is he afraid of? How often have we heard so-called conservatives say that?
36
I'd like to know, if Donald Trump had told Ukraine that in order for them to receive the $391 million in aid, they would have to agree to give 10% of it to his re-election campaign, would the Republicans still insist that that was not an impeachable offense?
And if they said, "No, because that's a completely different matter", then I'd like to know what the difference is between that, and what he actually did?
Because from where I'm sitting there is no difference. They're both extortion for personal gain.
50
@Chicago Guy: Well, we know the story they're putting out: in the Republican information-world, the Bidens are Bond-villain level international criminals, along with the Clintons and George Soros, and Trump was bravely trying to but a stop to their corrupt schemes. So, a fully indoctrinated Republican wouldn't recognize your logic at all. But I imagine the less deeply indoctrinated would see your point, and simply tell you to get over it.
3
@John Bergstrom
I agree that the polarization is so severe now that there almost zero agreement anymore on what "the facts" truly are.
If a cat ran out into the street and got run over by a car, there would undoubtedly be a large minority of the population that would be willing to believe that that cat was actually trying to commit suicide - if that's what they were told.
1
Lt. Col. Vindman testified that the transcript of the July 25 phone call has some trifling omissions. For example, he claims Zelensky mentioned Burisma by name. However, all those who participated in the conversion or listened in agree the transcript is essentially accurate.
President Zelensky said, “the United States is a much bigger partner than the European Union, and I'm very grateful to you for that because the United States is doing quite a lot for Ukraine. Much more than the European Union especially when we are talking about sanctions against the Russian Federation. I would also like to thank you for.your great support in the area of defense. We are ready to continue to cooperate for the next steps specifically we are almost. ready to buy more Javelins from the United States for defense purposes.”
President Trump immediately responded, "I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it.” But if Trump was asking for a quid pro quo, he was asking for a favor in return for past assistance, not future assistance. Zelensky mentioned Javelin missiles because Trump, unlike Obama, had approved arm sales to Ukraine.
The Ukrainians are adamant that they did perceive a link between Trump’s request and future aid.
1
@William Case
Unfortunate Freudian slip there at the end: "The Ukrainians are adamant that they did perceive a link between Trump’s request and future aid."
I'm sure that you meant the opposite, but you spoke the truth.
There are several, unimpeachable fact witnesses that have made it clear the President Zelensky knew that he needed to get in front of TV cameras and announce he would be investigating Hunter Biden and the 2016 election in order to get the defense money to flow.
27
@Mark Keller
You are right It was poor proof reading.
However, diplomats said Zelensky need to go to a microphone and announce he would be investigating the Biden if he wanted to be invited to the White House. It has nothing to do with aid. Since Zelensky did not comply, Trump met him at the the UN instead of the White House. Do ypuy think the Senate will remove Trump from office because he didn't invited Zelwenksy to the White House.
1
@William Case
I can’t believe your explanation is Trump’s extortion was over a trip to the WH, not the “aid.” Like it’s not still extortion. Of course, that storyline is absurdly implausible. What, then, was Trump waiting for to release the “aid”? (It was only actually released after Congress found out what Trump was trying to pull.)
That the Ukrainians are “adamant” is worthless as evidence; they can’t possibly afford to contradict Trump.
Your explanations are examples of spin; they don’t stand up to scrutiny.
10
"...But why is the president afraid of letting his own White House officials tell the truth in a process ultimately controlled by Senate Republicans?"
I bet it's not so much fear that inspires his stonewalling as it is self-entitlement. Nothing will ever disabuse Trump of the notion that he's the duly elected King of America. He's the boss. He gets to call the shots. If I recall, he even alluded a while back to having been chosen by God for this job (which would be more believable if there were the slightest evidence that he's a believer in God...but oh well).
Anyway, I think he's just doing what he's always done and has always gotten away with. Right up through the present day. And he's still getting away with it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
5
If the House does not send to jail those officials who refuse to respond to its subpoenas, it would be undermining its own legitimacy.
The Republican would advertise Democrats inaction as the indisputable evidence that Democrats have no case. The Republicans will argue that if Democrats had a case, they would be ready to present that to any court in the land.
15
Trump has spent his life avoiding the consequences of his behavior.He had lawyers and fixers to run defense for him to either take the fall or work out deals so he would be punished by heavy fines.He stiffed contractors and bond holders who lost money when he went bankrupt.He paid off porn stars and hid his taxes from the public.He has stepped over the line of lawlessness many times but this time a government employee became a whistle blower to complain that his behavior was a threat to the interests of the United States.Someone he did not know, who was not beholden to him finally said-this is a threat-it is behavior that could harm the United States.Thank God for the Whistle Blower and the patriotic employees of the State Department.
1316
@JANET MICHAEL :The President was wise to exit the saturated casino world and used all legal tools to do it. I believe all of his bankruptcies came from the casino world -good move. It's threat to the US to withdraw from all these undeclared wars that even Liz Warren wants out of and Obama wanted out of also?. So to oppose illegal entry into the US by totally unknown people is a threat to the US?. To demand NATO countries pay their due shares for their protection is a threat to the US?. To demand China stop demanding US technology for US Chinese businesses is a threat to the US?.
@JANET MICHAEL
Apparently, the fate of our democracy depends on people like the whistle blower who are willing to put aside their own self interest (like not getting fired or outed on social media) to save the remnant of what used to be an exemplary democracy. The congress critters are frightened into submission or simply craven sycophants. We're in a boat load of trouble.
36
@JANET MICHAEL well said, period.
18
Trump is like Nero. In that they both tested the public to see if they could go against the rule of law. The difference is Nero knew how to play a fiddle and never sold out Rome to the barbarians.
5
Trump plays his base like a fiddle.
5
Mr. Katyal has made an excellent case for obstruction of a legitimate impeachment inquiry, on a scale we are currently seeing, to constitute an impeachable offense requiring removal from office.
13
Plain and simple Mr. Katyal, Obstruction of Justice with a conscious of guilt by President Donald John Trump.
Mr. President, your call to the Ukraine President was far from perfect. It was bribery and extortion, Sir. The evidence is indisputable. Time to prove it.
Onward!
8
Why are there no legal consequences for Trump’s cronies when they ignore duly issued Congressional subpoenas?
Why isn’t the White House under more political pressure to release the audio recording of the 25 July call held on the secure server?
Why is Trump the President of the United States?
So many questions.
45
How do you spell OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE?
This situation is absolutely terrifying!
19
Since he doesn't read, doesn't care what others think and betrays his own supporters regularly, you can guarantee that by tomorrow night he will have rage-tweeted some self-pitying, whiny inanity that flatly contradicts the GOP's very own strategy designed to save his bacon. A timely reminder -- everything Trump touches dies, everyone around him gets thrown under a speeding bus. You'd think his lackeys would have figured this out by now, but no...
1897
@raven55 They have figured it out but cannot walk away from the trough of money.
108
@raven55 I remember 3 things I heard in 2016 about Trump - he oversells everything , he has no empathy and he has a nose for weakness.
163
@raven55
I agree, raven55, but perhaps Trump's lackeys have more to fear than being thrown under the proverbial bus. Trump has a lifetime of experience at gathering incriminating dirt on anyone and everyone who could one day pose a threat, either to his businesses or personally. For example, Trump and Giuliani go back a long way in NY and Rudi may have more to lose than he does by defending Trump to the hilt. Trump has demonstrated he has ways and means to deal with problematic former lovers, friends, business partners, politicians etc.
110
What’s missing from this article is the obvious fact that voters can remove Trump from office next year. I’m fully in favor of investigating the heck out of Trump and his cronies, but at this point impeaching Trump is political theater. The Senate is not going to remove Trump, no matter how much hot air is blown around in the House. Investigate, but then let the voters decide whether Trump gets 4 more years.
128
@Barfoote Sorry, I don't see it as theatre at all. I see it as a warning to the Executive Branch now, and in the future, that this is a country of laws and rules that has been strong because we have separation of powers. To allow him to remain lawless would have been to erode all that we hold dear.
686
@Dr Cherie And I have a bridge for you. Unfortunately, character no longer exists in our culture.
14
Impeachment is a moral obligation. This President is behaving like the two bit criminal that we all knew he would be with the resources and power of POTUS. He is using those resources, OUR resources for his personal benefit and enrichment, while undermining all the good that America has done for generations.
Yes, the House must impeach. Regrettably the Senate will put their fingers in their ears and scream, "la, la,la, la......" and acquit.
Why does the entire Republican Party choose to abandon all principle for such an unprincipled man?? They can't all be stupid, what good can they see for support of this continued lawlessness, and worse his prostration before Putin.
260
Mr. Katyal, your opinion piece made me cry. I'm worn out from the sadness, the loss of our democracy due to impeachable offenses so obvious that I wonder how we survived today and the past three years. How did we get through his admission of groping? How have we slid past 10,000 lies? Of obstruction, of bribery, of the hate, of the bullying? How have we - how can we - move forward while republicans support the lies? How have we managed "good people on both sides"? It all seems extremely and clearly impeachable to me. What have we done?
I'm going to watch the witnesses tomorrow - but I'm dreading hearing the republicans protect their boss.
2322
I'm afraid it is far worse than you think.
I'm sad, dismayed and astonished also.
It is time we become outraged and stand up, sacrifice, risk everything to save everything.
276
@Nancie
For my own sanity, I mute the so-call republicans. I don't need to be propagandized and treated as a child who can't think.
175
@Nancie- your comment made me cry- for we the helpless who remember public service, law, and decency
192
Simply the concept that we are discussing whether a president can be criminally prosecuted or not is a subversion of the constitution.
On matters of law, criminals should not be afforded the ability to move goalposts; it is a flaw of Common law that goalposts move with precedent; or are staked down at the wrong spot from a single faulty decision. This is the biggest con game that any of us has witnessed. We are losing our democracy; and even if we can put this criminal in jail, the system has been damaged.
As to the argument that a president cannot be prosecuted, that also is a subversion. The reason for this is to prevent spurious unfounded or partisan attacks, impeding a president to work. There are two problems to this argument visavis Trump. On one hand this president doesn't work, except for self interest, wrecking and bankrupting everything else. On the other, his crimes aren't spurious or partisan, they are damaging the core interests of the United States, and they are serious enough that they ought to be considered Treason.
We need to fix the constitution to enshrine the duty to stand by facts, as well as to root corruption.
The US is now the mother of all Banana Republics. It is now good time to brush up on Roman history. Current times remind me both of the weak senate that allowed Cesar to take over, and the confusion that reigned 300 years later.
968
@John
But they are all honorable men . . . .
10
@John
Agree. This is the first president in U.S.history who has treated the office of the presidency as a side hustle.
“I’m very good at real estate...”
“I own a property in Florida... ” [speaking about the Doral in Miami, where he had decided -- and ultimately reversed the decision, under fire -- to host the G-7. “I would have given it for nothing.”
“The Democrats went crazy, even though I would have done it free... ”
Trump says the Constitution says "I can do whatever I want as President" https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4809509/user-clip-trump-constitution-i-president
Trump's a grifter -- too lazy to even try to learn what the Constitution requires -- or what the oath he swore meant.
But what's the explanation for his enablers?
135
@John - the situation of Trump escaping indictment for his crimes is not 'precedent' or 'established case law'. It is only a 'Justice Department policy memo' that prevented Mr. Mueller from bringing charges. This convenient finding, from a branch of the administration whose 'chief executive' is the person under investigation, can and should be challenged. It is nowhere in the Constitution that presidents are exempt from investigation, nor is it in the Constitution that presidents are exempt from indictment, or prosecution. Nowhere.
111
"But the Senate Select Watergate Committee held firm and insisted on the witnesses appearing, going so far as to say it would jail any witness who invoked executive privilege. That led Nixon to throw in the towel, saying he would not invoke privilege and would let the aides testify."
So why doesn't the relevant committee do the same this time? Anyone?
21
Stop asking Republicans to support democracy. They do not and will not. They cry democracy only when they want to undermine a foreign opponent.
13
@NSf --We are a Republic..
Many extraordinarily honest, decent men who have devoted their lives to honorably serving this country are telling the same story. Many craven cowards who believe they are serving their president are rigidly holding to the "party line." Given this setting, Donald Trump is in his glory. He will continue to work this scenario for his own benefit, knowing that many hours of skillful nasty tweeting have reduced many in his party to essentially kindergarten status: afraid of the bully, they therefore do and say whatever the bully demands. Object or fight back, and suffer the kindergarten-style name-calling at which the President excels. This is the state of our "government" today. Makes one so embarrassed to be an American.
19
Totally agree. What I don't understand is why "executive privilege" could even be credibly deemed available to protect a president against charges of criminal conspiracy with his WH aides (e.g. Mulvaney). Even the attorney-client privilege does not apply to alleged criminal conduct engaged in by a client and his lawyer. Obstruction of justice should be the first count in Trump's articles of impeachment.
1
If John Bolton has information that his lawyer claims to have, he needs to willingly testify before the committees. To not do so means he is implicated in the unlawful "drug deal" himself.
5
“But the Senate Select Watergate Committee held firm and insisted on the witnesses appearing, going so far as to say it would jail any witness who invoked executive privilege. That led Nixon to throw in the towel,...”
Today’s Congress wouldn’t attempt this move - yet another example of how the relative power balance between the executive and legislative branches has shifted over the years. Shifted dangerously in favor of the presidency.
1
An impeachment that solely focuses on the Ukranian issue would be a weak representation of Trump's perfidy. He has been breaking the law and abusing his power since he took office--even before that. Rather than give the Republicans an easy pass, the charges should include at a minimum obstruction of justice, which is obvious and hard to argue in light of the Constitution.
2
"But the Senate Select Watergate Committee held firm and insisted on the witnesses appearing, going so far as to say it would jail any witness who invoked executive privilege. That led Nixon to throw in the towel, saying he would not invoke privilege and would let the aides testify." Why is this not happening? What is the House waiting for? They need to hold these people accountable.
3
The next few months will determine the future of the country. Whether democracy will exist or fail. I'm not optimistic,,,
3
It’s clear the Putin has something on Trump—that Trump is a highly-paced Russian asset. But what does he have on the rest of the Republican Party? Are they just so deep in the pockets of the Kochs and other amoral billionaires that they have forgotten about their sworn duty to the Constitution and the country?
4
There are only two interpretations regarding the Ukraine affair. One, the President knew all along about what was going on, in which case he has betrayed his oath of office. Second, he was unaware of what being done on his behalf, in which case he is criminally incompetent. Either scenario requires his removal from office.
5
It seems that the President and his gang are providing a textbook case for 'How to Defeat an Impeachment Inquiry'. It will be used again in the future as the Presidency continues to gain power at the expense of Congress.
2
@Jill: The Congress has abrogated power to the president because it is a fractious collection of state's rights revanchists installed to preclude basic constitutional federal supervision of the states.
4
In any situation threatening him, all Trump knows how to do is fight, viciously, using whatever desperate means. Profound lying is a given.
There is no defense for his obstruction of Congress in its constitutional duty to undertake impeachment investigation and, if deemed necessary, articles of impeachment.
Republican—representatives and senators—there is no defense for this impeachable obstruction of Congress.
1512
@srwdm I’m surprised that Trump, Giuliani, and Stone haven’t yet poured cement in someone’s shoes and sent them to the bottom of the Potomac River. As far as I know.
81
@MmmmHmmm-Stay tuned, my money is that Mulvaney will be the fall guy--with the promise of a pardon. Sigh.
59
@srwdm Should a president be subjected to a band of marauders? No. The people working for the president should not be subject to this type of questioning. Impeach Adam Schiff.
One has to ask the question, what if the persons Trump is ordering NOT to testify, does so anyway?
Thing is, after Trump is gone, these same people who are bidding Trump's orders will be making the circuits to tell their story in their books.
I for one will not be buying any of them.
4
Trump is a complete waste of everyone else's time and lives.
7
@Steve Bolger that is why the media is obsessed about him.
1
@Steve Bolger just like the Manchurian Candidate, Trump is a blank cipher planted by corporate interests to subvert American democracy and the Constitution. For us to purge the cipher is a very useful expenditure of our time.
2
If the three branches of U.S. Government are truly "co-equal," then Congress should have more ability to enforce it's own laws. Congress's Sargent at Arms should be expanded and authorized to make arrests of White House officials to compel their testimony.
In this piece, one point stands out above all others: "Why is the president afraid of letting his own White House officials tell the truth in a process ultimately controlled by Senate Republicans?"
6
As POTUS Donald Trump has blatantly lied to the American People he was elected to serve. He has not upheld and protected the founding principles of the American Constitution. Consciously and methodically he is using the Executive Office to promote and further his own agenda NOT the agenda for the PEOPLE He needs to be removed from office. Every member of the Senate and Congress who attempts to protect this criminal also needs to be removed from office. Let the impeachment proceedings begin. More facts will come out. The American People must have access to the facts. If Senate Leaders attack our democracy and work to protect Trump's power... they to along with Mr. Trump need to be removed from office. Very few of the people who voted for Donald Trump did so to do Vladimir Putin's bidding. Many American Citizens have been blatantly deceived by this despicable man and his henchmen and women. WE THE PEOPLE are bruised and bleeding but we will win this battle. We can do this... Either through Impeachment or the 2020 Election Trump, McConnell and their criminal cronies have to go.
6
@Leslie374 very well said, bravo!!
1
Here's a question:
With all the lawyers in Washington, are the lawyers beholden to the Bar Association or their oath to the Country? Very different perspectives.
3
Trump has given corruption a bad name. That Trump is welcoming Turkey’s Erdogan at the White House tomorrow speaks volumes. Reasons for giving way to Erdogan in Northern Syria and throwing the Kurds under Turkish tanks is a story that needs to be uncovered.
5
The truth is all around us, yet we choose to blame others, the American way is to blame the people who are different yet the same. A country that chose to be stupid with the help of a sell out government that does nothing but lie.
5
Obstruction of justice in this inquiry involves not only Trump, but most of the people around him. The question should be what do all those who support Trump have to hide and why are they supporting Trump's behavior. They have circled the wagons to protect not only Trump but their own hides. With Nixon there was a clear trail of abuse that landed Ehrlichman and Haldeman as well as a host of other into jail and this has already begun with at least six of Trump's henchmen. In this case Mr. Giuliani, Barr and Pompeo have serious legal problems that are keeping a host of lawyers very busy. Trump's bogus executive privilege claims protect not only Trump but who knows how many others. There must be direct and immediate enforcement of Congressional subpena powers which means throw them all in jail and let them think about the costs of supporting this mafia quabal.
3
So why have the House Democrats not threatened to jail any witnesses that refuse to testify?
11
Good question!! Why aren’t these people who refuse to honor subpoenas not held in contempt & thrown into jail. Haven’t we been reading over & over once this Enquiring became an impeachment investigation people would have to honor their subpoenas! I don’t get this! Do you?
2
"President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has refused to testify. Secretary of Defense Mike Esper, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, have ignored congressional subpoenas related to the investigation."
What is the point of congressional subpoenas if they can be easily disregarded without any consequences? It is crystal clear that the authority of the legislative branch can only function when both the house/senate are controlled by the same party. The GOP, has fully become an enemy of Democracy.
4
The problem with this argument is that like Meuller, obstruction, when there is no root crime is going to be hard to pin on the President. When NIxon resigned it took less than a minute to explain why he would be impeached because the original crime was clear, in case of Clinton, lying under oath, was clear even if it was about blow jobs. Here it looks more like a political disagreement between the parties, however distasteful. If the witnesses have nothing more than an opinion(however weighty) Trump wins. Trump won the last time by taking on the establishment. Here he is doing it again. It's Trump against the world and 43% of the eligible vote is more than enough to make him President again. Trump against the world has always been his story and Democrats are just reaffirming George Bernard Shaw's wisdom when he said, "Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig likes it."
4
Does it matter?
There is no way the Senate will vote to convict. Period. End. of. discussion.
So why is the media stirring the pot with idle speculation?
Trump could murder his wife on Broadway in front of everybody and the Senate would still refuse to convict.
They are that scared of him.
So what is the point of all this? Anybody?
3
Trump engaged in extortion with an ally. He has profited financially from his office. He has lied daily to the American people. He has caged children and enabled the slaughter of Kurds. And yet Republicans defend him. Unbelievable.
5
I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but, what if the impeachment hearings are a dud?
If the public has to have every presidential communication "translated", then it is on the listener to decide right or wrong, truth or lie.
If there is a recording of Trump telling the Ukrainian President, "Look, I'm only going to tell you 7 times, dig up dirt on the Bidens.", that seems pretty open and shut.
But, if CNN has to have a lawyer to analyze a presidential phrase, followed by, "What the president meant by that...", this will be the shortest televised witch hunt in history.
Why aren’t they throwing people in jail who refuse to testify because of executive privilege? I don’t understand it. They should all be hauled to prison today!
6
Yes, but in the alternate reality of Fox News and alt right conspiracies there is nothing to see and it’s all just a hoax. Absolute denial of truth based reality is what the American people are really up against.
Understandable for a mental health facility, not for a governing body.
4
I'd like the House and Senate to go back to basics: "Thou shall not lie". This is not a scandal, but the consequence of a lie, a lie about a political opponent and the consequences for at least two nations. Scandals are trivial, this is not. The public should understand how the act of lying affects the President and those around him. No one can make these Ukrainian lies the truth, no spin from Kelly Anne, or sighs from Chuck Grassley caught on TV. Nor can those cute news readers on Fox News. The reality is that this one lie has changed everyone: the lie, the subject of the lie, our entire discourse, our country. We now live on lies: climate change is opinion, poverty is the fault of the poor, DACA recipients are criminals. Truth must be made true again. Government must be truthful and honest, even William Barr. Can the Clergy hunger for truth? We have sadly become so used to lies (Mitch McConnell and his lie about the right of a President to nominate to the Supreme Court one glaring example) that we cannot tell right from wrong.
6
Blame the Democrats in Congress for not seeking to have the Supreme Court compel testimony under the subpoenas or be held in contempt.
3
The entire Republican Party has sold its collective soul to the devil. That they continue to defend this so-called president defies logic.
As other commenters have so aptly stated, everything Trump touches turns to dust. Everyone who chooses to enter his orbit is ultimately thrown under the bus - or they self-immolate. There is no way today’s Republicans do not know this; yet, despite the knowledge that they are traveling down this unforgivable one-way path to destruction, they continue to neatly stand in line and defend their man.
The dominoes will fall in a neat, orderly manner. In fact, the process has already begun. History will not only not be kind, it will be absolutely ruthless. Our only concern is that we must actually live it, in real time, without the benefit of looking backward (yet) in hindsight.
It’s a slow-motion reel-to-reel we are witnessing, and yes, I know. It is painful to absorb on a day-to-day basis. But we will get there, and facts will indeed again matter, and the truth will come out (as it already has begun to).
Everyone - and I mean *everyone* - gets what they deserve.
We are ultimately all revealed.
11/3/20. VOTE.
4
The Republicans are just that corrupt and will do anything to get themselves out of going in the history books again as a dishonorable gang with this corrupt President. They believe he is innocent we have trained witnesses who say other wise and are honorable men. This is for the GOP why don’t you just pick an honorable President next time like the Dems do. We had 8 great years with President Obama. You can’t find any because all your GOP politicians got serious character and immoral problems so stay home for future elections. We will save the climate and get an affordable health care by taxing the rich and making them finally pay .
3
it all seems so unnecessary, also..Trump could have gotten everything he wanted without being devious, without using extortion, without firing anybody or bad-mouthing anybody..He has the Senate republicans and half the country thinking he is the best thing that ever happened to us..Why he had to engage in criminal acts is so weird - just like the ending to Fargo, where the guy gets caught stuffing the leg down the wood chipper, and Frances McDormand, driving him to jail, just says "And here you are, now.. And it is such a beautiful day..." Someday we may get not Stupid Watergate but Successful Watergate, with a criminal mind like Mitch McConnells. running all..That will be the end of democracy..
1
it seems that the system has a bug and Trump is exploiting it.
2
There's something even more suspicious about the Ukraine scandal than just a phone call. Is this related to Trump's goal to prove the Russians were not involved in the 2016 election? And why is he trying so hard to blame Ukraine? Why did (does) Donald Trump have a "shadow" foreign policy team in Ukraine -- including Sondland who is amb. to EU not Ukraine -- and is this similar to what Kushner was trying to do in 2016 when he was trying to establish a back-channel with Russia? Every time Trump claims he's "the most transparent" person in Washington, I cringe and wonder what he's hiding now.
2
So the Senate Republicans have decided not to watch the Impeachment inquiry hearings. They all deserve to be voted out in 2020 for violating their sworn oath of office.
The House of Representatives majority has follow its authority and duty to provide oversight of this corrupt Executive Branch as outlined in the United States Constitution. These are serious charges and not a witch-hunt or hoax. The American people demand that you obey the law!
4
In this entire situation it comes down to who has credibility. Of which Trump has none! Which is completely his own doing. His bogus conspiracies, "Obama Birther," and "Deep state", or Trump Jr.'s "Pizzagate", in addition to the many, many lies he tell the American people so often shows him to be completely untrustworthy. Trump and Republicans have gone from "no quid pro quo," to "illegal inquiry", to "lack of transparency," to now where they are trying to create a claim of Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 election despite ALL the evidence by numerous Intelligence Communities from several different countries proved it was Russia. To which Russia is still actively using those same methods in elections around the globe today! Yes, there is much corruption occurring, and Trump is the individual committing it! Instead of recognizing, acknowledging and correcting Trump's corrupt actions, Republicans encourage all of it regardless of the divisive atmosphere in America such actions have been creating. Placing party before country does not an American patriot, make!
3
He's setting an awful example for the rest of the country/world/apparently the rule of law doesn't apply to him. From his example, can we all now ignore subpoenas? "Hey, if the president can, why can't I?"
4
Oh it will be a very hard case for the Democrats. Just as it was for the Republicans on President Clinton. Yes it is different to the people in the know, but to the average person on the street, it is all the same. One Party against the other. Democrats just trying to get Trump out, because they are bad losers. You know that you hear it all the time. Listen, the Republicans in the Senate, would rather set there hair on fire then to vote to impeach there sitting President.
Trump has no belief in right and wrong. There is only him "winning" or "losing." Legal or not, honorable or not, he'll do virtually anything to win, and virtually anything to not lose. HIs endless lies, his pay-offs and corrupt actions, and his fundamental immorality make him unfit for any public office. The fact that the Republicans are still lock step behind him seems like some bizarre Jonestown cultism.
2
Trumps stonewalling perhaps began as soon as he took office, amongst veteran civil servants and professionals whom he routinely bypassed. Perhaps no one really explained the law to trump (he seems to have an attention disorder) or even if they did, he did not care because he just thought a president is mighty powerful and no law applies to him. We have Nikki Haley publicly telling us that both John kelly and Rex Tillerson tried to defy the president when he strayed from the law. Yet she defends him saying trump was truthful. There seems to be a glaring disparity in her own statements and that is very sad. Nikki is supposed to be raised in a Sikh family where upholding the truth is uppermost. This year being the 550th year of Sikhism, it is most disrespectful of her to disregard the very foundation of her former faith. Good thing she left the faith and became a Methodist which perhaps does not have such strict guidance of upholding truth honor courage and righteousness. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50380898 “
Celebrations have taken place in India and Pakistan to mark the 550th anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak - the founder of Sikhism.“
2
How much longer can members of the Republican Congress deny the reality of their being in the 'crosshairs of History', forever their inaction to judge in an unbiased fashion what President Trump is clearly guilty of?
And this is so much more than what Trump is guilty of regarding the obvious 'quid-pro-quo' involving his withholding of arms from the Ukraine.
And it can not be forgotten or ignored that so much, if not most, of what Trump is guilty of is the direct result of his placating the wishes by Evangelicals to end Abortion, classically known as 'A Woman's Right to Chose'?
They are the driving force, whether it be decisions by Attorney General Mike Pompeo, Mick Mulvaney, or the leader of Netanyahu of Israel, it's always the Evangelical support that guides decision making coming from the White House.
And with that said, forever, they themselves the members of the Republican Congress, and their families and followers as well, will have to defend their disgraceful an tarnished legacy, one to be pilloried throughout History by every Basic 101 Civics Classes in every High School, College, and University in America.
Have they no pride?
1
@merc
No, they don't. Nor do they have morals, ethics or integrity while they bow to the fake Christians who claim to value human live - until a child is born. Then its welfare doesn't matter anymore.
1
Trump should be impeached for obstruction of justice in trying to hamper this inquiry.
He's exhausting.
And crooked.
Time to go, Mr. Trump
3
Trump has nothing *but* criminal intent.
4
I read the "transcript", as almost everybody I know. Nobody disagrees with what was said. All involved are consistent with the facts.
I perceive this like the movies in which somebody commits murder 1 and the murderer's lawyers make it manslaughter. The murderer gets away with a slap on the wrists.
But this is not fiction. It is the president involving foreign leaders in internal politics for his personal gain at the cost of national security and Americans. The guy needs a straight jacket to keep him away from a phone.
How many "Ukranian scandals" are there? We need another whistleblower for the Turkish one.
This will never be the new normal.
3
There is a record of a phone conversation between Trump and the Ukrainian president that now resides in a top secret White House server. It was placed there because the people protecting Trump knew he would be impeached if it ever came to light. That's what he's hiding. A perfect call, from a perfect president on a perfect day. What's more to hide than that?
3
What do you mean , Trump's stonwalling consequences would be that "There is no way to police executive branch wrongdoing"?
How dare you to even suggest that Trump could be guilty of any wrongdoing whatsoever, and that there would be a need to "police" his decisons?
Shame, outrageous, treason, bad, bad, bad.
But luckily the Supreme Court will ALWAYS set things rignt
Trump is a shameful National Nightmare. Shallow man who spends 24/7 thinking exclusively of himself.
4
The major difference between the odious Nixon and the indefensible trump: Nixon was not owned by a Russian dictator who had him by his small hands. Great piece by a brilliant former solicitor general. TY.
4
When the House inquiry is over, when articles of impeachment are adopted, what happens then, in the Senate? Do the president's Republican defense lawyers bring up 'their' witnesses, and, if so, can the Democratic attorneys for the prosecution also bring in witnesses? Who decides? What are the rules? How would there be a level playing field in a room whose referee is John Roberts and whose dompteur is Mitch McConnell? It turns out that Nixon -- who knew? -- had a shame gene and Trump only ice water. Anybody who blasted McCain, even post mortem, who insulted Gold Star parents, who can parlez-vous with Putin and Erdogan shouldn't have even been allowed within 100 yards of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Time to call the moving vans.
2
Tomorrow truth will set us free from preaching Martin Luther King. The word at goal a century ago but they're woven in every Americans heart. As Americans tragedy to Republican Party will lay there down their lives for this President. The things that Pres. Donald Trump have done since he been in office lied 13,000 time to the American public. Tomorrow as you watched on television the show must go on, the Republicans will be to the right and a Democrat to the left spelling out impeachment to Pres. Donald Trump is time for the American people to stand up and watch television networks tomorrow how the Republican smeared mud. About the testimony we will hear tomorrow, focus on Jim Jordan, Nunes and others that follow the Republican smear campaign against the Democrats trying to tell the truth to the American public. This is not a game there's a list of things that he's done wrong for the last 30 years and now is catching up to him. So who will cast the first stone yes the Republicans GOP/tea party and the 30% blinded by the truth.
For the Democrats to will set them free of this scandalous Pres. Donald Trump, God bless America.
Innocent people do not act the way Trump is acting.
3
Unfortunately, this has become so political that Trump is doing anything he can to defend himself. While all impeachments probably appear “political” at the start, the nature of the offenses vary. Nixon was involved in an actual crime. Clinton lies directly to the American people about his White House sexual behavior, Trump kind of asked for a favor, that didn’t actually happen. And while the media uses the term “to dig up dirt on a political rival,” Biden was serving as the VP at the time.
Not defending Trump, but the impeachment—following The Mueller investigation—is just chapter two of the Dem’s relentless efforts to rid our Executive Branch from Trump. I’m the end, they’ll have to achieve that goal at the polls
1
“President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has refused to testify. Secretary of Defense Mike Esper, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, have ignored congressional subpoenas related to the investigation.”
At the impeachment hearings the House Republicans will argue that none of the State Department witnesses had conversations with the president. And the president instructed to ignore subpoenas all the people with whom he had personal conversations.
This sounds like obstruction of justice and if a Democratic president did this there would be a price to pay.
So the impeachment is the solution the founding fathers put into the constitution to address a situation where a president is out of bounds. It is the only recourse besides waiting a year to vote him out of office.
But if a mob boss gives free thanksgivings turkeys to everyone in the neighborhood would they really want to see him go away?
1
If he were still alive, I wonder what Richard Luettgen take would be on all of this? I have a feeling he would side with Trump but we'll never know for sure.
A president “not allowing” his staff to comply with subpoenas from congress (and getting away with it!) Is ridiculous in a so-called “nation of laws”.” Put up or shut up. And why doesn’t private citizen Giuliani have to comply?
3
Americans are completely corrupted by money.
A mercantilist ideology.
They cannot even debate and create a global health care.
The highest violent crime rate in the industrialized world. 8 times more than the European average. A violent nation. The highest incarceration rate also per capita, by 8 times more than Europe.
And that is not from Trump's election. It was before.
Today they are trying to make believe that it is not their fault.
It is only the bad guy in the White House. We don't know how he got there even... and the Republican mafia in the Senate.
That was there decades before Trump.
Who organized the military coups in South America to put fascist dictatorships in power during the 60's and 70's ?
Americans are discovering the country that they live in, that other nations have suffered from since decades, and they were just giving disdain to them.
So we are supposed to believe Trump when she effectively says: “When I pointed the gun and pulled the trigger, I never meant any harm”???
Liars lie.
He lies daily.
And we only know the public lies.
He may not have had the specific thought of intending to do harm, but his actions speak louder, and more truly, than his words.
But whether he meant it or not at the time, he took a solemn oath, in public, in front of TV cameras. And by trashing the Constitution, he is not only failing to fulfill his oath, he is shredding it before our very eyes.
2
It's almost inconceivable how corrupt this guy is.
2
Start hauling them off to jail.
What is the hard part?
3
But wait for the next diversion: Barr's "investigation of the investigators " will be coming out soon, creating but another pea shell to look under. Somehow, this will be used as a "whataboutism" to justify poor old picked on trump's victimization at the hands of the "deep state", Hilary Clinton,Barack Obama and Grandma Moses. And if that doesn't work,coming to a streaming website soon will be "trump's wall: the folly continues", live thrilling action of three whole miles being erected. Brought to you by none other than Kushner Productions.
1
Susan McDougal refused to testify on Whitewater and went to prison. Is anyone going to prison for failing to testify on Trump's impeachment? If not, why not?
3
Why has no one been arrested for not complying with a congressional subpoena? This astounds me. Lock up a few of them and the rest will start showing up.
As far as the Republican senate, do we really think Russia only hacked the Democrats? I’ll bet they have some “bigly” and ugly stuff on Lindsey and the gang.
2
People keep saying the reason the Republicans are pretending they don't know that Trump has committed bribery is because they're worried about Trump's backlash against them.
That means that they are all cowards? Talk about manning-up!!
Tells you the difference between career bureaucrats and politicians...one set is in it for themselves; the other is in it for the country.
So sad!
1
Mr. Trump said we should see the Pence transcripts too. Where are they?
It was reported that Trump called Putin shortly after speaking with Zelensky. Wouldn't it be interesting to know what was said?
2
Why isn't Trump encouraging and ordering his minions to testify to his 'perfect call' with the President of Ukraine in order to expose 'the fake news' and 'witch hunt'?
Where are the transcripts of Donald Trump's calls and discussions with Benjamin Netanyahu, Vladimir Putin, Recep Erdogan and Mohammed bin Salman involving Trump putting his personal financial and political interests ahead of preserving, protecting and defending the Constitution along with American values and interests?
3
Trump should be impeached and removed from office based on his obstruction of the Congress alone.
Then there are also about 10 counts of obstruction of justice detailed in the Mueller report, any ONE of which would justify and even require that this lawless, illegitimate "president" be impeached and removed from office.
Any one of this long list of obstruction charges is more than enough to REQUIRE impeachment and removal, whether partisan, lawless Republicans in the Congress vote for it or not.
This Republican Senate, in particular, is about to make the history books for being a lawless Congress that ignored the separation of powers, promoted the unitary presidency, and put party ahead of democracy, the Constitution and the country.
It will be a day to be recorded in infamy if this Republican Senate fails to remove this criminal president from power!
3
What kind of system permits the target of the congressional inquiry to conceal the evidence and silence witnesses? The answer is: an authoritarian regime! Authoritarian regimes silence and terrorize witnesses, conceal documents, and launch disinformation wars to confuse their citizens who have the power to vote. How can citizens form an opinion if the administration is concealing the documents and silencing witnesses? Shouldn't this be illegal? Can the Chief Justice force the release of the relevant documents? These documents belong to Congress and ultimately to us, the people. Can Chief Roberts require first-hand witnesses like Mulvaney, Eisenberg, Pompeo, Bolton to testify under oath? They are government officials, not private employees. How can the Supreme Court or Chief Justice allow a trial to proceed where the defendant brazenly conceals all underlying documents and silences the witnesses who were directly involved?! Only an authoritarian regime allows this to happen!
How dare we teach our kids that this country is a nation of law when a brazenly lawless president is protected by shameless senators and a lawless DOJ while we watch impotently?
Is it true that we have 3 co-equal branches of government if in fact they don't have "co-equal" powers?
If the Chief Justice allows the evidence to remain hidden and witnesses to remain silent, then the US will become in fact a lawless authoritarian regime.
1
"Otherwise a president could engage in extreme wrongdoing, and the American people would have no remedy."
And that's exactly what's happening. The people have no remedy. In effect, Trump's coup d' etat has succeeded due to equally corrupt republicans. America will be governed by a lying con man for the rest of his natural life.
One ball the media has strangely dropped: the "transcript" of the call to the Ukranian president. At the top of the Summary given to Congress are the words "this is not a transcript". This is a 10-minute summary of a 30-minute call. Why can't Congress obtain the actual transcript? And what extra information does it have that the Summary left out?
2
We have the transcript of the phone call. Asking people what they feel about or know about the call is useless, unless you’re a democrat looking to dig up more dirt. This democrats did the Kavanaugh hoax and the Mueller hoax. Now we have the Ukraine hoax. Trump isn’t hiding anything. The republicans are done taking the democrats claims seriously. The democrats are totally abusing the system.
On national tv July 24: "In the closing moments of the second hearing with former Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Rep. Adam Schiff and Mueller agree that accepting foreign intelligence during a presidential campaign is unethical, unpatriotic, and in certain instances "it’s a crime."
July 24, 2019"
On July 25, 2019 Trump, having withheld military aid authorized by Congress, asked President Zelensky for a "favor" in order to secure the release of that aid. It is a crime and Trump knew it.
Thank you, Neal Katyal, for clarifying these important points regarding Trump's obstruction of Congress, his flouting of the rule of law. The insidious circular logic of the claims made by Trump, the White House legal counsel and many of his defenders amount to only one thing: Trump wishes to ultimately insulate himself from any legal obligations to any American institution, including the co-equal branches of government - one of which he thinks he can or has co-opted, the Judiciary - and from the American people itself. He does this by denigrating any one person or institution that opposes him, most notably the free press, despite the verifiable truth presented by those parties. How many times and in how many ways can the dangers of Donald Trump and his sycophants be illuminated without a price being paid? The longer this goes on - and November 3, 2020 may well be the final chance to stop it - the greater the extreme peril to the American experiment in self-government and rule of law.
Again the Democrats should always state that all they want is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth.Those who are innocent do everything they can to prove their innocence with documents and witnesses. The facts speak for themselves.
Neither documents and/or witnesses are available to defend trump.....because his actions are not defensible.
The system is flawed and Trump is taking advantage of the flaw. The flaw is that Congress has no practical way to enforce its subpoenas or its findings of contempt of congress on its own. If it was to jail someone for contempt of congress, it must go through the Department of Justice. Unfortunately, the DOJ may choose not to file charges in court. The DOJ always has discretion not to file charges against a person accused of a crime just as a police officer has discretion to write out a warning for speeding rather than to issue a citation. William Barr for various reasons will never bring criminal charges against someone for defying a subpoena if it is someone that Trump ordered not to testify. The DOJ has historically maintained independence from the President, but Trump has co-opted Barr and the DOJ and Trump has pretty much taken charge of it.
Two things a new Democratic President and Congress should do are as follows. First, the DOJ should rescind the absurd OLC Opinion that a sitting President may not be indicted. Second, Congress must enact legislation that gives it independent authority to enforce its rulings of contempt of Congress, including to jail offenders, who, e.g. refuse to testify until they decide they don't like jail much and agree to testify.
4
as one commentator pointed out yesterday. Trump has done one thing for the country. He has exposed those who have no integrity or ethical backbone. He has exposed those who have no patriotism or willing to defend the constitution and obey the oath they took. Has has shown us who the self serving congress people are that would destroy our country to hold on to power and money. For that and only that we can thank him
6
The president, majority of his administration refuses to comply or cooperate with lawful subpoenas from Congress.
I, for one, if I ignore a summons or subpoena, if I refuse to "govern yourself accordingly" to the writ presented, will certainly spend some time in jail.
HOW CAN I EXPLAIN this example to the young or those who respect authority?
1
All consistent with trump's thuggish, gangsterish way of doing things, this time instead of a dimestore-joke real estate twit, he is somehow elevated to the presidency.
I do hope these public hearings turn some of his following around. But I am not optimistic - they are some pretty accomplished sheep.
2
This is an embarrassment. Not for Trump but for justice, the rule of law and for fairness. We treated 9/11 alleged terrorists better than this duly elected president. THEY were allowed their witnesses and the ability to defend themselves!This is a circus. And it will backfire badly on the Democrat party.
Have you been paying attention at all? Why do you think djt isn't going to be allowed witnesses & the opportunity to defend himself? (Actually, he's the one blocking the witnesses who might be most inclined to cast his actions in the most favorable light possible.) Perhaps you should better familiarize yourself with the process before jumping to such incorrect conclusions. We are still in the early stages of said process. This country might still be healed if only people could be bothered to educate themselves & fact check instead of seeing plots & conspiracies around every corner.
Trump is stonewalling only to conceal the truth
because he is afraid that if the whole truth were revealed he would finally lose the support of his
deluded cultish base, Fox News, the Republican leaders, and face the consequences of his vast corruption.
As things unravel, he fears that the multiple illegalities of his business, his taxes, his money laundering, his sexual assaults, his philanthropies, and in the end his true self would be exposed to bright clarifying light. He would be seen then as the coward, bully, and insecure not very talented and competent man child he really is. He would be revealed to be a contemptible fraud and worse yet he could lose all that money and the gilded life style that he requires to hide from himself that ugly reality. Of course, spending his remaining life in a penal institution, stripped of all luxury, prestige and adulation as an inmate would be this coward’s deepest fear. Of course, most of his administration would face the same fate if justice and the rule of law are to be redeemed.
5
Ambassador Sondland's addendum to his initial testimony refuted allegations that Trump threatened to deny aid to Ukraine. Now the allegation is that Trump agreed to invite President Zelensky to White House only if he publicly announced an investigation into allegations made by Ukrainian officials against Joe Biden. The Ukrainian alleged he quashed an investigation of Burisma Holdings to protect his son, Hunter, who served on the Burisma board of directors.
The allegation that Trump set a condition on a White House meeting may be true. Trump met with Zelensky at the United Nation instead of at the White House. But if true, refusing Zelensky as White House invitation is not an impeachable offense. The exception that the Senate would remove the president from office for not extending a White House invitation is delusional.
We have come to expect this defiance of the Constitution from Trump.
But such defiance cannot be the behavior of true statesmen and true patriots. Indeed, such defiance and enabling such defiance is anathema to the ideas of statesmanship and patriotism.
We must conclude, then, that with a very few possible exceptions, there are no statesmen or patriots in the Republican Congressional caucus.
Disgraceful.
3
The Republicans and I daresay even most Trump supporters know that Trump did that of which he is accused. They know the man is an inveterate liar and conniver. Any "defense" other than yes he did it but it is not an impeachable offense is absurd. And no the Senate will not vote to convict. So why try?
Because a line must finally be drawn. There has been no President in my lifetime who has so openly and consistently flouted the Constitution and acted in office with such disdain for the rule of law. I applaud Ms. Pelosi for her willingness to take this step to demonstrate to the American people that this behavior in office will not continue unchallenged whatever the final outcome.
And PS: I am still interested in hearing from those willing to join a GoFundMe campaign to buy Jordan a jacket.
1
Everything this president does demonstrates his outright contempt for America. He thinks our values - democratic values that made us a great country - are for suckers. Republicans have jumped into this proverbial lifeboat with him that has no where to go but down. You simply can't pull that much wool over the eyes of America. Sure, you can fool some of the people all of the time, but Congressional Republicans are way out on a limb with a defense that's indefensible (not to mention, it keeps changing). Fox news and the conservative press are in lock step with Congress and this administration. We are not the same country we were when Obama was president. And it's not hyperbole to say that a cult has overtaken much of America. They're being fed a daily diet of absolute nonsense from Trump. What surprises me is that Congressional Republicans are not giving themselves a backdoor. They lost the House in the midterms. They just lost some more races in the elections last week. Doom is on the horizon for them and they are acting as though more lying will save the day. It won't. Anyone can watch videos on YouTube of Lindsey Graham flip-flopping around with his Trump defense. Republicans demanded open hearings and now that they've got them, they've switched to a new boogeyman. "If the whistleblower won't testify in public the impeachment is a scam". You can't make this stuff up.
2
This is a terrible defect in our system that must be corrected by the Democrats ASAP. How is it possible that the administration is getting away with this? Was it that the Democrats had no power to arrest those who thumbed their noses at a subpoena FROM CONGRESS??!! As an American citizen who votes and is proud of my country, this makes me feel so angry and powerless. I agree it sets a horrible precedent for the rule of law. Not only are Republicans appallingly disrespectful of Congressional oversight - as if they're all spitting in the Constitution's face - this outright disobedience, with no apparent consequence, is also dangerous.
2
What Trump is doing is terrible on many levels....But why isn't the House threatening to invoke contempt of Congress charges against persons not heeding subpoenas at his behest? Republicans play hardball all the time; why are Democrats not doing the same, especially, in this critical case?
3
Regardless of how Trump is trying to duck, weave and hide, the real reason this impeachment seems likely to fail is because the republicans will protect one of their own regardless of his continual lying and ongoing illegal acts, rather than admit that 'one of their own' could possibly have done anything wrong.
Democracy in the US is dead.
I think that the outcome is entirely predictable. Trump will get away with what, by all accounts, including his own, was a clear attempt at bribery of a foreign leader. What this will confirm to the world is that, despite all the holier than thou rhetoric that emanates from the US, the US is inherently deeply corrupt and driven to this corruption by money and power.
3
Sad,y, the only reason there is a need for your editorial is because Republican senators refuse to remove trump for any reason. He is perfect for their plans. He has and will continue to give them conservative judges, even if these people are unqualified. The Republican senators are not the least bit concerned about the Constitution, except the 2nd Amendment, or America. They want power for their own purpose, to have an America in their own image. trump is free to shoot someone on Fifth Avenue or any street for that matter.
The evidence is overwhelming for impeachment and removal. It is the best thing for America. How sad that there are republicans who do not care.
2
To me, the most significant clue to Donald Trump’s intent during the phone call was not the demand that Ukraine investigate the Bidens as a favor to the US president. If that was all that was said, the demand could perhaps have been seen as a light-hearted insistence on cleaning up Ukraine. What Trump asked for was not an efficient, discrete probe but a public announcement of the investigation. Trump did not care about corruption. He was after cheap dirt to dump on his political rival.
3
I am continually amazed that such a creation as Donald Trump exists. It is as if the most farcical comic-book villain had come to life.
I am also continually amazed that the American government I believed to be so strong is in reality a weak state with few codified boundaries for the executive branch. Who knew we were only one narcissistic comic-book villain (and a hep of willing sycophants) away from tyranny?
2
As a former prosecutor, the thought of going to trial without having heard from every relevant witness is abhorrent. The notion that those witnesses are being intentionally withheld by the defendant is anathema. Trump is obstructing Congress by his absurd claim of total executive immunity, and the rush to conduct these hearings without the main witnesses - Bolton, Mulvaney, Giuliani, Perry - is a blunder of colossal proportions by Adam Schiff.
1
I think trump's obstruction is worse than the Ukraine situation.
However, I also thing that Pompeo, Perry, Esper, Mulvaney, Giuliani, if ever they are required to testify will follow trump and lie under oath.
That oath means nothing to any of those people and does not mean anything to most of the Republican congress and even the supreme court justices who are indeed above the law.
I’m almost 73, and was amazed by Watergate .....to see the system hold, and Republicans do the right thing. How low we’ve come since then. How did we get here? Decades of more and more wealth inequality, cynical politicians, and Winner Take All economics caused the rise of Trump. I’m really afraid the next demagogue will be smarter and able to fool even more...who just wanted to protest how bad things had gotten for them.
1
I have concluded that Trump lacks conscience, meaning he cannot distinguish right from wrong. I believe he is such a flawed individual, so lacking in normal character development, that he truly believes he did not in this case and never has done anything wrong. I will leave it to the medical professionals to define, but from my reading the word for Trump is sociopath. He has demonstrated every characteristic of that condition. So, in that sense, he is mentally ill. But what is the GOP's excuse? And what is ours?
4
Trump is the lead in an Ancient Greek Tragedy, Hubris is his name. The Senate Republicans are the enabling chorus. I am nibbling my fingers off hoping this one plays out like the others with justice making a surprise appearance at the end and the arrogant, amoral Trump and his legion of devoted minions get their due. I need this drama to play out in a way that restores my faith in humanity and universal truths. My sanity depends on it. I sense deeply that our democracy depends on it too.
3
The long term damage to the rule of law is staggering. Imagine a truly authoritarian leader actually trying to be authoritarian rather than an insecure narcissist trying to resolve daddy issues in his seventies. That is what scares me.
2
In some ways Trump is doing us a favor. We have never seen the likes of him and now we can see how we could end up with a very bad (even worse than the current) leadership situation. The question is can Congress get together and have enough intelligence to fix these holes? With a senate that has allegiance only to party and a president who is as sketchy as can be, as scary as things are now, I am concerned about what could be ahead.
1
If we refuse to hold our political leaders to the same criminal standards as the rest of the population, we have surely lost our democracy. When we were children we were taught the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution with reverence. Republicans have destroyed all that in less than 40 years. Nothing illustrates the Republican contempt for democracy more than Trump's absurd claim that of the "phony emoluments clause". Pathetic.
1
Can't Congress continue to fight Trump in the courts after impeachment? Maybe getting impeached will not prevent Trump victory in 2020. But acquitting Trump might cost the Senate. Particularly if Congress wins the subpoena battle in courts, albeit after impeachment. Then, close to Nov 2020, Pelosi et al, possibly armed with more first hand testimonies can tell the public, "We told you so. look at this criminal President and the Senators that let him off easy". Risky gamble!
We are where we are as a nation because of the republican parties win at all costs strategy they began to employ post watergate. Lying, cheating, stealing all just part of the game as far as they are concerned laws were be made to be broken, political norms only apply to the other side.
I think our only hope out of this mess is the under 35 voters who are going to suffer for decades at the hands of Trump appointed political hack judges. To say nothing of Trumps environmental roll backs and climate change is a Chinese hoax stance. They have to vote in massive numbers and send the republicans a message they can’t ignore with hands firmly clamped over their ears. They need to reject republicans and their president loudly and clearly.
Not sure, but doesn't the House have the same power to jail witnesses who deny subpoenas to testify? Speaker Pelosi and Mr. Schiff should do the same. Then Mulvaney and company would sing like canaries. Clearly, Donald Trump is a criminal and should be removed from office.
1
As is clear, Trump makes Nixon look like a choirboy. Unfortunately, due to the shameless behavior of Republicans, and the propaganda and lies from Fox, I have prepared myself for the fact that he will be acquitted. Though that is deeply distressing, what would be worse is if he were to be re-elected. It would fundamentally change this country in a way we may never recover. If he is soundly, and I mean overwhelming, defeated at the polls, we have a chance to put this nightmare behind us us.
Is Trump hiding the Whistleblower? Where is he hiding him? What is the point of hiding him if everyone knows who he is, what he does, what his affiliations are, how he votes, who he has worked for and what his obvious prejudices are? Everyone knows who he is except the media. This just might be the worst kept secret ever! It is laughable.
"Mr. Trump’s stonewalling is a grave problem because it means there is no way to police executive branch wrongdoing."
In fact, there is a very well traveled method of policing Trump.
It is called the upcoming election.
However, while we all have our eyes on today's "impeachment" proceedings,
Trump has already thought ahead to the possibility of electoral defeat.
I quote Trump: "I don't know if my supporters will let me leave the Presidency".
I quote Trump: "Millions of illegal votes are why I lost the popular election".
Replay these two sentences in a year when Trump loses.
Because, Trump, even if he suffers a crushing loss, is going nowhere on his own. He will do everything to stay in power until he is dead. He will claim "millions and millions" of illegal votes.....he will claim to be a victim.....
he will ask the army to step in to solve this crisis of illegal voting.....
We all need a plan for that real challenge to democracy.
Now? Is nothing. Just wait.
Trump has a real plan to wreck Democracy. Impeachment proceedings are nothing.
Lastly, personally, I do believe Trump is getting his instructions from Putin somehow. His overnight removal of troops, clearing the way for Russian occupation of northern Syria?
That had to be an order from Trump's Daddy - Vladimir Putin.
2
And the Republicans, specifically Steve Scalise, had the temerity to say the Democrats are conducting "soviet style impeachment proceedings," including creating a poster depicting hammer and sickle.
Leaving aside the absurdity of bringing up Russia (remember Trump saying, “Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing...."), Republicans' short-sighted strategy of supporting Trump, no matter what he does, is likely to backfire, if not now but in the future. They can't control the White House and Senate forever.
2
The Democrats in Congress are out-McCarthying McCarthy. Ever since Trump was elected they have refused to recognize the fact that Trump won and they are the losers. They began his term with two years of phony investigations about collusion with Russia. Now they continue with more phony investigations about a supposed quid pro quo where there was never any quo. Ukraine received he foreign aid, Biden's son was never investigated (although he should be). After a few weeks of public hearings and no gotcha moment, the public will turn off the TV and forget about it.
One wonders how many other schemes Trump is hiding from the public. I have a feeling we’ll only find out when he’s finally removed from the White House, but not if he’s voted out, only if he gets forcibly removed through impeachment or the 25th Ammendment.
1
Where is Bolton's patriotism? He is no longer a government employee. If he has important information regarding this sordid extortion plot by trump and his henchmen, as he says, nothing prevents him from coming forward and testifying. Instead, he has chosen to withhold the information in the hope of monetizing it in a future book. Despicable.
3
The Republic is at a crossroads. Our nation's dirty little secrets have only been exacerbated by the Apprentice. Division, racism, xenophobia, disregarding the environment, inadequate healthcare, violating peoples civil rights, homophobia, and disrespecting the rule of law . Not only will this be the Apprentice's legacy, it will continue be the Peoples albatross unless we understand it's not about us versus them, its about preserving our Democracy and the basic tenets that our forefathers built this nation upon. If we allow the Apprentice to run the country according to his own rules, then are we approaching a state of anarchy, and when that occurs we will have more than an existential and constitutional crisis. Most of the people that voted for Trump have no understanding of the Pyramid Theory in politics but he is playing them like a fiddle while Rome burns.
1
One doesn't have to have medical training to see the obvious: that Trump is a sick, disordered person with disdain for law and order. What is baffling, even incomprehensible is the mass of otherwise smart, educated people who encourage, prop up, and endorse his treachery. Is the lure of power so great? How much money can they spend? Is the fear of being outed by Trump for something--being gay, adulterous, a tax cheat-- so great that they're willing to sacrifice their country over it? Don't these people have children they care about? Grandchildren? Don't they have mirrors in their houses?
2
Trump can get away with breaking the law with impunity because he has 60 million Americans who support him no matter what he does, and the entire Republican Party afraid of the 60 million.
1
The writer of this lynch piece argues that "The stonewalling is particularly pernicious here because Mr. Trump’s party controls the Senate." Perhaps what is particularly pernicious is that the Democrats control the House. It is obvious to everyone that the Democrat Party has been out to destroy the Trump presidency ever since he was elected, and that this entire charade is simply the latest in a series of efforts to achieve a coup d'etat rather than risk another electoral debacle come 2020. The sanctimony of hatchet men like Adam Schiff speaks much more loudly the testimony of deep state snitchers, let alone the lack of testimony on the part of those who refuse to be roped into complicity with this obvious inquisition.
The country knew all about Trump's lack of character before millions voted for him.
The same could be said for Nixon, Reagan and the Bush family.
The resulting scandals (Watergate, Iran-Contra, the innocent dead of Iraq wars, and the destruction of the Supreme Court) were our fault.
1
How could anyone be happy? Democrats are having their eyes poked out by nasty mean policies, (DACA, ACA, Kurds, Medicaid, legal Immigrants) that just don't seem American. Republicans, the party of Lincoln, Eisenhower, Reagan as well as LaFollett, Teddy Roosevelt, has watched the party devolve into a mean gang of ideologues who want to protect the privilege of the rich. Having power has moved to an untenable position to the right of 54% of Americans. The country is divided and that division will not lead us forward. They have in power an incompetent narcissist, who continues to divide us and therefore is dangerous to the nation. All this will go away if the worst president ever elected is removed from office tomorrow. Just do it.
And the "Intelligence Committee" is preventing the President's ability to defend himself by it's partisan rules!
The New York Times, rightly, will only write in measured, polite, civilized tones.
That only becomes a problem when dealing with unhinged, brutal and savage behavior.
It is therefore difficult to write in NYTspeak about the slow coup unfolding because of Trump's psychological make-up, GOP senators utter lack of spine, and worst all, of the complete moral and political deterioration wreaked upon US voters by Fox News and its ilk.
But the facts are that Trump and its base are chomping at the bit for a fight, and I do not mean an intellectual debate.
The only barrier between peace and war, I write "war", is that made by the GOP's senators.
Gossamer-thin.
1
Remember harpooning the shark in "Jaws" with rubber barrels?
They didn't stop the beast, but the process gave the boaters something to do while they conjured up how to really blow the thing up. Essentially, that's what this impeachment is about.
Most changes do not occur instantly. Some changes are insidious and imperceptible. Not all changes are for the better. America is changing not instantly; it’s insidious but perceptible for the worse. We are falling. Our institutions are being undermined for a crook to lord it over.
It is as if we are hypnotized. We are collectively acting like ostrich with our heads in the sand hoping that after the tRump everything will be alright. It may be too late.
Cry for the beloved country
Perhaps a contrarian opinion, but the Democrats are going about the impeachment hearings the wrong way. The first witnesses they should call are the heads of the CIA and the FBI, plus key players from the Mueller investigation -- to disprove in the starkest terms in front of all of America plus Fox News -- Trump's ridiculous conspiracy theories about Crowd Strike, the server, and Ukraine and the 2016 election.
By skipping past all that, they've already tuned out 40% of the American public from the get go. When I was 18, I briefly flirted with the Lyndon Larouche idea - a beautifully constructed holistic conspiracy about the world. It was only by confronting it head on that I was able to break the spell.
Similarly, before Osama Bin Laden went on his murderous spree, he wrote a long manifesto filled with many ridiculous claims. Till this day, no one has ever attacked the manifesto, (nor the one from the blind sheik) and those claims are still believed by millions of Muslims.
It is the hubris of the elites not to believe it is necessary to disprove what is seen as patently ridiculous. But where I live, here in "Trump Country", they hold on tight to such beliefs. To destroy the weed, you have to attack the root.
1
The Constitution was framed to protect the Rights, Freedoms, and Liberties of “common” individuals, to protect equal justice under the rule of law, and to protect against tyranny and corruption.
A democracy could not become, and still cannot become, a reality without such protections and the dedication and perseverance to uphold them.
Those blinding and deafening themselves to the threats posed by this President can be considered embracing tyranny and corruption and a part of destroying our democratic Republic.
Those supporting and defending this President have taken their Rights, Freedoms, and Liberties for granted and are foolish to think these gifts from our Founders will continue for them, when a free people are the biggest threat to a tyrant’s power.
Dr. Fiona Hill was on point in her recent deposition when she, essentially, called out some Americans doing Putin’s dirty work for him, and that Americans had to get their acts together to combat this threat to free people here and abroad.
The Democrats in the House do not equal "the House". The House does not equal Congress. So the impeachment looks more like a partisan event than a search for justice.
The Democrats DO have a point, but it is a small point and not impeachment territory. It would make sense to censure Trump, hopefully with a few Republican votes, and let it go at that.
I personally would like it if Trump was a one term president. But the Democrats have not offered something better. Some of their candidates ARE good but I doubt they will buck the foolishness of the party and especially the vengeful and destructive attitude of the New York Times.
You want to destroy Trump and you do not care if you harm the country in the process. I cannot go along with that.
1
Why are those witnesses who refuse to appear not being heavily fined and put in jail until they do?
3
Can you maintain a democracy when the nation is being politically destabilized from within? You have to hope that truth and ethics will prevail in the long run. We're facing dark days when official corruption will be condoned and encouraged by a majority in the Senate.
Let us recap what has happened in the last 3-4 years. Trump has manufactured a counterfeit Americana, modeled in his own image. Combining his obtuse style of male chauvinism, a dash of old-fashioned 'Bull Moose' populism and the robber-baron business dealings of a monopolized corporate entity.
He purposely changes color as the chameleon, sometimes brash as a gaudy and obscene street tough gangster, other times we see the polish of a brash hedonist, then again the phony glow of a Bible-waving hypocrite.
For the masses, Trump has concocted a modern witches' brew of national carcinogens, sufficiently flavored into a red, white and blue Koolaid for the his voter base to consume. Made on the cheap like his own product brand name, and packaged with glitter sparkles of gold and silver flakes. He made it cheap, we the American people are sold out dearly.
Can you maintain a democracy when the nation is being politically destabilized from within? You have to hope that truth and ethics will prevail in the long run. We're facing dark days when official corruption will be condoned and encouraged by a majority in the Senate.
Let us recap what has happened in the last 3-4 years. Trump has manufactured a counterfeit Americana, modeled in his own image. Combining his obtuse style of male chauvinism, a dash of old-fashioned 'Bull Moose' populism and the robber-baron business dealings of a monopolized corporate entity.
He purposely changes color as the chameleon, sometimes brash as a gaudy and obscene street tough gangster, other times we see the polish of a brash hedonist, then again the phony glow of a Bible-waving hypocrite.
For the masses, Trump has concocted a modern witches' brew of national carcinogens, sufficiently flavored into a red, white and blue Koolaid for the his voter base to consume. Made on the cheap like his own product brand name, and packaged with glitter sparkles of gold and silver flakes. He made it cheap, we the American people are sold out dearly.
The President is an offensive guy, from top to bottom. Why the GOP and his supporters think that adds up to a net positive continues to confuse me.
1
These hearing will either save the country or witness the GOP continue it's ignorant destruction of society and the planet.
I'm reminded of the Warren Commission or the 911 Report where the government reinforces it's own selective-ignorance and lies by putting complicit evil men in charge of the truth they play so loosely with in their effort to dumb-down the populous and turn US against each other while they steal Everything and watch us fight each other over their continuous lies.
The American people deserve to know the entire contents of the call to the Ukraine that Trump hid away in the server. The American people deserve to know why Trump's policies always favor the Russians. In the service of democracy he must be exposed for corrupt individual is his.
1
What bothers me the most about all the incisive and bright commentaries that I read here is the constant lack of focus on Russian Military level subversion and Intervention connected to the entire Trump Schemata. Trump is a Russian Tool and their propaganda networks are deeply entrenched here and they are the reason we have this huge swath of brainwashed citizens who pay no don’t mind fact nor truth. We The People need to find a way to attack them back and block their deeply embedded propaganda machine, They pervade our media and internet soil and thus the minds of the unwary.
I am really angry at Democrats for not doing more to make these people testify. As was said in the article, in the Nixon impeachment people were threatened with jail if they refused to testify. Why is this any different? Is it because William Barr would never prosecute these people? If congress has any real power now is the time to use it. Otherwise we really are already in a dictatorship. We are the frog slowly boiling in a pot of water and the water has been at a rolling boil for months now.
I am so disgusted with the Republican party.
Katyal, or someone, needs to explain why the House is incapable of petitioning the Supreme Court to force all those Trump officials to testify right now.
The President has the absolute right to fight these highly partisan efforts and the highly partisan Democrats can go to court to decide the matter. If the military aid was delayed for 2 months for any reason that does not constitute high crimes committed by the President. The President as the chief law enforcement official has the absolute right to demand corruption investigations before handing out our tax money. Doubt the Republicans will ever regain the House considering the massive illegal alien efforts to subvert our population but if they did they could easily use this same partisan scheme to impeach a Democratic President for any reason.
@Larry Is that you Trump?
Need to be educated? I will help you and those like our GOP that ignore the definition of Bribery:
"Bribery refers to the offering, giving, soliciting, or receiving of any item of value as a means of influencing the actions of an individual holding a public or legal duty. ... Bribery constitutes a crime and both the offeror and the recipient can be criminally charged."
@MW The military aid was due by September 30th and was delivered September 11th. President Zelenski did not investigate Burisma or the Bidens and did not make any public declaration to do so. No crime was committed and the corrupt Burisma company that somehow employed a completely unqualified Biden has not been investigated at all. No crimes committed Sorry.
So this article begs the question. Why aren't the democrats threatening to jail people who do not obey a subpoena? This would seem to be the $64,000.00 question.
1
Am excited for this impeachment process. One we get to see what Trump and the Republicans are hiding. Two when this gets to the Senate we get to see what the Democrats are hiding.
Time for the popcorn!
If the Watergate impeachment could put recalcitrant witnesses in jail, why not now? Answer?
1
There is much more to this story than just the Ukraine affair. Why doesn't the House have all who have refused to come forward because of Trump's order to not testify, be arrested by the Capitol Police? Trust me it would not be a distraction, but a signal to all that this Impeachment Inquiry is extremely serious. It is not too late to do this. There is much more going on.
In addition, they should be given the original tape of the conversations that Trump not only had with Zelensky but with Erdogan and others concerning Syria and the pulling of troops. Not doctored transcripts by White House staff.
The stakes are to high for our Country and the House has every right, in fact a duty, to have every shred of evidence available.
Meanwhile Obstruction of Justice should be charged against Barr, Sondland, Pompeo, Mulvaney and the rest who have covered up for Trump
3
It's time to shut this behavior down. If these officials won't testify, Congress should have them jailed. Play time is over.
1
Trump has learned throughout his life that he can do what he wants. He can break laws, cheat vendors (and the public, think Trump U) with impunity, and lie through his teeth. When he is legally called, he has a stable of lawyers who have always been able to reduce his 'consequences' to a fine in the pocket-change range for him.
If he gets enough people to go along with his muzzling, the Dems have a hard time making a case. If the Dems go to the courts, he has his very own SCOTUS to rule his way. Then, if the Dems still manage to impeach him, the mindless, spineless GOP in the Senate will (as we will hear ad nauseum in his campaign ads) exonerate him and find him 'completely innocent.'
When my son was 18, he lied to the police about some of his friend's activities. My son was charged with hindering prosecution and served 4 months in Maricopa County's tent city (Arizona) June to September.
If Mueller and the House couldn't charge contempt because witnesses would not appear, charge them with hindering. Let them spend a few nights locked up.
2
Only six days ago Trump was ordered by a judge to pay $2 million for misusing Trump foundation funds. In November 2016 after the election, he settled, for $25 million, three lawsuits alleging Trump University defrauded students. The only two occasions he has been held accountable for his corrupt behavior in the past 3 years. (You would think such a history would have disqualified him for the U.S. Presidency to begin with) Yet, while in the Oval Office, Trump apparently can obstruct and engage in extreme wrongdoing with total impunity and so long as Barr is complicit and Republicans, especially those in the Senate opt to ignore it, we, the American people seem to be stuck with a criminal president unless we rise.
2
Thank you for laying before the reader the inquiry of impeachment. That done is not sufficient. Dear readers and Americans to end Trump's lawlessness is to vote him out of office on November 3, 2020. Dear Kentuckians your vote is existential. Vote Senator McConnell out of office, depose him from the gridlock in the Senate. McConnell's powers are as destructive to our democracy as the president's.
1
I am a Navy veteran ('65-'69) and retired federal prosecuting attorney (1995-2010). I am also a retired member of the State Bar of Arizona, the Federal District Court for the District of Arizona, and the United States Supreme Court
From the evidence revealed thus far, it appears that a minimum of three Articles of Impeachment, for bribery, abuse of power, and obstruction of justice, should be forwarded to the House Judiciary Committee.
And if Senate Republicans ignore the Oath they swore to defend the Constitution we will throw 45 out on November 3, 2020. Either way it will be a glorious day for our Republic and for the legacy of our Founding Fathers.
2
We the public, and Congress, should be demanding to hear the actual phone call between Trump and Zelensky. We know the release summary was not a verbatim transcript and that omissions exist. Let’s have a soundtrack to this impeachment.
If the Supreme Court decides that witnesses such as John Bolton and Mick Mulvaney must follow the President's order not to testify, then Americans will have reaped the poisonous fruit of a conservative majority in the Court. 'Checks and balances' will be dead. Neither the Legislative nor the Judicial Branch will be able to check the unbridled power of a president (any president). One wrong Court decision could lead to dictatorship. That's how close to the edge America is. This is a clarifying moment in our history.
1
NATO is a treaty despite Mr Trump.
Trump is another aristocrat denying 1776.
The French Revolution did reject vanity of fashion frocks and handbags trade marked by Ivanka in China.
Trump has no command of his military.
Sacking generals is not a good look.
Mr Trump tweeted and Matthis and, Kelly are derided.
The UK ambassador to the US had a career end .
The US Ambassador to the Ukraine was fired.
I am not a lawyer.
I am a moral theologian a vocation happily enjoyed.
The basis of humanity is choices.
I choose to be Catholic.
Truth is basic and has an ethical dimension.
Abortion and contraception are deeply human issues and beyond the judgement of legislators.
These issues are most private and are beyond the evangelical authority of many Americans.
A Catholic nun told our class that her brother an Australian soldier in WW II was tasked to a place in the South Pacific and issued with cyanide tablets rather than divulge information under torture if caught.
I think there were Americans in that lake at that time.
Could I ask one question at the Impeachment?
Has the president ever read?
Ethics is no big deal.
Truth and Justice.
Read 700,000 dreamers may be exited from the US.
Scary stuff for evangelical moral inerts.
At least I studied scripture and moral theology.
How can evangelicals close eyes and clap!
It is intact.
I have no intention of intruding on US politics but
Trump is irrational, perhaps not sane, certainly a public danger. Irrational arguments sometimes need irrational attacks, especially of their immoral cores. I am waiting for an eloquent "preacher" to rise and to rail mightily that Trump is Satan's servant, in cahoots with the Devil (ok, I think it is Putin but...), ready to throw decent Americans and the "City on the Hill" into hellish demise.
Short of that, jailing those who resist subpoenas is called for. The despair is getting to me otherwise. I am beyond idle fear for the Constitution.
1
Trump and family were found guilty of taking charitable donations for personal use: the judge ordered $2 million in damages.
Why is this example of corruption not part of the impeachment?
Republican's defense is that Trump was fighting corruption in Ukraine, and Joe Biden's name just happened to come up. Democrats should immediately answer: Trump is himself corrupt, as proven in a court of law... and where else has he ever fought corruption?
1
What is Trump really hiding?
It has not yet been pointed out the similarities between his treatment of Ukraine and the relationship between Trump and Putin.
"Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing."
Big, bold, no mistaking the request.
Sure - he was just kidding. Wink, wink.
2
Isn't it obvious that the judiciary is the junior branch of the federal government because it is so underfunded and understaffed that it cannot deliver timely justice about anything?
2
Judges can order things to happen promptly and their delay is not a failure of resources, but a failure of principles and character.
@Steve Bolger Well, the courts actually have to read all these depositions!
Republicans do not and will not!
I am convinced that the Ukrainian scandal is just the tip of the iceberg. I think that behind the Trump-Putin secret conversations there are things that would horrify not only Americans but European countries too.
But what scares me the most is that even if Trump is impeached and sent out from the WH, the shady forces behind him would continue to attack our democracy.
7
Hopefully, when the House of Representatives issued their writ of impeachment it will include the list of obstructions of justice noted in the Mueller's report. This report did not exonerate Trump from these charges but said that its hands were tied from doing so because of a Department of Justice prohibition from criminally charging a sitting president. The House should bring Mueller back to testify about the obstructions charging listed in his final report.
4
Until people who ignore congressional subpoenas are in jail, nothing changes. It's a power struggle and trump is winning.
5
I have to wonder what can Trump possibly do to them if they refuse his order to testify? What is it they fear? They will not be jailed, or shot, or fined. I really would like to know what hold he has over these people.
5
Theoretically, the courts will eventually rule in favor of Congress. The decision is just going to take a really long time. Time is not on Democrats' side. If they lose momentum, impeachment becomes a political quagmire.
Moreover, the closer Republicans can push impeachment to election day, the more ability they have to "Merrick Garland" their defense. Just let the election decide. Whereas, if Democrats force a vote early, that vote is going to look worse and worse for Republicans as the evidence comes out. Evidence the President willfully suppressed before trial. That's bad for Republicans.
We're essentially talking about tempo. No other impeachment has ever occurred before midterm elections. That's unprecedented. Timing is therefore everything.
Democrats want a speedy impeachment and a long trial. Republicans want the exact opposite. The initiative currently belongs to Democrats whether Bolton shows up or not.
3
@Andy: The US Courts are where no-brainer issues go to outlast human lives.
By arguing that not only can a president not be indicted but not be investigated, Mr. Barr (and Trump) are violating the 14th Amendment rights of every single person the United States by the attempted creation of a protected class (specifically barred by the 14th) in the person of the holder of the office of the President of the United States.
7
The next time the Democrats have both houses and the president they need to address the issue of this stonewalling by people who do not want to testify.
They need some penalty that is so strong that any sane person would be compelled to testify. Get creative on the penalty so long as it would work. Prison time or some large dollar fee (one that can't be expelled with bankruptcy) for example, but I'm sure some smart folks can think of many others.
8
One factor that professional government employees may face is the need to "lawyer up" when summoned by the Congress to testify in such matters. The associated legal bills, paid out-of-pocket, could devastate family budgets based on government salaries rather than inherited or ill-gotten wealth. The Congress should consider paying the legal bills for government employees caught in the traps of wrongdoing by bad acting political supervisors.
For Congress, these bills would be a drop in the bucket and could encourage whistle blowers to come forward without fear of wrecking their financial lives in the process.
7
Thank you for focusing our attention on this most important issue. What’s most frustrating is that at this point in time we don’t have clear standing rules about compliance. Is this the future of the impeachment process: nobody from the White House testifies, and the legal system and courts drag their feet deciding if they are required to? History tells us there will be another impeachment. It might even be Trump redux. Steps need to be taken in advance to assure compliance with subpoenas when that happens.
5
If you or I were to ignore or refuse a subpoena, what would be the consequences? How soon would we be arrested?
If a Republican Congress were to issue a subpoena to a Democratic Representative, or any other government employee, and that employee or Representative refused or ignored it, how soon would the Sergeant-at-Arms of Congress be banging on their door?
Do Democrats not really know what a subpoena is?
15
@MCBZB Dear Democrats: Subpoena- from the Latin, “sub-“ under; “poena” penalty.
1
When subpoenas are ignored without consequence, it becomes more difficult to trust the House with this process. Each time Trump and his staff disregard American legal process there must be a sharp, immediate, LEGAL result.
15
I've been baffled for weeks by the lack of consequences for people who defy a Congressional subpoena. If these folks get away with such defiance, where does that leave the entire process of impeachment? And will this defiance gradually extend to arenas outside of the Oval Office and Congress?
I wish the House would issue arrest warrants and impose daily fines for those in defiance of the subpoenas. All know that Trump would not fight for them - more likely to deny he ever knew them! As Mr. Katyal has explained, the damage done to the Constitutional process of impeachment - holding the President accountable - is almost worse than his actual crime of extortion.
15
@Smashed: There's no guarantee that this guy who rejects subpoenas will leave office if convicted.
1
Now that the bug in the system and democratic process has been disclosed by the Trump phenomenon and no authority (majority) is available to fix it it is waiting to be exploited and will be - and it will not be Trump doing that.
@Thomas H. Humans are software-driven, and systems can get buggy and be debugged. The Electoral College and Senate apportionment defy all democratic norms, culturally dividing and segregating in a destructive positive feedback mode. Equal protection of law rests on equal input to what the law is, subject to constitutional limitations of law itself.
4
Trump's idea of checks and balances is based upon the belief that it means checks written out to him and the balances of his accounts increasing greatly while he hands out favors in his capacity as President.
17
"William Barr, has said a sitting president cannot be indicted. The president’s lawyers have gone so far as to say, in light of that principle, that he cannot even be criminally investigated"
Mr. Barr, What if that proverbial person on Fifth Ave. was Pelosi what if it were RBG or the Democratic nominee No indictment, no impeachment, no opposition? What's left?
If we have learned anything about him, is that he will do everything he says he can do to maintain his power. Including tearing this country apart and causing human misery on a scale of a magnitude greater than the civil war.
12
Freedom is never free. You have to fight for it. You have to have principle. You have to have values. You must stand for both. Corruption is the problem in this country from the President down to the voters who support him. The role of FOX commentators cannot be underestimated in the level of support the President receives. They have multiple people deceiving Americans who might otherwise look at the arguments being presented in a more objective manner. Look at the cabal who raised the issue of corruption in the Ukraine while they were partnering with Russian agents to misinform our public. Giuliani, Solomon, etc. are agents of corruption and Lindsay Graham says he won't even look at the facts. This is not complicated. You hide things because the truth is your proof of guilt. Trump hides the facts, and Republicans support him. They are complicit. Trump prevents testimony and hides his taxes for a reason. If he is innocent why was the call record moved to a secure server and not released to the public? Why was the written record noted as inconsistent with notes memorializing the conversation from a person sworn under oath? This is all nothing less than the President trying to use Russian assets again for the purpose of getting reelected. He did it in 2016 and has tried to do it again. He won't stop because he rightfully thinks he will end up in jail when justice prevails. We shouldn't stop because nothing less than our freedom is at stake and we deserve ours, he doesn't.
15
The Democrats need to use the power they have. Witnesses who defy subpoenas should be jailed until they cooperate. They should be treated like any other citizen who defies a court order and not be spared the consequences of their egregious behavior.
33
@E Bennet
You are absolutely right! They need to pursue that and if DOJ gets in the way, then shine a spotlight in that, too!
6
It’s clear the republicans are going to do whatever it takes andbif the Dems don’t punish the lawbreakers the republicans will continue to defy them. When I looked up the meaning of supeana I didn’t see it defined as a suggestion you comply with it. The Dems have to stand up and put some teeth into informing the laws. And while they are at it every republican who invaded the closed hearing is in contempt of Congress and should be charged. Just imagine if members of the Obama administration so wantonly ignored all the laws and rules the fox commentators would blow a gasket calling them traitor as part of a conspiracy to destroy the constitution sontime to step up democrats and act like the protectors of our constitution
1
Again I ask Trump supporters. If anyone else in your life was accused of wrongdoing and refused to answer questions or provide any details to investigators, what would you say? That that person is 100% innocent and should not face any charges? If Trump is as innocent as everyone on his side claims he is, why not stand up and defend yourself? Put your case out there. If the re is no there there and the call is so perfect and innocent, the facts will speak for themselves. Hiding everything from the process makes you look guilty. If someone shot someone in your home town and the police demanded the gun and the person sat there and said I refuse to turn it over as he wiped off the fingerprints for the cameras, what would you think? No, by all means don't let the process go forward. Because the shooter is someone you have stood behind. Can't possibly be guilty. They have always been out to get him. Keep telling yourself that.
15
@Walking Man
I have had a close relative who was under investigation by the Justice Department. I can assure you that he never stood a chance. As Warren Buffett said (paraphrasing), "When Justice comes for you, the only thing you can do is bare your neck."
When government wants to get someone, it doesn't fail. Let's just say your hypothetical is nothing like what happens in the real world when the government goes after you.
1
If Schiff does not enforce the congressional subpoenas, they become worthless and this congressional oversight tool will forever be bypassed by whomever feels like it.
Congress should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time ie there should be a committee that is taking this group of people to court or to jail while the current committee is having hearings.
14
Of course, the Justice Department would enforce these subpoenas if Bill Barr were more than a hack. I understand why the House doesn't have the Sergeant-at-Arms arrest the individuals who are defying subpoenas, because that would be a precipitous escalation in a partisan conflict, which the entire Executive Branch and half the Legislative Branch would oppose. But I do hope that once Donald Trump is out of office the individuals who have defied subpoenas are prosecuted for criminal contempt of Congress.
12
Speaking of the ultimate hack Bill Barr, I predict Trump is saving him up to deliver the ultimate messange that his blond haired lapdogs Lyndsey and Rand have yet unable to deliver "What Trump did was not unlawful or unconstitutional."
Trump will applaud from the sidelines "Yo American suckers, we got you good. I told you so." And all this time we have heard Barr has resisted Trump to deliver the message. Fool us once to nullify Mueller report and now this theatrics.....drum roll, please.
Imagine all these people working on taxpayers'expense.
Any and all witnesses the Congress wants to question should be subpoenaed and prosecuted if they refuse to comply. Whether or not their testimonies are needed to bring impeachment charges against the president is irrelevant. It must be made known that there is a cost to refusing to testify, both financially and in terms of jail time. Whoever defies Congress’ legitimate power to subpoena should suffer the consequences...
...and the person who tells them to defy Congress should be removed from office from the high crime of suborning a legitimate investigation.
8
@Scott
Plus, if they do it in one or two cases—and people are hauled off to jail— others will quickly change their minds and testify!
Democrats conduct secretive interviews of their own cherry picked witnesses, whose testimony they control, and Trump is the one "stonewalling"?
Speaking of "hiding", what of the more significant part of that Ukraine phone call -- the part where Trump requests assistance with our government's inquiry into Ukraine's potential conspiring with Americans during the 2016 election?
Those would be the same charges that Trump's critics have worked so studiously to dismiss as "pet theories" and "conspiracies". Of course, now that they have triggered a criminal investigation, they are not so easily dismissed.
2
@AACNY - The transcripts of the"secretive Interviews" have been released and are now public documents. In addition, there are Republicans on the committees that held the hearings and they had complete access and asked questions.
The spectacle of the 29 Republicans "storming" the hearing rooms was ludicrous to the point of embarrassing because some of the Republicans storming the room were committee members who could have just gone to the hearings.
As to investigating whether it was Ukraine that interfered in the 2016 American election, that has been investigated and found baseless. It's a distraction directed by Putin because if he can get people thinking Ukraine was the one interfering with the US election, that takes the heat of Russia. Republicans are letting themselves be drawn into a Russian conspiracy to lie to the American people.
Republicans are either knowingly guilty of treason and are knowingly controlled by Putin, or they don't even know they are doing Putin's bidding.
Can anyone decide which is worse?
13
This inquiry is not a trial, but merely the prosecution assembling evidence.
4
@MJM
You are wrong about the charge of Ukraine's involvement in our 2016 election having been found "baseless." Those dismissing the claims have done so based on opinions not facts.
In fact, the investigation into Ukraine's involvement is ongoing and now part of a criminal investigation.
Those who abhor the president the most are always the least knowledgeable about his rights and most likely to cling to Putin conspiracy theories.
1
'What kind of system would permit an impeachment investigation to proceed without hearing what Mr. Bolton has to say because the target of the inquiry orders his silence?'
The 'target of the inquiry", Mr. Trump is obstructing this lawful inquiry like NO OTHER AMERICAN is permitted to do. The people should be outraged that Republicans allow him to be above the laws that the rest of us have to obey.
14
As was said, Trump's party controls the Senate. What was unsaid is that Trump controls his party, its base and the money that Senators need to be reelected. And that is why when then Senate votes on the impeachment charges it must be by secret ballot. Juries are unexposed for good reasons.
6
@rich: How does Trump work this magic? Zelensky almost bit on Trump's scheme in Ukraine. How many of these people have Trump's lures in their craws already?
If the Administration invokes some sort of “constitutional privilege” to withhold testimony and documents from the Legislative branch doesn’t that work both ways? Can’t the Legislature refuse to cooperate with an Executive branch (DoJ) investigation?
What’s going to happen should Barr’s DoJ investigation of the Russia Investigation’s investigators (the “spies” in his words) require testimony or evidence from a branch of the Legislature and they refuse to provide such?
1
Congress' responsibility is clear. The Constitution states one clear remedy that Congress has to stop a president who has committed treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. And it has given Congress the responsibility of defining and determining these transgressions. There is no problem when the president tries to obstruct Congress from hearing and seeing all evidence. There is a clear and reasonably direct and simple remedy. The remedy is to remove the president from office. We have a more peaceful way of doing this than, say, Bolivia. So use it, and let' get on with important governing and dealing with our challenges in a civil way. This has nothing to do with political parties, unless one or more of those parties is equally guilty of these transgressions.
2
@Just Thinking’
The problem is democrat's case that the president has actually behaved in a manner that meets the standards of high crimes and misdemeanors has not been established.
As with Russian conspiracy, Trump's critics are convincing themselves that their case is a slam dunk when it is no such thing.
1
@AACNY
There are no standards, but no matter what they could be Trump has transgressed them. We are just too accepting of Trump's actions and behavior.
I would like to see Trump removed from office, but I think that removal will have to come at the ballot box rather than through impeachment.
This doesn't mean that the hearings are pointless. If done correctly they will give the public information that never comes out in a campaign.
But this article assumes that the facts supporting impeachment are a self evident case for impeachment and they are not.
Nixon's conspiracy to cover up a common burglary and Clinton's lying on a deposition were obvious crimes. In the court of public opinion one was an offense warranting removal, but in the other most people thought that Clinton's lying about an affair had nothing to do with his duties as president.
Sadly, the public assumes that most politicians lie so unless the lie is really egregious it doesn't register on the "high crimes and misdemeanors" meter.
We live in an era where Democratic and Republican presidents have started wars without congressional consent. Compared to that it's hard to place Trump's mini extortion plot in the category of an impeachable offense.
This is especially true when there is no bright line for what constitutes "an abuse of the office of the president."
Was it repugnant, ill advised, counterproductive to national policy? Yes, all the above and more. But these sound like the talking points for whoever runs against Trump in 2020.
I may be wrong, but so far the Democrats have not yet made their case. I hope they can but so far it's not there.
1
You’re dead wrong. Here’s why: You begin your thesis with a listing of how Congress should operate an impeachment. You state that it is up to Congress to determine both how and what to investigate. So far, so good. Then you launch into comparisons of Nixonian and Clintonian crimes (and both were crimes, as you state clearly). Then, you deplore the undeclared wars by US presidents, when it is explicitly the Constitutional prerogative of Congress to declare war. Finally, you seek to minimize Trump’s quid pro quo phone call with the Ukraine as likely inappropriate, but not impeachable. What you fail to understand is that 1) as you rightly began, it is Congress’ job to determine that fact, and 2) it is a clear violation of US law for ANY official of the government to solicit a foreign government or its representatives for aid in US domestic affairs. And not just in the Constitution, but in settled case law. Trump committed that crime, obstructed justice at least 10 times as documented in the Mueller report, and is doing it now with his attempt to prevent White House and Administration officials from complying with a Congressional subpoena. There is an easy remedy for the latter: first, every no-show should be 1) charged with contempt for Congress, an actual legal offense that involves jail time, and 2) the Seargent at Arms should be clapping each one of them in jail, or otherwise compelling them to testify. That the House has not done so, speaks volumes.
James Comey helped Donald Trump win the Presidency by announcing he was re-opening the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s emails in the weeks before the election. Is it really that surprising to find that Trump attempted extort Ukraine into creating the same circumstances to aid his bid for re-election?
4
Katyal states the obvious.
What I really like about this opinion piece is the accompanying illustration. It effortlessly captures and underscores the justice the occupant of the WH has only just begun to finally face.
2
Incredibly, the author refers to the doctrine of executive privilege as "specious." Excuse me, but the President has the right to say that his communications with his closest advisers are not subject to disclosure to a separate but equal branch of government. And the officials are not "ignoring" the Subpoenas, they are objecting to them based on executive privilege. It is up to the courts to decide whether the subpoenas are valid; but Dems don't want to go through a court process because it will take too long and limit their attempts to damage the President before the elections. That is what is going on here. And if the Dems were truly interested in the truth they would not be limiting the Repubs' rights during the hearing. Absurdly, the Dems won't even let the Repubs ask questions about the whistleblower. But the author is okay with that kind of thing, because it serves his side.
2
There is no legal privilege, in any context, to cover up illegal activity. Does that help you with this puzzle, sir?
16
@R.P.: The three branches are not equal. They are ranked in the order they appear in the Constitution. Congress is first, the Executive second, and the federal courts third. The founders knew better than to create an unmanageable troika.
11
@R.P.
Bolton, et al, took an oath to uphold the Constitution. Impeachment is a lawful act under the Constitution. Refusing to testify is a violation of that oath. Plain and simple. End of discussion.
7
So, what is the remedy if we cannot get the information we need to protect our democracy? This impeachment proceeding references one set of crimes. What about all of the "other stuff" we have been witnessing, and what about the dealings that his family has corruptly carried out during his term? This swamp is so deep and has so many tributaries - the corruption is protected on so many levels. I hardly recognize this country at this moment in time. I know we can vote, but in the meantime so much damage. I hope there are enough of us to vote the country to dry land.
7
@RV: Failure to comply with Congressional supervision is grounds for impeachment and removal of the executive.
2
This crumbling homeland of corporations doesn't even grasp that its own federal government is the biggest of them all, every citizen of age has one share by right to vote for its chief executive and directors, and the Congress and Senate comprise that board of directors, to which the chief executive reports.
It is reported (in yesterday's NYT?) that the GOP defense plan is basically "trump did nothing wrong" + discrediting the patriots whose testimony will demonstrate that he in fact did plenty wrong.
Unfortunately, the fact that none of those patriots seems to have had a direct conversation with trump will be a powerful talking point to the Fox-fed crowd. Their take-home message will undoubtedly be that this is "the biggest witch-hunt in history." They will see trump exactly has he and the GOP want him to be seen: as the victim of the evil Democrats.
Getting actual first-hand information -- hearing from people who did talk directly with trump -- seems impossible, given the administration's obstruction. I think they (the House committee running the hearings) have to sacrifice expediency and subpoena all those from whom they want to hear (Bolton, Pompeo, etc; why not trump himself?) and go to the courts to have the subpoenas enforced. If not, the GOP will likely succeed in their campaign of misinformation and obfuscation. If the Committee doesn't succeed in convincing the public that trump has seriously abused his power, not only will there be no serious trial in the Senate, but the Dems could find themselves suffering at the ballot box next year as well.
The GOP will be playing hardball, to put it mildly. The Dems would do well to do the same.
10
House Democrats need to assert a broader range of options for impeachment. They need to identify any and all individuals whose testimony would serve the purpose of truth and justice, because they have more control in the House than they do in the Senate of Congress. Their is a chance that the Senate may not prosecute Trump in a way that serves truth and justice. It will be very hard for the Senate to ignore witnesses who were called to the House to testify. Get their subpoenas enforced, now!
4
When do the outraged by Trump’s behavior rally in Washington, throughout the country and many of our allied countries.
Unfortunately we know the outcome of this congressional play, the house votes to impeach and the senate saves his presidency.
When do the people take to the streets?
11
If someone has not done any crime he or she does not have to be afraid of any exposure. If America is a True Democracy law and justice have to be equal for everybody.
8
" We are hearing what we are hearing only because brave government officials, including people in Mr. Trump’s White House, have defied the president’s orders."
The terror that keeps Trump awake at night is that he has lost control. The Trojan horse has infiltrated djt's fort of protection. He is watching a parade of 'brave government officials' exit and speak publicly to the unequivocal truth you call the 'Ukraine scandal.'
I will watch for I want to be wittnessed to a time in our brief history of this experiment we call Our Democratic United States of America prevail. He will loose this seat of power in 2020 and the entire world will know who We The People, All of Us are.
4
So far the president has gotten away with actions that have either broken laws or have come up to the legal line. He has gotten away with it with help from his friends in the Justice Department, his staunch defenders in Congress, his megaphone on Fox News, and followers who view him as a victim of liberal overreach. He is also counting on his favorite Supreme Court Justices to help him out in a pinch. With friends like that, the constitutional restraints on the presidency become little more than fodder for legal scholars.
13
Where is Chief Justice Roberts? All he has to do is state clearly rather obvious legal doctrines: no one is above the law; the accused does not get to determine what facts may be presented to the court; Congressional impeachment proceedings have a clear legal right to question relevant witnesses. We do not need drawn out legal challenges: we need a statement from the Chief Justice that the rule of law still holds. We can assume that the right-wing Gang of Four have no respect for the Constitution and will support Trump no matter what, particularly given the Federalist Society's views on the executive. [The founder of the Federalist Society, Robert Bork, is, after all, the man who carried out Nixon's order to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox.] The other four justices will obviously vote against Trump. We have sadly reached the state where one man, John Roberts, stands between us and the collapse of our system of government and of the rule of law. In this hour of crisis, will he stand up for the integrity of the Supreme Court and the Constitution, or will he sell out both to serve the partisan political advantage of his party? The ancient doctrine of English Common Law is that silence gives consent: Roberts needs to consider that his silence on this matter can only be so construed.
15
Cowardly Roberts.
Why is Trump’s intent even relevant here?
If I drive through a red light but did not intend to, I will still get a ticket. Intent has nothing to do with it.
Ignorance or dismissal of rules you don’t like is never a defense, in this or any other case.
25
@Savvy "Ignorance or dismissal of rules you don’t like is never a defense, in this or any other case."
Unless you are Trump or a Republican.
Interestingly, I received an email from my Republican congressman stating that he would not support the impeachment inquiry because it would obstruct congressional ability to improve our infrastructure and provide for our “kitchen table issues.” I found his email sadly ironic, Republicans did nothing regarding any of those issues while having complete control of the House, Senate and Executive Branch for two years. They cannot govern, they cannot legislate, they cannot compromise; they can only appoint conservative judges, obstruct government and deny us executive oversight. Those Do-Nothing Republicans!
22
An extremely well written opinion. I am curious how anyone could reasonably counter it.
15
@Michael M. You are quite correct. However, the key word is "reasonably". All the GOP will do is to throw copious amounts of taurine fecal material at the wall and see if any of it sticks.
1
The remedy to this obstructionist president and his apologists lies with the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court has the power to fast track cases to decide matters of historical and consequential importance. They did so in Watergate and Nixon, facing reality, resigned.
Today's Supreme Court can provide Americans with similar protections by defending the Constitution which they have sworn to defend. Just like the President. Just like every person holding any position of responsibility in the federal government.
The argument that the president and anyone the president deems protected by executive privilege is specious. It flies in the face of the words of the Constitution and certainly is antithetical to the intent of the framers of the Constitution who were vociferous in their opposition to king like persons.
The Supreme Court knows this. The politicians know this. The country knows this.
It is time we find out whether the US is just another oligarchy or whether we are a country in pursuit of an ideal. An ideal that no person is above the law, least of all the president of the country who should and must be held to a higher standard of accountability.
Democrats who do not push Trump's scorn for subpoenas are as complicit in this debasing of the Constitution as every republican who supports Trump's obstruction. They are politicians first and Americans, well you know the rest.
13
@TDurk It is all going to come down to Chief Justice Roberts.
Trumpsters, and GOP politicians, are overlooking the precedent being set if they continue to see conditioning U.S. military aid on a nation starting an investigation of a president’s political opponent as not impeachable. Would not Trump supporters then have to accept a future Democratic president doing the same, such as pressuring another country to investigate a Republican House Speaker or chairs of Congressional committees so they “cooperate”?
And where would it end? Why wouldn’t that future Dem president not be able to do the same to, for example, Rupert Murdoch so he would get Fox News to be less critical?
This precedent could also lead to withholding government payments to American citizens or companies contingent on doing the president political favors. At that point, no one would be safe from harassment by any Chief Executive.
Yet, if Trump is impeached and convicted for this abuse of his office, that will set a very clear standard that all future presidents will have to follow very closely.
8
It is a lose to those that will not read this spot on opinion by Mr. Katyal. His experience and expertise in the law is priceless. I suppose even it they did read it, they would not believe it and call it fake. Keep defending trump as not doing anything wrong. While I have an idea how the open hearings will play out, it will be grandstanding by both parties. Especially the republicans.
As of this morning there are several high profile republicans who say they will not watch it. As if not watching it live will make it not real. Plausible deniability at its best.
I am ready to watch it.
7
@Hj Here's my reply to the Lindsay Graham's of the world. You who so proudly and arrogantly protest to the people of this country that you refuse to read the transcripts... You are an elected official. It's your JOB to read the transcripts. If you can't or unwilling to do this... RESIGN.
1
Who will ever be able to explain to Donald Trump and his Republicans that assuming the presidency (regardless of how it was attained)) is not the same as buying a business where the boss is always right.
9
Trump is parallel to Nixon in that both attempted to influence an election through illegal actions against their opponents.
Trump exceeds Nixon in the depravity of his leadership of the Executive branch, in which he appoints officials who can be counted on to act counter to the missions of the agencies they direct. We should include among high crimes and misdemeanors the betrayals by both Trump and the officials he appoints of the missions of their offices, and in Trump's case at least, his oath to faithfully execute the laws of the United States.
11
The New York Post cover this morning says it all. Get over yourselves before it is too late. Proceed with this circus and the election will be decided before it begins. Thank you for your consideration.
2
@Susan
"Conjuring guilt out of thin air."
Democrats' must think we were born yesterday. We've all been through this before with Russian collusion.
Finally, it's simple:
Trump abused Presidential power to stay in power.
That is the threat to our government.
That is the grounds for impeachment.
9
Thank you Donald Trump. Thank you Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy.
Trump and the Republicans in Congress have presented us with a powerful lesson: the US Constitution has very serious flaws, implicit existential flaws, which threaten our republic.
Will we profit from the lesson or will we standby and quietly watch as our republic is taken from us.
The Constitution fails to explicitly state that a president is subject to common laws and can be indicted, tried and punished if found guilty. While indicted, a vice president can assume all of the president's responsibilities. We say that the president is not above the law, but a flawed Justice Department memorandum places presidents above the law. We need to amend the Constitution to make it absolutely clear that impeachment is not the only remedy to a criminal president.
The Constitution must be amended to rid our elections of the electoral college, an antiquated mechanism that disenfranchises the voting public. The electoral college has weighted the votes of small states and undermined the will of the people.
The Constitution must be amended to assign senators based on population, not states. Two senators per state was a compromise to ratify the Constitution at a time when the newly formed states retained much of their former colonial attitudes, autonomy, adversarial positions and suspicions of other colonies. Wyoming should not have equal senators with California.
Will we make changes? Or will a minority rule America?
30
@JABarry
.
To my mind, this is the most important comment of all – key issues in the current fiasco of ‘unconstitutionalities’, what to learn and how to update and/or clarify with changes now revealed as long overdue. The USA needs a Constitution fit for purpose in the 21st Century. These suggested Amendments would be a huge step ahead.
I would add one more – that we-the-people have an inalienable right to the truth in civic affairs, meaning every public officer from the President down has a duty of care to ensure fact/truth prevails in all public statements, reports and official dealings – including election material.
1
Ever since Nixon resigned the GOP has been working at every level in every branch to normalize all the underhanded and criminal acts uncovered in the Watergate investigation. Unitary executive theory is just one way they've taken. I'm more concerned, though, with the holding in Citizens United and how that case came to be. When was the last time you've heard of the Supreme Court asking for a rehearing on a case for the sake of broadening a holding? And from an allegedly "conservative" court too. Clearly the term "conservative" no longer means what it used to when it comes to the Court.
9
This situation has pointed out multiple flaws in our governing documents and laws. Most importantly, Congress needs to pass legislation that requires the judiciary to fast track litigation between the executive and legislative branches so executive stonewalling does take years to resolve. I would also recommend legislation that the justice department carve out a US attorney to represent congress in interbranch issues rather than depending on a justice department corrupted at the top as we have now, refusing to litigate claims against the executive. Those carved out attorneys could also assist department inspector generals with issues that are in conflict with their duties and the executive. Of course a functioning congress would help as well, including taking back some of the powers it has delegated to the executive without the proper limits
11
What will work are handcuffs—for any individual who refuses a subpoena. A night in jail under a smelly blanket should do the trick. Why won’t the House exercise this power? A subpoena is a subpoena. It’s not something one has a choice to obey or not. I know I wouldn’t be given that choice—and the Constitution says I’m an equal.
Oh. Some people are more equal than others?
31
The best line in the article:
"But why is the president afraid of letting his own White House officials tell the truth in a process ultimately controlled by Senate Republicans?"
31
@Curt K because obstruction is his habit. He is clearly unfit for the office.
This column explain why it is folly to impose some kind of deadline on wrapping up the impeachment process. If it will take time to get critically needed evidence, that is no reason to conclude the evidence is not critically needed. Let impeachment grind on until July, if it must, but do it right.
What will the view of history be, if evidence appears after Trump escapes removal, that there was indeed a massive Trump-directed conspiracy with Russia?
Why are the Democrats so in a lather to provide what Republicans are demanding most loudly—that this process conclude quickly and be put behind us?
Enforce every subpoena. Pursue every lead. Punish every obstruction. Take as long as it takes.
23
The American people also deserve to know the extent to which Russia and Putin have puppeted and directly influenced Trump and his policies. His obstruction is nothing new. But the relevations of his unique agency to Russia as an asset should also be investigated and brought to light, since the Ukraine debacle points directly toward a Russian initiative.
20
The President continues to lie and stonewall perfectly appropriate investigations into his behavior. He did so with the Mueller investigation; he is doing it now to our House committee. If his motives in his dealing with Ukraine (and Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, etc.) why will he not allow his highest officials to be questioned by the House committees investigating these charges? Today, it appears his defense has pushed the idea that the charges of bribery must be untrue because the committee has not discovered any clear, direct, conclusive connection between the action of withholding Ukrainian military aide while demanding a Biden investigation. Mulvaney could provide that connection. So could Barr. So could Pompeo. They could either connect, or disavow the President's connection to these acts. Why are they not allowed to testify? Why are so many of his close advisors being commanded to not testify? What do they know that the President does not want us to know? I think we already know the truth, and the truth will out!
13
@Patrick Stevens Don't forget, he bested the smartest woman in the world.
From day one of his presidency Trump’s focus has been first himself and a distant second, his base. He has never behaved as if he was the president for all of the American people, including those who did not vote for him. He ridicules the problems of blue states and congressional districts never considering those problems are happening on his watch and by extension are his problems too. That famous expression, “the buck stops here” apparently doesn’t apply to Trump.
8
This whole impeachment is a huge waste of this country’s time and money. It’s all happening because we do not demand a professional caliber of behavior from our nation’s top executive.
If you read the history behind the man in office you can see he has never been a true representative of the people who live and must work in the environment around him. He seems more like a mob boss, more about the next deal and less about the rule of law.
He constantly levels harsh criticism at the previous president but I would much rather have his predecessor to the house for dinner.
Our nation has much higher priorities to address that affect average citizens on a daily basis.
It’s time to get this gangland movie over with and move on to higher ground - with new leadership.
9
There is still a year until the next election. Do you suggest we give the guy a free pass until then? I would recommend the opposite... investigate, impeach and hopefully remove before the country is irreparably compromised.
28
@S.C.
Americans elected this president. It's not your job to undo their votes. The arrogance in your comment regarding a "free pass" is staggering. Quite frankly, it's not yours to give.
Eloquent and informative as always, Mr Katyal! Thank you.
What, however, is the point of a subpoena if it can be ignored so easily with no consequences. I'd like to understand where the follow-through is; ignore the subpoena - they should be held in contempt of Congress with ensuing consequences. We the people are allowing our elected officials to do a half-hearted job.
29
"Otherwise a president could engage in extreme wrong doing, and the American people would have no remedy."
That's just it: From the outset, president Trump has demonstrated that he considers himself to be above the law. From his blatant financial self-dealing and violations of the emoluments clause, to his multiple, open acts of obstruction and defiance of Congress, he screams "I am not accountable."
The American system of government, designed with checks and accountability among the three branches, is broken. Trump's craven Republican enablers in Congress have made the sinister calculation that their political objectives take precedence over their sworn oath to defend the Constitution. That is the greatest tragedy here.
12
@Alan R Brock . The remedy is an election in 1 yr. and Trump will win a 2nd term.
1
I have read that impeachment is a political process. But it is also a legal process. As a legal process, people can be punished for not abiding by the rules. If a journalist does not reveal his sources to a court, he can be held in contempt and sent to jail. The Select Watergate Committee "would jail any witness who invoked executive privilege." How can citizens of the United States ignore subpoenas and not be punished, and not go to jail?
18
Because Barr refuses to bring the weight of the AG office to bear. Who will enforce the law, the subpoenas, if the federal law enforcement mechanism is not employed?
23
The Sergeant at arms for the house has the power to arrest anyone who ignores or defies a house subpoena. It is up to the House to make the strongest case for impeachment. We cannot count on the GOP controlled Senate to prosecute the leader of their own party. Start the arrests, now!
@joe parrott
And to whom does the Sergeant at Arms deliver the miscreant? Does the Sergeant at Arms have the authority to haul him before a magistrate or must he turn him over to federal authorities under the control of AG Barr? Where will the Sergeant at Arms go to fulfill his duty? Would the White House guards be authorized to allow his entry to make a Congressionally mandated arrest?
Professor Katyal, that was some summation of the facts.
Especially troublesome was your highlighting of John Bolton's place in all of this.
We are lucky to have people like Neal K. Katyal work in our government as an officer of the court, as well as in a law school, an institution which is much more integral to our system of justice than the public understands.
As Frank Bruni pointed out today, Trump hates professionals like Mr. Katyal. Our country needs more Katyals. Going on sound legal precedent is not partisan, it's a search for the truth.
20
As much as I despise Trump, I'm glad that various members of his "administration" have refused to testify. Why? Because any investigation that is looking for a crime, as opposed to finding out who committed a crime, is, in fact, a witch hunt.
So far, the most notable result of this fiasco, has been to disable Joe Biden's bid for the presidency, by announcing to the public, that Hunter Biden has become a candidate for the Nobel Prize for being able to make a great deal of money, while knowing nothing, and doing even less.
The net result, will be that every Republican Senator will vote to let Trump off the hook, who will then run against a Radical Left Democratic Party candidate, who will easily be defeated by Trump.
Instead of getting rid of Trump, we will be getting rid of our National Parks, getting rid of clean water, getting rid of a chance to deal with the Global Warming problem, and guaranteeing a wickedly packed Supreme Court.
4
Not following your logic there. We know that Trump asked the Ukrainian President to “do us a favor though.” He directed Mulvaney to put a hold on the funds that were duly appropriated by Congress and then directed Ambassador Sondland and others impress on the Ukrainians the need to declare in public that the were launching investigations against his political rival in order to benefit his campaign. His administration tried to sweep the memo of the phone call under the carpet by moving it to a server that is only meant for highly classified information and also directed members of his staff (Col Vindman) not to discuss the call. The icing on the cake is that Mulvaney has gone on record in a press conference confessing to the quid pro quo. We know a lot about what transpired, but not all of it. The administration has fought tooth and nail to prevent Congress and the voting public from finding out more about their machinations (done solely to benefit the re-election campaign and the President by Guiliani’s own admission and directed by Trump himself).
Such a betrayal of the public trust must be dealt with and those were/are in positions (like Bolton, Esper and Perry) that provided them with a clearer picture of what transpired must come forward. Their oath and loyalty are to the Constitution and our country, not to the President.
15
Your first paragraph invalidates the rest of your comment - this is not an investigation in search of a crime. The misdeed is abuse of office and is self-admitted.
1
@Peter Zenger
Bigger than the issue of Biden's son is Ukraine's involvement in our 2016 presidential election. Americans are keenly interested to know whether democrats conspired with a foreign country during that election.
After all, we have been told for two long years that foreign interference is a threat to our very democracy.
2
I'm afraid the lesson in all this is that a political majority can be obtained without a majority of votes and maintained by cheating. We will find that the political majority is superior and "Trumps," if you will, the rule of law.
Remarkable that it is not hyperbolic to conclude this means America, and the dream of America is lost and squandered merely for a few men's aggrandizement. The coverup and exposure of unethical conduct that motivated Republicans to remove Nixon has no currency with the small men, always men, leading the Republican Party today.
23
Mr. Trump should try this thought experiment: Imagine that, some day in the future, the country will have a president whom he considers to be guilty of an impeachable and removal-worthy offense. He would want the nation’s protective process, enshrined in the Constitution, to proceed. But through his actions in 2019 he will have established the precedent and pathway by which that guilty person can derail said process, avoid accountability and remain in office.
I’m not sure if this has occurred to Mr. Trump. I am sure that if it were to occur to him, he wouldn’t care. That’s because (A) he is guilty of an impeachable offense and so MUST block the House inquiry in order to protect his position, and/or (B) he is willing to sabotage that protective process in any case. But as Mr. Katyal observes, (B) is an impeachable offense. And for those who'd disagree, I'd ask them to imagine it's President Obama in this situation.
12
I have disagreed with every position taken by John Bolton I have ever read about. I never doubted he wanted to do right for the country. Until now.
If Bolton is withholding information on corruption so that he can leverage it for his personal enrichment while others, without $2 million book deals, risk their careers and safety then Bolton's claim to patriotism is dust. A book that too late for the country confirms the truths laid out by better men and women should solidify his place in history as an unethical man willing to sell his country and harm and undermine true heroes.
47
Neil Katyal is of course correct in all this. There are however several points that do not come out with sufficient clarity.
(1) There is nothing in the laws of the USA that prevent a sitting president from being investigated and indicted. All DoJ opinion understood, it is just opinion and guidance - much of it arguably defective - and not the law.
(2) All the obstruction is coming from unelected, appointed officials (apart from the president). They cannot stand above the law and the will of the people (Congress) and be allowed to get away with it. Otherwise any notion of checks and balances is out the window.
(3) The Democrats are failing in their constitutional responsibilities by not getting serious with all these lawbreakers defying their subpoenas. The House has the right to find them in Implicit Contempt and to jail them until they comply. By not doing this, they have turned this impeachment inquiry into political theatre rather than a serious effort to expunge these cancers on democracy.
22
Most of my friends and family detest Trump for so many reasons that are too numerous to mention. These folks are happy Trump is going to get his due in the impeachment inquiry and are blinded by their contempt of Trump.People are hoping that something is going to happen to rattle the loyalty of The Republican lead Senate and they in turn will do their sworn duty.These are same people who hoped Republican Robert Mueller was going to save us from the nightmare called Trump.I fear it is going to be a replay of The Mueller show much to do about nothing. For people I meet not in my ideological circle really could care less what Trump did with The Ukraine.The principled thing is to hold Trump accountable but the practical may have been to let the voters decide in eleven months. If Trump walks away from this without some real blows landed by The Dems he will have have a walk in 2020 to another term.
3
@Steven McCain: Liberty to enslave is still enshrined in radically arbitrary unequal representation in US presidential elections and in the Senate.
Remember Stephen Miller's phrase, "The powers of the president will not be questioned."
From Trump's perspective, he can do ANYTHING, because he is the president. I suspect that he has a very longstanding history of shady deals which he has continued in the White House. Now he seems convinced that the Constitution renders him all-powerful and that questioning his powers is illegitimate and acting against his presidency is treason.
He has started throwing around that word"Treason" with increasing recklessness. Adam Schiff and even the whistle-blower's lawyer have been tarred with that brush - and that at a time when the President of the United States is starting to fantasise aloud about the Good Old Days, when traitors could be put up against a wall and shot.
This time I do not think that Trump's tweets are simply the desperation of a man with a lot to hide and a very good reason to hide it.
I think he now really believes that he should not be investigated for anything, using any method and that he has the constitutional right to do anything.
I suspect that the Bolton request for a judicial ruling on whether he has to testify is ploy to get the Supreme Court to issue an expanded version of executive privilege. Then you will have a president whom you cannot indict, impeach or even investigate. If he then refuses to accept electoral defeat, what will you do?
7
@Philippa Sutton: Theocrats are convinced that Trump is a messenger of God, and Trump believes them. His election was miraculous and it will make death a better place for everyone.
If Trump gets away with this, especially his blocking of testimony by important witnesses, the US government will be forever changed and "no man is above the law" will be history.
13
Trump is blatantly trying to coverup and obstruct the proceedings and investigation. Clearly, this impeachable. It was the coverup that got Nixon in trouble and it will be the same for Trump.
However, the compelling pressure of a foreign country to investigate a political rival; withholding U.S. military aid to Ukraine unless they did a favor, though; and Trump's personal lawyer Guiliani government role in foreign policy is outrageous. He has no security clearance and no business traipsing all over the world drumming up false narratives for Trump, working as a representative of the United States.
15
President Trump just agreed to a $900 million infrastructure plan. That ought to buy the votes of at least 10-15 Democrats.
2
Did you mistype that figure and mean to write $900 BILLION? I hope so.
$900 million is not an infrastructure plan; it’s enough tar and gravel to fix a few potholes around the Washington beltway.
8
@sthomas1957 Oh My Gosh. It's Infrastructure Week again? Seems like only yesterday.... Where does the time go?
Remember the way projection works is to blame someone else for your own blameworthy thoughts, words, or actions, which you want to pretend are not yours. (Including, like Trump, pretending to yourself). Trump is impaired by his inability to imagine or believe in any ideas or frames of reference beyond his own very limited ones, limited because he only ever really thinks about himself (and how great and powerful he is, which he needs to prove all over again each day). His accusations always reflect only his thoughts about himself and how he does and doesn’t want to be perceived, because he doesn’t have any other kind of thoughts.
So, for instance, “Crooked Hillary” means “I’m not crooked” even though he’s always been far more crooked than she could even imagine being.
And when he says the impeachment proceedings are an attempted “coup,” even though it would leave his administration intact and just replace him with his own vice-president, what he actually means is he himself is conducting a coup and he doesn’t want anyone to notice. And of course he is and has been conducting a coup, in plain sight.
35
This brings to daylight the absurdity of the Trump administration's insistence that none of them testify. If they don't there is absolutely no way to get to the bottom of any malfeasance.
11
This Opinion misses the Constitutional arguments by a country mile. A president's advisers are critical to his performance. Having these individuals subject to harassment by the legislative branch could significantly hamper their effectiveness. Separate of powers. Impeach Congress for weaponizing the House for political gains. Talk about hypocrisy.
2
Interesting Möbius strip of an argument.
“Separation of powers” means the three branches have counterbalancing powers, NOT “their powers are separate and one branch’s influence must not touch another branch”
The Watergate committee said it would jail anyone who claimed executive privilege. The current feckless Democrats need step up and say they will jail anyone who doesn't answer their subpoena.
24
When the president is not given the right to defend himself before the House, House Republicans cannot call witnesses, the process until now has been selectively secret, the president is not being allowed to confront his accuser, and Rep. Schiff has instructed witnesses who are called not to respond to questions, claims of privilege are hardly specious, Mr. Katyal.
2
@Dave Oedel The inquiry has not become a trial before the Senate, where the President indeed may confront his accusers. For now, he is content to use Twitter to excite his followers.
6
@Dave Oedel, you mistakenly think that an impeachment investigation is a trial.
It's the equivalent of a grand jury investigation used to bring an indictment, after which the accused faces trial. In the case of impeachment, the trial happens in the Senate, where the senators are jurors. The House impeachment prosecutors present their case, and the president's lawyers present his defense.
Under current impeachment rules GOP representatives can question all witnesses and call their own. The process will be fully aired on C-SPAN beginning tomorrow.
Presumably when you say Trump can't confront his accuser, you're talking about the whistle-blower. There are many reasons the law guarantees whistle-blowers anonymity, but it's important to understand that the whistle-blower isn't bringing a suit. Rather, he's more like the anonymous caller on a police tip line who gives detectives a lead which they are able to follow up and verify. Trump's accusers, if you want to use that term, are the witnesses who have come forward, not the whistle-blower.
14
@Paul
We have a scant history of impeachment procedure, but in both the Nixon and Clinton cases, the presidents had those rights that I detailed. This is an unprecedented tack that Schiff and any followers will regret having taken.
1
Simple question: so why isn't Trump's House Democratic opposition threatening to throw stonewalling officials in jail like Nixon's opposition did?
15
Because they know that the process of bringing those who have been subpoenaed to court or threatening them with jail time would result in all kinds of logistical distractions that would effectively disrupt the momentum of the hearings.
Several members of the House have already gone on record to say that they do not want to get swept up into “rope a dope” extended legal battles, which is DJT’s preferred way of avoiding responsibility for situations like this.
The House is moving forward and it is a strategy that is obviously working very well for them.
11
I just want to thank Neal Katyal for all that he has done and all we can expect him to do in the future while we all endure this national tragedy. When Mr. Katyal appears on TV I stop and listen and always learn something. We should be forever grateful for our free press and its ability to showcase the talent and intelligence that Mr. Katyal always demonstrates. Can you imagine where the nation would be now without a free press? We would not be at the start of an impeachment process for one thing. We probably wouldn't even know about any of the events surrounding the Ukraine scandal. President Trump would be headed for a landslide victory in 2020 instead of facing a most certain impeachment by the House and hopefully a fair Senate trial and a confirmation vote to impeach. Or, maybe we will get lucky and Trump will resign in a Nixon fashion once he is faced with a sure defeat by the Senate. I do think people like Mr. Katyal can help convince the American public and the Senate that a vote for impeachment is best for our nation.
21
@Wyman Elrod Some how ,Tyler Tx and this communist manifesto do not line up to well.Judging from the point that I've been there often ,worked there and know folks there.
Mr. Katyal writes: "The American people deserve answers."
Yes, but not only from the Administration, from the courts as well. Our constitutional system is in crisis and it is an outrage that we cannot get clear guidance from the courts on fundamental questions. The House Judiciary Committee filed a lawsuit to enforce its subpoena for Don McGhan to testify in the Russia investigation in early August; the country has already moved on to an entirely different impeachment inquiry and we still don't have a court ruling in the McGhan case. It is astonishing to me as a non-lawyer that 232 years after our constitution was adopted we don't have clear legal precedent on whether executive branch officials must obey congressional subpoenas. At the rate the courts are proceeding it will be another 232 years before we do have an answer.
The McGhan case and the similar Kupperman-Bolton case do not require extensive forensic investigations or the review of millions of pages of financial documents. These cases involve only dueling legal briefs that should take no more than a few days or weeks to prepare. It would be helpful, at minimum, if legal experts like Mr. Katyal could explain in detail to the rest of us why the the courts cannot give the American people answers to these fundamental legal questions in a timely manner.
31
@fbraconi Gee, it's almost as if the courts are as afraid of Trump as Republican office holders are.
The courts are stonewalling Congress too. It's almost like they don't believe in the Constitution.
5