This morning Trump proceeded to attack " I don’t know what report current Director of the FBI Christopher Wray was reading, but it sure wasn’t the one given to me." DJ Trump
Let's get real. Trump cannot read, he cannot comprehend, he has committed more than just 2 acts of obstruction....only he calls it "doubling down"., he fires, removes, and pays off anyone who can bring evidence against hime or......he has the GOP scream and yell at witnesses who have ethics and integrity. Trump is incapable of being president. Someone commented a long time ago that it would get worse. It sure has and we need to stop his destruction of the FBI, the DOJ (already gone), The FED, etc. etc. etc.
33
It is not surprising that the Republicans feel that Trump's attempt at recruiting a foreign power for election interference is no big deal. After all, these Republicans (adjusted for the change in party platforms after the civil rights act in 1964) are the same people who since the writing of the US Constitution (when slaves were denied the right to vote) have been engaged in election interference. Election interference has kept them in power. Why should we be surprised?
20
Ironic that in a nation where so many people used their presidential vote to elect someone they watched on reality TV , the other half of the country is now riveted by the televised impeachment hearings. Both shows will likely conclude with the same tag line: "You're fired".
11
Republican Senators need to think about the weight of history, their oath to defend the constitution, and the fact that they should value country over party.
Hear the evidence, forget the spin, and make a decision that you will be proud of, your children will be proud of, and your grandchildren will be proud of.
Trump will be impeached and our Republican Senators will decide if we are still America. Their decision will echo throughout history and another President, maybe not a Republican one, will be either emboldened or restricted by their decision. This will set a precedent for both parties.
17
As Nancy Pelosi said, if you disagree with the cruel and despicable policies of this “administration,” then the remedy for that is to go to the polls and vote them all out. That is our right as Americans.
But this is about a flagrant abuse of power and disregard for our Constitution. Fortunately that very document outlines what to do in such a situation. Impeachment.
The GOP has lost their way. They know this is the correct course of action yet they are willing to go down with the ship. Perhaps history will judge them and perhaps not. It doesn’t matter. This is still the right thing to do.
17
Truly surreal-I, and I'm sure the majority of the country, feel like Trump and his Republican stooges live in an alternate world where truth, facts and consequences do not apply. God speed to the patriots who have pledged, and are acting, to preserve and protect the Constitution of the United States.
14
They should extend the inquiry to investigate violations of the Emoluments Clause, campaign finance violations, sexual abuse allegations, and violations of international law.
10
Wait.
What happened to "treason, bribery and high crimes and misdemeanors"
And oh, I forget quid pro quo.
Obviously, it appears the House Democrats did a quick polling in districts they wish to defend.
And the polls must have told them - keep it simple.
So, now only 2 articles of abuse of power and obstruction.
Clinton had 3 - these same ones plus perjury.
In Nixon case - they had also drafted 3 - again the same 2 plus contempt of Congress.
And while Nixon articles were not voted?
We know what happened to Clinton.
Deja Vue all over again is about to happen.
After firstormed outrage - these 2 charges are almost a let down.
5
Neither the Constitution nor federal criminal code makes reference to “abuse of power.” U.S. criminal code refers to what Democrats call abuse of power as “abuse of office.” The terms, like “collusion” and “conspiracy” are synonymous.”
Abuse of office is an impeachable offense because it is a misdemeanor. The abuse of office statute (25 CFR § 11.448) states: “A person acting or purporting to act in an official capacity or taking advantage of such actual or purported capacity commits a misdemeanor if, knowing that his or her conduct is illegal, he or she:
(a) Subjects another to arrest, detention, search, seizure, mistreatment, dispossession, assessment, lien or other infringement of personal or property rights; or
(b) Denies or impedes another in the exercise or enjoyment of any right, privilege, power or immunity.”
The Democrats’ problem is that no one has alleged president Trump has committed any of the offenses that constitute abuse of office.
3
As Steve McGarret used to say "Dano, book him".
5
The Democrats posit that the reason Trump wanted Biden and the other corrupt Democrats’ shenanigans in Ukraine investigated is to help himself in the reelection.
Normal people note that corruption of US officials should in fact be investigated.
The Democrats are asking the American people to believe two things:
Joe Biden’s son was completely deserving of his Ukrainian gig and that the whole thing has been mysteriously “debunked” by someone that doesn’t share.
Trump was ever fearful of Biden and his hairy legs as a political opponent, although most Americans were duly impressed by the Corn Pop saga.
Really?
4
Representative Doug Collins of Georgia again proved the epitome of the old court-room adage that if the facts favor your client, pound the facts; if the law favors your client, pound the law; if neither favor your client, pound the table! He and his Republican sycophants are a farce.
29
The case for impeachment this sociopath is an embarrassment of riches.
But the Dems are smart to focus solely on his undermining of American election security and related obstruction, and to ignore for example, the hush payment of campaign funds to a porn star, the personal enrichment through emoluments, the shameless nepotism, the apparent tax fraud, etc.
(Remind me again what is was Bill Clinton lied about that the Rs impeached him for .... and how that lined his pockets or threatened our national security ?)
12
The stable genius regularly accuses others of being unbalanced. Probably because he has heard it aimed at him all his miserable life.
7
Republicans so guilty of bad crimes that they have to make up stories about everything to cover their tracks.
11
Lawyer Stephen R. Castor said the Democrats went about "...searching for a set of facts on which to impeach the president... ." Imagine! Searching for facts! How low can Democrats go?! Have we no shame?
33
Danger of the two party system. The parties are NOT in our Constitution. We have a stalemate under this precarious executive administration. Not good.
5
The fact is, Nancy Pelosi appeared intent on abandoning impeachment until the whistle-blower complaint became public. This was not a heroic strategy on her part. The Ukraine solicitation was that last epithet thrown at someone just as they're walking away that causes them to turn around and engage in the fight.
It's unfortunate that this is the fact, because the "angry" minority is immune to facts, reject them outright. They prefer wild-eyed conspiracy theories, like Democrats met before inauguration 2017 to strategize how to bring this president down, and have been working toward that ever since. Another fact: that did happen, but it happened in 2008, and it was the Cons who met before that inauguration.
5
Trump and his Republicans are not trying to deny Trump's actions. Their defense is, he was defending America from the Democrats. And for good measure adding in the the Nixon defense of, when a President does it, it's not illegal.
It reminds me of 2 people.
1) Saddam Hussein
Demonizing those who oppose him is straight out of the dictator's handbook.
2) Meyer Lansky
Accusing the cops of cheating is classic mob boss defense.
And no doubt the GOP strategy will carry over to the Senate. They won't try to prove Trump's innocence. They'll try to justify his guilt.
I'm sorry, but in a democracy that's not how things work.
10
RE: Undoing an election.....Don't impeach, vote him out.... Don't upset those who support him, they will be vindictive and vengeful...
What has happened to people who can't recognize the right of the American people, through their representatives, to fire the President for wrong-doing? Just as the President they support can and has fired people and not waiting until the next election to do so?
People can be hired and then do wrong. There should be recourse.
Using their logic there should have been no "your fired" catch phrase on The Apprentice or anyone fired from the Trump Organization. Weren't they duly hired? How you fire someone who has been duly hired? Isn't that 'undoing a hiring decision'? Do we wait to stop and arsonist because we may make arson legal at the next town meeting?
To me the saddest thing is the impact of party (something the founders did not include) on these proceedings. I find it impossible to be believe that every single Republican cannot see or does not accept what Trump has done is wrong. Certainly, many are just like him and don't see wrong in criminal behavior. However, while they aren't all like him, they will willfully not see and hear the offenses he has committed.
The one change that should be made is that all votes for impeachment and the trial should be a secret ballot.
4
Thank you Democrats, especially Representatives Schiff, Pelosi, Nadler, and all that have moved this impeachment forward. This is truly a terrifying time in our nation's history. In particular, to see the Republican Congressmen slavishly repeat the false narratives supportive of Putin and Trump, and their refusal to acknowledge reality and only speak falsehoods, is terrifying. They are trying to create and sustain a Soviet-style kleptocracy here in the United States, and my family, friends, neighbors, and I want none of it. You know, my ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War, and my father in World War II, to keep our freedoms, and we feel as strongly as they do against unchecked autocrats, fascists, and dictators. Although it is far from perfect, we are not willing to give up on American democracy, even if Republican leaders gave up on it years ago.
37
The courts are slow. Perhaps all information is in, and perhaps not. Some people saw the constitution. Some people read it. Some people who read it will be mangled, destroyed and wonder why they even entered politics. As we mango through impeachment, we have winners, we have losers and we have those who say I don’t care. I am one to say, I don’t care. Hopefully in the future it may be cleared up and and maybe not. I don’t vote. Even today when Hillary Clinton got 2million votes, why vote.
In the fullness of time, History will remember this as a period with one of the most corrupt dishonest administrations in history, an enabling Senate, a social media unbridled and running wild, and partisan consumers of a particular brand of 'news' who pointed fingers at their neighbors while refusing to peel the bandage and actually look at the infection causing the sickness.
13
Just impeach him.
Get this whole charade to the Senate where actual due process will expose the malfeasance commitment by Democrats towards Trump since before he was inaugurated. Lawyer up, Joe, Hunter, and Adam.
Oh, and while I can’t stand the man and find him appalling, I will be voting for Trump in 2020. No way I’m turning this nation over to hate- and revenge-filled Dems and ‘progressives.’
2
@EGD "the Senate where actual due process "
Wait? Due process? Since every Republican is certain that every Republican Senator will not vote to convict how cant here be "due process" if their minds are already made up?
Due process. Hilarious.
6
As articles of impeachment are being issued, Trump and his enablers continue to provide further justification and evidence for them. Not only does Rudy Guiliani persist in looking for non-existent dirt with which to rig yet another election, but the putative Attorney General of the United States acts more and more like Trump’s personal lawyer or fixer—betraying his own oath of office to serve as the highest law enforcement official of all the people of the country. Neither Trump nor Barr can defend the nation and the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic because, perversely, they would rather serve as the latter while doing the bidding of at least one of the former, Vladimir Putin. The more these traitors spin their deep-state conspiracies and Russian disinformation narratives, the more they convince the American people that the only deep state we need be concerned with, and disturbed by, is the one hatched with more than a little “Russia, if you’re listening....” encouragement.
7
Dear Donald:
Your little friends are wrong. They are skeptics in an age of skepticism. They do not believe what they see. They think that nothing can be that is not comprehensible to their little minds.
Yes, Donald, there is a Santa Claus, and as surely as the sun rises on Christmas Day, you can be assured that your stocking will be filled with coal for being so naughty and not one bit nice.
But thanks to Nancy, and Adam, and Jerrold and other good children who trust and believe in our Constitution, the tree of liberty will be decorated with the Articles of Impeachment. And to all a good night!
9
Look at position 1:37 in the video, republican lawyer, Stephen Castor, calls the idea, that Ukrainian officials meddled in the election, a conspiracy theory. So, even the republican lawyer admits that it is not true.
8
The poor Republicans don't have any points left. I feel sorry for them since they are totally cornered. They should just give up since there is no hope for them. Their POTUS should resign. Pence could take over the presidency until the election. Republicans need our prayers. They are poor souls.
8
Yesterday I heard trump-xian Santorum use the defense that soliciting a foreign power for election interference is not only not impeachable, it won't set a precedent because dear leader didn't succeed. Apparently that defense is still working on the "angry" minority crowd. I guess they never heard the saying, "If at first you don't succeed..."
10
Can all of Trump’s enablers be impeached?
9
Peace through strength. A great day for world peace with Russia and Ukraine agreeing to a cease fire. With the lethal military aid to Ukraine that Trump signed off after careful vetting, even though he got "nothing" from Ukraine as there never was a quid pro quo is the primary reason why a sunrise for peace has occurred. Thank you President Trump for being the main reason for peace. You sir do not deserve the bogus fraud of hateful partisan impeachment. You deserve the Nobel peace prize, a hundred times more than any winner of the peace prize before you.
1
The Trump cult is both funny and sad simultaneously.
7
Regardless of the political risk/benefit, it is vital to put this lying traitor on the record for his crimes, for all of history to see. Truth and the rule of law still matter and House Democrats may be the last bulwark holding truth to power in our government.
8
Did anyone mention that Ukrainians died because of the delay in military aid?
7
Do the vote and don't pass it to the Senate. Let it hang over Trump in the election !
4
Please get it over with!
History will judge those who vote impeach as heroes standing up for democracy.
And those who vote to acquit as traitors and queslings.
By November 2020 the voters will decide the final judgement on the heroes and the traitors and queslings.
13
Democrats move to place Trump on “double secret probation.”
Film at 11:00.
1
The Democrats are simply upholding their oaths of office as Individual #1 defiles the country.
Meanwhile, everything Donald Trump touches - democracy, the Presidency, the Constitution, the Republican Party, the truth - dies.
Impeach this lawless scoundrel; let voters now that crook occupies the Oval Office and that the Russian-Republican Senate is A-OK with that crookedness.
We will remember on November 3 2020.
57
I imagine it was a difficult decision to decide to push forward quickly on impeachment. But I trust that Nancy Pelosi and others are making the most rational decision they can. It may come down to the voters and if so, turnout will be key.
Let's hope for the best and each do own part to make this nightmare of a President go away.
32
Impeachment is the right thing to do, but it will hurt the democrats and reelect Trump. So, a Pyrrhic victory. They will have won the battle but lost the war.
3
Democrats should stop and subpeona Pence, Bolton and Pompeo. Doing this now only guarantees a partisan Senate trial. There is a chance with the others testifying that the case becomes undeniable for even GOP senators. We only need ten.
2
@T I think you need 20.
3
Congressional Democrats are in the process of betraying the voters who gave them a majority in the House of Representatives a year ago.
Impeaching in a rush, and on an artificially narrow basis, is a gift to a renegade president, and will weaken the protective value of the impeachment power against future usurpers.
Gross violations of the emoluments clause and using campaign funds for hush payments are not issues to weigh against primary polling. They are crimes, and failing to pursue them as impeachable offenses unacceptably sanctions criminal actions by a criminal president.
Trump's spending money and making appointments on a broad scale, without Congressional approval, is not a matter of policy difference or interpretation. These are deliberate violations of the Constitution which the president took an oath to defend.
House Democrats waited 8 months, after their majority was seated, before starting impeachment hearings. Their excuse was that Republicans didn't agree, and impeachment should be bipartisan. Then when impeachment hearings did begin, Democrats made campaign speeches at the expense of focusing on finding facts which might persuade Republican constituents that impeachment is warranted. Now many outstanding subpoenas, potential witnesses and lines of further inquiry are to be cast aside, because it is "too late." It is late because Congressional Democrats stalled, yet made no real effort to seek the Republican support which was the supposed reason for waiting.
7
We are witnessing a Pyrrhic victory but with both antagonists doomed to licking their wounds and absorbing their losses for the foreseeable future. The Democrats will impeach Trump and the Republicans will exonerate him. He will remain in office and likely be re-elected to a second and hopefully final term. This much is self-evident.
For the rest of us, neither die-hard Democrats or Republicans, the vision of a dysfunctional government is clear. We are living in a post-democratic nightmare with no path forward. Our insistence on an inbred system of two and only two political parties has borne the rotting fruit the nation's founders warned against. It is now us against them but with most of us not aligned with either of them.
24
@Rick Spanier
Likely be re-elected? Oh ye of little faith! It ain't over til the fat boy's in Sing Sing.
Even the Republican's admit that Trump's path to victory is narrow. It's pretty clear now that by next November the economy will be far from the 4% growth that Trump promised his tax cuts would generate. It's also clear that 45% of the popular vote is Trump's ceiling for popularity. Turnout could make a difference. Want to compare Trump's rallies to the combined mass of issue protesters (e.g. the women's march)? Trump's hard core supporters may be more rabid, but they're vastly outnumbered by hard core opposition. Trump may not lose some evangelicals, but he won't gain any. Look at the demographics. A white supremacy platform is not a recipe for a broad coalition of voters. What demographic can he gain in, rich voters?
Independents won't make the same mistake of assuming that Trump loses this time. Instead, we understand that is our role to ENSURE that Trump loses in 2020. It can and will be done. Trust in the inherent strength of our Democracy, but verify.
7
Mr. Spanier, what has borne the rotting fruit in this instance is the clear unconstitutional and impeachable behavior of Donald Trump. We should be clear about that. You may have a point to make about the ills of a two party system but to make that point in the context of this situation implies a (false) equivalency that does not exist. The Democrats are performing the Constitutional duties they were elected to perform. Full stop.
9
@Rick Spanier well said. Bit by bit it was us who created them and the current situation we now face. There’s a price we all have to pay whether we understand it or not. Perhaps that understanding was at root why our 1% capitalists resorted to their sickening money grab selfishly to themselves knowing what is to come in attempts to stave off the worst of the pain as our country disintegrates.
1
Maybe the Republicans should try the Democrat's defense? "It just happened" sounds much better than "get over it". That would at least be more honest than "it didn't happen".
3
@rusty carr
Maybe the Republicans should just stop defending a criminal that sits in the Oval Office and side with our nation and our democracy? Yeah, that's what I think they should do.
3
KISS -- Keep It Simple Sherlock
I guess that's the Democrats' approach. I would have thought that at least 8 articles were called for, but perhaps this more streamlined strategy will be better.
Neither of the 2 articles is a statuary crime. That simplifies things a great deal.
Having only 2 articles will help end the entire process much sooner. It removes a huge pile of Republican lies that would have been used to defend any statutory-related crimes, including bribery. Though the statues should have nothing to do with impeachment proceedings (there were no federal statutes when impeachment added to the Constitution) Republicans were obviously going to argue on those points anyway. Now they can't.
Our system of government is totally defenseless to Russian hacking, a mob boss who works for Putin and a criminal party that supports both Putin and his American mob boss!
17
Yesterday’s hearing was a real low point in our Democracy. Collins, Jordan, Gaetz, Sensenbrenner acted like a pack of rabid dogs.
I got a chill down my spine when I realized that Trump is trying to become a Dictator like Putin is in Russia. Speaker Pelosi and the House Democrats are trying to save our Democracy. In Russia Putin uses fear and retaliation to control all dissent.
If Trump is not impeached our Democracy is probably finished. Trump, Barr, McConnell and some others will decide what the truth is and anybody who says anything they don’t like will have there lives destroyed.
26
Their three constitutional witnesses stated that Trump should be charged with bribery. Schiff and others were screaming about bribery. I guess the DNC did a poll, and the result of the poll made them drop about bribery.
So now we have "obstructing congress" (done by all presidents), and "abuse of power" (what the heck is that?).
5
@Erik I'm devastated that the House is ignoring all the work done in the Mueller Report and the days and days of hearings and only finding 2 articles of impeachment. What a pathetic waste. Future presidents will have free reign to do whatever they want.
1
Impeachment has become less and less about Donald Trump and more and more about the rest of us. Watching 20,000 neighbors, including a few respected friends and colleagues, fill a local arena to welcome President Trump to Florida after a week of recent impeachment hearings made it clear that our representatives in Washington are not deciding the president's fate nearly as much as our own.
21
Even though Trump is a serial criminal imo, impeachment could backfire.
Unless there is a majority support for it in swing states, don't do it.
Disenchanted Trump voters who are ready to vote democrat could view it as piling on.
Better to oust the criminal Trump in next yrs. election where Biden is leading Trump in most swing states.
It doesn't do the democrats any good if they are morally and legally correct but give the criminal another term.
6
@Paul Frankly, with a Trump flagrantly inviting foreign interference in the process, I have little faith in free and fair elections.
8
@Paul
The election is in 10 months, a veritable eternity in politics. Regardless, I think it's fine that the Democrats are doing the right thing, rather than the most politically expedient thing.
10
So everyone is going to blame democrats if he gets reelected and not the hateful, ignorant voters who elected him? Sounds about right in this Orwellian age.
So be it.
6
Obstruction of congress?
After all the outbursts at yesterday's hearing, the Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are deserving of that charge as well.
65
@C. Whiting When I watched the Republicans arguing yesterday my thought was women would not vote for those particular men. They reminded me of men who would do domestic violence. Who wants to live with that?
6
Emoluments?
Just to make sure, I searched (Command F) this article for the word.
In vain.
No doubt the invitation/coercion/abuse of power to involve Ukraine in our elections is a serious threat to US sovereignty and the rule of law. No doubt this also involved some serious damage to US credibility as a reliable ally. No doubt these machinations raise serious questions about Russian and international oligarchic influence over our chief executive as well as many members of Congress and, perhaps, other levels of government and key operatives in the GOP.
But this president* has been profiting from his office since the second he was inaugurated. He has been doing so in a way that would make him appear vulnerable to foreign influence even if there were not so many other indications of his corruption. Why are emoluments more difficult to challenge—and to explain to the US population? To not make THIS case in the starkest way possible is to acquiesce to the vile precedents being set by this administration*.
A day or two of hearings reviewing the serious charges concerning obstruction of justice by the “president” and the Russian election interference laid out in the Mueller report would also be more than useful. Failure to highlight these issues is a serious abdication of responsibility on the part of the House of Representatives. AND no justification for this failure is being offered.
And first - and then last are emoluments.
Emoluments.
Emoluments.
EMOLUMENTS!
29
@Joseph F. Panzica
Aside from exercising their Constitutional duty, Congress is pursuing this course to perhaps convince a few percent of the Republican voters into their camp.
It may sound petty, but I'm firmly convinced that the word "emoluments" is far to long a word for today's average Republican voter. Best to keep the words short, the concepts simple, and the proofs of Donny Boy's misdemeanors very, very understandable. -C
2
@Joseph F. Panzica
Are you Richard Painter's long lost relative?
It looks like the Dems have decided they need Trump's taxes to have proof of for an emoluments charge. But imagine if the Democrats get Trump's taxes and McGahn's testimony, DURING THE SENATE TRIAL!
The American people won't stand for a second impeachment, but the House has an oversight duty to keep investigating and this way they will retain control of the process on these charges such that they can be used just like Trump wanted to use a Ukrainian Biden investigation. That would be karma. It's overdue.
1
We all know how this will go, don’t we? Not one Republican will support any article of impeachment in the house. There will be however a few Democrat defections. And in the Senate Joe Manchin will vote no, so the Democrats will get 47 votes. Not bipartisan at all And the polls in Pennsylvania Wisconsin and Michigan should trouble with the Democrats mightily.
11
When this is over, it will be clear that impeachment is the oversized version of the Mueller Report, with the same overall effects. Anything can happen but Mueller Report the Sequel is what will happen. I’ve read enough comments to know that impeachment enthusiasts are expecting something new and improved. But same old same old is where we’re headed. Everyone needs a plan for moving on.
15
@michjas
Trump did pressure, through withholding American Tax Payer monies, a head of a foreign state for his personal political gain, and then buried the evidence of the final, fateful call in a private server, also wrong.
And perhaps you have not read the Mueller Report fully? I have. It spells a lot of bad and shady things this person sitting in the Oval Office and his team of minions did before, during and after the election and almost all of it had to do with Russia.
4
Keep coming up with wildly differing charges in the fervent hope against hope that one, just one, of them finally sticks.
If one is in a hole, is it smart to keep digging?
How about the old-fashioned way: Defeat Trump at the polls?
Or have the Democrats given up on that?
16
@boroka Given who the candidates are, they have.
2
@boroka Reminder Michael Cohen testified that even if the Democrats defeat him in the 2020 election, trump will call it fake news and refuse to leave the White House.
2
@boroka
Defeat a proven cheat in a rigged contest? Yes. Even that will happen.
1
The beauty of the Trump presidency is it shows the three claims the GOP likes to claim—that it’s moral, patriotic, and cares about the deficit are all lies. It’s simply a hate group that also wants to steal from the poor to give to the rich.
What saddens me about the Trump presidency is many Americans see Trump and the GOP got what they are and like it for those very vices.
46
In my lifetime, I look back on some of the despicable shenanigans Presidents have committed or been responsible for. Iran-Contra, the "Weapons of Mass Destruction" fraud that put is into Iraq, the allowance of a financial house of cards that led up to the financial collapse of 2009-09.
Yet these events never led to any discussion of impeachment. In comparison, the current "high crimes and misdemeanors" are at 0.1 on a scale of 5, deserving no more than a censure. As much as they prefer to ignore the elephant in the room, the Ukraine-Biden situation is a legitimate area of inquiry before we send more money there, and while there may have been a collateral political interest, when, in Washington, is there never a collateral political interest? Indeed, the entire impeachment circus we are observing only exists for its collateral political interest.
14
@RM If there is an official inquiry to be pursued concerning the Bidens, then obviously there are official channels through which that inquiry should be made. Sending Ghouliani out to do the nation's business is ridiculous on several levels.
The aid of which you speak was approved by congress and the president did not have the legal right to withhold that aid for any reason.
11
@RM There is no “Ukraine-Biden” inquiry to be had. Beau Biden was ethically challenged, but the only “fact” supporting an inquiry into Joe Biden is that he told the Ukrainians—representing the position of the United States and our European allies—that they needed to clean up corruption before getting more aid. The Burisma fraud occurred in 2012. Beau Biden became a Burisma board member in 2014. The prosecutor the U.S. and it’s allies sought to remove wasn’t investigating Burisma or other frauds. He was widely reported to be pocketing cash for NOT investigating fraud.
2
That's all be real clear about one thing. It is Donald J Trump that is under scrutiny for impeachment right now. Not the bidens. It was Donald J Trump that decided he was above the law. As a senior citizen I have seen a lot of things in this country but I have never seen a more corrupt person then Donald J Trump. There is every reason for this impeachment. It screams loud and clear.
84
History will not judge the Democrats kindly for this.
12
@John
Protecting and defending our elections is paramount. The president using his office to damage political rivals and encourage foreign countries to interfere with our elections is the most serious crime there is. The GoP will face a reckoning for this.
10
@John I think you have that backwards.
4
@John...Really? What history books are you reading? I teach history and well, it's looking pretty good for our party so far.
Got you on the ropes.
Have a great day!
5
The Republican defense sounds like that song, "It wasn't me," about the player caught red-handed with another woman. The Pathetic Party has done nothing but throw taxpayer dollars at rich people and defend a criminal for three years. They fulminated, beat their breast, projected, gaslighted, attacked, spun and spun and spun, and presented absolutely no evidence or defense except that Democrats don't like Trump. It's true, I despise the man. But there's a reason for that. He's a criminal who fixes elections to benefit himself, conducts business to enrich himself while in office, spends all day Tweeting, calling into Fox, having televised campaign rallies of people wearing his hats and t-shirts where he panders to the paranoid and the racist. The only good thing I can say about Trump is that he appears to want to avoid a war, but who knows? He might change his mind tomorrow and go invade someone for more time with Fox and Friends. Republicans want to throw themselves on the sword for a man that literally the majority of the country wouldn't trust to tie their shoe. Lemmings, this guy deserves to be impeached and you know it.
52
okay - let's move forward. the judiciary committee votes on 2, 6 or 12 articles of impeachment and the full house votes to forward the articles to the senate for trial.
the senate deliberates carefully, and perceptions and positions change and the senate gets the 67 votes necessary to impose a penalty. the penalty that is deliberated and voted on is to remove the president.
so far, so good? the next thing is to swear in the vice president as mr. trump's replacement. mr. pence has been a stalwart supporter of mr. trump and has been at his side through the economic boon of the last three years. now, mr. pence may have a softer political side than mr. trump, but does anybody think a democrat can beat mr. pence next november?
what is the real underlying issue? that's what i can't figure out. there's got to be some long term plan for all this. if not, if it's all about partisanship with no long-term plan, we're in deeper trouble than what's being debated around dinner tables.
4
@Dave B
ANY democrat can beat Pence in November.
ANY DEMOCRAT.
Pence is politically neutered, has no charisma, no "base," no rabid following. He's simply lackluster all around. A democratic wet paper bag could beat him.
1
@Dave B President Pence would fold like a deck of cards.
1
@Dave B
I will answer this way. Trump's actions as President is so egregious that we cannot let him
(or any other President )get away with so many offenses.
3
Use of official power to punish political opponents sounds really bad. But punishing an opponent by making up a nonsense story that nobody believes sounds like a prank. Sources said that Hunter Biden has been laughing so hard and so long that he busted a gut.
8
Ineptitude is not a defense.
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@michjas
Cite your sources, and please, no Fox and friends, Limbaugh or Breitbart.
3
“President Trump’s persistent and continuing effort to coerce a foreign country to help him cheat to win an election is a clear and present danger to our free and fair elections and to our national security”. Cheat? I have seen that he coerced the Ukrainians to investigate Joe Biden’s son. But not to ensure the outcome of the investigation, which would be cheating, would be a much higher standard to meet and clearly is missing from the evidence to date. Meanwhile, the Democratic Vice President’s son thing really sticks in my craw. That Burisima job was absolutely cheating.
13
@Alan Interesting how you don't bring up the money that Ivanka and Jared are pulling in because of their relationship with the President. Hunter Biden took the job because he could make money. His father should have known better. But if anyone wants to talk about Hunter bring the President's kids.
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Trump didn’t want the Ukrainians to actually investigate Hunter Biden. He just wanted them to announce that they were investigating Hunter Biden so he could use the headline. He knew a real investigation would backfire.
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@Alan Yes, he pushed so hard for an investigation that he released the money without said investigation materializing. Stop covering for Trump. Just admit you are OK with his actions.
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Republicans continue to call these proceedings baseless. A nothingburger when the evidence in right out in the open in plain black and white for everyone to see. I don't get it... Are they living in another reality or dimension? They have no defence so they just simply say it's not there... Non-existent!
Yes dems have been trying to remove Trump from office from day one because he was unfit for office from day one!
There needs to be some sort of nonpartisan committee to make an impeachment decision base on facts rather than partisan politics.
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@Michael
Add the fake Trump family charity.
3
What will rock America's Titanic enough to sink it and the Republican Party and their president who aren't looking for climate change icebergs in the Atlantic these days? If the impeachment against Donald Trump (" a clear and present danger" to Democracy) goes forward today in the House Judiciary Committee, the Democrats will be hit broadside by the cannonade of distraction missiles from the Republicans.The G.O.P. counsels and representatives at the House Intelligence Hearing yesterday were unable to defend President Trump beyond roaring that his impeachment is a hoax and witch hunt concocted by Democrats dissatisfied with the unexpected results of the 2016 presidential election. Americans are drowning today between Scylla and Charbidis, the whirlpools that will claim our experiment in democracy.
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I am so looking forward to this. And I know where it’s headed. Mitch McConnell will pull another rabbit out of his hat and will filibuster impeachment until this Senate term is over. He will go down as the slipperiest Senator ever. Trump will back out. The Democrats will be unable to choose a nominee. The Presidency will be vacant and Democrats and Republicans will join hands and restore sanity. I am so looking forward to this.
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@michjas
wow, you should write for Netflix thrillers!
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Excellent! Well done, Democrats! Looking forward to the senate trial.
Be aware of the consequences though. At the Upper House the party roles will be reversed and the rules will change big-time.
First, it will be extraordinarily difficult for House Democratic impeachment managers to present their case because hearsay evidence will not be admissible in the trial.
Second, senators must attend but they will not be able to ask questions.
Third, Democrats will get little rest between the House vote and the trial because Senate rules require the proceeding to begin no later than 1 p.m. the day after the impeachment article(s) are received in the upper house to continue six days a week until a final verdict is reached.
What an election year gift for president Trump. Oh, Nancy! Why did you do this?
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@RMM
The evidence presented wasn’t hearsay. The witnesses had first hand knowledge of the events. The chief of staff admitted to the scheme trading American security for personal gains. The likely obstruction of congress charge is not hearsay either. The House requested documents and witnesses in order to perform its constitution duty of oversight. The president directed his staff to not comply. It is well documented.
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@RMM
You seem to be forgetting all the witnesses who are currently following the orders of the White House and obstructing justice. When this goes to trial, there will be no excuse.
9
@RMM You’re railing against circumstantial evidence, not hearsay. in a courtroom, circumstantial evidence is often more probative than direct testimony. Here the circumstances strongly support a finding that President Trump withheld a White House meeting and $391 million in aid to coerce President Zelensky to conduct investigations into hypothesized Ukrainian interference in our 2016 presidential election (Russians? Never!) and Joe Biden. If you truly believe the evidence was weak, you’d be asking Trump to turn over his and the White House staff’s communications with the Office of Management and Budget and his communications with Mulvaney, Sondland, et al. about Ukraine.
6
Poor Mr. Trump? Caught red-handed by a Whitehouse paper-shuffling (purest) patriot unschooled in GOP skullduggery and unwise to the pervasive GOP ruthlessness'. The GOP are screaming that our means and methods are legal if not moral suits the members just fine. Unfortunately, Impeachment is a Constitutional tool to remove a crook but more importantly, it is a means to write history and label a fool, "fool". By any standard, Trump is unrivaled, unparalleled in (foolishness), but impeachment unlocks journalism and historic analysis that knows no bounds. "No End". Every line and moment of the Trump life and Presidency will be fine-toothed (gone over) and every double-dealing business action, womanizing moment and bad word he ever uttered will be in print. Of course, Trump will be the main supplier of tantalizingly absurd fodder as he ages into oblivion.
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@terry brady
We as average americans working to support our families and companies and civic organizations are aghast at the level of self dealing to the detriment of the worlds view of the United States as better than this- with possible cover up machine on overdrive .We in the US should changet to a one term six year presidency .We might actually get something done for the average working families in the usa and get some better governance from our government of all parties.
Might be a rare positive for a change if we learn and adjust the presidents term to a single six year tour of duty.
There would be more performance and less self dealing and fund raising for the 4 year Presidential election cycles of today -required by our elected presidents and their citizen officers.
3
Impeachment cannot come soon enough.
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All of this time and only two articles of impeachment? What about his total disregard for his oat of office, i.e. "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." which he has basically ignored? What about the leveraging of his office for personal and family financial gains?
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Big Agriculture is a fan of ‘oats of office’
1
Elwood, “abuse of power” covers the concerns you raise.
1
History books will have 4 chapters about impeachment:
1. Andrew Johnson: The Impeachment that Rocked Reconstruction
2. Richard Nixon: 18 Minutes that Brought Down a President
3. Bill Clinton: That Depends on the Meaning of What 'Is' Is
4. Donald Trump: The Impeachment that Changed Nothing
21
This is outrageous! They need to clearly state bribery front and center. Throw the book at him!! The American people already know he is abusing his power, that is nothing new. We are in for it now if the Dems only charge him with two counts. Our republic is done.
20
Is there anything in Donald Trump’s life that he touches which does not include some sort of abuse of power?
To him America is nothing. Just another place on a list to brag about in his own corrupt way.
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I don't understand why the Democrats are letting
lawyers do the most important talking for them.
I did not elect these lawyers, neither did you.
If the Democrats in Congress are so sure of their
Cause and Evidence, let them present it themselves.
As for the 2020 Election, it has not even begun.
Biden wanders around America being caustic to
older men than he is and then challenging them to a
"Push Up" contest, Warren is being backstabbed by
the DNC just like Bernie was, a Mayor is leading in Iowa
and Amy, probably the best candidate the Democrats could
put forth is very low in Polls. Bernie to the Rescue ?
Meanwhile we are forbidden to ask how Hunter Biden
got the cushy job in the Ukraine, why Joe Biden made the
Ukraine his special interest.
Go back to FDR - he twisted Churchill's arm all he could
to get trade World War I destroyers for all he wanted while
the Neutrality Act was still the Law of the Land. He provoked
Japan until they attacked Pearl Harbor.
Truman sent my Cousin to die in an undeclared War in
Korea.
LBJ sent a Nephew to die in Vietnam, again an undeclared War.
Bush and Obama sent a GrandNephew back to the Middle East
three times and deceived us about Iraq and Afghanistan.
If you want to impeach Trump then have the Common Decency to impeach Bush II, Obama, and strip every national monument that has FDR, Truman, LBJ and Nixon on them for they carried
out acts far, far worse than what Trump may or may not have done.
12
@John Brown
Wars are terrible, and just because Trump has more or less avoided one (but has had no problem keeping troops overseas while claiming he isn't) is not a good reason to sell out democracy to Russia. You can't be president by promising never to fight a war, because you don't know what will happen.
6
If Contempt of the Constitution, Contempt of Democracy and Contempt of the American People were considered impeachable offenses, the proof would be as incontrovertible as the proof for Abuse of Power and Contempt of Congress.
Incontrovertible and just as meaningless to the Republicans in both chambers of Congress who, with perhaps a few exceptions, are just as guilty of Contempt of the Constitution, Democracy and the American people as the President. Contempt that will fully expressed and recorded when Republicans vote with near or perhaps total unanimity against impeachment and then against removal. Contempt that will be redoubled when they ignore Trump's inevitable next attack on a fair election.
If Americans are to save our democracy that contempt must be returned to those who have earned it. At the polls. Resoundingly.
31
Ironic that you could probably accuse the Democratic Congress of exactly the same thing. They've done nothing but try to obstruct this president every step of the way since he was inaugurated. Some of them even called on people to assault members of his cabinet in public places, which they did.
The Dems also tried to undercut the president on numerous occasions while he was representing the US overseas at international conferences, nuclear disarmament talks, etc. And Democrats have sided with illegal immigrants by obstructing border security efforts, and declaring sanctuary cities and states where they instructed law enforcement not to cooperate with federal officials on immigration laws, even with regard to trying to arrest violent criminals, all to the detriment of the American people. Talk about an abuse of power.
The Dems are the ones who should be impeached.
13
The president is corrupt and everyone knows. He is a dangerous person for the society. He is not a leader. He is someone nobody should be proud of. 63 million Americans voted for him. Ok, many were mislead the same way that people were mislead with trump university and the list go on. Impeachment is the duty of democratic lawmakers even if he can not be remove because we don’t get the votes in the senate. At least Democrats did what they were supposed to do. Oversight. Republicans in Congress are screaming machine. Trying to confuse everybody with the rhetoric. Awful and not professional. I still hope senate will impeach and remove Trump.
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@dgbu "They've done nothing but try to obstruct this president every step of the way since he was inaugurated. "
Do you really want to go there after the Obama years?
18
@dgbu really. It seems you are missing what is front of you. Sort of like a kid found writing on the wall knowing it was wrong , but saying " hey it is pretty right" !! Trump is saying it is ok for me to do this, but it is not ok for you to criticize.
1
This Nadler and Pelosi Dem. impeachment plan based entirely on the shoddy Schiff report is bogus, 100% partisan and dead wrong. It overturns the fair and free 2016 US presidential election in which over 120 eligible million Americans freely voted. If the majority of the Dems vote to impeach they will be making the same colossal blunder as the Republicans who impeached Bill Clinton in his 2nd term. Clinton was right to say emphatically " I will not resign" and Trump will not resign because the senate can render the impeachment null and void or at least not force him to resign just like the senate did not force Clinton to resign.
Assuming that the impeachment will be voted on by the full floor in the house after a thorough debate on the Schiff report and the baseless articles of impeachment it will be a vote of no confidence in the eventual nominee who may emerge from the presidential primary of the Dem party for the 2020 presidential election and will ensure the reelection of Trump and more likely removal of Pelosi as the speaker of the house in 2020. Impeachment will give 2 good reasons to vote the congressional majority out. As an independent, I will certainly not vote for my democratic congressman career politician Yarmuth if he chooses to vote for the articles of impeachment, which 2 distinguished constitutional democratic law Professors Alan Dershowitz of Harvard law school and Jonathan Turley of Georgetown Univ. will consider as hasty abuse of power by congress.
8
@Girish Kotwal
Your argument is compromised when noting the number of voters in the 2016 election.
If voters really had their say three years ago, and the majority of voters won the day, then we would have Madam President today.
Enough said.
14
@Girish Kotwal
Prez is guilty. That's why he's being impeached.
6
@New Senior Perhaps if Hillary Clinton and the DNC understood how the electoral college works, we would have Madam President today. Enough said.
1
A President is not allowed to appoint a Supreme Court Justice in his last year as President. Congress may not impeach a President when within 11 months of an election. Why are Democrats afraid of Republicans? Neither idea has any foundation in law
Democrats want to overturn the 2016 election. Yes that is true, but Democrats run from that truth. Trump was elected in a rigged election. It’s the only way he knows how to run. He does not believe in fair and free elections, and that should be more than enough to disqualify him from being President.
He committed a felony! He did not report that he spent $275,000 to silence a stripper and aPlayboy bunny from telling their stories of infidelity. He took away the RIGHT of 65 million Americans who voted for him to judge if the man they want in office is one who uses his money to avoid dealing with tough situations.
He courted foreign interference with free and fair elections-TWICE! The second time he used US taxpayer dollars to provide the grease. More election rigging.
The ethically lacking Republican attorney yesterday told the American public that Democrats interpreted every ambiguity against the President, yet he remarkably claims that the transcript of the phone call is unambiguous.
Trump clearly asks for a favor, and the bill is overdue and outstanding. If he had an honest bone in his body the transcript is at very least ambiguous. Call out Republican fascism!
23
Looking at impeachment through the eyes of the stock market and comparing it with the stock market's view of tariffs is instructive. Some will attempt to mock reliance on fickle markets. They are the same ones who have repeatedly pointed out how the market reacts to tariffs. So they have lost the right to mock.
The market, which fears uncertainty more than anything else, has been indifferent every step of the way toward impeachment. By contrast, every move in our trade war with China immediately results in substantial market movement. The market sees no uncertainty arising from the attempt to remove Trump from office. But it is on the edge of its seat over whether Trump imposes a tariff on soybeans.
The message is clear. The financial woild does not fear that the impeachment process will rock the beat. It is dismissing the whole thing as an irrelevant sideshow, not nearly as important as the price of soybeans.
I consider that information helpful, though hardly decisive. I'm not an idiot, so you can't mock me that way either. I'm not going to let impeachment rock my boat anytime soon. I'll wait and see and if the boat starts rocking I will take heed. But I do need to take action immediately. I'm going to buy a case of soy sauce. I like the stuff and the present price is reasonable. And while you're following impeachment with baited breath, I'll be glad to share my soy sauce with you. At market price, of course.
1
@michjas
Nice to know that you only care about your own pocketbook and that impeachment is nothing toyou. See how you feel when your elected leaders throw you in jail, strip your wealth, poison you anywhere in the world, have only one source of news, the government's, or any of the other privileges of undemocratic countries.
1
To remind us that this isn’t really a partisan issue, even though it looks like one because the Republicans have decided en masse to ignore what’s sitting in front of them, let’s hear from two constitutional scholars on impeachment:
“Use of official power to punish political opponents is near the core of the category of impeachable offenses” (Cass Sunstein, “Impeachment: A Citizen’s Guide,” 121).
“Finally, the Framers struck directly at the core evil: quid pro quo bargains. By writing bribery into the Impeachment Clause, they ensured that the nation could expel a leader who would sell out its interests to advance his own” (Laurence Tribe & Joshua Matz, “To End a Presidency: The Power of Impeachment,” 33)
Both of these books were written BEFORE the Ukraine story broke. Yet, they describe Trump’s actions to a T. If they are not impeachable offense, then pretty much nothing is.
203
@DB Al Capone was finally caught on tax evasion. True because from day one, this person was felt to be unfit to be president, his actions, his lying, his divisiveness, his duplicity.. all bad character traits. It has taken this long to nail him on something so egregious that it cannot be ignored after a pattern of bad behavior. This is way beyond partisan hatred though for sure that has grown. Trump has been a partisan president from day one. How dare you accuse this process of that, when the GOP has made it such.
27
@DB - Most people hate bigotry, dishonesty, cruelty and greed. Trump is the poster child for all of those things. Right thinking people should hate someone who harms our country.
17
@DB No, that is not correct: Trump is detestable, yes, but his irrefutable actions violate the constitution and warrant his impeachment. Your argument has no merit.
7
I watched part of the proceedings, and I was disgusted by the behaviour of the Republican Party members. It was more akin to a frat meeting than one of high office, and with of such dire consequences for the President. In the Presidents defence; he has a long history of criminal activity and is a convicted felon, so what did you expect from him. The Untied States is a very young country, with independence formally being declared on July 2, 1776, so in international terms the US is a teenager, and with all that teenage years bring. Good luck as you need it.
68
@David Morgan Hey, UK. In our country convicted felons are not even allowed to vote, much less run for President.
3
@David Morgan
This may be a case of a teen who gets drunk, drives, crashes and dies.
3
The country has been in existence around 250 years. In the first 200 years we have had one impeachment hearing. In less than 50 years we have had 3 impeachment hearings.
What does this tell you?
I can see this becoming a trend.
When the Democrats control the house and we have a Republican president, impeachment hearings.
When the Republicans are in the house and we have a Democratic president, impeachment hearings.
We will spend all our time in impeachment hearings and nothing will get done.
I think it is called Tit for Tat.
Sad for our "democracy."
Having said that, I do believe this current "president" has been committing impeachable offenses since before he was elected.
5
@esp
If Trump respected the law and Constitution we would have no impeachment. How quickly they forget the Speaker did not want impeachment, but when someone is throwing rocks through your windows you cannot ignore it.
2
The Democrats have competently done their jobs and remained dignified throughout, despite the feigned outrage staged by the Republicans every step of the way. I am a big fan of decorum but the charges against Trump are so egregious, and the Republicans’ denial of them so baseless, loud, and thus equally egregious, that the Democrats need to palpably display their outrage at both. So roll out the impeachment articles with ire and fire: The preservation of our democracy, the truth, and the rule of law demand nothing less.
146
I just want to thank Mr. Goldman for his commitment to our Constitution and the law. His professionalism yesterday served as relief to the near wild behavior and antics from the Republicans. How can anyone not be immediately distrusting of them with their hands flaying and their shrill behavior? Mr. Goldman, on the other hand, was composed and serious. This is serious! I truly believe we are at a potentially irrevocable moment for this Republic.
158