Mega-Thread: Impeachment Proceedings & Inquiry of Trump

[Resurgo]

"I didn't want to make the call, but Giuliani made me. What choice did I have? I am only the President with an Oval Office full of advisors, all of whom said this was a toxic drug deal. And Giuliani is my personal lawyer with no government role in any way. My tiny hands were tied."

Besides, Giuliani already blew this open by saying he had backing of the State Department.

My buddy and I have argued about trump for the last couple of years and one thing does bear mentioning...

In all trump's years of shady underhanded doings, he has ALWAYS managed to skate (barely) free of any consequences. There's always another person to blame and another person to take the fall...

It's disheartening to admit, but so far, my friend is correct on that assessment...

[Breccia]

It's disheartening to admit, but so far, my friend is correct on that assessment...

The single worst thing you can do to your privacy is run for President. As @Resurgo and @Shon237 have pointed out, Trump's pre-President fiscals are now being examined for fraud.

Probably because Cohen said Trump committed fraud.

Which was probably to reduce his sentence.

Which he got for helping Trump break the law while running for President.

Trump stays home 2015/2016, he wouldn't be the target of multiple financial felonies, his "charity" would be running, he'd have a better deal on 666 5th Ave without scrutiny, his lawyers wouldn't be hiding his taxes from (at this point) every living being on Earth, and he'd be paying $130,000 a night to fail to pleasure a woman who's not his wife. And nobody would care about any of it. At this point, it must have crossed his chidren's collective mind that they might actually get more of his money if he dies now, than after he loses the shielding of the Oval Office.

[cubby]

For some reason the GOP has always underestimated Pelosi. Totally weird considering the combined legislative achievement of the last four GOP speakers don't even hold a candle to her. This is a speaker that has never failed to pass a measure that she brought to the house, and they still treat her like an old grandmother to be tolerated.

I could not agree more - she's fantastic. Every time she has gone up against Trump, she's won, almost soundly. I hope she takes some time each day in a sound proof room to let out the cackling laughs she must keep in each time the Orange Turd tries to thwart her.

[Endus]

The single worst thing you can do to your privacy is run for President. As @Resurgo and @Shon237 have pointed out, Trump's pre-President fiscals are now being examined for fraud.

Probably because Cohen said Trump committed fraud.

Which was probably to reduce his sentence.

Which he got for helping Trump break the law while running for President.

Trump stays home 2015/2016, he wouldn't be the target of multiple financial felonies, his "charity" would be running, he'd have a better deal on 666 5th Ave without scrutiny, his lawyers wouldn't be hiding his taxes from (at this point) every living being on Earth, and he'd be paying $130,000 a night to fail to pleasure a woman who's not his wife. And nobody would care about any of it. At this point, it must have crossed his chidren's collective mind that they might actually get more of his money if he dies now, than after he loses the shielding of the Oval Office.

The other side of this is that perspective matters. When it's a shady business tycoon doing maybe-questionable things, you've got to be real sure you can get them with a smoking gun, or they'll be able to make some argument that lets them skate by.

With a sitting President, on the other hand, there's a whole bunch of oaths and ethical precepts in play that take nearly all those arguments right off the table, because admitting to them is admitting to additional crimes or ethical failures.

It's not just that they have more cause and access than ever before, it's also those oaths of office and the like that come into play. They're legally binding.

[kaelleria]

LOL the federal investigation of Giuliani includes a counterintelligence probe.
This means the federal government things Rudy is a threat to national security.

Will update with an article when I find one.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/16/polit...obe/index.html

For months, investigators looking into Rudy Giuliani's business dealings in Ukraine have dug into everything from possible financial entanglements with alleged corrupt Ukrainian figures to counterintelligence concerns raised by some of those business ties, according to people briefed on the matter.

The counterintelligence part of the investigation indicates that FBI and criminal prosecutors in Manhattan are looking at a broader set of issues related to Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, than has been previously reported.

Kenneth McCallion, a New York attorney, says that investigators first approached him earlier this year to ask about Giuliani's ties to Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, two Giuliani associates indicted last week on campaign-finance related charges.

McCallion says FBI counterintelligence agents in February or March asked questions about some of Giuliani's Ukrainian business dealings.

The counterintelligence probe hinges in part on whether a foreign influence operation was trying to take advantage of Giuliani's business ties in Ukraine and with wealthy foreigners to make inroads with the White House, according to one person briefed on the matter.

"I was just asked whether I or any of my clients knew of any dealings that these two guys had with Giuliani," McCallion said. "They were on the radar with regard to possible counterintelligence issues."

The indictment announced last week centers on ties between the Giuliani associates and foreigners, including a Russian national with whom they did business. The indictment doesn't mention Giuliani.

Giuliani has said he is unaware of any criminal investigation into his business dealings.
McCallion, who first spoke to USA Today, has represented Ukrainian clients, including the former Ukraine Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

Some of the FBI agents and prosecutors handling the case come from the same public corruption unit that targeted Michael Cohen, the President's former personal lawyer, and it's clear the investigation could result in more charges.

The investigators in the Southern District of New York appear to have largely operated separately from what Trump's appointees at the Justice Department headquarters in Washington, DC, have pursued in recent months, and the investigation dates back far longer than what's been previously reported.

Justice Department officials last month said criminal division prosecutors in Washington had examined Trump's July call with the Ukrainian president only for the narrow issue of potential campaign finance violations and determined there was no crime. But the issue was far from closed.

At the same time, federal prosecutors in New York were aggressively pursuing broader issues related to the Ukraine matters.

The first indication of the broader investigation emerged last week when Manhattan-based investigators pursuing the charges brought last week against four Giuliani associates, including Parnas and Fruman, who were indicted on campaign finance-related offenses.

Nicolas Roos, the top prosecutor from Manhattan who worked on Cohen's prosecution for tax evasion and campaign finance violations, took the lead in Virginia federal court last week when Parnas and Fruman made their initial court appearance.

When the Giuliani associates were first charged, the Justice Department's public integrity team based in Washington were consulted about the charges but were not involved further in the case, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Prosecutors are expected to bring additional charges against at least some of the men, people briefed on the matter say. A grand jury has already issued at least one subpoena, to former Texas Republican Rep. Pete Sessions, another indication that further charges could be in the works. Rules that govern grand juries say that prosecutors can't continue to subpoena witnesses to the secret proceedings unless they are pursuing additional targets or charges.

Sessions wrote a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to raise concerns about the then-US ambassador to Ukraine, who was later removed by Trump following complaints by Giuliani and others.

The politically charged investigation is broadly examining the financial sources for the work that brought Giuliani to Ukraine, where he worked with Parnas and Fruman and where he previously lobbied the Ukraine government on behalf of a small town in the eastern part of the country. Parnas and Fruman were involved this year in helping find information that Giuliani sought to show alleged corruption by former Vice President Joe Biden and his family. No allegations against the Bidens have been corroborated.

Giuliani was not discussed in the allegations that Parnas and Fruman faced. Instead, the pair and two others, David Correia and Andrey Kukushkin are alleged to have funneled a Russian businessman's money into US campaigns and of a conspiracy to skirt campaign finance requirements as they pushed Ukrainian political interests in the US. They have not yet entered a plea, are being held in jail until they can each post $1 million bond, and are set to appear in court on Thursday afternoon.

[cubby]

The single worst thing you can do to your privacy is run for President. As @Resurgo and @Shon237 have pointed out, Trump's pre-President fiscals are now being examined for fraud.

Probably because Cohen said Trump committed fraud.

Which was probably to reduce his sentence.

Which he got for helping Trump break the law while running for President.

Trump stays home 2015/2016, he wouldn't be the target of multiple financial felonies, his "charity" would be running, he'd have a better deal on 666 5th Ave without scrutiny, his lawyers wouldn't be hiding his taxes from (at this point) every living being on Earth, and he'd be paying $130,000 a night to fail to pleasure a woman who's not his wife. And nobody would care about any of it. At this point, it must have crossed his chidren's collective mind that they might actually get more of his money if he dies now, than after he loses the shielding of the Oval Office.

To this day I still don't think he ever actually planned on winning. Because losing would get him almost the same publicity (remember his cable network he was going to launch) but no headaches. Granted, he's doing well financially - at least his family is (and god knows what's going on that we haven't found out about), and we still don't have him behind bars.

[zenkai]

Why is Pelosi scared to vote for an official inquiry?

[Zan15]

Why is Pelosi scared to vote for an official inquiry?

because its already official, there is no requirement to do so.

[zenkai]

because its already official, there is no requirement to do so.

Pelosi holds off on vote to authorize Trump impeachment inquiry

I would think people who hate Trump with a passion that they feel the need to post about him daily would at least be educated in the current and most important news about him.

[cubby]

Why is Pelosi scared to vote for an official inquiry?

How are you still on the outdated GOP talking points? Those are last weeks, outdated, incorrect, and have been fully debunked. Get with the deflecting program man! You need to be asking why Getz wasn't allowed into the hearing, and attacking the credibility of those former State officials who've come forward based on personal issues and obvious Dem bias.

Seriously though, it's telling that only one Trumpkin has crept out to mix it up over the past few says. The silence is deafening.

- - - Updated - - -

Pelosi holds off on vote to authorize Trump impeachment inquiry

I would think people who hate Trump with a passion that they feel the need to post about him daily would at least be educated in the current and most important news about him.

So you really don't know what she's doing here? Seriously?

Hint: there is no requirement to "authorize" an impeachment inquiry.
Double Plus Good Hint: the inquiry already started.

[Shadowferal]

Pelosi holds off on vote to authorize Trump impeachment inquiry
I would think people who hate Trump with a passion that they feel the need to post about him daily would at least be educated in the current and most important news about him.

Because she knows that Trump will think that his demand for such a vote, will seem to be a public capitulation to his demands...

[Saucexorzski]

Pelosi holds off on vote to authorize Trump impeachment inquiry

I would think people who hate Trump with a passion that they feel the need to post about him daily would at least be educated in the current and most important news about him.

there is more political power to be had in keeping the talk about Trump and his doings then thing to do something about it. Like climate change, like the war on drugs. like pretty much every single thing the US claims it cares about education, health care. Much more useful to let the problem exist and claim to have the answers and know whos at fault than FIX it. Typical human behavior in terms of power.

[cubby]

It's not about breaking the news, it's about providing guidelines for future witnesses.

And even then the story is breaking so fast they can't keep up with their new lies, much less get their stories straight to try and deflect/defend/attack/lie.

[zenkai]

there is more political power to be had in keeping the talk about Trump and his doings then thing to do something about it. Like climate change, like the war on drugs. like pretty much every single thing the US claims it cares about education, health care. Much more useful to let the problem exist and claim to have the answers and know whos at fault than FIX it. Typical human behavior in terms of power.

That's true, you think they would have learned from their last election.

[Belize]

there is more political power to be had in keeping the talk about Trump and his doings then thing to do something about it. Like climate change, like the war on drugs. like pretty much every single thing the US claims it cares about education, health care. Much more useful to let the problem exist and claim to have the answers and know whos at fault than FIX it. Typical human behavior in terms of power.

Kinda like how Trump is more interested in talking about trade deals, border security, improving the economy and bettering healthcare than actually do any of those things right?

[Saucexorzski]

Kinda like how Trump is more interested in talking about trade deals, border security, improving the economy and bettering healthcare than actually do any of those things right?

Yes exactly like that.

[cubby]

Yes exactly like that.

Except that Pelosi is doing something.... I think my sarcasm meter might have broken.

[Saucexorzski]

That's true, you think they would have learned from their last election.

It's still a thing because it works. They have learned very well. Masses are swayed when someone tells them Who to hate on for their problems. The right eats it up when its poor minorities, the left eats it up when it's rich white folks. Nothing changes but whose being yelled at. Trump currently is one of the best examples of this, but just one president before trump Obama was the very same thing for the republicans.

[zenkai]

It's still a thing because it works. They have learned very well. Masses are swayed when someone tells them Who to hate on for their problems. The right eats it up when its poor minorities, the left eats it up when it's rich white folks. Nothing changes but whose being yelled at. Trump currently is one of the best examples of this, but just one president before trump Obama was the very same thing for the republicans.

Both parties are controlled by fear of the other.

[Saucexorzski]

Except that Pelosi is doing something.... I think my sarcasm meter might have broken.

mmhmm yes she is. Letting the talk about him stretch because its more politically savvy to keep trump out of the impeachment frying pan and instead keep him on the cutting board being prepped.

- - - Updated - - -

Both parties are controlled by fear of the other.

IDK, i think they in on it together. but that's conspiracy territory. I just know they will say the realest shit about each other for the media to spin out their mouth holes, but then laugh it as the eat and drink together. Though, i do think there is general hatred for trump this go around. He took Hillary's spot.