Mega-Thread: Impeachment Proceedings & Inquiry of Trump

[Grapemask]

Every time Nunes gets a chance to speak, he throws in a "I want to tell the people at home what they're really seeing!" It all very much seems like a plea to "reject the evidence of your eyes and ears."

[cubby]

I find Vindman to be extremely sympathetic. He comes across as a level headed, smart and competent guy who followed the correct procedures on everything he's done. I also like his sense of humor. Quality fellow.

Agreed. I mean, you don't get appointed to the WH NSC Team without being a super-fucking-star. Regardless of what idiot happens to be sitting at the Resolute desk, the Pentagon still maintains standards.

[wunksta]

Every time Nunes gets a chance to speak, he throws in a "I want to tell the people at home what they're really seeing!" It all very much seems like a plea to "reject the evidence of your eyes and ears."

He also keeps saying that Yovanovitch and others 'disliked' like the Ukrainian policies but I never got that impression.

[cubby]

I thought that was funny as well. Trump not knowing who any of his advisors on key foreign policy issues are is not a thing that reflects well on him. For the advisor, that is just frustrating, he can't brief someone that doesn't want to be briefed. Ultimately it is the President who is required to receive that counsel, it is not the responsibility of an advisor to force it on him.

Plus, they are probably running out of crayon to use for Trump's one-page, single line, one-subject briefing documents.

It is amazing that Trump doesn't know anyone who works for him.

- - - Updated - - -

I personally think the whistleblower's extreme personal animus towards Trump needs to be made public. I also think the public also needs to know if Schiff's office colluded in any way with the whistleblower.

But, that said, I can understand why Democrats are so opposed to this kind of transparency since it would clearly undermine their partisan narrative. I'm sure this was decided after reviewing the results of their secret focus groups...that this fact wouldn't play well with Average Joe American.

I wish you understood how any of this process worked so you'd stop essentially misrepresenting the truth. Please look up what the IG does and how the whistleblower is entirely irrelevant at this point. You'd save yourself a TON of embarrassment. Every time you bring up needing to see/hear/whatever the whistleblower's testimony/statement/whatever, you appear to be a horse's ass. I'm sure you're not, of course, but it's hard to judge people past what they continually spew on forums.

[Canpinter]

I'm still trying to figure out how people are defending the outing of the whistleblower. It confounds logic and reason.

I could use some help on the logic, for those who think the identity of the whistleblower is so important.

1)Determine identity.
2)Determine political bias.
3)Determine personal bias.
4)If bias is determined to be against Trump, complaint is politically motivated and this is all a sham.
5) Profit? *

*Then why is there so much corroboration of the whistleblower's account?

I fundamentally do not understand how these people can make these deductions. The whistle blower could be Joe fucking Biden himself. It doesn't change what Trump, Giuliani, the ambassadors, etc have all said and/or testified about. Knowing the whistleblower's allegiance does not undo the fuckery that Trump/Giuliani inflicted on our ally.

Because they don't care about the facts or rational arguments. All they need to worry about is throwing up enough smoke that they can excuse not impeaching trump. Its why they are throwing out so many ridiculous arguments, its not about finding one that sticks and actually works its about creating enough doubt bit by bit so people say "fuck it" and tune out.

[cubby]

Ummm, the current Witness, Morrison from OMB, who is a first hand witness who listened in on the call... just set Donald Trump up to hang for this.

Holy shit.

And Volker just confirmed everything about the broader situation.

Very smart getting them to testify together.

Agreed. The Democrats have layered the testimony to paint a direct and obvious picture of bribery and extortion under a background of extended corruption. While the character assassination attempts work wonders on the frothing rabid fan base of Donnie Dumb Dumb, it's lets the thinking world see just how out of reality the GOP has become.

[Zaydin]

The_Donald is going into overdrive to try to whip folks into a frenzy over the alleged whistleblower so they got a warning. Needless to say...they're not taking the warning well and are practically begging to get the sub shut down by spamming the name, apparently.

Very fine, civil people indeed.

I guess r/The_Donald isn't getting it's quarantine lifted any time soon.

[cubby]

Every time Nunes gets a chance to speak, he throws in a "I want to tell the people at home what they're really seeing!" It all very much seems like a plea to "reject the evidence of your eyes and ears."

Channeling 1984 is all Trump's GOP has at this point. It's frankly amazing they didn't bail on him long ago. Just as a side note, if the GOP leadership were to take all their currently focused energies on lies and mistruths and misdirections, and instead focusing it on downing Trump, they would be in such a better position for the 2024 election. It boggles my mind they are still backing this used-car-salesman-con-artist-felon.

[Grapemask]

Channeling 1984 is all Trump's GOP has at this point. It's frankly amazing they didn't bail on him long ago. Just as a side note, if the GOP leadership were to take all their currently focused energies on lies and mistruths and misdirections, and instead focusing it on downing Trump, they would be in such a better position for the 2024 election. It boggles my mind they are still backing this used-car-salesman-con-artist-felon.

Hell, I think they would even stand a chance of getting 2020 if they went full throttle house-cleaning mode. Tell the people Trump is a cancer to their party and it's time to do better, then pick Pence or whoever is left from all this crap. They'll lose the hardcore Trumpers, but most of them were unlikely voters in other elections anyway. The general Republican party would vote for a polished turd if it had an R next to it, as Trump's own election proved. Independents might be interested in a Republican party that's ejecting its shitmongers.

[Benggaul]

Awww, looks like SOMEONE'S not happy that their favorite failed businessman isn't coming off so well in these hearings. Look out everyone, those baseless infractions are starting to fly fast and loose. Again.
[Infraction]

[Milchshake]

The WSJ wrote that “the Army is prepared to move Col. Vindman and his family onto a military base to ensure their security.” That a war hero might be in physical danger marks a new low in Republican attempts to defame the witnesses against the president.



Odds that the GOP will still win the retired and active duty vote in 2020?

[Stormspellz]

Channeling 1984 is all Trump's GOP has at this point. It's frankly amazing they didn't bail on him long ago. Just as a side note, if the GOP leadership were to take all their currently focused energies on lies and mistruths and misdirections, and instead focusing it on downing Trump, they would be in such a better position for the 2024 election. It boggles my mind they are still backing this used-car-salesman-con-artist-felon.

So apparently we aren't allowed to discuss the GOPs horrible strategy of distract at any cost; during cross examination now? The snowflake goblin is really out of control. But as it stands, the most infuriating part of Nunes line question to me was his constant attempts to draw the witness into a series of soundbite responses that has nothing with much anything but great "gotcha!" to feed to the cult.

[Kaleredar]

The WSJ wrote that “the Army is prepared to move Col. Vindman and his family onto a military base to ensure their security.” That a war hero might be in physical danger marks a new low in Republican attempts to defame the witnesses against the president.



Odds that the GOP will still win the retired and active duty vote in 2020?

I doubt much of the boots-on-the-ground army personnel that are in Trump's camp have been paying much attention to the specifics of Trump's repeated denigration of the military, much less the impeachment hearings.

While I don't want to paint the military with too broad of a brush, there are likely a good number of the "good ol' boys"-type military that see Trump as "exuding power," being a "manly man" and being "unapologetically American" that they joined the military to try and be themselves.

Meanwhile I'm sure the military top brass has nothing but contempt for him.

[Crispin]

So apparently we aren't allowed to discuss the GOPs horrible strategy of distract at any cost; during cross examination now? The snowflake goblin is really out of control. But as it stands, the most infuriating part of Nunes line question to me was his constant attempts to draw the witness into a series of soundbite responses that has nothing with much anything but great "gotcha!" to feed to the cult.

Exactly, they need something to show on Fox news, where the witness seems to have zero answers to anything criminal.

And to address the obvious, you do not have to call a dope dealer and say you wish to purchase cocaine with the intent to distrubute to break a law, I mean by that line of tought, a murderer would have to yell "I'm going to attempt to murder you!" for it to be wrong. Add how it's now obvious how much was done not connected to the phone call.

[Redwyrm]

I think a good portion of the Republican base sees McConnell as the true power in the party. They probably just see Trump as the useful and entertaining idiot that makes the "Liberals" upset.

For an analogy, Trump is the inflatable flappy arm clown out front of a car dealership that gets people's attention. But, if you want to buy a car you know who you have to talk to.

[DarkTZeratul]

I think a good portion of the Republican base sees McConnell as the true power in the party. They probably just see Trump as the useful and entertaining idiot that makes the "Liberals" upset.

For an analogy, Trump is the inflatable flappy arm clown out front of a car dealership that gets people's attention. But, if you want to buy a car you know who you have to talk to.

Would that Trump were so ineffectual. Unfortunately, his idiocy is paired with real power and the way he has used it to fuck up our relations with our allies and cozy up to murderous dictators has real consequences, a good portion of which will not be so easily undone by his successor.

[Redwyrm]

Would that Trump were so ineffectual. Unfortunately, his idiocy is paired with real power and the way he has used it to fuck up our relations with our allies and cozy up to murderous dictators has real consequences, a good portion of which will not be so easily undone by his successor.

Completely agree. Unfortunately his base is willing to sacrifice our influence in the world for short term personal gains

[Flarelaine]

Please focus discussion on the impeachment hearing.

[Skroe]

The WSJ wrote that “the Army is prepared to move Col. Vindman and his family onto a military base to ensure their security.” That a war hero might be in physical danger marks a new low in Republican attempts to defame the witnesses against the president.



Odds that the GOP will still win the retired and active duty vote in 2020?

We all got a bit of a chuckle out of Cesar Sayoc, the Magabomber, and his Magamobile, because in the end nobody got hurt thank God. He was all a bit ridiculous. The id of the Trumphadis. Serious... sure. But in his own way a joke. Like the Trumphadis themselves, a mess of contradictions.

But he's just the prototype and we all know it. We've seen repeated incidents of Alt-Right Trumphadi domestic terrorism the last few years that have not been mildly amusing in the end. That have been deadly serious and gotten people killed.

We should make no mistake about why the House Republicans want to call the Whistleblower to testify despite the fact that it will do nothing to further their case at this late hour. It's the same reason the US Army had to put a decorated US Colonel's family under protection for testifying in front of Congress in 2019. It's because every Trumphadi in Congress deep down wants one of the more inclined to violence to attack and kill the Whistleblower, or the Colonel, or their families. While Kolokum's civil war pronouncements are entirely ridiculous, they figure "what's one life?". The men in that Chamber who call themselves Republicans know they are inciting violence. They know exactly what they are doing. They are hoping someone out there is listening.

Someone most certainly is.

Devin Nunes, Gym Jordan and co want there to be a murder that they can feign concern over but really, they hope will act as a deterrent against future whistleblowers and future patriotic servicemembers testifying against the President. So they can enrich themselves and continue as they are without interference. They don't give a shit about what that would mean for the victim or the country. THis is about extracting value for themselves. They want this parade of "turncoats" to stop so they can complete their Putinesque illiberal project to subvert American democracy, turn the low talent, limited opportunity men they are into powerful figures, and the only ensure that is to start taking lives.

If you (royal you) don't think that's we're there now, in late 2019, you're dreaming. It was predicted years ago this would get violent. And we have arrived at that point. We used to gasp in horror as the random member of United Russia in the Duma would say something outrageous... basically make death threats against one figure or another. Just watch when Democrats begin to draft Articles of Impeachment. The threatening language will turn outwardly violent.

[kaelleria]

Trump is super fucked.

He plans to show up for his televised hearing with reams of new text messages and emails he said prove the highest levels of the White House and the State Department were in on it.

"They knew what we were doing and why," Sondland plans to tell the House Intelligence Committee, according to his opening statement obtained by NBC News. "Everyone was in the loop. It was no secret."

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...raine-n1086541

He's going the John Dean route.



https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...aring-n1086621