Just a reminder again that the current situation regarding Ukraine isn't the only thing that Trump should be impeached on. It is the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back on Pelosi's resistance but there already was a lot of hay on the back of that camel. My own opinion still is that emoluments should be a big part of impeachment. That is specifically in the Constitution and the clearest case of a violation of Constitutional principles.
"Bribe" isn't the correct term. "Extortion"is more apt I believe. We already promised Ukraine with military aid. Trump withheld it which would be extortion.
I wonder how the conference will affect the impeachment markets. Any updates? I haven't been able to get ahold of my stockbroker. I'm sure he's super busy with all the impeachment markets actions creating PURE CHAOS.
Yeah, it is much more extortion than a bribe. The bribe in the memorandum of the call does include a bribe/emolument acknowledgement in the Ukraine president noting that he stayed in a Trump hotel during his last visit.
Why should Pelosi be taken down for doing her job? How is this even comparable to Trump doing something outright illegal and Pelosi doing her job by looking into it and checking the Executive branch, this is part of her job to do exactly as she's doing.
I think you misunderstood, I mean Pelosi take down Trump and DNC "take down" Biden, i.e., ask him to drop out race.
I disagree with a bit of what you said in the part of your post that I spoilered (but not all of it), but that's OK, because it's politics. I'm a Democrat, originally an independent voter for many years (I voted against Nixon as an independent, so I've been at this for awhile), and finally owned up to the fact that I almost always voted for the Democratic candidate given a choice. My point is that it's fine to disagree. You may not be a Democrat, and I'm not sure that you understand just how much time Democrats involved with the party process disagree with each other (go to a precinct meeting sometime during the run-up to an election, or a county convention), so I'm used to both Democrats and independent voters disagreeing with me. It doesn't bother me as long as they are honest giving their opinions (not the case far too often in D&D, lately) and, most importantly, vote. I think you are being honest, and it pleases me a great deal that you are planning on voting. It pleases me even more that you intend to vote Democratic this time around, regardless of who the nominee of that party is. My hope is that it's a candidate you feel good about supporting, and not simply, "Not trump!" Regardless, thanks for the explanation, and I hope you enjoyed mine. ;-) I'll add something else. I'll be working at a phone bank when it gets close to the election. Not only will we contribute to whoever gets the nomination (so far, we've contributed to Pete Buttigieg, who's young, thank god, and smart as hell), but we'll be working the phones, encouraging people to vote. This is easily the most important election I've participated in, and I've participated in a lot of them. The stakes couldn't be higher. It's not an exaggeration to say that the future of the country is on the line. Yes, that's said during every presidential election by somebody. A lot of "somebodies." This time, it is true, beyond a shadow of a doubt. In my humble opinion.
Agreed 100%. I think they should have started long ago, and just kept adding these new charges as they came out. It shouldn't be hard for everyone to agree that his gig is up. Sadly, it is difficult to get everyone to agree on that.
There's no evidence except all the evidence. Trump isn't a racist either except all the evidence. You're not a Trumpanzee except ALL the evidence. You're funny.
I have to say I've supported impeachment for quite some time but the fact that all these House Democrats have waited until now is freaking pathetic. Only when there were potential consequences for Biden did these chumps finally step up for impeachment when in fact they should have impeached as soon as the Mueller report came out. A bunch of typically spineless bastards just cowering in fear of Trump's lying clown show of a disaster for the country. This is the government we have and it's a sad time to be an American.
Again this idea that impeaching Trump on this issue is a favor to Biden doesn't make much sense. One thing that is known about this issue is that Biden's son was involved with some shady characters and that Biden delivered the message to get rid of the prosecutor investigating the company his son was involved in. Granted there were good reasons to do so such as that the IMF, EU and protesters in the street were demanding this prosecutor get removed at the minimum it's not a good look for the Bidens. Further while I'm for impeachment and have been this is still a very risky political move. If this things stalls out and public opinion turns against it the Dems will suffer and Biden will be the one who will end up getting a lot of the blame. This isn't a favor to Biden. If anything it could be a lodestone around his already shaky campaign.
All correct, but we can't change the past. Trump's conduct here is pretty much the consensus definition of an impeachable act....even on the undisputed public facts alone as of today. Further it's easily digestible and vivid in a way that the Russian collision wasn't. Trump was President Trump abuses his office to extort allies for personal gain, complete with two bit goombah thug transcript Therefore he has to be impeached and tried in the Senate. That's it. It's crystal clear. Win or lose, it's time to take a ****ing stand. Since Moscow Mitch and his henchmen want to destroy the country, make the ****ers go on record. It's the least we can do.
But there's more... Trump operates like a mafio. It's incredible. Ukrainians understood Biden probe was condition for Trump-Zelenskiy phone call: Ukrainian adviser When Ukrainians voted to elect comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy as their next president in the spring of 2019, the fledgling administration was eager to coordinate a phone call with Kyiv’s most important benefactor -- the United States, according to an adviser to Zelenskiy. "It was clear that [President Donald] Trump will only have communications if they will discuss the Biden case," said Serhiy Leshchenko, an anti-corruption advocate and former member of Ukraine's Parliament, who now acts as an adviser to Zelenskiy. "This issue was raised many times. I know that Ukrainian officials understood." The Trump administration’s alleged insistence that the two leaders discuss a prospective investigation into Biden, one of the president’s political opponents, casts his July 25 conversation with Zelenskiy in a new light. During the call, a rough summary of which was released by the White House Wednesday, Trump repeatedly encouraged Zelenskiy to work with Attorney General William Barr and his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, to probe Biden’s role in the dismissal of the country’s prosecutor general, Viktor Shokin, in 2016.
Trump puts a hold on money to Ukraine that the Pentagon and both houses of Congress are behind. Trump shortly afterwards is on the phone with Ukraine and asks for a favor. It's clear the money is dependent on the favor - or at very least it's being used to help him get his favor. It's blatant abuse of power and puts us in banana republic territory. It is very much an impeachable offense.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/52/30121 52 U.S. Code § 30121.Contributions and donations by foreign nationals (a)Prohibition It shall be unlawful for— (1) a foreign national, directly or indirectly, to make— (A) a contribution or donation of money or other thing of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contribution or donation, in connection with a Federal, State, or local election;
Asking for a favor doesn't mean reciprocity. Also that law people are trotting around is for the people making the contribution. Furthermore running against the president doesn't make you immune to investigation when you are suspected of wrong doing.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/52/30121 52 U.S. Code § 30121.Contributions and donations by foreign nationals (a)Prohibition It shall be unlawful for— (1) a foreign national, directly or indirectly, to make— (A) a contribution or donation of money or other thing of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contribution or donation, in connection with a Federal, State, or local election
