By Dustin Rowles | Politics | October 8, 2019 |
By Dustin Rowles | Politics | October 8, 2019 |
7:30: As promised, the White House is going to war with the House, and refuses to comply with subpoena/document/witness requests.
Read the White House letter in response to the impeachment inquiry https://t.co/psWTAAUlK6
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 8, 2019
And Trey Gowdy apparently changed his mind and will defend Trump.
After meeting with Mick Mulvaney at the White House today, former South Carolina congressman Trey Gowdy has accepted an offer to serve as outside counsel to President Trump, sources tell @PamelaBrownCNN and me.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) October 8, 2019
Or maybe not. WHO KNOWS?!
The lack of clarity around Gowdy is the latest example of what the infighting in the West Wing is breeding since the impeachment inquiry was announced.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 8, 2019
Honestly, the Democrats should have hired him:
Trey Gowdy once said: "The notion that you can withhold information and documents from Congress no matter whether you are the party in power or not in power is wrong. Respect for the rule of law must mean something, irrespective of the vicissitudes of political cycles." https://t.co/jipjhAtSXv
— Kurt Bardella (@kurtbardella) October 8, 2019
Maybe the Democrats could hire Lindsey Graham as their outside counsel.
Lindsey Graham: A president who doesn't comply with Congressional requests for information is subject to impeachment. pic.twitter.com/Dhw5VBxbf0
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) October 8, 2019
Just keep letting the GOP use this guy as their attorney.
I’m sorry … you say you have a law degree and a background in politics?
— Kevin M. Kruse (@KevinMKruse) October 8, 2019
And you think an impeachment inquiry is “a trial”? https://t.co/Qumw706OvJ
I appreciate that Adam Schiff continues to play it cool, but also, STOP PLAYING IT SO COOL, SCHIFF.
The White House says there is nothing wrong with pressuring a foreign government to intervene in a US election.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) October 8, 2019
They say: they will not cooperate with an impeachment inquiry unless it’s on their terms.
They mean: the President is above the law.
The Constitution says otherwise. https://t.co/fstH1bGT4Y
4:45: Follow-up on the below whistleblower’s complaint.
"The official stated that there was already a conversation underway with W.H. lawyers about how to handle the discussion because, in the official's view, [Trump] had clearly committed a criminal act by urging a foreign power to investigate a U.S. person," the whistleblower wrote. https://t.co/sBh4uH1MQF
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 8, 2019
Meanwhile, it looks like the White House is basically Logan Roy-ing the House. “F**k off.”
WHITE HOUSE expected to send a letter later today to the House that all but throws down the gauntlet on future cooperation with the investigations, per person familiar with the letter. It will multiple issues WH sees as "irregularities" with the investigation, per person briefed.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 8, 2019
Meanwhile, Trey Gowdy — of BENGHAZI BUT HER EMAILS fame — has told the White House to “F**k off.”
NEW: Trey Gowdy has declined to represent President Trump after the White House began a search for outside counsel during the House impeachment inquiry.
— Travis Akers (@travisakers) October 8, 2019
3:44: More on the whistleblower and the White House “official” who also thought it was damning.
ABC News has learned that the first whistleblower wrote a two-page memo the day after Trump's call. The memo suggests that at least one close aide to the president feared that Trump's own words in the call were damning. https://t.co/quwSKSP5YE
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 8, 2019
Another poll, FYI:
Here are the 2020 national Quinnipiac poll head-to-heads just out:
— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) October 8, 2019
Biden 51%, Trump 40%
Warren 49%, Trump 41%
Sanders 49%, Trump 42%
12:47: The Trump Administration has zero respect for co-equal branches of government. They are thumbing their noses at Congress. They believe they are above the Constitution, and what the hell can you do about that except to impeach. They’re hiding because they believe that whatever comes out of the grand jury materials or Ambassador Sondland’s testimony is worse than an obstruction of justice charge.
Call them on their bluff, Schiff. Draft the articles of impeachment. Pass the draft around with obstruction charges. See what happens.
DEVELOPING Trump Justice Dept. asks U.S. judge to reject House Judiciary Committee request for Mueller grand jury materials, argues courts in 1974 wrongly gave Congress the Watergate grand jury 'roadmap' that led to President Nixon's impeachment.
— Spencer Hsu (@hsu_spencer) October 8, 2019
12:00: Are you f**king kidding me? From the AP:
A day after threatening Turkey with economic ruin if it goes too far in invading northern Syria, President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet at the White House next month.
Republicans are just letting all this shit happen. Go ahead! Wipe out the Kurds, and afterward, come over to the White House for cheeseburgers and steak (with ketchup).
Meanwhile, if you’re wondering where Donald Trump came up with the phrase “kangaroo court,” in reference to the House, that was Lindsey Graham, who has invited Rudy Giuliani to come speak to the Senate Judiciary Committee, since Giuliani refuses to speak to the House.
I, for one, think that’s a great idea. I look forward to seeing how Giuliani stands up to questioning from Kamala Harris.
Therefore I will offer to Mr. Giuliani the opportunity to come before the Senate Judiciary Committee to inform the committee of his concerns.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) October 8, 2019
(3/3)
9:41: They’re on a PRIVATE DEVICE. A PRIVATE DEVICE PEOPLE. MY GOD MY GOD BUT HER EMAILS MY GOD.
BREAKING: Chairman Schiff says Ambassador Sondland has relevant text messages on a personal device that he's given to @StateDept but that State Department is withholding from Congress
— Josh Lederman (@JoshNBCNews) October 8, 2019
Also, this is the biggest load of horse shit. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY HOURS HILLARY SAT IN FRONT OF A RABID, FROTHING REPUBLICAN CONGRESS OVER HER GODDAMN EMAILS?
….to see. Importantly, Ambassador Sondland’s tweet, which few report, stated, “I believe you are incorrect about President Trump’s intentions. The President has been crystal clear: no quid pro quo’s of any kind.” That says it ALL!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2019
Do you think that Trump cares, Schiff? Do you think that he gives a rat’s ass about obstruction? PUT SONDLAND IN JAIL.
Schiff on Sondland: “The failure to produce this witness, the failure to produce these documents, we consider yet additional strong evidence of obstruction of the constitutional functions of Congress.”
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) October 8, 2019
9:40: Good morning! Gordon Sondland, the Ambassador to the EU who was somehow intimately involved in the negotiations between the White House and Ukraine despite the fact that Ukraine is not in the EU, was supposed to speak to the House Intelligence Committee today, but the White House blocked him from complying with a subpoena, which in an of itself creates another ground for impeachment against Trump. From the Times:
The decision to block Gordon D. Sondland, the United States ambassador to the European Union, from speaking with investigators for three House committees is certain to provoke an immediate conflict with potentially profound consequences for the White House and President Trump. House Democrats have repeatedly warned that if the administration tries to interfere with their investigation, it will be construed as obstruction, a charge they see as potentially worthy of impeachment.
Still, it is incredibly frustrating that the White House again refuses to allow one of its officials to speak to the House, although it is obviously because the White House is trying to hide something about that “perfect” call. Sondland, recall, was the guy on the text messages who kept saying things like, “There is definitely no quid pro quo” here, and “call me,” to other officials who raised the prospect that what they were doing violated the Constitution.
But in making the decision, hours before he was scheduled to sit for a deposition in the basement of the Capitol, the Trump administration appears to be calculating that it is better off risking the House’s ire than letting Mr. Sondland show up and set a precedent for cooperation with an inquiry they have strenuously argued is illegitimate.
In other words, Sondland could either f*ck the White House, or he could f*ck himself by lying under oath.
The reason Sondland is so dangerous is that he was communicating directly w Trump.
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) October 8, 2019
I’ve become so accustomed to Republican officials refusing to comply with Congressional subpoenas that, during this week’s episode of Succession when Logan Roy et. al, were called in front of Congress, I just thought, “Why don’t they just refuse?” That’s how normalized it has become.
Meanwhile, public support for impeachment continues to grow, and it’s getting into dangerous territory for the Republicans. According to a Washington Post/ABC poll, 58 percent of Americans now find that it was appropriate for the House to begin an impeachment inquiry, up from 37 percent earlier this year. Forty-nine percent already approve of the House removing Trump from office. Those numbers include 3 in 10 Republicans who now support the inquiry.
I should note that, at this point during the Nixon impeachment process, support for the inquiry was only at 38 percent. Nixon actually resigned when it hit 58 percent five months later.
Perhaps more importantly, 49 percent of Americans approve of how Congressional Democrats are handling the matter, while 56 percent disapprove of the way that Republicans are handling it. This could be important because there does appear to be some cracks in the Republican firewall, opened up by Trump’s callous decision to basically let Turkey annihilate the Kurds.
Trump doesn't seem bothered by the prospect of the Kurds and Turkey going to war with each other because they "are natural enemies." pic.twitter.com/LKq4up1qBL
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 7, 2019
According to Vanity Fair, Mitt Romney could be the key to turning the tide, and Republicans are “freaking out.”
According to people close to Romney, he’s firmly decided against primarying Trump, an enterprise he believes to be a sure loser given Trump’s enduring GOP support. Romney has also told people that, as an unsuccessful two-time presidential candidate, he’s the wrong person to take on Trump. Instead, a Romney adviser told me, Romney believes he has more potential power as a senator who will decide Trump’s fate in an impeachment trial. “He could have tremendous influence in the impeachment process as the lone voice of conscience in the Republican caucus,” the adviser said. In recent days, Romney has been reaching out privately to key players in the Republican resistance, according to a person briefed on the conversations. “Romney is the one guy who could bring along Susan Collins, Cory Gardner, Ben Sasse. Romney is the pressure point in the impeachment process. That’s why the things he’s saying are freaking Republicans out.”
I’ll believe it when I see it, but it would be fitting if Mitt Romney was the Republican to help bring down Trump.