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Trumpdates: Schiff Plays It Cool (Too Cool?)

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | October 8, 2019 |

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | October 8, 2019 |


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7:30: As promised, the White House is going to war with the House, and refuses to comply with subpoena/document/witness requests.

And Trey Gowdy apparently changed his mind and will defend Trump.

Or maybe not. WHO KNOWS?!


Honestly, the Democrats should have hired him:

Maybe the Democrats could hire Lindsey Graham as their outside counsel.

Just keep letting the GOP use this guy as their attorney.

I appreciate that Adam Schiff continues to play it cool, but also, STOP PLAYING IT SO COOL, SCHIFF.

4:45: Follow-up on the below whistleblower’s complaint.

Meanwhile, it looks like the White House is basically Logan Roy-ing the House. “F**k off.”

Meanwhile, Trey Gowdy — of BENGHAZI BUT HER EMAILS fame — has told the White House to “F**k off.”

3:44: More on the whistleblower and the White House “official” who also thought it was damning.

Another poll, FYI:

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.


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.

9:41: They’re on a PRIVATE DEVICE. A PRIVATE DEVICE PEOPLE. MY GOD MY GOD BUT HER EMAILS MY GOD.

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?

Do you think that Trump cares, Schiff? Do you think that he gives a rat’s ass about obstruction? PUT SONDLAND IN JAIL.

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.


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.

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.



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