It's not a transcript.

[Sue U]

Can't get the gif to embed here, but trust me, it's really worth the click.

https://t.co/pmXLpzFkIR

[Lord Jim]

[BoSoxGal]

Can't get the gif to embed here, but trust me, it's really worth the click.

https://t.co/pmXLpzFkIR

403 Forbidden: The server understood the request, but is refusing to fulfill it.

Is it by chance the Chelsea Clinton tweet I posted in the Trump is Serious thread?

[Lord Jim]

No, it's a little video clip involving Don Corleone and some very appropriate subtitles...

It's a shame you can't see it...

[Lord Jim]

He's posted a "Part II"...

This one is dubbed with Trump's voice...

https://twitter.com/LarryNoble_DC

[Lord Jim]

The latest of a number of polls that show the numbers moving in the right direction :

Support for Trump impeachment rises 12 points in new poll

A new Hill-HarrisX survey on Friday found support for impeachment proceedings against President Trump has risen 12 points compared to a similar poll conducted three months ago.

The survey was conducted on Sept. 26-27, just days after House Democrats started a formal impeachment inquiry over a whistleblower complaint involving Trump’s communications with Ukraine.

The poll showed 47 percent of respondents support that decision, up 12 points from a similar survey in June, which asked whether Democrats should begin impeachment proceedings.

Meanwhile, opposition to impeachment dipped 3 points to 42 percent, while 11 percent of those polled in the new survey said they weren't sure or didn't know.

Support for impeachment grew among Democratic, Republican and independent voters alike. Democratic support jumped from 59 percent to 78 percent, a 19-point increase. The number of Republicans backing impeachment jumped 5 points to 18 percent.

The number of independents who back impeachment doubled to 41 percent.

The House Intelligence Committee on Thursday released a a declassified version of a whistleblower’s complaint detailing Trump’s July 25 call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The whistleblower, who is believed to be a former CIA official, alleges that Trump tried to persuade Zelensky to launch an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden to help boast Trump's reelection chances in 2020.

https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/46340 ... n-new-poll


And more revelations keep coming:

White House restricted access to Trump's calls with Putin and Saudi crown prince

Washington (CNN)White House efforts to limit access to President Donald Trump's conversations with foreign leaders extended to phone calls with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, according to people familiar with the matter.

Those calls -- both with leaders who maintain controversial relationships with Trump -- were among the presidential conversations that aides took remarkable steps to keep from becoming public.

In the case of Trump's call with Prince Mohammed, officials who ordinarily would have been given access to a rough transcript of the conversation never saw one, according to one of the sources. Instead, a transcript was never circulated at all, which the source said was highly unusual, particularly after a high-profile conversation.

The call - which the person said contained no especially sensitive national security secrets -- came as the White House was confronting the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which US intelligence assessments said came at the hand of the Saudi government.

With Putin, access to the transcript of at least one of Trump's conversations was also tightly restricted, according to a former Trump administration official.

It's not clear if aides took the additional step of placing the Saudi Arabia and Russia phone calls in the same highly secured electronic system that held a now-infamous phone call with Ukraine's president and which helped spark a whistleblower complaint made public this week, though officials confirmed calls aside from the Ukraine conversation were placed there.

But the attempts to conceal information about Trump's discussions with Prince Mohammed and Putin further illustrate the extraordinary efforts taken by Trump's aides to strictly limit the number of people with access to his conversations with foreign leaders.

The White House did not comment about the limiting of access to calls with the Russian and Saudi leaders.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/27/politics ... index.html

Trump told Russians in 2017 he was not concerned about election meddling: Washington Post

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump told two Russian officials in a 2017 meeting that he was not concerned about Moscow’s meddling in the U.S. election, which prompted White House officials to limit access to the remarks, the Washington Post reported on Friday.

A summary of Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Russia’s foreign minister and its ambassador to the U.S. was limited to a few officials in an attempt to keep the president’s comments from being disclosed publicly, the Post said, citing former officials with knowledge of the matter.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa- ... SKBN1WD022


Now is the time to be taking advantage of the heightened public interest and increasing openness to Impeachment, to press hard with complete focus, educating the public with further hearings and pressure for evidence to be turned over...

NOT taking an urgency-undermining two week recess...

[Lord Jim]

We'll see...

Democrats Set Rapid Timetable for Trump Impeachment Probe

WASHINGTON—House Democrats have settled on a narrow impeachment inquiry into President Trump centered on his campaign to enlist Ukraine to hurt a political rival, a rapid strategy that will produce hearings within a few weeks and build to a possible vote by November.

That plan was put into action immediately on Friday, when a trio of House committees issued a subpoena to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for records of interactions between the president and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and the Ukrainian government.

The Intelligence, Oversight and Foreign Affairs committees, which had requested the material about three weeks ago, also scheduled depositions starting next week with five State Department officials, including Kurt Volker, who late Friday resigned as the special envoy for Ukraine, according to a person familiar with the matter, after playing a role in arranging a meeting between Mr. Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, and an aide to Ukraine’s president.

Mr. Volker in July introduced Mr. Giuliani to a top aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Andriy Yermak. The State Department, which has confirmed Mr. Volker introduced Mr. Giuliani to Mr. Yermak but has said Mr. Giuliani was acting in his capacity as a private citizen, didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The Democrats’ approach to the impeachment inquiry involves several committees but puts control into the hands of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) and the Intelligence Committee—one of the only panels for which she has handpicked the Democratic members. Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D., Calif.) said Friday that members of his committee would work through the next two weeks, while Congress is officially in recess, and he is planning hearings as soon as next week.

“We’re going to be trying to schedule hearings, witness interviews, subpoenas and document requests. We’ll be busy,” Mr. Schiff said.

The fast action—and discussions about resorting to a little-known congressional power to detain, arrest or fine recalcitrant witnesses—suggests the House could vote on articles of impeachment as soon as late October. The Judiciary Committee, which is traditionally the epicenter of impeachment proceedings, would draft the articles.

The Judiciary panel has been investigating a broader array of behavior by Mr. Trump, including issues raised by former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report. But Judiciary members haven’t publicly complained about the arrangement that now puts the Intelligence Committee in the driver’s seat, with a tighter focus.

“There is a dictate that momentum will not slow,” said Rep. Jim Himes (D., Conn.), the No. 2 Democrat on the Intelligence committee. “We are determined that momentum will not slow just because members aren’t in town.”[It damn well better not or the last best chance to bring an early end to this grave threat to the rule of law and our national security may be lost..].

What absolutely positively must NOT be permitted to happen is for the Congress to get sucked in by the months long Trump regime delay/obstruct tactics that doomed efforts to build public support for Impeachment over the well founded allegations in the Mueller report. Any and all delays work only to the advantage of Trump and the disadvantage of the best interests of the United States...

There's more than enough here to proceed expeditiously making the case and building public support for Impeachment just based on the whistleblower report and the Ukraine conversation summary (with Trump's easy-to-understand confession ). If Trump and his henchmen defy subpoenas for some of the desired witness testimony and/or documents, don't jump down months-long legal appeal rabbit holes with them. Just add an Impeachment Article for obstruction of Congress, (as was done in the Nixon case) and proceed to a vote...

[ex-khobar Andy]

The latest of a number of polls that show the numbers moving in the right direction :

Support for Trump impeachment rises 12 points in new poll

And I wouldn't mind betting that many of those still opposed to impeachment are fearful of the consequences of a failed impeachment (if you think he was cock-a-hoop after Mueller, you ain't seen nothing) or even fearful of the consequences of a successful impeachment (President Pence, anyone?). On Tuesdays and Thursdays I'm one of them.

[BoSoxGal]

Did anyone else see the Senator Flake interview where he said at least 35 GOP Senators would vote impeachment if the vote was anonymous?

It seems to me our ‘statesmen’ have never been so gutless as they are these days.

[Scooter]

I don't know if his claim is true, and even if it is, Jeff Flake is hardly one to talk. Even when he knew he wasn't going to be running again, he voted on the side of some pretty odious stuff.

[Lord Jim]

Anti Trump GOP operative Mike Murphy said that based on his contacts, his count is 30....

Shifting popular support to Impeachment is the essential key to getting at least 20 of these gutless careerists to find the testicular fortitude to do the right thing...

[Crackpot]

I wonder where Mitch falls on that one. I suspect he really doesn’t care either way as long as he can find an advantage.

[Lord Jim]

I'm virtually certain that Mitch detests Donald Trump (there's plenty in the public record to confirm this) and would be delighted to be shot of him, if he felt that he (and his GOP Senate majority) could survive getting rid of him politically...

Right now McConnell has gone pretty silent and seems to be in a "wait and see how this develops" mode...

[BoSoxGal]

I don't know if his claim is true, and even if it is, Jeff Flake is hardly one to talk. Even when he knew he wasn't going to be running again, he voted on the side of some pretty odious stuff.

I hope you didn’t perceive my post as laudatory of former Senator Flake; my whole point is, what a bunch of cravenly ambitious scumbags.

[Scooter]

Not at all, it's just that I find him as guilty as those he refer to of not sticking their neck out until they know it won't cost them anything.

[Lord Jim]

Poll: Majority of Americans say impeachment inquiry into Trump is necessary

Washington (CNN)A majority of Americans say they think Congress opening an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump is necessary, according to a CBS News poll released Sunday.

The poll, conducted by YouGov, shows 55% of Americans think the newly-opened probe necessary, while 45% of Americans think it unnecessary.

On Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry into the President after a transcript of a July call with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed he pushed Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden -- his potential 2020 political rival -- and his son, Hunter. There has been no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe or Hunter Biden.

A separate whistleblower complaint also alleges Trump abused his official powers "to solicit interference" from Ukraine in the upcoming 2020 election, and that the White House took steps to cover it up. Trump has denied doing anything improper.

Among Democrats, nearly 9 in 10 approve of the inquiry and two-thirds strongly approve -- 87% of Democrats approve of the inquiry, according to the poll. Meanwhile, 77% of Republicans disapprove and 23% approve starting an impeachment inquiry. [Nearly one in four of those currently identifying as Republican supporting the Impeachment inquiry is actually more than I would have hoped for at this point.] Among Independents, 49% approve and 51% disapprove, the poll found.

Americans split on whether Trump deserves to be impeached over his actions in the handling of matters concerning Ukraine, with 42% saying he does deserve to be impeached over his actions and 36% saying he does not. Twenty-two percent say it's too soon to say, according to the poll.[That's where the challenge lies; persuading the lion's share of that 22%. ]

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/29/politics ... index.html

[Lord Jim]

I'm sure poll numbers like that are contributing to Il Boobce becoming even more unhinged than he was before...

"Rep. Adam Schiff illegally made up a FAKE & terrible statement, pretended it to be mine as the most important part of my call to the Ukrainian President, and read it aloud to Congress and the American people. It bore NO relationship to what I said on the call. Arrest for Treason?"

GOP lawmaker blasts Trump for quoting pastor warning of civil war over impeachment

Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) on Sunday criticized President Trump for quoting a pastor saying impeachment could trigger a "Civil War like fracture" in the country.

"I have visited nations ravaged by civil war," Kinzinger tweeted.

"I have never imagined such a quote to be repeated by a President. This is beyond repugnant."

The rare rebuke from a Republican member of Congress came in response to Trump tweeting a quote from Pastor Robert Jeffress on Fox News.

" 'If the Democrats are successful in removing the President from office (which they will never be), it will cause a Civil War like fracture in this Nation from which our Country will never heal,' " Trump tweeted.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administra ... -civil-war

[BoSoxGal]

Speaking of Senator Flake - in today’s WashPo:

Jeff Flake: Fellow Republicans, there’s still time to save your souls
By Jeff Flake
September 30, 2019 at 8:46 a.m. EDT

Jeff Flake, a Republican, represented Arizona in the U.S. Senate from 2013 to 2019. He is a resident fellow at Harvard University and a contributor to CBS News.

Two years ago I stood in the Senate chamber and said: “There are times when we must risk our careers in favor of our principles.”

In my case, I had not supported the president’s election. One year into his presidency, I knew that I could not support his reelection. While I had hoped that I could still run for reelection to the Senate in 2018 as someone who would help to provide a check on the president’s worst impulses, it soon became apparent that this was not what Republican primary voters in my state were looking for. Whatever reservations they might have had when they voted for Donald Trump, one year into his presidency they wanted a senator who was all in.

But I already had seen too much. Traveling overseas I witnessed the damage being done to our standing in the world as a result of President Trump’s fondness for authoritarians and his scorn for allies. His hostility toward security alliances and trade agreements had placed our long-term security and our economy at risk. His adoption of the tyrant’s phrase “enemy of the people” put journalists in even greater peril, all over the world. His resentment toward refugees and profane description of certain countries were destroying generations of goodwill.

At home, I was convinced that his repeated disparagement of the judiciary, antagonism toward Congress and casual disregard for the truth were damaging our democratic institutions, and his persistent crudeness to his political opponents and cruelty toward vanquished foes were degrading our political culture. I knew that to have a chance of winning reelection, I would need to support policies I could not support and condone behavior I could not condone.
Now, two years later, it is my former Republican Senate colleagues who have a decision to make. Or, as I see it, two decisions to make. The first is difficult; the second is easy.

We have learned from a whistleblower that the president has abused the power of his office to pressure a foreign government to go after a political opponent. A rough transcript of the telephone call has removed all ambiguity about the president’s intent. In light of these revelations, the House of Representatives has launched an impeachment inquiry and will likely be forwarding to the Senate at least one article of impeachment.
Compelling arguments will be made on both sides of the impeachment question. With what we now know, the president’s actions warrant impeachment.

The Constitution of course does not require it, and although Article II, Section 4 is clear about remedies for abuse of office, I have grave reservations about impeachment. I fear that, given the profound division in the country, an impeachment proceeding at such a toxic moment might actually benefit a president who thrives on chaos. Disunion is the oxygen of this presidency. He is the maestro of a brand of discord that benefits only him and ravages everything else. So although impeachment now seems inevitable, I fear it all the same. I understand others who might have similar reservations. The decision to impeach or not is a difficult one indeed.
Even if the Senate won’t convict, impeachment will still punish and deter

Now for the easy decision. If the House decides against filing articles of impeachment, or the Senate fails to convict, Senate Republicans will have to decide whether, given what we now know about the president’s actions and behavior, to support his reelection. Obviously, the answer is no.

I am not oblivious to the consequences that might accompany that decision. In fact, I am living those consequences. I would have preferred to represent the citizens of Arizona for another term in the Senate. But not at the cost of supporting this man. A man who has, now more than ever, proved to be so manifestly undeserving of the highest office that we have.

At this point, the president’s conduct in office should not surprise us. But truly devastating has been our tolerance of that conduct. Our embrace of it. From the ordeal of this presidency, perhaps the most horrible — and lasting — effect on our democracy will be that at some point we simply stopped being shocked. And in that, we have failed not just as stewards of the institutions to which we have been entrusted but also as citizens. We have failed each other, and we have failed ourselves.

Let us stop failing now, while there is still time.

My fellow Republicans, it is time to risk your careers in favor of your principles. Whether you believe the president deserves impeachment, you know he does not deserve reelection.
Our country will have more presidents. But principles, well, we get just one crack at those. For those who want to put America first, it is critically important at this moment in the life of our country that we all, here and now, do just that.

Trust me when I say that you can go elsewhere for a job. But you cannot go elsewhere for a soul.

[Econoline]

GOP lawmaker blasts Trump for quoting pastor warning of civil war over impeachment

Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) on Sunday criticized President Trump for quoting a pastor saying impeachment could trigger a "Civil War like fracture" in the country.

"I have visited nations ravaged by civil war," Kinzinger tweeted.

"I have never imagined such a quote to be repeated by a President. This is beyond repugnant."

The rare rebuke from a Republican member of Congress came in response to Trump tweeting a quote from Pastor Robert Jeffress on Fox News.

" 'If the Democrats are successful in removing the President from office (which they will never be), it will cause a Civil War like fracture in this Nation from which our Country will never heal,' " Trump tweeted.

That is WAY cool! Kinzinger is our (staunchly Republican) congresscritter out in Illinois farm country, and one of the reasons I don't like it out here. If he can abandon ship, anyone (ALL OF THEM, KATIE!!!) can.

I am currently on a ferry bound from Victoria, BC, Canada to Port Angeles, Washington, USA..and this news gives me just enough hope and optimism about returning to the struggle when we get back home.

[Lord Jim]

this news gives me just enough hope and optimism about returning to the struggle

Until last week I had really given up on the idea that there was even the slightest chance that Trump might be (as he so richly deserves) forced from office through the Impeachment process....

It seemed to me the moment of opportunity had passed, that Trump, Barr and Co. were successfully obstructing and delaying the investigatory process to prevent a coherent public case from being made, and as the election grew closer public support for Impeachment was dropping. (Even people who had previously supported it were now starting to think, "It's to late, we'll just have to try to get him out at the election.")

But now, I too again have hope...

While the odds are still very much against it, in just a few short days this Ukraine scandal has really turned things around. The chances of this country being rid of the greatest menace to its national security, constitutional system and the rule of law since the Civil War (the real one) sooner rather than later are now the strongest they've been, and showing every sign that they will get stronger still in the coming weeks...

I am daring to hope again...