Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Sondland's fan dance
Gordon Sondland, testifying this morning, about his role in the quid-pro-quo merry-go- round certainly got Pompeo, Pence, and assorted other officials into the witness box. Trump and Guiliani maybe not so much. Sondland, rich man, amateur diplomat, and the U.S. Ambassador to the EU probably got himself off the perjury hook. I think he's lying when he says he did not hear the word Burisma connected to Biden & Son. There are so many things he can't quite remember while acquiescing in other's sworn statements about their conversations with him. Would he be even more forthcoming if charges of perjury were pursued by the committee.
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Seems a number of Trump's sycophant appointees are realizing that they are now caught between the proverbial rock and hard place.
ReplyDeleteAfter Trump's lawyer ended up in jail, I don't know why any of his flunkies and stooges would show a dram of loyalty to him. Throw him under the bus, lest ye be thrown.
DeleteHis story is that he was locked out of State Dept records that would have clarified his memory.
ReplyDeleteMy read of the narratives provided so far is that Giuliani was foisted on State officials and that he or Trump dreamed up the demand for politically motivated investigations in exchange for aid being unfrozen.
Nunes is mostly a source of bad noise, but his substantive argument seems to be that aid can't be given to corrupt regimes, and that's what the deal was--agree to clean up corruption and get your aid.
But that ignores the testimony that Trump and Giuliani were asking specifically for corruption investigations about Biden/Burisma and pro-Dem election interference--stuff that would provide ammo--or smoke bombs--to lob in 2020.
I guess Trumpers could eventually try to pin the investigations-for-aid scheme on Giuiliani alone, leaving him holding the bag.
If Obama had done one tenth of the things that Trump did, in front of witnesses and even admitted to some of them (because "normal"), they would have fed him to the wolves.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing they probably cut Sondland a deal about perjury charges.
ReplyDeleteAnd what's up with Trump's bizarre sharpie note that he wrote himself? If he doesn't get impeached, the 25th amendment for dementia could be a possibility.
ReplyDeleteThat whole performance was bizarre. He comes rushing out to the gaggle roaring like a crazy man, claiming that Sondland, in testifying that he (Trump) said "no quid pro quo" while casting doubts on the veracity of Trump's utterance, is some kind of vindication. It is the stupidest logic I have ever heard from an adult.
DeleteSondland blew things up today. Will it make any difference when and if the impeachment crunch reaches the Senate?
ReplyDeleteI fear maybe not.... It seems Republicans (at least those who are elected) don't see trading U.S. foreign policy and Ukraine's security for dirt on a political opponent as a high crime or misdemeanor, nor bribery, nor abuse of office!
Is there anything that would qualify for impeachable offense with Devin Nunes, Jim Jordan, Mitch McConnell etc?
Sure there is, Margaret. Jaywalking, if a Democrat is the perpetrator.
DeleteThis article makes a conservative case for impeachment.
DeleteLiked this sub-head from the Times:
ReplyDelete"Republicans tried to throw Gordon Sondland under the bus.
He took Trump with him."
And yet. And yet. When I ran into MAGA hat in the grocery store yesterday, he said Sondland is a "never Trumper." When I told him Sonderand contributed $1 million to Trump's inauguration (a lot of that money remains unaccounted for), he said "you people" made that up.
ReplyDeleteThis is probably what we need to be most concerned with in the long term--how it is that a good percentage of Americans have subscribed to a whole alternative reality and make decisions accordingly.
DeleteOur news channels have never been pure and pristine, but the sludge that gets through lines controlled by the paranoid crazies is starting to pollute the whole system.
It seems like the impeachment hearings pretty well eclipsed the Democratic debate last night. I didn't watch it, and was looking for some print coverage this morning. But what there was, was buried several headings down, and sounded bored and boring. Biden got criticized for lack of energy. Buttigieg got heat for being too young and not appealing to black voters. Klobuchar got in a good one liner. Booker criticized Biden for not being PC about marijuana (hint to Democrats, doubling down on pot legalization isn't how you win an election.)
ReplyDeleteAfter the Sondman testimony the debate couldn't have been anything but an anti-climax. The Democrats just got handed a whole bunch of low hanging fruit. Don't mess up, any of the multiplicity of candidates ought to be able to beat Trump now (or Pence, if it comes to that).
Did any of you watch the debate?
Katherine, I am not so sure mary jane is a third rail issue anymore. Rudy G's indicted pals, Parnas and Fruman, sank a lot of money they borrowed into Forida Gov. Ron deSantis. The Guv said he hardly knew them, but as more pictures pop up from his campaign fundraisers, one or the other keeps turning up looking over his shoulder.
DeleteGov. Ron still says he hardly knows them, but the question is, what did they want to buy with their borrowed money? And the answer seems to be: In on the medical marijuana business, for which pressure to make it not only medical but recreational is already being pumped up. Licenses to deal with the formerly (and still federally) prohibited substance seem to be going to Republicans with connections. There are, of course, no quid pro quos involved.
Tom, I'm not saying it's a third rail issue, I'm saying it's distracting, and we need to focus on the big ticket stuff. States are able to sort out their own policies on weed.
DeleteThings like foreign policy, healthcare and how we pay for it, and government departments that are hollowed out from the inside, are the biggies they ought to be thinking about.
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ReplyDeleteInteresting and clear testimony from Hill/Holmes that strengthens the notion that there were two foreign policy objectives at odds with each other: Strengthen and encourage Ukraine's democracy with US support and aid, vs. undermine Ukraine by accusing it of election meddling on behalf of Clinton and extorting investigations on Biden's son.
ReplyDeleteMeantime the president has tweeted, almost exclusively about the hearings, 21 times in the past six hours (so about every 20 minutes) including this gem:
"I have been watching people making phone calls my entire life. My hearing is, and has been, great. Never have I been watching a person making a call, which was not on speakerphone, and been able to hear or understand a conversation. I’ve even tried, but to no avail. Try it live!"
He should just continue to tweet to his little heart's content. The more tweets saying stupid stuff, the better.
DeleteJust catching up with today's hearings. Hill And Holmes are quite impressive both in reporting what happened in their bailiwick, but in the details they provide and their modus vivendi doing their jobs. We are lucky to have people like that working for the country. I thought Hill especially set the Burisma-Biden connection straight, contradicting Sondland's implicit denial that the Bidens went along with the Burisma mentions.
DeleteLast evening I caught up with the testimony of David Hale (state dept.) and Laura Cooper (defense dept.), who are at second remove from the main event but both who had details especially about the hold on military aid to Ukraine.
Public servants all!