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And Zeiglerās designation of statements that are āoperativeā and others that are not. When people sit in those witness chairs and act fishy thereās a whole message there beyond the facts in the testimony. Itās a character and ethics test: Does your case for yourself hold up under hard, skeptical questioning?
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Whitaker showed the public today the kind of man he is and the questionable character of those he works for. That is a valuable lesson for all to see.
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I think this has been a very successful hearing for the Democrats. What this hearing proves is that the Democrats have already won the battle to protect the Mueller investigation.
I actually believe Whitaker when he says he hasnāt interfered. The proof is right there in front of us. The last 3 months have been Muellerās busiest period and Whitaker has done nothing to stop it. What this hearing is telling us is that Whitaker has been lying to Trump and overselling what he can do for him. Rosenstein is running this investigation, but increasingly, it appears that Bob Mueller is running it even by himself with only passing reference to Rosenstein (as Rosensteinās power diminishes a bit).
Whatās the reason for Whitakerās lack of interference with the Mueller investigation? Oversight by the incoming House Democratic Majority. The Dems have constantly battered Whitaker and the DOJ, expressing great skepticism of him and his intentions. That has had a restraining effect on him, and Iād argue that Mueller has operated much more freely since November 6, 2018 than before.
About half way through, the Dems picked up on this. They werenāt going to have a strong case against Whitaker for perjury, because he isnāt actually lying, despite being evasive. So Hakeem Jeffries sort of declared victory and dropped the mic. He just reiterated by virtue of Muellerās results, it is self evident that the investigation is not a witch hunt and neither Whitaker nor anyone else at DOJ should do anything to stop or impede Mueller. The Dems have used the prospect of oversight as a bully pulpit and itās clear that it has been effective. All Dems have to do is continue to issue warnings to the DOJ and haul these folks in for hearings and theyāll get the result they want: protect Mueller.
In addition, I think one of the bigger revelations of this hearing is Whitakerās admission that Mueller has never indicated when he will end the investigation and confirming that Bob Mueller controls that calendar and clock. So all that crap weāve been reading and hearing in MSM pieces that āMueller is ending soonā is nothing more than WH spin. The purpose of that spin is to distract the media from focusing on the key threshold question: āWhat did the President know and when did he know it?!ā
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FWIW as I watch this hearing, I agree with this. I get the sense this man isnāt a good liar. Heās hedging a lot to try not to contradict or piss off Trump, but Iām not getting the sense he would sacrifice his life for Emporer Tang. Thatās just my read though.
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Let me offer a different opinion here. Nadler may not be fun to watch, but he is no slouch. Heās playing the long game, knowing that many of these House investigations will be stonewalled to death by this mal-administration, ending up ultimately in the courts to get anything done. So forcing the subpoena issue right out of the gate is bad optics. It takes away some of your caseās power with a judge later, i.e. after McBaldy has clearly demonstrated heās got something to hide, which is the clear takeaway from todayās theater from all commenting and posting I see going on. Letās see what happens next.
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Shouldnāt he go back to being a bar bouncer. 'Seems to me that would be his natural calling. Or maybe selling hot tubs? Wait. Didnāt he actually do that?
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Thanks
You know we canāt unsee that
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I actually find him much more honest and transparent than most of the Trumpers that show up at hearings. Heās being evasive many times in order to avoid being exposed for not having delivered for Trump.
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Yes, heās actually answering questions (reluctantly, once pressured). I see an amateur at responding to interrogation heat of this sort revealing his cards when pushed.
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Agree with above. This temp dimwit isnāt of interest other than getting him to act like he did on the record. The big fish are huddled below trying to figure out what to do next. Is it Rudy Timeā¢ yet? Maybe a weekend of tweets with some Ghouliani on the side would provide entertainment as we wait for the winch attached to the big net to start up.
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This guy spews more smoke than my old beetle after it had blown a seal
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I understand the feeling of being let down, but disagree that this is a victory for Whittaker & the GOP. He showed his (very unattractive) true colors; dems got useful information that they can follow up on in a deposition, in which a single questioner can do more effective cross-ex than can be done in a hearing.
Iād rather dems be slow & steady & careful (& of course, firm).
Letās not be distracted by surface appearances & shiny objects & theatrics.
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Pramila Jayapal made him look like a monster. Correctly so.
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What ericr said, too.
Demings is sitting on something about SDNY and VA and reassignments/firings of US attorneys.
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I think this hearing is an unqualified success for the Dems. Weāve succeeded in keeping Whitaker from messing with the Mueller probe. Todayās hearing confirms it. Itās a precedent for Barr as well.
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I agree that the game is far from over, and I trust that Nadler has a coherent strategy regarding subpoenas, depositions. I think Nadler is a very coherent guy, period. I still think that the objective of this kind of questioning is to add value to the process, even if only a little. One way to add value is to uncover new information, which Iām not sure has yet been accomplished and is very difficult in this format. Another is to generate a detailed testimonial record which will then hang over the head of the witness. That is quite doable and wasnāt really accomplished, except with regard to the āI havenāt spoken with the president about Mueller.ā And finally, you might add value by making the witness really sweat and struggle, and thereby strike fear into the hearts of Republicans. Not really accomplished, yet, although again itās not easy to do, especially if the questioners donāt follow up on an evasive answer and really press.
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