If he is still on staff, and if the DOJ is blocking the impeachment path that OLC is the proper forum for addressing Trumps transgressions, he could revist whether the OLC opinion is being treated in good faith and reconsider indictments.
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And not to forget, Emptywheel provided info to the investigation (which she, as appropriate, has not disclosed).
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So itâs an appearance of âcomityâ that they are negotiating.
We have an important court date tomorrow. We also have a few more people to hold in contempt. I think we can turn some of the political battle on oversight in our favor and have Mueller testify. As long as the committees are doing things to push the ball to accountability, we should encourage them. Mueller will testify. Trump is freaked out about it b/c he has concluded that itâs going to happen. It would be great to get some court rulings putting Dems on a strong footing and put the WH on the defensive. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris are persuading people and being persuaded by the grassroots that impeachment is not only a moral imperative but a political winner.
If the Giuliani/Ukraine episode of last week tells us anything, it is that if you leave Trump alone he will do everything possible to tarnish and smear our candidates. Putting him under the microscope limits his ability to attack our candidates effectively. Play offense and make Trump play defense. That should be the strategy always.
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âSome people call this âStupid Watergateâ and the further along things go, the more apt that seems.
In many ways, the parallels are uncanny. I keep thinking public opinion will be one of them.â
you would hope so. however, back then, you werenât dealing with fox news, alt-right whack media, russian bots, and a thoroughly corrupted GOP. ah, the good old days.
(note: georgeh is not a rabbit hole you want to descend into. just saying.)
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Howard Baker was trying to clear Nixon, not search for the truth. He was recorded on tape in on February 22, 1973, telling Nixon, âIâm your friend. Iâm going to see that your interests are protected.â And John Dean told the Senate Watergate chief counsel that Baker had âsecret dealings with the White Houseâ during the congressional investigation.
Nixon and the Republicans were just as treacherous back then, too. I remember the War in Vietnam and Kent State.
But at least the House Democrats had courage.
Schiff quietly confessed that what he meant by âMueller is going to testifyâ is that Mueller would testify unless it might upset republicans. He said comity, bipartisanship and being nice are far more valuable than trying to conduct oversight or abide by quaint notions of the rule of law. He excused himself because he promised to fill in for the staff busboy at the White House kitchen.
I certainly hope so. America needs a win here. Because itâs for dang sure weâve been having it stuck to us for a while now. From the report ordered stopped and then Flonting it and framing it the way they want it and then on top of it they are reinforcing all their faults accusations my Flonting everything in the face of America. Rudy Giuliani going off to the Ukraine to ask for assistance A foreign entity to metal in our elections. Lindsey Graham telling Donald Junior he doesnât need to appear. On top of the justice department threatening to investigate stupidâs competitors. Whatâs next. Is it too late even if Mueller does go before Congress the damage this bench is done is insurmountable.
He is such a coldhearted threatening minutes to our democracy and freedom and even a threat to the rest of the world. And yet the Republicans just passed him on the back is it no you go for it weâre break here to back you up. I am losing faith.
In short too little too late.
Spot on!
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Given that the Dem House Intel and Muellerâs goals are aligned (bring traitors to justice) I think itâs more than the appearance.
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If the testimony merely rehashes whatâs in the publicly available version of the report, thatâs huge in terms of bringing facts to light for the mostly tuned out general public. If the testimony also helps to paint Barrâs post report actions in a bad light (which is likely), so much the better.
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âWatergate but with stupid peopleâ applies to the general public as well.
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The Dems are running the 1973-74 playbook. Watch dark line (Impeach) go from 19% in June 1973 (7 months after Nixonâs 72 Landslide) to 57% in July 1974, weeks before Nixon resigned.
Current committee hearings will help drive the narrative and then support for impeachment hearings, then impeachment itself.
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Absolutely right
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Thatâs probably true, but I think thereâs still value in having him testify so that he can clarify his reasoning in a forum and format that would more conducive for public consumption. Itâs one thing to have the report lay out the reasoning, and have the cable talking heads translate them into plain English, and another to hear it directly from the horseâs mouth. At the present moment thereâs a lot of âconfusionâ about the degree to which the conclusions drawn in the report can be considered exculpatory, and having Mueller testify to why he doesnât explicitly accuse Trump of crimes could help clear that up.
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we now know we certainly canât rely on the attorney general who misrepresented his conclusions,
please stop with the equivocations. Just say âflat out lied aboutâ, not âmisrepresentedâ.
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what bugs me about this dance is that Mueller had a bunch of deputies who are now in the private sector, and whose testimony would be as illuminating as Muellers (if not more so â there is so much to cover, Muellerâs testimony probably wonât get very specific. But other prosecutors would have time, and expertise, to provide detailed answers)
So why hasnât/isnât the House getting these people to testify? Why rely on âsuperstarâ testimony alone, especially given that Mueller was apparently âobstructedâ himself â he didnât even subpoena Don Jr or Jared â and we donât know how forthcoming he will really be?
Here is how itâs going to goâŚand why I believe that we have a winner hereâŚ
We will get the lowdown about Trump to the American people. He cannot stop itâŚ
Getting the info out about Trump will change minds. Lots of them. I have used the analogy of a disinterested prospective immigrant from a poor country expressing indifference about coming to AmericaâŚand then becoming floored by seeing a Publix Grocery Store (and also becoming an ardent immigrant).
Whatever the opinion about Impeachment is, it is hampered by it beingâat this timeâan abstract process.
Imagine what will happen when the depravity of Donald Trump is revealed to America.
But I understand the Debbie Downer stance. Thatâs why there is another element to Donald Trump being exposed for the pig he isâŚand that is the REACTION of an entitled, boorish, lying, ugly-acting PIG.
And it is THAT: Trumpâs inability to apologize, reflect, take a different tone other than sneering boorishness will put an exclamation point on the already damning revelations.
- There will be protestations of blamelessness
- There will be turning on associates in an ignoble fashion
- There will be a volcanic outpouring of ugly hate and rage
- There will be disloyaltyâŚBY TRUMP
And, finally, there will be the American People. We have been beat down for almost three years. There will be an entirely different mentality when we actually feel that we have a chance to save our RepublicâŚpassive-aggressive gallows humor turns into energy
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you are apparently unaware that the âWatergateâ hearings were done by a special purpose âselect committeeâ of the Senate, followed by a House investigation dedicated to impeachment â and the support from impeachment did not come about from 20 different investigations involving over a dozen separate standing committees.
In other words, if this is the Watergate playbook, the people running the show are illiterate.
Letâs get on with it!!!
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