The Department of Defense won’t comply with House committees’ subpoena of documents relevant to its impeachment inquiry “at this time,” citing the ongoing White House claim that the House’s probe is illegitimate.
I recall that Mark said he was going to cooperate just this weekend. Certainly appears like the Defense department has been infiltrated by Russian intelligence and that Mark Esper is also a Putin whore.
I had also said on TPM that he was going to change his mind soon. Someone like Lara Trump, who is Preshitident Skanky Putin Whore and First Lady Iwanker’s current fixer, thug, procurer and baglady, was going to stop by with threats and a suitcase of money to change his behavior. Looks Mark Esper came around with the right inducements from the Organization.
Also need to scrutinize Leroy Hood’s the DoJ Counsel’s connections and ties to Barr, Giuliani and to international criminal organizations. He seems to be bypassing the chain of command and defying an order from the Secretary. Also look up the record on the DoJ lawyers ties to Russia.
This is the fault of the civilian leadership, not the uniformed military. Just to have that said.
Well, America?
What’s your Take on this?
The Department of Defense won’t comply
Will comply, won’t comply.
If you don’t like today’s response, come back tomorrow.
Thanks for that.
Trump, like Johnny Appleseed, has sprinkled around assets. However, inattentive people have yet another item they should be attentive to.
“Rule” by one person (especially an Insane one) is not good.
Therefore we must support our House of Representatives and be thankful for Nov. 2018.
They tRumpistas will be descrying everything as illegitimate up to and including the election results.
Bumpy road ahead.
WASHINGTON – Appearing in television interviews on Sunday morning, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he would comply with a subpoena issued by House Democrats as part of an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump’s pressuring of the Ukrainian government to open investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.
House Democrats had issued subpoenas to Esper and the Defense Department for documents related to Trump’s withholding of military aid to Ukraine, which they believe may have been part of the pressure on Ukraine to open investigations.
“We will do everything we can to comply," Esper said to host Margaret Brennan on CBS’ "Face the Nation."
“Yeah we will do everything we can to cooperate with the Congress. Just in the last week or two, my general counsel sent out a note as we typically do in these situations to ensure documents are retained,” Esper said.
The military refusing civilian oversight might be the single most dangerous event for democracy.
This can not be tolerated.
If Trump believes that his hand-picked stooge will halt the burgeoning alarm among career Federal Employees…
If Trump believes that his hand-picked stooge will halt the burgeoning number of individuals clamoring to testify before Congress…
Those beliefs themselves alone should disqualify him from Office
WTF? Esper committed the DOD to compliance!
Dems have given up the game on forcing compliance with subpoenas. They now merely announce failure to comply will be used as evidence of obstruction in a future impeachment proceeding, and refusal will infer guilt on the part of the target. No contempt citations, no prevailing upon a judge or court for immediate relief, basically they’re just forfeiting and moving along. I totally understand subpoena targets telling them to eff off, the percentages are in their favor. And the prospects of Dems going all medieval on their asses and throwing them upon the rack are practically nonexistent.
So, if the DOD or any other Federal Department discusses anything with the President, those discussions are protected by Executive Privilege, and thus are immune from House oversight. The President, himself, is also immune from any investigation or prosecution, and thus is effectively above the law.
I don’t think that’s how our government was designed to work.
All through everything that Trump has done to date, most Americans believed that Trump could not take control of the Military like, say, a Dictator.
Until now.
I happen to believe that he has not.
But what has happened is that, through hand-picked stooges, he has made it seem that way. And, I must say that if there was ever a “test” for being in a Cult, this would be it:
To be so cultish as to support a person who can take unilateral command of the United States Military. That’s some serious cultism
The letter is not signed by DoD legal counsel, but by the Legislative Affairs chief.
I especially like the new gambit of having everyone involved in some plot being labeled as supplying counsel to everyone else in the plot, and therefore everyone up to no good is safe from all co-conspirators being questioned about the actions of anyone. Parnas, Fruman, Giuliani, diGenova, Toensing, etc are giving and getting advice from everyone, so they’re all untouchable.
Same old shit, different day. One thing I have learned over the course of this Reign of Stupid is that the House subpoena attack dog has no teeth. Seems like agencies and or entities with potentially damaging evidence can ignore it without fear of repercussions.
I remeber many already then translated this as “We will do everything Trump allows us to comply”. It seems they were right.
Wonder what would happen if they subpeona Esper?
I guess when those documents became sensitive last night, when the WH decided to invoke executive privilege.The entire statement reeks. I was going to say “reeked of” and name something, but I realized that it really just reeks.