Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) described President Donald Trump’s hostile tweet about impeachment investigation witness Marie Yovanovitch as “unfortunate” on Sunday, but he argued that it wasn’t witness intimidation.
The witness testified that she felt intimidated. So there’s that.
Intimidation? Obstruction?
Potato Potahto
Let’s call the whole thing off.
The degree to which Republicans are willing to pretend that Trump isn’t a criminal lout is shameful and sad.
‘Unfortunately, it was intimidation!’
Fixed that for yah, Mikey!
“She was in no means intimidated and prevented from testifying,” Turner said
Well, it comes from the same logic as it wasn’t quid pro quo because he didn’t get what he asked for. Consistency for a change. Wrongheaded but consistent.
.
How do you know what it was? You weren’t on the receiving end of what he said, so just shut up.
I think what drives me bananas about the Rethugs is they never concede anything, not even the smallest of concessions. That to me is the sign of a bully.
Except that Trump tweeted while she was testifying. She became intimidated the moment during her testimony that she was read Trump’s tweet. So Turner’s statement is actually irrelevant and misleading, on top of being wrongheaded and inexcusable.
No, it wasn’t a clear message to anyone else who might be considering adding their testimony to the record that they would suffer similar or worse consequences. Totally innocent and fine.
“It’s certainly not impeachable, and it’s certainly not criminal, and it’s certainly not witness intimidation,” Turner said. “It certainly wasn’t trying to prevent her or would it have prevented her from testifying. She was actually in the process of testifying.”
As we used to say in Puerto Rico, in the early 70’s, when someone spoke such bullshit in one’s presence:
“Sure, your honor, my client slowly drove past his ex-girlfriend’s house 100 times daily, repeatedly scrawled threatening messages on her windows in blood, and crouched naked in her bushes nightly wearing nothing but night-vision googles – but how is that ‘intimidation’?!”
I’ll bet a lot of the Rethugs on the Intelligence Committee are out scurrying around to find a lot of kid gloves for dealing with Sondland this week. It will be so interesting to see how he’s handled. And, will the intimidator be tweeting during his time in the hot seat on Wed?
Amazing how many “unfortunate” things Trump does.
More accurately, Trump does a lot of things that are venal, corrupt, self-serving, stupid, criminal, abusive, inane, ignorant, and destructive. But, hey, yeah, I guess they are also “unfortunate.”
Don’t know who should worry him more – the Dems, the Repugs, or PP.
Whatever happens to him, Jordan will swear he didn’t see it.
Dear Lord, give me a dollar for every time a mealy-mouthed GOPer has said or will say a thing Trump did or said was in some mild way regrettable and to be faintly disapproved of but not actually nocuous or requiring some sort of remedial action like impeachment and removal, jail, being declared anathema, non-enjoyable spanking etc.
The circle the wagons are milling around is getting smaller…
The witness was able to walk away. So, no intimidation.
That isn’t an idle joke. The GOP have been arguing that since Ukraine got money, there was no extortion.
“When the man swung his arm with his hand in a fist-shaped position at the child and made contact with the child’s left ear, it was not ‘hitting the child’, it was making contact suddenly. That’s all.”
“Many people paint their houses red. My client simply gave her some color samples on the side of her house as a test. Many people drive cars down streets. Do we have to make that illegal? Can’t a man admire someone’s landscaping and get a close look at her topiary without us throwing words around like ‘stalker’? What is this world coming to?”