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Post by Admin on Sept 28, 2019 17:22:27 GMT
The whistleblower complaint raises a lot more questions Democrats might dig into.
Trump and Republicans are right when they say the whistleblower is giving a secondhand account. The individual said so in the complaint. But the person gathered lots of information, talked to numerous people who were on the call and the inspector general said the complaint is credible.
Here are some of the questions the complaint raises that may well become part of the impeachment inquiry:
— Was the White House account of the call, compiled from contemporaneous notes of those in the room or on the call, removed from the computer system where "transcripts are typically stored" to one normally used to "store and handle classified information of an especially sensitive nature," as the whistleblower alleges?
— If true, why was that done if, as the whistleblower notes, "the call did not contain anything remotely sensitive from a national security perspective"?
— Has the White House attempted to "lock down" other calls or interactions that might be deemed politically problematic for Trump? And will those come to light or be released — either through official means, or leaks from others concerned in the intelligence community?
— What is the depth of Rudy Giuliani's involvement? And did the State Department help the president's personal attorney in setting up a meeting with the Ukrainians to pressure them to begin an investigation of the Bidens?
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Post by Admin on Sept 29, 2019 19:47:32 GMT
For Rudy Giuliani, the final week of September could very well go down as the most consequential stretch of days in his long public career since he led New York City through the tragedy of 9/11. Things started benignly enough. On Friday night, September 20, the President's personal attorney attended a black-tie state dinner at the White House, smiling for cameras alongside his girlfriend Maria Ryan. Yet a week later, Giuliani was under siege, and at the heart of events that have led to the first formal impeachment inquiry into a president in 20 years. In between, Giuliani conducted a one-man messaging war, going on Fox News at least four times, talking to numerous reporters, and sending more than 50 tweets, many of which were about Joe Biden, his son Hunter, and their alleged dealings in Ukraine. It was a surreal climax for Giuliani's 10-month, quixotic mission aimed at proving his theory that the origins of the investigation into Russian election interference can be traced back to Democrats' dealings in Ukraine. Along the way he went to Warsaw, Madrid, and very nearly Ukraine. He met with foreign nationals, coordinated with US State Department officials, dropped vague, confusing accusations in cable-TV appearances, and ceaselessly pitched US journalists on what he claims is one of the biggest scandals in modern American history— all while whispering in Donald Trump's ear about how Ukraine contained the keys to revealing truths about the President's political rivals.
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Post by Admin on Sept 30, 2019 5:51:55 GMT
President Trump on Sunday evening called for the outing of a whistleblower and railed against other individuals, including Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), at the center of a growing scandal involving his phone call with Ukraine's president, warning there could be "Big Consequences."
"Like every American, I deserve to meet my accuser, especially when this accuser, the so-called 'Whistleblower,' represented a perfect conversation with a foreign leader in a totally inaccurate and fraudulent way. Then Schiff made up what I actually said by lying to Congress," Trump said in a series of tweets.
"His lies were made in perhaps the most blatant and sinister manner ever seen in the great Chamber," he continued before adding that he wants Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, "questioned at the highest level for Fraud & Treason."
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Post by Admin on Oct 4, 2019 17:58:55 GMT
Republicans who support President Trump say the next three weeks are crucial to determine whether Trump can keep Republicans united behind him or if emerging cracks break open even wider.
Their growing concern is that the White House is not acting with enough urgency to combat the whistleblower fight.
They're calling for a more coordinated but also direct and aggressive strategy, similar to the one used when Republicans defended Brett Kavanaugh when Trump nominated him for the Supreme Court.
"It's not like you have all this time for this to unfold. You've got to be ready for battle right now," said Scott Jennings, who was subpoenaed by the Senate when he worked for Republican George W. Bush and is close to the White House.
"That's why I was comparing it to Kavanaugh. That was a short fight. You know, it happened over a period of weeks. Democrats had their message. They fired their shots. The Republicans were organized. They fired back. And so to me that's really the template here."
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Post by Admin on Oct 5, 2019 17:05:04 GMT
The Washington Post spoke with 12 current and former White House officials who said that members of the administration were shocked at the president's behavior during conversations with authoritarians like Russian President Vladimir Putin and members of the Saudi royal family.
"There was a constant undercurrent in the Trump administration of [senior staff] who were genuinely horrified by the things they saw that were happening on these calls," one former White House official—who spoke on the condition of anonymity—told the Post.
"Phone calls that were embarrassing, huge mistakes he made, months and months of work that were upended by one impulsive tweet," the official added.
Aides were particularly concerned about Trump's calls with Putin. The first call came less than two weeks into the presidency on January 28, 2017.
The call was intended for Putin to congratulate Trump on his victory, but the new president was "obsequious" and "fawning," even apologizing to the dictator for not calling him sooner, anonymous former White House aides told the Post.
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