5/1/19: Trump & allies promoting questions about Biden conflict of interest. WASHINGTON — It was a foreign policy role Joseph R.
Biden Jr. enthusiastically embraced during his vice presidency: browbeating Ukraine’s notoriously corrupt government to clean up its act. And one of his most memorable performances came on a trip to Kiev in December 2015, when he threatened to withhold $1 billion in United States loan guarantees if Ukraine’s leaders did not dismiss the country’s top prosecutor, who had been accused of turning a blind eye to corruption in his own office and among the political elite. The pressure campaign eventually worked. The prosecutor general, long a target of criticism from other Western nations and international lenders, was voted out months later by the Ukrainian Parliament.
Among those who had a stake in the outcome was Hunter Biden, Mr. The broad outlines of how the Bidens’ roles intersected in Ukraine have been known for some time. But the renewed scrutiny of Hunter Biden’s experience in Ukraine has also been fanned by allies of Mr. Mr. Mr. 5/7/19: US Ambassador to Ukraine Recalled in ‘Political Hit Job’ In what top Democratic lawmakers called a “political hit job,” U.S.
Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch has been recalled by the Trump administration two months early following political attacks by right-wing media figures and a senior Ukrainian official. Yovanovitch, an experienced career diplomat who has served in Republican and Democratic administrations and has been ambassador to Ukraine since 2016, will leave her post later in May, two months before she was scheduled to step down.
The attacks, which four current and former U.S. officials who spoke to Foreign Policy said are unfounded, drew the attention of top Democratic lawmakers, who urged U.S. 5/9/19: Giuliani seeking help from Ukraine to hurt Biden. 5/19/19: Trump casually alleges Biden's took steps in Ukraine w/out shred of evidence. 5/20/19: Zelensky inaugurated as president of Ukraine w/ U.S. delegation led by Energy Secretary Perry. KYIV, UKRAINE – On May 20, 2019, U.S.
Secretary of Energy Rick Perry led the U.S. Presidential Delegation on behalf of President Donald J. Trump to the Inauguration of His Excellency Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine. Secretary Perry was joined by U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker, U.S. President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
6/13/19: 'I think I’d take it': Trump says he would listen if foreigners offered dirt on opponents. President Donald Trump may not alert the FBI if foreign governments offered damaging information against his 2020 rivals during the upcoming presidential race, he said, despite the deluge of investigations stemming from his campaign's interactions with Russians during the 2016 campaign.
Asked by ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos in the Oval Office on Wednesday whether his campaign would accept such information from foreigners -- such as China or Russia -- or hand it over the FBI, Trump said, "I think maybe you do both. " 9/12/19: Trump administration releases $250 million in Ukraine military aid. WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has released $250 million in military aid to Ukraine that had been held up despite criticism that the money was desperately needed to deter Russian aggression and territorial expansion.
That move came before a Senate Appropriations panel debate Thursday, when lawmakers from both parties were set to rebuke the administration. They credited an amendment threatened by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., for forcing the administration's hand on the money, which Congress already had approved. Several Republican senators, including Trump ally Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said they would have voted with Democrats. 9/24/19: Pelosi announces formal Trump impeachment inquiry. Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced on Tuesday that the House will open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump.
"Today, I'm announcing the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry. I'm directing our 6 committees to proceed with their investigations under that umbrella ... The president must be held accountable. " Why it matters: This is a watershed moment. 31 months after the first House Democrat called for his ouster, President Trump faces the formal impeachment inquiry that could define the rest of his presidency. 9/25/2019: WH releases rough transcript of 7/25/19 call w/ Zelensky. 9/26/19: WH shares whistleblower’s complaint with members of Congress. The White House shared the whistleblower complaint that has spawned an impeachment inquiry in the House of Representatives with members of Congress late Wednesday.
Some in Congress who have seen the complaint have called it troubling, with Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) saying it “reinforces our concerns” and is “deeply disturbing.” After reviewing the document, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) said, “Republicans ought not to be rushing to circle the wagons to say there’s no there there when there’s obviously lots that’s very troubling there.” Previously, the White House resisted calls to release the complaint, making the decision to send the document to Congress largely about the administration getting ahead of increasing scrutiny around fears President Donald Trump endeavored to strong-arm a foreign leader into investigating his potential presidential rival in 2020, former Vice President Joe Biden. But it’s notable the release of this document is happening now. Listen to Today, Explained. 10/17/19 Mulvaney admits quite pro quo with Ukraine. Trump Should Be Removed from Office - Christianity Today - 12/19/19.
In our founding documents, Billy Graham explains that Christianity Today will help evangelical Christians interpret the news in a manner that reflects their faith. The impeachment of Donald Trump is a significant event in the story of our republic. It requires comment. The typical CT approach is to stay above the fray and allow Christians with different political convictions to make their arguments in the public square, to encourage all to pursue justice according to their convictions and treat their political opposition as charitably as possible. We want CT to be a place that welcomes Christians from across the political spectrum, and reminds everyone that politics is not the end and purpose of our being.
We take pride in the fact, for instance, that politics does not dominate our homepage. That said, we do feel it necessary from time to time to make our own opinions on political matters clear—always, as Graham encouraged us, doing so with both conviction and love. 12/30/19: Judge dismisses impeachment witness lawsuit. Judge Richard Leon wrote in a 14-page opinion that there is no expectation that the House will reissue the subpoena, therefore the lawsuit is unnecessary.
Notably, by ruling the case is moot, Leon was able to sidestep the thorny issue of separation of powers and whether the White House could claim some administration witnesses have immunity. Leon, however, noted that things can change in the future. "Have no doubt though, should the winds of political fortune shift and the House were to reissue a subpoena to Dr. Kupperman, he will face the same conflicting directives that precipitated this suit. 12/19/19: As House votes to impeach, twit pushes 13 judge nominations through Senate. Wednesday afternoon, the Senate majority leader forced a deal with Democrats to expedite 11 federal district judge nominations.
Before adjourning on Thursday, all were confirmed. McConnell's thrust is emblematic of what he sees as his crowning achievement. So far, he has led the charge changing the landscape of the federal courts across the country with a record number of appellate court judges -- currently at 50 -- and Supreme Court nominees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. "My motto for the remainder of this Congress is 'leave no vacancy behind,'" McConnell told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Wednesday. 12/18/19: House Vote on Impeachment Was Inevitable. George Conway: Trump is unfit for office In essence, Trump thinks everything should be about him, for him, for his benefit and glorification—and he can’t comprehend, and doesn’t care about, anything that isn’t.
The American diplomat David Holmes testified that Ambassador Gordon Sondland explained to him that “the president only cares about ‘big stuff’”—clarifying, according to Holmes, that this meant “big stuff that benefits the president.” And that’s why Trump can’t comply with his duties to the nation, and why he now stands as the third president ever to have been impeached. 12/18/19: Trump gets vindictive after House slaps him with impeachment. “Mr. President, let’s set politics aside,” she wrote on Twitter. “My husband earned all his accolades after a lifetime of service. I’m preparing for the first holiday season without the man I love. You brought me down in a way you can never imagine and your hurtful words just made my healing much harder. All in all, Trump ran the gamut of his favorite targets, from former President Barack Obama and former presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke to the former FBI officials Lisa Page and Peter Strzok.
Trump was due to greet the thousands of supporters gathered here at 7 p.m., according to his public schedule, but didn’t start till an hour after that — partly because of a delayed departure from Washington, but mostly due to the timing of the action in the House. 12/13/19: House Judiciary Committee Votes on Articles of Impeachment. ACLU Supports Impeachment of President Trump. 12/12/19: Rep. Hank Johnson scolds Rep Matt Gaetz at Impeachment Hearing. Trump Bribing Senators Who Will Determine Outcome of Senate Impeachment Trial.
12/4: Pamela Karlan lays it straight out at impeachment hearings. 12/3: House impeachment report: Democrats release report on Trump and Ukraine in impeachment inquiry – live updates. Washington — House Democrats released a report with their findings from the impeachment investigation into President Trump's dealings with Ukraine, accusing the president of placing "his own personal and political interests above the national interests of the United States" and endangering national security by soliciting assistance from a foreign government to boost his reelection prospects. The report is based on more than 130 hours of public and private testimony by 17 witnesses before three committees over the past two months. Democrats' case against the president centers on a delay in military aid to Ukraine and Mr.
Trump's request that the Ukrainian president investigate a political rival and unfounded allegations of Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election, as well as efforts to obstruct the impeachment investigation. The document runs 300 pages and was written by Democratic staffers on the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight Committees.
Schiff also condemned Mr. 12/2: ‘I’m done being quiet’: Ex-FBI lawyer Lisa Page slams Trump’s ‘sickening’ attacks in first interview. 11/6/19: RNC paid for more than 10,000 phone calls to House Dems as part of its anti-impeachment push. The Republican National Committee funded a campaign that flooded the offices of about 36 House Democrats with more than 10,000 anti-impeachment phone calls in recent weeks. The campaign, first reported by the New York Times, is just one part of the very diffuse defense Republicans have launched in an effort to shield President Donald Trump from a growing impeachment inquiry. Its goal, as reportedly described at a recent dinner of Republican aides, was to both tie up Democratic lawmakers’ telephone lines and attempt to influence them into opposing that inquiry.
While the strategies used by Republicans — including denying quid pro quo is wrong, attacking the whistleblower whose complaint led to the inquiry, and, despite evidence suggesting the opposite, that a White House memo of a call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is exculpatory — have been varied, they largely focus on the claims that Trump did nothing wrong and that Democrats are being unfair. Rep. Rep. 11/5: Sondland dramatically changes his testimony in impeachment inquiry.
A major figure in House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry significantly changed his testimony this week to confirm the existence of a quid pro quo involving withheld military aid to Ukraine, after other witnesses raised serious doubts about his credibility. US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland said in a declaration submitted to Congress on Monday that he had now “refreshed [his] recollection about certain conversations in early September 2019.” Specifically, Sondland now remembers that he did, in fact, tell various people — including a Ukrainian official — that President Donald Trump’s administration was linking hundreds of millions of dollars in withheld military aid for Ukraine to investigations Trump had asked the country to conduct.
“I now recall speaking individually with Mr. Yermak, where I said that resumption of U.S. aid would likely not occur until Ukraine provided the public anti-corruption statement that we had been discussing for many weeks,” Sondland said. 10/23: Cooper depostion: After Republicans storm room, Defense official testifies in impeachment inquiry.
The chaotic scene, with Republicans flouting House rules to make a political point, represented a new and more confrontational phase of the Republican attack on House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff and the Democratic impeachment investigation. By early afternoon, pizza and snacks were being brought into the committee area. The Republicans in the committee SCIF — short for a sensitive compartmented information facility -- left around 2 p.m. ET to attend House votes, apparently ending the protest. 10/1/19: Impeachment Support Up Slightly, Trump Job Rating Steady. West Long Branch, NJ – President Donald Trump’s approval rating has remained steady in the wake of an official impeachment inquiry launched last week, although support for impeachment has ticked up slightly.
In a two year Monmouth University Poll trend on impeachment opinion the current findings are not out of line with some prior results. 10/1: As scandal intensifies, attitudes on Trump's impeachment shift quickly. Donald Trump highlighted the results of a “poll” via Twitter last night, which was the sort of thing to bring tears to the eyes of those who take social-science methodology seriously. In this case, a right-wing website asked its right-wing readers whether they “stand with President Trump,” and wouldn’t you know it, nearly 98% of respondents sided with the Republican. This, in Trump’s mind, is apparently something to be proud of.
Meanwhile, in reality, real polling is producing results the president doesn’t want to see. 9/30: Trump’s Potential Impeachment Snowballs. 9/30: Republicans try (and fail) to derail credibility of whistleblower. 9/27: Al Franken Gets Frustrated Watching Senate Hearings. 9/25: Whistleblower airs Trump's 7/25/19 phone call with Ukrainian President Zelenskiy. 9/20/19: Trump pressured Ukrainian president to investigate Biden's son, reports say. Donald Trump pressed the new leader of Ukraine this summer to investigate Joe Biden, multiple reports say, as Democrats condemned what they saw as a clear effort to damage a political rival. It was the latest revelation tied to an explosive whistleblower complaint that sparked a showdown between congressional Democrats and the Trump administration. Trump officials have refused to turn over the complaint by a national security official or even describe its contents. Trump spoke to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, on 25 July, about two weeks before the complaint was filed.
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump repeatedly pressured Zelenskiy to investigate Biden’s son, Hunter. In the July phone call, Trump urged Zelenskiy about eight times to work with Giuliani on the investigation, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. Trump offered a characteristically pugnacious defence against what he called a “partisan” whistleblower. NOVEMBER 2019. 5/29: Robert Mueller Says It’s Up to Congress to Indict a President. After two years of studiously avoiding the spotlight, the special counsel, Robert Mueller, was finally ready to speak to the public.
Standing at a lectern with a sign behind him that said “Department of Justice Washington,” he looked every inch the part: dark chalk-stripe suit, white button-down shirt, navy-blue tie, hair parted at the side, posture erect. 5/18: First Republican Congressman joins the call for Trump's impeachment. TO INDICT OR NOT TO INDICT A SITTING PRESIDENT. 5/29: Justin Amash Won Debates After His Call for Impeachment. “They don’t support FISA reform,” he declared.
3/1/19: Cohen's testimony on Trump is just the beginning. ANALYSIS: Michael Cohen's testimony is just the beginning. Accepting Money from Foreign Governments. Constitution. Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same term, be elected, as follows: Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a number of electors, equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector. What Impeachment of the POTUS Looks Like. How does impeachment work? - Alex Gendler. Impeachment - Wikipedia. Trump administration convictions could surpass Nixon. 10/8: DOJ argues perhaps Congress should *not* have been allowed to hear Watergate recordings.
Impeachable Offense. 10/11/19: Appeals court upholds House subpoena for Trump's financial records - Axios. The Russkies and Rog.