kpete
kpete's JournalTrump apparently asked about the Ukraine aid specifically after reading an unspecified media report.
This undercuts GOP argument that the Ukraine hold may have been part of a broader review of foreign aid packages.
https://twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/1199450637110566913
https://intelligence.house.gov/uploadedfiles/sandy_final_redacted.pdf
NEW: House Judiciary Cmte just noticed its first impeachment inquiry hearing for Wednesday, Dec. 4.
NEW: House Judiciary Cmte just noticed its first impeachment inquiry hearing for Wednesday, Dec. 4.
Chairman Nadler sent a letter to President Trump inviting him to participate.
Nadler: "At base, the President has a choice to make: he can take this opportunity to be represented in the impeachment hearings, or he can stop complaining about the process. I hope that he chooses to participate in the inquiry ... as other Presidents have done before him."
https://twitter.com/LauraLitvan/status/1199402526119989248
Juan Cole:Ayatollah Rick Perry's Evangelical Theology of Trump as God's Chosen is just like Khamenei
Iran and the US Come Closer: Ayatollah Rick Perry’s Evangelical Theology of Trump as God’s Chosen is just like Khamenei
JUAN COLE
11/26/2019
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So the official ideology of Iran’s ayatollahs is exactly the same as that of Rick Perry. God’s will puts leaders into office.
So I guess Ayatollah Trump and Ayatollah Khamenei are the current choices of the Man Upstairs according to these two Dominionist forms of theology.
One big difference is that Trump will be impeached and such a fate is unlikely for Khamenei. So maybe God likes him best?
The US is one of the last highly religious societies in the modern world, and Iran (whatever the people think) has one of the few theocratic forms of government. Religion has collapsed in the last 60 years in much of the world– the United Kingdom, for instance, or Montreal. Some 63% of the French report themselves non-religious, and 29% say they are outright atheists. I was talking to a person from france one time, and she sneezed. I said, “God bless you.” She shouted red-faced at me, “There is no God!” I thought, geez, it is a figure of speech.
But the theory that God wants us to have Trump and Khamenei as leaders seems to me certain to put the Americans and Iranians on a fast train to French-style secularism.
MORE:
https://www.juancole.com/2019/11/ayatollah-evangelical-khamenei.html
Airspace violation reported in Washington, DC, and fighter jets have been scrambled
https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1199329803578626049Robert Redford: America is in crisis. It's time to rid ourselves of Trump.
President Trump's dictator-like administration is attacking the values America holds dearThis monarchy in disguise has been so exhausting and chaotic, it’s not in the least bit surprising so many citizens are disillusioned.
Nov. 26, 2019, 1:54 AM PST
By Robert Redford
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What is happening, right now, is so deeply disturbing that instead of the United States of America, we are now defined as the Divided States of America. Leaders on both sides lack the fundamental courage to cross political aisles on behalf of what is good for the American people.
We’re at a point in time where I reluctantly believe that we have much to lose — it is a critical and unforgiving moment. This monarchy in disguise has been so exhausting and chaotic, it’s not in the least bit surprising so many citizens are disillusioned.
The vast majority of Americans are busy with real life; trying to make ends meet and deeply frustrated by how hard Washington makes it to do just that.
But this is it. There are only 11 months left before the presidential election; 11 months before we get our one real chance to right this ship and change the course of disaster that lies before us.
Let’s rededicate ourselves to voting for truth, character and integrity in our representatives (no matter which side we’re on). Let’s go back to being the leader the world so desperately needs. Let’s return, quickly, to being simply ... Americans.
MORE:
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/president-trump-s-dictator-administration-attacking-values-america-holds-dear-ncna1091156?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma
https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1199300039107063808
New Docs Show How State Dept MISLED Top Dem Lawmakers On Why Yovanovitch Was Removed
"A newly released trove of documents shows that the State Department misled top lawmakers about why U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch was removed from her post in May, undercutting the department's official narrative."
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Yovanovitch, a seasoned career diplomat, became one of the key witnesses in the historic impeachment probe that centers on whether Trump improperly withheld military aid from Ukraine unless it agreed to investigate one of his Democratic political rivals. In public and private testimony in recent weeks, Yovanovitch testified that she was asked in March to extend her tour in Ukraine through 2020. But only two months later, she testified, she was abruptly removed from her post following a concerted smear campaign by “people with clearly questionable motives” who were likely angered by her push on anti-corruption reform initiatives in Ukraine.
But that’s not the story the State Department painted for the Democratic lawmakers. In mid-June—two months after Engel and Hoyer sent their letter, and weeks after Yovanovitch was removed from her post—a senior State Department official wrote brief letters to Hoyer and Engel saying that the ambassador “was due to complete her three-year diplomatic assignment in Kyiv this summer” and that she left her post on May 20, “which aligns with the presidential transition in Ukraine.” The letter made no mention of her being asked to extend her post into 2020. It is not common practice for the State Department to switch its ambassadors based on a new foreign leader coming into office.
Hoyer is the House majority leader, and Engel is the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Hoyer criticized the State Department’s letter. “The State Department’s reply that the Ambassador’s assignment was due to be complete is outrageous,” he said in a statement to Foreign Policy. “The Administration’s attempt to mislead Congress about her removal should not be overlooked.”
...............
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/11/25/trump-impeachment-state-department-marie-yovanovitch-ukraine-democrats/
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1199319394083426305
Former KGB agent details process of sowing discord prior to active measures w final act being crisis
A former KGB agent details the process of sowing discord prior to active measures with the final act being crisis.
Those that have adopted the new ideology will never be changed by facts.
Powerful Video For Our Times:
https://twitter.com/j_desarno/status/1199228361521823744
PELOSI: The Courts Are Clear: "Potus insistence that he is above law is offense to our Constitution"
Pelosi: “The Courts have been clear: the President’s insistence that he is above the law is an offense to our Constitution and to every American.”
Pelosi Statement on Court Rulings on Congressional Oversight
NOVEMBER 25, 2019 PRESS RELEASE
San Francisco – Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement after the District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in the Committee on the Judiciary v. McGahn case that the White House cannot continue its obstruction of Congress, and after the U.S. Supreme Court granted a temporary stay on the Mazars case:
“The Courts have been clear: the President’s insistence that he is above the law is an offense to our Constitution and to every American. Today’s District Court decision in the McGahn case is yet another resounding ruling that the Administration’s claim of ‘absolute immunity’ from Congress’s subpoenas has no basis in the law or our democracy, and must immediately cease. Again and again, the Courts have reaffirmed the Congress’s constitutional authority to conduct oversight on behalf of the American people.
“As the Court ruled, ‘It is hard to imagine a more significant wound than such alleged interference with Congress’ ability to detect and deter abuses of power within the Executive branch for the protection of the People of the United States.’ The judge concluded that, ‘Stated simply, the primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that Presidents are not kings.’
“In the Mazars case, the Courts have ruled multiple times to reaffirm Congress’s oversight authority, stating, ‘Contrary to the President’s arguments, the Committee possesses authority under both the House Rules and the Constitution to issue the subpoena, and Mazars must comply.’ As the Courts have made clear, there are no special privileges for information unrelated to the President’s official duties, but squarely related to Congress’s need for legislation and oversight. While the Supreme Court’s grant of a temporary, limited stay is disappointing, that Court has nevertheless imposed on the President a highly expedited schedule so that it can swiftly determine whether to review the lower courts’ decisions to require disclosure of the President’s financial records and recognize congressional oversight to proceed.
“The House will continue to conduct oversight for the people, upholding the separation of powers that is the genius of our Constitution and the cornerstone of our Republic.”
https://twitter.com/JesseCharlesLee/status/1199149335717597185
https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/112519-0
"current or former" sr WH aide subpoenaed by a House committee must at least appear for testimony
MONEY QUOTE: Jackson indicates that any "current or former" senior WH aide subpoenaed by a House committee must at least appear for testimony -- even if they claim privilege while testifying.
https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1199101682220765184
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