WHY DOES A “DISCREDITED CONSPIRACY THEORY” CONTINUE TO RESURFACE?
by Sharon Rondeau
(Dec. 17, 2019) — At 11:17 a.m. EST, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA2), chairman of the House Rules Committee, began reading his opening statement in a hearing on impeaching President Donald Trump.
McGovern began by stating, as did Democrats in the House Judiciary Committee last week, that Trump imperiled “national security” by “withholding military aid from a country under siege,” referring to Ukraine, “for his own benefit.”
“If that is not impeachable conduct, I don’t know what is,” McGovern said at 11:20, adding that in his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Trump was attempting to gain an election advantage for 2020.
At 11:25, ranking member Tom Cole (R-OK4) began his statement by saying that he has “great respect” for his Democrat colleagues but that there would be deep disagreement as the hearing proceeded. Cole quoted Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as having said earlier this year that the impeachment of the president would be divisive and should be bipartisan if it were to take place.
As have other Republicans, Cole claimed that Trump has been denied due process and that Democrats have wished to remove Trump from office before he was inaugurated.
In an interview on December 10, Pelosi told a Politico reporter that the impeachment process has, in fact, been ongoing for “two and a half years.”
Last Friday, the House Judiciary Committee voted affirmatively on two Articles of Impeachment on a party-line vote, 23-17, and on Monday the majority issued a report on its findings. The Articles cite “abuse of power” and “obstruction of Congress.”
Witnesses for the hearing are Rep. Jamie Raskin in lieu of Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, whose wife reportedly had a medical emergency, and Judiciary Committee ranking member Doug Collins.
Democrats claim that Trump asked Zelenskiy to “interfere” in the 2020 election, while Republicans say that no crime was committed before, during or after the July 25 phone call.
Behind Raskin is seated an attorney who served as both a witness and questioner for the Judiciary Committee last week.
Raskin repeatedly criticized Trump for furthering a “discredited conspiracy theory” stating that “Ukraine, and not Russia,” interfered in the 2016 election, a criticism made by numerous Judiciary members last week.
Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, has recently said both on Twitter and in interviews that he possesses evidence that Ukraine meddled in the 2016 U.S. election and that former U.S. ambassador to that nation, Marie Yovanovitch, obstructed certain Ukrainians from obtaining visas to come to the U.S. to report corruption against the U.S.
In his opening witness statement, Collins said that the majority is “bent on finding something” with which to impeach Trump. “If this was supposed to be bipartisan, then why are we in the Rules Committee today?” he asked rhetorically.
The entire House is expected to vote on the Articles on Wednesday.
Stephan, “We have a REPUBLIC if we can keep it”-Benjamin Franklin
Just woke up to see Nancy Pelosi pontificating about how congressional representatives swear to uphold the constitution of the United States. What a hypocrite of the highest order! She is the treasonous witch who signed a DNC affidavit certifying the anti-American fraud who goes by the name of Barack Hussein Obama as their candidate for POTUS. Only problem is that she purposely omitted the language that said aka Obama was “constitutionally” eligible. Don’t talk to the American people about the Constitution Nancy. You are one the biggest reasons that our country continues to be destroyed (fundamental transformation). Nancy Pelosi in another time would have been exposed and executed for her treason along with Obama and the rest of their criminal cabal. Pelosi and the deep state are the existential threat to our country; our freedom and our liberty. Donald Trump seems to be the only politician in my lifetime who really cares about putting America first and exposing the bad guys at the same time
If we go ahead and decide to throw out the standard election system for a national popular vote, then all of this will never happen again since only Democrats will get elected and finally get their wish for a Democracy instead of a Republic.
The Democrats have not made their case. I have listened to almost all of the testimony in the intelligence committee and the judiciary committee. The Democrats constant and unabated repetitive assertions and allegations against President Obama are not supported by the facts.
President Trump has the constitutional duty to preserve,protect and defend the constitution. He is the ultimate decider in foreign affairs and he is required by law to enforce the law. Joseph Biden publicly bragged about pressuring Ukraine to fire a prosecutor that was investigating his son Hunter Biden. Hunter Biden was on the board of Burisma, a corrupt Ukrainian gas company. Hunter Biden received $80,000 a month from Burisma. Joseph Biden, while downplaying gas production in the USA tried to convince Ukraine to increase their production of gas. Joseph “quid pro quo” Biden was purported Vice-President of the USA at the time. Obama was a phony “President” so Biden’s status as VP is in doubt also. In any event, Joe Biden publicly confessed that he withheld a Billion dollars from Ukraine in foreign aid unless Ukraine fired the prosecutor. Biden said ” and son of a bitch, he got fired”. President Trump did his duty and acted to check this claim out. Under the provisions of “The Treaty between Ukraine and the United States for Mutual legal assistance in criminal matters” President Trump acted legally to ask Ukraine, in the interest of the USA, to investigate this public admission by Joe Biden. That Biden happens to be a candidate for President is of no consequence. Such a status as a candidate does not confer any special immunity from investigation. Based on Biden’s own admission that he acted criminally in trying to bribe the Ukrainian President, that Biden withheld aid in order to gain a personal benefit from Ukraine, that Biden peddled his influence with Usurper Obama, President Trump had no choice but to ask for Ukraine’s “Mutual assistance” in investigating Biden’s confession. It was in the interest of the US to seek the investigation of Burisma and of Biden’s influence peddling. It was President Trump’s duty to do so. On the contingency that Biden was found to have been guilty of what he confessed to and had to drop out of the 2020 election, such a result would not be because of any attempt by President Trump to gain a personal benefit. It would be because Biden committed a crime. It is in the interest of the US to weed out a corrupt politician, in this case Biden, before he is elected to the highest office in the US, rather then after he/she is elected. Due process has been absent in the Impeachment process to date. Pelosi admitted that she’s been working on Trump’s impeachment for the last 2 and 1/2 years, as have others like Mark Zaid, attorney who said in 2017 that “the coup has begun against Trump”. Trump has abused no power that he has. That he invoked executive privilege is a right given to him by the constitution and is not “obstruction of congress”. An investigation against Biden for a crime that he confessed to publicly does not constitute “interference” in an election. As the Democrats have been saying ad infinitum, “No one is above the law”, they should realize that a candidate for President is certainly not above the law. Indeed, a candidate for president should be under more scrutiny, especially if he/she admits publicly that he/she peddled their influence for money. That is something that just can’t be overlooked. President Trump seems damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. It would have been malfeasant if he didn’t seek further information regarding Biden’s confession. The fact that Russia interfered in the 2016 election did not foreclose the possibility that a second, or even a third country also did so. In fact, evidence indicates that Ukraine did indeed help Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. That has been established. There have been several attempts by Ukrainian witnesses to get visas in order to come to the US to proffer just that. They have to date been stonewalled by the deep State. The Impeachment of President Trump is frivolous on it’s face and must not be allowed to proceed. It is indeed an attempt at a bloodless coup.
The democrat controlled House seems to be taking full advantage of the Constitutional ignorance of the American public, and pushing the narrative that its vague accusations and silly interpretations of the law are sufficient to remove a legitimately elected President from office. Thanks to public education, or lack thereof, most Americans no longer know, or understand Constitutional law, or the necessary grounds for impeaching a President. Bill Clinton lied, and perjured himself in a court of law, valid grounds for impeachment under the Constitution. Donald Trump has done no such thing, and is probably the cleanest President since Ronald Reagan. This is a dog-&-pony show, equivalent to a child stomping its feet until it gets its way. And just like an ornery child, the democrats in congress need to be spanked until they quit the childish behavior. Just my opinion . . .