Senate begins preparations for Trump impeachment trial

By artappraiser on Wed, 01/15/2020 - 5:51pm |

By Alexander Bolton @ TheHill.com, Jan. 15, 5:45 pm

Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) naming of impeachment mangers is triggering machinery in the Senate that will result in an impeachment trial.

Senators and aides say it will take several days for opening arguments to begin because the presiding officer, Chief Justice John Roberts, needs to be summoned, senators need to be sworn in as jurors and Trump’s defense team needs to be notified and given a chance to respond.

A message was delivered to the Senate at 5 p.m. Wednesday announcing that the House has appointed managers to present the articles of impeachment to the Senate [....]

URL:

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/477673-senate-begins-preparations-for-trump-trial

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Articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump are brought through Statuary Hall by House impeachment managers during a procession to the Secretary of the Senate on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. #trump #impeachment pic.twitter.com/1TRu9SuVlr
— Al Drago (@Al_Drago) January 15, 2020

by artappraiser on Wed, 01/15/2020 - 5:52pm

Heh, number of comments on the article @ TheHill went from 5 to 106 while I was posting it.

by artappraiser on Wed, 01/15/2020 - 5:56pm

Nancy's tweet for the occasion, with video:

The President has been impeached, and that is forever.

He was frivolous with the Constitution, the Senate should not be. #DefendOurDemocracy pic.twitter.com/dzp1gJSND6
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 15, 2020

by artappraiser on Wed, 01/15/2020 - 5:58pm

Politico has lots of "related" stories after the main one House triggers impeachment trial with vote approving articles:

by artappraiser on Wed, 01/15/2020 - 6:07pm

Rand Paul is doing a mirror of Chuck Schumer's plan previously posted on "In the News" here:

Rand Paul waging hardball campaign to get GOP to back down on witnesses

“You vote against Hunter Biden, you’re voting to lose your election ... you think you’re going to have to vote against Hunter Biden, you should just vote against witnesses, period"https://t.co/dL8ji2DejA
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) January 15, 2020

by artappraiser on Wed, 01/15/2020 - 6:28pm

Lev Parnas and Rudy Giuliani have demolished Trump’s claims of innocence

New documents show why the president has been trying to hide evidence from Congress.

By Neal Katyal and Joshua A. Geltzer, Jan. 15, 2020 at 7:41 a.m. EST

Americans who have been wondering why President Trump has taken the extraordinary step of trying to block every document from being released to Congress in his impeachment inquiry need wonder no longer. The new documents released Tuesday evening by the House Intelligence Committee were devastating to Trump’s continuing — if shifting — defense of his Ukraine extortion scandal, just days before his impeachment trial is likely to begin in the Senate. These new documents demolish at least three key defenses to which Trump and his allies have been clinging: that he was really fighting corruption when he pressured Ukraine on matters related to the Biden family; that Hunter Biden should be called as a witness at the Senate impeachment trial; and that there’s no need for a real, honest-to-goodness trial in the Senate [....]

by artappraiser on Thu, 01/16/2020 - 1:15am

This ad is part of a new $1 million campaign from @ForTheRuleOfLaw to remind Republican Senators that 1) of course there should be witnesses, and 2) there will be support for them if they brave a backlash by voting to do the right thing. pic.twitter.com/9GviUH3rqS
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 16, 2020

by artappraiser on Thu, 01/16/2020 - 4:15pm

JUST IN: @CBSNews /@caitlinconant obtain a flashcard being given to U.S. Senators ahead of the #ImpeachmentTrial on tips to avoid reporters. (One thing it doesn’t suggest is calling reporters a “liberal hack.”) pic.twitter.com/mAZpBP9Fv7
— Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) January 16, 2020

by artappraiser on Thu, 01/16/2020 - 6:07pm

Approval ratings for the jurors as to their regular jobs. Implying this reality would affect their ability to act as objective jurors, oh my goodness:

Most popular senators:
• Bernie Sanders (Vt.)
• John Barrasso (Wy.)
• Patrick Leahy (Vt.)
• Mike Enzi (Wy.)
• Angus King (Me.)

Least popular senators:
• Susan Collins (Me.)
• Mitch McConnell (Ky.)
• Joni Ernst (Ia.)
• Lisa Murkowski (Ak.)
• Bob Menendez (NJ) https://t.co/QmC3JVlB6I
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) January 17, 2020

by artappraiser on Thu, 01/16/2020 - 7:06pm

And the 50-50 split isn’t all that unlikely, given the current 53-47 division and the fact that Romney, Murkowski, and Collins have indicated that they want to hear at least Bolton https://t.co/kMY8hgSMT9
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) January 17, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 01/17/2020 - 2:11am

Yeah and Rick McConnell has probably run that scenario a couple of hundred-

thousand

times.

This week .

My mind wandered to the question whether the chief justice has to pass under any loose roof objects on his way to the Senate but then realized Breyer would be next in Seniority so the chief' can relax.

I expect he's made that same calculation.

At this moment my gut say's our odds are 60-40 without Biden , which I expect/hope we'll be. But that's not a walk in the Park. I'm afraid Trump has demonstrated he's got more than a touch of the old Boris Johnson- he wins elections.

This week has been great, wish the election was Tuesday.

Come on Adam!!!!

by Flavius on Fri, 01/17/2020 - 3:22am

Consitutional, I'll show you Constitutional. Dragging out some out Lee Atwater 101:

President @realDonaldTrump announced historic steps to protect the Constitutional right to pray in public schools! pic.twitter.com/YsORcxUpWa
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 16, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 01/17/2020 - 4:07am

Cuz like fuck education & paying teacher's - it's the 1st Amendment right to say, "oh God, make me smarter than my surroungs give me any right to be" that's important, if only I could be so optimistic to think the majority aspires to be any kind of real stable genius, or even doubts their own wisdom.

by PeraclesPlease on Fri, 01/17/2020 - 4:15am

WATCH: What happens if the House impeachment managers invoke some of the Lev Parnas evidence? #MTPDaily @Neal_Katyal: "I suspect the Chief Justice will say ... is this evidence relevant and material to the inquiry here? And the answer to that is yes." pic.twitter.com/IAW8PqGGyI
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) January 17, 2020

by artappraiser on Fri, 01/17/2020 - 5:15pm

before there were Trump tweets there were Trump TV appearances. From Trump’s defense will be led by a ‘lunatic,’ ‘wacko’ and ‘off his rocker’ Ken Starr, according to Trump himself by Aaron Blake @ WashingtonPost.com, Jan. 17

[....] Trump has apparently pulled a 180 on Kenneth Starr since the late 1990s. Back then Starr was investigating Bill Clinton and writing the “Starr Report,” which was used as the basis for impeachment. Trump at the time derided the impeachment — and Starr right along with it.

Asked by Matt Lauer, “Do you think the president should be impeached?” Trump responded with harsh words not for the impeachment process but for Starr personally.

“I think Ken Starr’s a lunatic,” Trump said. “I really think that Ken Starr is a disaster.”

Trump added in the same interview: ”I really think that Ken Starr was terrible.”

Trump offered similar comments when Geraldo Rivera asked him about Hillary Clinton running for Senate from New York. Trump again brought up Starr on his own, suggesting that he made her life a living hell.

“She’s had a very tough life the last few years,” Trump said. “I mean, what could be tougher than that? I mean, can you imagine those evenings when he’s just being lambasted by this crazy Ken Starr, who is a total wacko? There’s the guy. I mean, he is totally off his rocker.”

As the Clinton impeachment was getting off the ground, Trump also appeared on Chris Matthews’s show and appeared to suggest that Starr had manufactured the case against the president.

“Starr has taken something from nothing and brought it into this big crescendo,” Trump said. “But you know what? It’s got to stop. It’s enough.”

Trump is the first to admit that he is willing to change his opinion of people on a dime, though. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in 2018, he said he attacks people viciously and then often comes around to them. “You see that a lot with me, and then all of a sudden somebody’s my best friend,” he said. “I could give you 20 examples. You give me 30. I’m a very flexible person.”

Saying things Trump likes on cable TV is a surefire way to gain his good graces, and Starr has certainly done that [....]

by artappraiser on Fri, 01/17/2020 - 6:08pm

In short, he's an insincere manipulative bastard with no moral compass, only positions of convenience. Such is his politics, such is his life. Using people is his forte. Give him credit - for such a useless pampered asshole, he's good at it.

by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 01/18/2020 - 9:07am

While Trump’s instincts are incoherent and illogical, they are not entirely random. Highly trained Trumpologists are able to spot patterns just as zoologists do when they study primate behavior.

Here are 7 of his key impulses. In @PostOpinions: https://t.co/JTG86ur7dN
— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) January 15, 2020

by PeraclesPlease on Sat, 01/18/2020 - 11:49am

Me too, Bill:

I’d have thought the scriptwriters would have rejected as too obvious the plot twist of the priggish, moralistic, and legalistic prosecutor of President Clinton ending up, two decades later, as defense attorney for the profane, amoral, and contemptuous-of-the-law President Trump.
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 17, 2020

but the new normal seems to be a variant of the war is peace, slavery is freedom, ignorance is strength thing. Because Trump does his own scripts! And they include Starr as lunatic-wacko-disaster and another stable genius. One thing that's always consistent: hyperbole.

by artappraiser on Sat, 01/18/2020 - 8:40pm

I figger just more of "Bill's Women", just the old queens not just in the front row but in the actual proceedings.

by PeraclesPlease on Sun, 01/19/2020 - 2:11am

Dowd on Donald and Ken and the rest of Team Perv:

.@maureendowd: Ken Starr, "who once clutched his pearls over Bill Clinton's sexual high jinks, is now going to bat for President 'Access Hollywood'" https://t.co/dP7g56zibZ
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 19, 2020

by artappraiser on Sun, 01/19/2020 - 12:30am

The House speaker suggested to colleagues Tuesday that McConnell is in bed with Russia https://t.co/jmRnM2d0Ij
— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) January 18, 2020

by artappraiser on Sat, 01/18/2020 - 6:40am

In the News

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Russia plays weak hand in Palestine

submitted by PeraclesPlease 1 year ago

The intra-Palestinian meeting in Moscow has precedent

Russia's hosted such meetings in the past, most recently Feb 2019

Russia has long lamented the US' "monopolization" of the peace process & tried to carve out a niche for itself: mediating among the disunited Palestinians/2
— Hanna Notte (@HannaNotte) February 29, 2024

Read the article at https://twitter.com/HannaNotte/status/1763116222256701787

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Here's what I told them: https://halginsberg.com/vote-for-jill-stein-again/

Read the article at https://halginsberg.com/vote-for-jill-stein-again/

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submitted by artappraiser 1 year ago

Location: U.S. Embassy and residential compounds

Events: Heavy gunfire is occuring around the area of the U.S. Embassy and residential compounds adjacent to the Trutier area of Tabarre. All Embassy personnel have been instructed to remain indoors and shelter-in-place until further notice. All others should avoid the area.

Actions to take:

Avoid the area;

Avoid demonstrations and any large gatherings of people;

Do not attempt to drive through roadblocks; and

If you encounter a roadblock, turn around and get to a safe area.

Read the article at https://ht.usembassy.gov/security-alert-u-s-embassy-port-au-prince-haiti-december-25-2023/

3 comments

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submitted by artappraiser 1 year ago

By The Editorial Board @ Bloomberg.com, December 8, 2023

A mass expulsion of Afghan migrants could destabilize the region and fuel radicalization. The West should pressure Islamabad to change course.

Read the article at https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-12-08/pakistan-s-expulsion-of-afghan-refugees-risks-another-crisis

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submitted by artappraiser 1 year ago

All eyes on #Chad right now
Chad has two internet trunks coming into the country: One from the Red Sea via Sudan; the other from Cameroon. Not possible for the totality of the country's internet network to be shut unless done centrally. A lot of rumors swirling; few facts. https://t.co/N6bDJZ2ixO

Read the article at https://x.com/_hudsonc/status/1732891968709992511?s=20

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Read the article at

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Former US Ambassador Arrested, Charged With Working As Secret Agent For Cuba https://t.co/LDwo4ZJI1K
— HuffPost (@HuffPost) December 4, 2023

Read the article at https://www.huffpost.com/entry/manuel-rocha-ambassador-arrested-cuba_n_656d1e2ae4b028b0f3d07478

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submitted by artappraiser 1 year ago

[Chapter I news is HERE, Oct. 7 til today]

You don’t get it.
It’s not about an UNRWA teacher who held an Israeli kid hostage in his house.
It’s all about how for 75 years you have destroyed the future of generations of Palestinians, including my family.
My cousins in Arab countries are still not citizens - not even the… https://t.co/nv6anubGhc
— George Deek (@GeorgeDeek) December 2, 2023

Note 'Community Notes' attached to UNWRA's statement.

Read the article at https://x.com/GeorgeDeek/status/1731020551328579863?s=20

58 comments

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submitted by artappraiser 1 year ago

Imperialism for me but not for thee?

It's wild that Venezuela is now holding a vote on whether 2/3 of Guyana actually belongs to them! Analysts suggest that Modoru may want military action to pump up his sinking popularity.

Could we have a war in South America?!?

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submitted by artappraiser 1 year ago

The lack of a cohesive delegation has allowed attention-seeking lawmakers to act on their own.

McCarthy: “You have [Rep. Matt] Gaetz, who belongs in jail…”

Gaetz: “Tough words from a guy who sucker punches people in the back. The only assault I committed was against Kevin’s fragile ego.”https://t.co/LctPuz6Pcf

Read the article at https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/29/divisions-leave-floridas-house-republicans-powerless-00129200

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submitted by artappraiser 1 year ago

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submitted by artappraiser 1 year ago

@ Reuters, Nov. 29

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submitted by artappraiser 1 year ago

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— Cameron Hudson (@_hudsonc) November 28, 2023

Read the article at https://africanarguments.org/2023/11/central-africas-dinosaur-regimes-and-the-art-of-coup-proofing/

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