Trump lawyers and GOP Representatives and Senators have offered so many reasons for Trump's Ukraine call to show it is not an impeachable offense / Presidential abuse of power, it's suspect. Some of the reasons contradict others, some use contorted, silly logic, "us" meant United States, and the latest Dershowitz pitch makes it legal if Trump was asking for election help from a foreign power because it is in the best interest of the United States to have foreign powers help Presidential candidates win elections.
"Dershowitz’s Constitution: ‘More like a monarchy,’ says Trevor Noah as jaws drop at latest Trump defense"
By Allyson Chiu - Reporter with the Morning Mix team, and Fred Barbash - Law, constitution and courts January 30, 2020
"Jaws dropped across the United States on Wednesday as comics, Democratic politicians, legal scholars and TV personalities came together in collective disbelief at the audacious claims of presidential immunity made by President Trump’s impeachment lawyer Alan Dershowitz.
The most frequent analogies — drawing on Dershowitz’s argument that presidents could do almost anything as long as they believe their reelection is in the public interest — were to monarchs, dictators and former president Richard M. Nixon.
“Alan Dershowitz unimpeached Richard Nixon today,” tweeted John Dean, the former White House counsel under Nixon, whose testimony helped lead to the 37th president’s resignation.
“This is inane. The president could threaten people (including with our army) unless they voted for him? Could order a breakin of DNC headquarters?” tweeted Georgetown University law professor Neal Katyal, former acting U.S. solicitor general during the Obama administration. “I’m not sure even Kings had such powers.”"
Bring the robes and crown, Trump is King! Thanks to the GOP for making this possible.
" . . . if a president does a quid pro quo to get reelected, which is what the House of Representatives has charged Trump with doing, that’s not impeachable. So long as the hypothetical president believes his reelection is in the public interest.
“If a president does something which he believes will help him get elected in the public interest, that cannot be the kind of quid pro quo that results in impeachment,” Dershowitz said."
INSANE!
How will this work if Biden asks Germany or Turkey for help to get him elected as our President?
Why can't GOP allow witnesses and newly discovered evidence in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump?
I truly wish the GOP had presented facts and legal arguments to show Trump is extremely naïve in defending Trump to avoid impeachment.
This is an easy defense because it is true. Trump is actually NOT complicated. Trump is simply all out for Trump so he overlooks a lot of risks and obstacles in his decision making "process."
The GOP and all Trump supporters could have said Trump's abuse of power withholding funds from Ukraine, then asking for a political favor were based on carelessness, confusion, and a lack of experience and knowledge of how government, and diplomacy works. Trump is in a way an innocent offender.
Trump as a dummy, Trump's abuse therefore does not rise to the level of an impeachable offense.
If Trump is just dumb about government operations, I only need to be sick of his ugly behaviors, his bullying, stupid tweets, exaggerations, and constant lies, and enjoy the short term economic benefits before inflation, devaluation of the dollar and a lowered "C" Treasury bond rating.
Trump says such dumb things, like the United States Constitution is a hoax, arguing impeachment is a hoax
Some Americans realize Tweety killed the future President of Iran.
THE GENERAL TRUMP ASSASSINATED WAS THE FUTURE PRESIDENT OF IRAN WAS MURDERED BY PRESIDENT TRUMP MAKING ALL STATE LEADERS ACCEPTABLE TARGETS. TRUMP'S DRONE KILL WAS NOT LIKE ANYTHING BUSH OR OBAMA DID. THEY NEVER TARGETED STATE AGENTS.
Trump may "crash and burn" with his strategy and tactics. Here's two key reasons why:
1. Goebbels' propaganda technique used by Trump and his henchmen, where they repeat a "Big Lie." In modern times I think the Big Lie has an expiration date because social media makes it possible to find the truth.
"'Brazen and unlawful': Trump team attacks House impeachment effort in first formal response"
The president's initial reply comes on the same day House managers previewed their own opening arguments.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/01/18/trump-impeachment-response-house-charges-100791
"President Donald Trump launched his first formal attack on the House’s effort to remove him from office on Saturday, calling the Democrats’ impeachment case against him fatally flawed and “constitutionally invalid” while blasting the effort as a political hit job by his adversaries.
“This is a brazen and unlawful attempt to overturn the results of the 2016 election and interfere with the 2020 election — now just months away,” Trump’s lawyers argued in a six-page response filed with the Senate just days before the president’s trial begins in earnest."
2. I sense the GOP focus on PROCESS is weak, and will fail like it did in the House. There are many "political whores" in the GOP like Lindsay Graham who flip flopped on what is impeachable, Nunes who was involved in the Ukraine scenario, McConnell who received money from Russia, will vote to exonerate Trump no matter what he does.
I think Americans will see the Senate's trial as a violation of their Oath, and vote accordingly.
"Trump lawyers attack House impeachment as 'brazen and unlawful' effort to overturn 2016 results"
By Morgan Chalfant - 01/18/20
"Schiff: Argument president cannot be impeached for abusing power 'absurdist'"
By Justine Coleman - 01/19/20
It is an example of how idiotic and dangerous Trump decisions are when assessing the many UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES from the drone kill.
Failing to keep Trump "off line" and quiet during the impeachment hearings exposed Americans to Trump's bad side, reason to see Trump as guilty of an impeachable offense as he essentially threatened a witness DURING THE IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS!
Failing to ensure every bit of evidence, every document is presented and witness is heard, ensuring Trump did not hide anything, MAKES TRUMP GUILTY. The President is not exonerated by a trial which limits evidence and witnesses because it's not a trial, it's a cover up of a crime.
The impeachment drives Trump to try many distractions. Trump brags in Davos about the excellent economy and great unemployment numbers driven by huge tax cuts (leading to huge deficits; more tax cuts coming; big corporations can make bigger profits and pay less taxes), and dramatic deregulation (which likely will lead to harm to Americans with bad water, drilling for oil on what was once a national park).
The economy is great, but it not a "Get Out Of Jail Free" car like in monopoly. An impeachable crime is a crime, and impeachable abuse of power.
As Iran gave speeches of revenge, which is a normal response I'd say, Trump threatened war crimes / terror tactics, tweeting the USA will bomb cultural sites like ISIS did. That makes Americans terrorists too.
President Trump had to be told his notion of doing what terrorists do he makes America a terrorist. Doesn't that make Trump Cosmically stupid, to have to be told the meaning of what he said?
HE HAD TO BE TOLD? WTF! Trump acts like a fat clown.
It is not Patriotic to call people traitors as the GOP called Dems who criticized Trump for the drone killing. The critics of Trump honor their Oath of Office, while those calling "traitor" betray THEIR Oath!
The American people know the Oath every Senator swore, and they kow that Oath is to Americans and our Constitution, not to Tweety
Below I list 26 reasons the drone kill did not have to be done by Tweety when he did it. Included in this list are many UNINTEDED CONSEQUENCES Trump overlooked because he is too immature to ask and use expert advice from the Generals he so much despises and disrespects.
1. Trump released Iran from a reasonable albeit not perfect nuke restrictions agreement, so the kill could cause (it did) Iran to restart their nuke bomb research 100%. To date Iran held off their nukes waiting for Trump to negotiate a new agreement, despite all Trump's sabre rattling. Trump went off doing other things and that left this open sore, waiting to become infected.
2. Trump disrespected our Allies in leaving the nuke deal with Iran they had worked YEARs to achieve, disrespecting their due diligence, hard work, credibility, and their integrity achieving the agreement. Of course it did not cover Iran's war-like activities, but that was for a different negotiations. No single agreement covers everything.
3. Trump and Pompeo risked war in the Middle East by killing Iran's next PRESIDENT! Did Trump make assassination of state leaders normal?
3.a The GENERAL was not on any global terror list because he was Iran's future PRESIDENT!
3.b The GENERAL has been around for decades, travelling in public the last for 3 years, so why drone now?
3.c The GENERAL was never mentioned by Trump, Pompeo, or the CIA for Americans to recognize why this drone kill was needed.
"German FM blasts US policy on Iran, says Europe wants to prevent ‘firestorm’ in Middle East without regime change"
By RT 19 Jan, 2020
https://www.rt.com/news/478646-heiko-maas-iran-policy/
3.d The GENERAL could be killed YEARS AGO by Trump based on Trump's words in his TV speech defending the kill, when Trump admitted the drone kill was "LONG OVERDUE." trump said it in his TV speech defending the kill. He said it. That is a fact. I repeat myself for the Trump defenders who will say Trump did not say it on TV. Trump said it.
3.e Trump could have droned the GENERAL anytime, so why now?
3.f Trump, as an example, could have drone killed the GENERAL even during the impeachment hearings; (Kevin McCarthy's notion he could not kill the general during impeachment is idiotic)
4. Trump risked US troops lives, US troops got serious concussions from Iran rocket response, innocent Ukraine civilians were killed, possibly the kidnap of four French missionaries is an asymmetric response by Iran, NATO was not warned so the NATO troops in the Middle East were at risk, any American travelling in the Middle East was at risk.
Trump dodged the Viet Nam war with suspicious "bone spur" not from his doctor, notwithstanding he was an athlete in school.
Trump disrespects the troops in the Middle Est often, except when he is trying to fool them he cares in a speech where he exaggerates and lies.
Trump excuses the possibility his decision led to US troop concussions by Iran attack by calling concussions headaches, and to retain deniability he uses the trick, "I heard . . .". I don't buy it.
Trump uses language tricks to avoid blame, but they are not "Get out of jail free." cards. He uses phrases like "Everyone knows . . . " "You know . . . " "They say . . . "
Trump hopes his excuse gets the heat off him and his decision to risk injury and death for our soldiers!
"Veterans group demands apology from Trump over comments on brain injuries"
By Tal Axelrod - 01/24/20 06:56 PM EST https://thehill.com/policy/defense/479859-veterans-group-asks-for-apology-from-trump-over-comments-on-brain-injuries
"Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) said Trump “minimized” the injuries the troops suffered after the Pentagon announced that dozens of U.S. troops suffered traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Trump had referred to the injuries as “headaches" and "not very serious" earlier in the week.
“In light of today's announcement from the defense department that 34 U.S. service members suffered traumatic brain injuries as a result of Iran's retaliatory strike and President Trump's remarks which minimized these troops’ injuries, the Veterans of Foreign Wars cannot stand idle on this matter,” VFW National Commander William “Doc” Schmitz said in a statement. "
"Pentagon says 34 US soldiers suffered traumatic brain injury in Iran strike"
- Trump downplayed injuries: ‘I heard they had headaches’
- Expert calls president’s comment ‘insulting and disrespectful’
Julian Borger and Joanna Walters - 24 Jan 2020
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/24/us-soldiers-iran-traumatic-brain-injury-pentagon
5. TRUMP fired Bolton for pushing a war against Iran to often and too hard, so why drone now?
6. Pompeo has wanted to bomb Iran for years, trump did not, so why drone?
7. SAUDI peace talks were underway, and perhaps an agreement was possible, so why drone now?
8. Trump said publicly he wanted peace. Does he know killing people is an obstacle to peace? Why drone now?
9. TRUMP & Pompeo said there was an "imminent threat" so they had to act quickly, without notify anyone, Congress or our Allies in NATO. Yet Trump admitted he lied, told us he lied and his lies do not matter. Saying "it doesn't matter" that he lied as long as his killed the general is stupid.
10. Given the many years the general was working in the open, he was not an imminent threat. This means Trump and Pompeo can lie to Americans and will do it again when convenient. Americans used to honor truth and detest liars.
11. despite trump acrimony toward the democrats/Pelosi, there was time to consult congress, and there was great wisdom in consulting experts to avoid many, many unintended consequences.
12. Trump & Pompeo had time for SENSIBLE, credible discussion to assess unintended consequences like
12.a Iran shoot down of passenger flight,
12.b Iraq asking USA to leave Iraq,
12.c worst of all, increasing Russian/Putin's influence, power, and leverage in Middle East,
"Putin’s game in the Middle East"
Russian leader is seizing opportunities to restore Moscow’s clout as a major global player.
By Alec Luhn 1/17/20, 1:28 PM CET, Updated 1/18/20, 1:31 AM CET
https://www.politico.eu/article/game-in-the-middle-east-vladimir-putin/
"The Middle East has a new kingmaker.
For a quarter-century after the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia was almost entirely absent from the region. Today, it has become a top player, with a formidable military footprint and good relations with all the major opposing protagonists, from Israel to Saudi Arabia."
12.d having to lie daily for a week to defend the indefensible, even lying after Trump told everyone he was lying!
13. Pompeo tried to sell CONTRACTOR deaths & embassy ATTACK as "imminent" future THREATS, he thinks we are fools, hw insult American intelligence;
14. future events, not past events, are imminent;
15. Iraq becomes human SHIELD between USA occupying troops in Iraq & Iran's military;
16. Iraq asks USA to leave;
17. drone kill gives Iran exactly what it wanted, USA out;
18. response to Iraq's request shows ugly side of American dominance, trump demands payment for airfields usa built to attack & occupy iraq, he also threatens SANCTIONs;
19. Pompeo rejects Iraq requested withdrawal, but he & trump caused the mess;
20. trump, Pompeo went on tv many times to lie America about why they droned Iran's most popular general;
21. these two men lied to risk millions of lives;
22. these two spit on American values of integrity and honesty;
23. trump embarrasses our military when he asks why usa does not commit war crimes as terrorists do;
24. assassinating A general who is not hiding, not an immediate threat in a civilian zone, is a war crime in world view, used to a thing America never did;
25! Iran's general helped uSA fight isis! the slippery slope to USA being a terrorist rogue state like Iran, began as trump pardoned navy war criminals, human rights be damned.
trump is not strong by any honest measure as this drone kill was, in trump's word, "pathetic." America used to despise liars, imagining we were better than that. Americans CAN Choose the man or our country, But can’t have both.
