Ukraine Scandal

Alternate Reality, Improper Use Of Government Sites, And Violation Of Hatch Act: Highlights Of Second Night Of Republican National Convention

The second night of the Republican National Convention was a time of alternate reality;

acting as if the CoronaVirus Pandemic is over when it is not (as expressed by Larry Kudlow);

having First Lady Melania Trump condemn hate and division on social media, while her husband has done so non stop on Twitter for his entire Presidency;

having Pam Bondi, former Florida Attorney General, use the Ukraine scandal that led to the impeachment of Donald Trump as a gimmick to attack Joe Biden and his family with conspiracy theories about Hunter Biden, when the Trump children have been involved in corrupt activities all along;

and libertarian Rand Paul forgetting his condemnation of Donald Trump in 2016, and suddenly seeing Trump as someone to admire in 2020.

We also saw Donald Trump holding a citizenship ceremony for five immigrants at the White House, an improper use of a government building to try to convince Americans that he is open minded on immigration, while his record is the most horrific in American history, bar none!

He is trying to make the nation forget his separation of children from their parents at the border, and putting them in cages, which will harm them psychologically for the rest of their lives, and with some never reunited with their parents!

We also saw Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Jerusalem giving a speech to attract evangelical Christians and Jews, violating the Hatch Act, which bans government officials from making political speeches in foreign nations for purposes of political manipulation.

There is no such thing as a utterance or action of Donald Trump and his minions that will not lower the standard of decency, that will not undermine respect for the Constitution and the rule of law!

It is all designed just to win enough support to have a second term, where the President will be unleashed to wreak yet further havoc on America. The thought that it might occur is enough to cause one to wonder how the nation will ever revive from the establishment of a Fascist authoritarian government!

Donald Trump is a threat to American values and history, and we have to hope that the American people will repudiate this threat, as otherwise, the destruction of the America that has survived 231 years under the Constitution, and 244 years since the Declaration of Independence, is in dire peril!

Lamar Alexander No Profile In Courage, Unlike His Mentor, Howard Baker, In The Watergate Scandal

Retiring Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, unlike his mentor, Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee, is clearly no Profile in Courage.

Baker stood up against his party’s President, Richard Nixon, in Watergate in 1973-1974.

Alexander chose instead to state that what Donald Trump has done in the Ukraine Scandal is wrong, but that it is up to the voters to decide whether Trump should stay in office.

In so deciding, Alexander prevented the possibility of a 51-49 majority in the US Senate calling for additional witnesses and testimony, which has been so in previous Presidential impeachment trials, as well as Federal Judiciary trials.

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski likely would have voted for such witnesses and testimony, had Alexander done so, but instead the vote was 51-49 against having such additional witnesses and testimony.

So Lamar Alexander’s obituary some day will make clear that he was NO Profile in Courage, putting party over principle, a big disappointment.

Top Trump Aides–Pompeo, Mulvaney, Giuliani, Bolton–Should Be Required To Testify Under Oath In Impeachment Trial, Or Nancy Pelosi Should Hold Articles Of Impeachment Until Supreme Court Rules On Trump Cases By June

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is, rightfully, withholding the two impeachment articles against Donald Trump, and hopefully, will win the battle with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , requiring that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, and former National Security Advisor John Bolton, all give testimony under oath in the upcoming Senate trial of impeachment.

if such does not happen, Pelosi should refuse to allow action until and when the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts rules on the various cases against Trump on taxes and other matters, to be settled by decision no later than June, the end of the Supreme Court session.

Maybe withholding action on the impeachment articles will force the Court to move up the cases for final determination sooner.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump will be driven mad by the delay, and it is just desserts since he is such an evil man, who needs to be forced out of office.

If the Supreme Court rules against Trump, as they did in 1974 against Richard Nixon and 1997 against Bill Clinton, it is possible to imagine that Trump would be forced out of office, and probably by resignation.

So Nancy Pelosi holds the cards, and should force the Senate to do what she wants, testimony by key figures in the Ukraine Scandal!

Two Impeachment Articles: Abuse Of Power And Obstruction Of Congress

The House Judiciary Committee has decided, with the backing of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to bring two articles of impeachment against Donald Trump: Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress.

While this author and blogger felt there should be more than two articles, he can agree that making the case for impeachment is easier with two succinct articles, focused on what is most evident about Donald Trump’s behavior in office.

And, ironically, or is it so, on the same day as this occurred, Trump met with the Soviet Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the White House, giving further evidence of his collusion with Russia, and his making life difficult for a nation, Ukraine, which has had its territory violated by Russia five years ago, and has led to this impeachment action.

But the Republican Party in Congress is in lockstep behind Donald Trump, having become pro Russian, which would cause a total shock to past Republicans, including Presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon, and even infamous Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin!

Gordon Sondland Indicts Trump, Pence, Pompeo, Mulvaney, Perry, Bolton, Giuliani In Ukraine Scandal

In a shocking six hours of testimony before the House Intelligence Committee, Gordon Sondland, Ambassador to the European Union, indicted President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, former National Security Adviser John Bolton, and former NYC Mayor and Trump legal adviser Rudy Giuliani of collusion in the Ukraine Scandal.

Nothing like this has ever happened before to this extent, although the Watergate Scandal under Richard Nixon and the Iran Contra Affair under Ronald Reagan were both massive scandals.

By all justification, all of these people should be facing prosecution, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi should be finishing up the remaining year in the Trump term, but that is highly unlikely.

If this is not enough to convince Trump loyalists on the evil represented by Donald Trump, then we can say true “brainwashing” has occurred, and nothing will convince the 40 percent of Americans who are clearly totally delusional and clueless.

The Trump White House Reaches A New Low: Condemning Marie Yovanovitch and Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman

Donald Trump’s White House has reached a new low, employing character assassination of public servants doing their job in reporting the wrongdoings on Ukraine to the House Impeachment investigation.

Trump has blasted both former Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch and National Security Council member Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, questioning their loyalty and their honesty, and putting both of them in direct threat of reprisal encouraged by right wing forces, including Fox News Channel and specific hate mongers in conservative talk radio, outlined yesterday on this blog.

Also Republican House members of the Intelligence Committee, including Jim Jordan of Ohio and Devin Nunes of California, were totally demagogic and despicable in their attempt to besmirch the reputation of both Yovanovitch and Vindman, as well as other witnesses, accusing them of espionage and dual loyalties. The lack of respect for Vindman wearing his uniform was shocking, and the fact that he came to this country as a toddler being seen as an attack on immigration was condemnatory.

We have never seen such behavior by any other President, and that should be another issue for impeachment, and now, even Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in the “dog house”, as Trump is reported to be blaming him for the various witnesses testifying, many of whom are connected to the State Department, although Pompeo does not personally know many of them.

The Trump White House is deteriorating ever further before our eyes, and undermining American foreign policy, as well as destroying any progress on any basic issue, as Donald Trump flails in the wind in a crazy manner, added to by the chest issue he had that led him to go to Walter Reed Medical Center this past weekend.

It is time for mass marches to demand the resignation of this crooked, immoral, unethical, disastrous President, and his indictment, trial, conviction, and incarceration in federal prison!

Demagogic Right Wing Talk Show Hosts Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Dennis Prager, Hugh Hewitt All Distorting Truth About Trump

Damagogic right wing talk show hosts, including most notably Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Dennis Prager, and Hugh Hewitt are all distorting the truth about Donald Trump in the impeachment hearings.

This has led to the outrage that conservative talk show host Craig Silverman in Denver, Colorado, was fired in mid show last week, when he leveled some criticism of Trump, someone he had voted for in 2016, but had become disillusioned recently with the vast amount of evidence that Trump bullied Ukraine’s President, and tried to tie aid to that president against Russian intrusion, to an investigating of Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.

These despicable talk show hosts, and Fox News Channel’s Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson, along with Hannity, and Fox Business Channel’s Lou Dobbs, have no scruples, ethics, or morals, and are willing to destroy the reputation of good public servants who have done their duty in reporting the impeachable behavior of Donald Trump.

Does The Ukraine Scandal Help Or Hurt Joe Biden’s Presidential Candidacy?

The Ukraine Scandal, which has led finally to the impeachment move against President Donald Trump, with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi terming it “bribery”, a specific impeachment charge contained in the Constitution, may help or hurt Joe Biden’s Presidential candidacy.

It seems clear that Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s younger son, was not engaged in any corruption, and neither was his father, but of course, subject to potential revelations in the future.

If there is a real scandal, then Biden’s potential to be the Democratic Presidential nominee and have a chance to win the Presidency, will be harmed. It also becomes another burden, no matter what else is going on, for Biden to have to answer questions and deal with this for the next year if he gains the nomination.

But also, Biden could be harmed by just the image of illegality, and it could weaken the case that he is the best person to challenge Donald Trump.

The next few months will tell the story if Joe Biden is unable to overcome the attempt by Trump to damage his candidacy.

And with two more moderates suddenly entering the Presidential race belatedly–former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick–Biden will certainly have more competition in the caucuses and primaries beginning in just the next two and a half months.

The Total Collapse Of The Reputation Of Rudy Giuliani, From “America’s Mayor”, To Widespread Corruption And Indecency!

It is hard to believe that Rudy Giuliani was once “America’s Mayor”, hailed all over the nation after September 11.

In 2008, Giuliani sought the Republican nomination for President, and was perceived as a moderate mainstream Republican with some very liberal views.

But Giuliani flopped badly, after having led the polls in 2007, and being seen as a potential occupant of the Oval Office.

Giuliani has clearly deteriorated mentally and ethically since 2008, having now gone through three wives and divorces, and displaying weird, crazy behavior in recent years, particularly since tying his future to President Donald Trump,

Giuliani is now enmeshed in the Ukraine scandal, and seems likely to be indicted for corruption in his business dealings and in his work for Trump. The man who was once considered a great prosecutor now faces the likelihood of prison time, and disgrace.

It is hard to feel sympathy for Rudy Giuliani, however, as his public and private behavior has become so obnoxious and degrading, and it is obvious that Donald Trump has helped to make him yet another victim of the evil man who is ready to throw anyone and everyone under the bus. Many think Giuliani is mentally deranged and totally unstable, similar to Donald Trump.

It is now urgent that future Presidential contenders undergo mental testing, as any sane person can see that Donald Trump should have been removed from the Oval Office long ago, and by still being there, is undermining the domestic and foreign policy of America, in such a way, that it is likely to be long lasting beyond his time in office.

Two Democratic Presidential Candidates Now Harmed In Quest For Nomination: Joe Biden And Bernie Sanders

It turns out that the two oldest Presidential contenders in 2020–Democrats Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, who would both reach 80 early in their term, if they won the Presidency–are both much more in danger in their quest to be the Presidential nominee by recent events.

Donald Trump’s claim that Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden were involved in Ukraine corruption seems clearly to have no logical or factual basis, but Trump is pushing the conspiracy theory, and it seems to be having some effect on public opinion, as a growing number of people polled want an investigation and more facts about the supposed “conspiracy”. So Joe Biden needs to be aggressive in dealing with this matter, as trying to ignore it is not going to work. It is clear that the upcoming election will be a “mud fight” with no holds barred, and one must be tough and willing to get involved in a boxing match, as Donald Trump has no limits in his indecency and willingness to corrupt and manipulate the truth!

At the same time, Bernie Sanders, no matter what his supporters wish, by having had a mild heart attack, only emphasizes his age, and makes one wonder could he, indeed, take the brunt of a rough campaign over the next 13 months, and whether one could expect him to serve a full term in good health. One wishes him the best, but it is an issue which will not go away.

All this, plus the fact that Joe Biden sometimes seems mentally lacking in alertness makes one worry if he also is truly capable of serving a full term, and either Biden or Sanders could have a health crisis after being nominated and during the fall campaign, and that would be devastating for the Democrats in their quest to retire the most corrupt and mentally unstable President in all of American history.

The facts are that Donald Trump has shown ability to overcome all detriments and shortcomings so far, but we cannot be certain that Joe Biden or Bernie Sanders can do the same.

And again, it brings up the idea that it would be better to have a new generation of leadership facing the future, rather than Trump, Biden or Sanders, all in their mid to late 70s or early 80s in the new decade of the 2020s!