Impeachment Megathread Part 3

[Nyvin]

Nunez is part of the scandal, what a surprise.

[Former Dean Phillips Supporters for Haley (I guess???!?) 👁️]

https://twitter.com/DavidCornDC/status/1217640773564485640

The oligarch referenced is Dmitri Firtash btw.

[riceowl]

Problem is it’s an easy deflection. They can just say he’s an unreliable witness. Next.

[Dr Oz Lost Party!]

Problem is it’s an easy deflection. They can just say he’s an unreliable witness. Next.

Parnas was an associate of Giuliani's and there are photos of them with Donald Trump all over the internet. He also has texts from Rudy and the notes he took on the surveillance of Yovanovitch.

Definitely not an easy deflection.

[Dr Oz Lost Party!]

So Parnas has implicated Barr, Nunez, AND Pence.

[Hindsight was 2020]

Problem is it’s an easy deflection. They can just say he’s an unreliable witness. Next.

He has texts from Rudy and others mentioning Trump being in on it though

[libertpaulian]

If McConnell and Company vote to dismiss the impeachment or hold a rigged trial in Trump's favor, I hope every single swing state Senate Dem runs ads on this nonstop.

[Hindsight was 2020]

If McConnell and Company vote to dismiss the impeachment or hold a rigged trial in Trump's favor, I hope every single swing state Senate Dem runs ads on this nonstop.

God I hope so too but they can be incompetent about this stuff

[riceowl]

Problem is it’s an easy deflection. They can just say he’s an unreliable witness. Next.

He has texts from Rudy and others mentioning Trump being in on it though

Yeah, but have you been paying attention the last 3 years? All it takes is one soundbite to put anything in doubt and Trumpists repeat it until it's reality, facts be damned. "Lev Parnas is a crook and you can't believe a word he says." That'll be the narrative even if he has Rudy nudies.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Problem is it’s an easy deflection. They can just say he’s an unreliable witness. Next.

He has texts from Rudy and others mentioning Trump being in on it though

Yeah, but have you been paying attention the last 3 years? All it takes is one soundbite to put anything in doubt and Trumpists repeat it until it's reality, facts be damned. "Lev Parnas is a crook and you can't believe a word he says." That'll be the narrative even if he has Rudy nudies.

Let's hope he doesn't.

[Hindsight was 2020]

Problem is it’s an easy deflection. They can just say he’s an unreliable witness. Next.

He has texts from Rudy and others mentioning Trump being in on it though

Yeah, but have you been paying attention the last 3 years? All it takes is one soundbite to put anything in doubt and Trumpists repeat it until it's reality, facts be damned. "Lev Parnas is a crook and you can't believe a word he says." That'll be the narrative even if he has Rudy nudies.

Oh no you’re likely right I’m just trying to desperately hold out hope that facts matter

[riceowl]

Aw. I miss hope.

[emailking]

The big headline on foxnews is that Parnas undermined the claim that Yovanovitch was surveilled. Nothing about any of the other stuff he said.

[Cinemark]

The big headline on foxnews is that Parnas undermined the claim that Yovanovitch was surveilled. Nothing about any of the other stuff he said.

Of course. Were you expecting anything different?

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/DavidCornDC/status/1217640773564485640

The oligarch referenced is Dmitri Firtash btw.

And the "organized crime" of which Firtash is a part? That's Russian organized crime.

Here's a description of Firtash's connection to the Russian mob:

"He is considered to be one of the close associates of [Semion] Mogilevich, who is the head of Russian organized crime, who is Putin's best friend. Lanny Davis has represented him for four or five years. If the newspapers are correct, he gets $80,000 a month from this guy who's considered to be one of the high-level, Russian organized crime members or associates"

And who described Firtash that way? Rudy Giuliani.

Now, in case you don't consider Giuliani a credible source, here's Time saying the same thing:Exclusive: How a Ukrainian Oligarch Wanted by U.S. Authorities Helped Giuliani Attack Biden

By the time the Department of Justice publicly referred to him in 2017 as a senior associate of the Russian mob, Firtash had been under investigation in the U.S. for more than a decade, according to interviews with his investigators.

His alleged ties to the Russian mafia go back to the early 2000s, when his work in the gas trade brought him into contact with Semyon Mogilevich, one of the most notorious leaders in the world of Russian organized crime. As Firtash later told the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, “he needed, and received, permission from Mogilevich when he established various businesses,” according to a U.S. embassy cable published in 2010 by Wikileaks.

[Virginiá]

In terms of actually getting Trump out of office, none of this really matters. Republicans hold too much power for that to happen, and they have long ago signaled they are willing to put up with just about anything that can be explained away or safely ignored, mostly to cling to power. The usefulness of all of this is really about establishing a record of what happened so that it will tarnish whatever meager positive legacy he leaves behind, and to hopefully provide a future administration that isn't totally corrupted the ability to roll up all the criminals from the current administration and punish them in a way that isn't possible when their political party is providing legal cover via the executive branch.

Fox News and the GOP in general is never going to have an epiphany over any of this. Whether they are deluded by their love for Trump, or more concerned about political power, or just plain dumb, it doesn't matter. Most of the GOP camp falls into one of those, so it will fall on deaf ears.

[Yoda]

Problem is it’s an easy deflection. They can just say he’s an unreliable witness. Next.

Except dude has hard evidence to back up his claims. So, not next.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

In terms of actually getting Trump out of office, none of this really matters. Republicans hold too much power for that to happen, and they have long ago signaled they are willing to put up with just about anything that can be explained away or safely ignored, mostly to cling to power. The usefulness of all of this is really about establishing a record of what happened so that it will tarnish whatever meager positive legacy he leaves behind, and to hopefully provide a future administration that isn't totally corrupted the ability to roll up all the criminals from the current administration and punish them in a way that isn't possible when their political party is providing legal cover via the executive branch.

It does matter. The Banana Republicans should not be given the out of merely being unscrupulous and power-hungry. They could have all the same power with President Pence or President Rubio or whoever - they'd arguably have a better chance to retain their power with anyone but Trump.

This is about the Republican Party's complete subservience to Donald "Jenius" Trump and his mad whims. Nothing more.

[Virginiá]

In terms of actually getting Trump out of office, none of this really matters. Republicans hold too much power for that to happen, and they have long ago signaled they are willing to put up with just about anything that can be explained away or safely ignored, mostly to cling to power. The usefulness of all of this is really about establishing a record of what happened so that it will tarnish whatever meager positive legacy he leaves behind, and to hopefully provide a future administration that isn't totally corrupted the ability to roll up all the criminals from the current administration and punish them in a way that isn't possible when their political party is providing legal cover via the executive branch.

It does matter. The Banana Republicans should not be given the out of merely being unscrupulous and power-hungry. They could have all the same power with President Pence or President Rubio or whoever - they'd arguably have a better chance to retain their power with anyone but Trump.

This is about the Republican Party's complete subservience to Donald "Jenius" Trump and his mad whims. Nothing more.

I'm sure they'd love to be serving under President Pence right now, if for no other reason than it would just be easier to deal with on a day-to-day basis, but to remove Trump would likely take down a decent number of Republican Congressmen in the process. None of them appear willing to take a risk. Power and the benefits of being an office holder are too important to them. So yes, I think for most of these people, it is about power. Sure, you have your share of true-believers and bona fide morons, but there are a lot of otherwise intelligent people clinging to their seats in DC. They know full-well Trump is insidiously corrupt and that even their best defenses of his behavior are laughable. They just don't care. Power, money and access is more important to them than the well-being of their country, and it's not particularly close either.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1217647822943727616

[I Can Now Die Happy]

All in all, impeachment has gone how I expected it to go around a couple months ago: an utter disaster for the Democrats. I can't wait for Trump to be acquitted from the House's partisan bullcrap by the grown-ups in the Senate and for the fake moderate Dems in Trumpy areas to lose their seats in November for allowing themselves to be pushed into this sham. Quite a few of them knew what they did was wrong and probably considered going the Jeff van Drew route but didn't have the courage to do the right thing!

[Dr Oz Lost Party!]

https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1217647822943727616

And she knows that because....

[JA]

Rand Paul threatens fellow Republicans with explosive witness votes

Paul says if four or more of his GOP colleagues join with Democrats to entertain new witness testimony, he will make the Senate vote on subpoenaing the president’s preferred witnesses, including Hunter Biden and the whistleblower who revealed the Ukraine scandal — polarizing picks who moderate Republicans aren’t eager to call. So he has a simple message for his party: end the trial before witnesses are called.

“If you vote against Hunter Biden, you’re voting to lose your election, basically. Seriously. That’s what it is,” Paul said during an interview in his office on Wednesday. “If you don’t want to vote and you think you’re going to have to vote against Hunter Biden, you should just vote against witnesses, period.”

[BlueSwan]

After the Parnas interview, no sane person can claim that Trump is innocent. It is as simple as that. I know that it won't matter, but it really is as simple as that.

[Sir Mohamed]

After the Parnas interview, no sane person can claim that Trump is innocent. It is as simple as that. I know that it won't matter, but it really is as simple as that.

This was already clear as day before, but congressional GOPers have no backbone and only care about their jobs instead of the rule of law. They will continue to deflect, distract and lie to get this thing over as fast as possible.