kpete
kpete's JournalThe "diplomatic solution" was working - You blew it to HELL!
Pompeo to marg brennan: "Apparently the Iranians are bloodthirsty and looking for war. President Trump and I, we're looking for a diplomatic resolution to this."
https://twitter.com/peterbakernyt/status/1175769943339675649
Pompeo endorses Guiliani's efforts to investigate Trump's political opponents
https://twitter.com/joshscampbell/status/1175771817602093056https://twitter.com/kylieatwood/status/1175776705501437952
New York Times debunks Trump and their own reporter's claims within 48 hours.
And here’s the New York Times within 48 hours after Ken Vogel’s interview:
“No evidence has surfaced to support Mr. Trump’s claim that the former vice president intentionally tried to help his son by pressing for the prosecutor general’s dismissal.
https://twitter.com/rgoodlaw/status/1175742263927943168
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This is a very useful thread by an expert on Ukraine and corruption. It seems notable that the people who know the most about Ukraine are the most adamant that this Hunter Biden story is bogus.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1175203002870849536.html
https://twitter.com/RyanLizza/status/1175539557514784768
Amen, Dan Rather
May I suggest a reporter’s or news editor’s job should be to frame the story as the facts dictate - instead of letting those in power frame it as they wish. That’s more the job of a stenographer.
https://twitter.com/DanRather/status/1175476199528660992
We Have A Witness:
"[Giuliani's] aim was quite clear: He was planning to ask Zelensky to intervene in an American election on the side of Trump.
…
As a person who has had direct experience of many of these events, I express my readiness to testify.
We have a witness: "[Giuliani's] aim was quite clear: He was planning to ask Zelensky to intervene in an American election on the side of Trump. … As a person who has had direct experience of many of these events, I express my readiness to testify." www.washingtonpost.c…
https://twitter.com/rgoodlaw/status/1175586963723886592
Serhiy Leshchenko is a Ukrainian journalist and political activist.
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Giuliani attempted to visit Ukraine in May 2019 with the express purpose of involving Zelensky in this process. His aim was quite clear: He was planning to ask Zelensky to intervene in an American election on the side of Trump.
Zelensky refused, forcing Giuliani to cancel his trip. Shortly after that, Giuliani went on Fox News, where he called me “[an enemy] of the president [and] of the United States.” This accusation had a devastating effect on my political career. I had been helping Zelenksy’s team since January — but now Giuliani’s smear cost me a job in the new administration. Not wanting to create problems for Zelensky, I withdrew from consideration.
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.....................Giuliani is not only deceiving American citizens. He is not only intervening in Ukrainian politics, smearing parliamentarians and officials of the presidential administration. He is also trying to drag the new president of Ukraine into an American election, which is absolutely unacceptable.
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I know that leaders of the three U.S. congressional committees that are now investigating the whistleblower case have asked the White House and the State Department to share all correspondence regarding the people involved in this story, including me. As a person who has had direct experience of many of these events, I express my readiness to testify to the U.S. Congress about what has been happening for the past six months in the gray zone of Ukrainian-American relations.
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More:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/09/21/why-is-rudy-giuliani-trying-drag-my-countrys-president-into-trumps-reelection-campaign/
Trump now fanning a conspiracy theory about the whistleblower
Trump is fanning a conspiracy theory that the whistleblower was illegally spying on the president — and that the IG just shrugged this off to treat the complaint as urgent and credible.
:large
https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/1175528903877812224
Predictable:
“I didn’t do it.”
“If I did it, it was OK.”
“If I did it it and it wasn’t OK, the bigger crime is how you found out.”
Fact Check: Trump's claims about Biden and Ukraine - no there there
asked if anyone had done a law-based deep dive into the allegations that Biden somehow did something legally impermissible (i.e., conflict of interest) by being involved in the Ukraine prosecutor negotiations. I decided to look into it. BLUF: No /Tweetstorm
First off, the general financial conflict of interest laws that generally prohibit Federal employees from participating in matters in which they have financial interests (namely 18 USC.208) expressly do not apply to the Vice President (nor the President). 18 USC 202(c)
Moreover, w/r/t family members of executive branch employees, the primary financial conflict of interest statute only prohibits employees from participating in particular matters in which the employee, their spouse, or their MINOR children have a financial interest. 18 USC 208(a)
So, even assuming for the sake of argument that the conflict of interest statute applied to the VP & even if the departure of the prosecutor were to have had an impact on Hunter’s finances (which all reputable reports suggest was an impossibility given the timeline of events)…
the VP’s involvement in discussions re: the prosecutor still would not have constituted a criminal conflict of interest because Hunter was obviously not a MINOR child at the time.
That said, if the Federal conflict of interest laws did apply to the VP, the fact that a criminal conflict didn’t exist under the statute wouldn’t have ended the legal analysis…
Federal employees are also subject to Standards of Ethical Conduct, which are set out in broader regulations issued by the Office of Govt Ethics. 5 CFR 2635.
Under the Standards of Ethical Conduct, Federal employees generally should recuse themselves from participating in certain matters even if there is no prohibited financial conflict of interest under 18 USC 208.
Under 5 CFR 2635.502, an employee is generally required to recuse when there is a “particular matter involving specific parties, the employee has a “covered relationship” (such as a close family) and a reasonable person would question their impartiality.
Applying this here, even if it were true (its not!) that the prosecutor was investigating the company Biden’s son was involved with at the time that Biden was engaged in discussions re: the prosecutor’s removal, its not clear that this rule would be directly applicable here…
The rule, by its terms, only applies to “particular matters involving specific parties,” which is intentionally narrow and applies to specific proceedings affecting the legal rights of the parties or transactions between identified parties. 5 CFR 2640.102(1).
Examples of such matters are particular contracts, grants, product approval applications, litigation, investigations, etc. Here, it seems a stretch to say that discussions re whether the prosecutor should remain in his position was a “particular matter involving specific parties”
Moreover, even if you stretched & decided it met that definition, the particular rule would not apply directly here anyway, because Biden’s son (nor even the company) was most definitely NOT a party to the matter at issue (whether the prosecutor should remain in his position)…
A caveat: there’s a catch-all provision at 5 CFR 2635.502(a)(2), acknowledging that even in other circumstances not addressed in the reg, an employee should generally recuse anytime their participation in a matter would reasonably raise a question re: their impartiality.
If Biden’s son was involved with a company under active investigation by the Ukrainian prosecutor (again, apparently this is not true!)…
I think nearly any Federal ethics official would have cited this regulation and advised the VP NOT to get involved in discussions regarding the future of the Ukrainian prosecutor, even if only to avoid creating the appearance of a potential conflict
Even still, this is very much a judgment call and even under this incredibly-strained counter-factual hypothetical, the VP’s involvement still would NOT have been a criminal violation.
In short, even if the VP wasn’t exempt from these conflict of interest laws, and even if the facts were other than they actually appear to be, Biden’s behavior still would have been lawful. /End @waltshaub @NormEisen @RWPUSA
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1175143530425139201.html
https://www.balloon-juice.com/2019/09/21/ken-vogel-has-a-bullshit-story-to-tell-that-will-help-the-president-and-he-would-appreciate-it-if-the-president-and-rudy-giuliani-would-shut-up-because-they-are-screwing-up-his-work/
Here's a Doonesbury cartoon from July 1974 to remind you that time is a flat circle
https://twitter.com/RobertMaguire_/status/1175147450136502272
Senator Dianne Feinstein laying the groundwork to sue DOJ for release of the whistleblower report
Feinstein to AG Barr: Transmit Whistleblower Report, DOJ Guidance ASAPSep 21 2019
Washington—Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Friday called on Attorney General Barr to transmit the whistleblower report and any guidance provided to the Director of National Intelligence to Congress as soon as possible.
Senator Feinstein released the following statement today:
“If media reports are correct that President Trump delayed military aid appropriated by Congress in order to get Ukraine to investigate a political opponent, it’s difficult not to see that as an abuse of presidential authority, plain and simple.
“Withholding the whistleblower report that led to these allegations is also unacceptable. The president is essentially saying that Congress has no right to investigate the executive branch, which is a direct attack on the separation of powers. Oversight is a constitutional function of Congress.
“I sent a letter on Friday to Attorney General bar demanding that the whistleblower report be transmitted to Congress, which is required by law. I also requested any advice or guidance provided by the Justice Department to the Director of National Intelligence that led him to take this action.
“Covering this up will only make matters worse for this administration. I encourage them to clear this up as soon as possible.”
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https://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?id=ACC3EEAB-43A5-420D-9D51-4BC2F33B307C
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/9/21/1886964/-Senator-Dianne-Feinstein-laying-the-groundwork-to-sue-DOJ-for-release-of-the-whistleblower-report?utm_campaign=recent
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