h/t Instapundit
[NYPost] In a now notorious July 25 conversation, President Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to "look into" Ukraine’s role in efforts to interfere in the 2016 election as well as the dealings of Joe Biden and his son Hunter with the notoriously corrupt country.
Whether or not Trump’s ham-fisted conversation with Zelensky rises to an impeachable offense, the American people have legitimate reasons to be curious about both issues ‐ and especially the Biden family’s blatant conflicts of interest abroad as Joe Biden seeks the presidency.
Biden has been leading the Democratic field. The central case for his candidacy rests on the supposedly exemplary work he did as a senior member of Team Obama. Well, in 2016, acting as the Obama administration’s point man in Ukraine, the vice president ‐ unlike Trump ‐ openly threatened to withhold $1 billion in American loan guarantees if the embattled nation didn’t fire the country’s top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin.
As Biden later bragged, "I looked at them and said, ’I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money.’ Well, son of a bitch. He got fired.’ "
Most of the media assure us that, though by the Democrats’ new standards this kind of intimidation constitutes a flagrant abuse of power, Biden’s reasons for threatening Ukraine were chaste.
But simply repeating this talking point doesn’t make it true. Granted, Shokin was a shady character. Yet at some point he had been investigating Burisma, the largest gas company in Ukraine, which also happened to be paying Hunter Biden a $50,000 monthly salary as a board member.
By coincidence, Hunter had landed this cushy gig in a foreign country only a few months after the Obama administration began dispatching his father, Joe, to the very same foreign country on a regular basis.
SEE ALSO
Joe Biden responds to release of Trump's Ukraine transcript
There was, of course, absolutely nothing in Hunter’s résumé to indicate that he would be a valuable addition to foreign energy interest. He didn’t speak the language, and he had no particular expertise in the energy industry. Oh, he did have one thing, though: his last name.
I suppose, that isn’t entirely fair. Hunter once ran a hedge fund with his dad’s brother, James Biden, and associated with a notorious Ponzi schemer. James would go on to snag a job as executive vice president of a construction company in 2010, despite having virtually no experience in the field. And only a few months into his tenure, the company would win one of its biggest contracts in its history, a $1.5 billion deal to build affordable homes in Iraq.
By pure happenstance, Joe was also the Obama administration’s point man in Iraq at the time. Funny how these things work out.
h/t Instapundit
[NewNeo] You know that game people sometimes play? The one where you choose which superpower you’d want?
Sometimes the choices are limited, such as in this typical group: "Telepathy, teleportation, super-strength, invisibility or the ability to regenerate your cells."
But I’ve never seen a list that includes the one Donald Trump seems to possess, which is the ability to drive your enemies crazy and make them do stupid things.
We first saw this in evidence, at least somewhat, during the 2016 campaign. The Republican challengers were surprisingly flat-footed against him. And since his election we’ve seen it over and over and over with Democrats, the press, and NeverTrumpers.
I think what’s going on is twofold. The first is that Trump is very very different from their usual opponents. He’s unpredictable. He hits below the belt and above the belt. Whatever he does, they don’t see it coming.
But the second is that they really truly are convinced that he is the crazy stupid one. Therefore, if they can just rile him enough, he’ll reveal this unequivocally to the world. Plus, he’s not just crazy and stupid, he’s also corrupt, and so ‐ like the boy in the joke about shoveling manure in the barn because he knows there must be a pony somewhere ‐ they know that if they just dig and dig and dig they will find the pony that will sink Trump. This is not a pose on their part; they believe it.
#1
“But I’ve never seen a list that includes the one Donald Trump seems to possess, which is the ability to drive your enemies crazy and make them do stupid things.”
Trump must read and follow Voltaire’s prayer:
I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: 'O Lord make my enemies look ridiculous.' And God granted it. Votaire
#4
When you believe that you have superpower, hubris follows. Trump seems to believe that he himself knows best everything, that he really doesn't need advice. In the end, this will sink you.
The WH knew about the whistleblower early. They had time to prepare and I'm sure the WH lawyers did. But it seems that Trump doesn't listen to them.
I bet not a single advisor in the WH thought it was a great idea to put out the phone call. But Trump did it anyway, convinced it was "a beautiful call".
It was not, and the people who stashed it awayx in the top secret computer knew that.
By putting out the phone call AND the whistleblower complaint, Trump immediately made the complaint look "credible". This was totally unnecessary. He could have prevented the publication of the phone call forever citing executive privilege.
I'm from the mountains. I know an avalanche when I see one. Trump is playing in Pelosi's ballpark now.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
09/27/2019 19:24 Comments ||
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#5
I'm not seeing that - Trump does make some unforced errors but I don't see it rising to the level of hubris, which may or may not happen later on. As a CEO for over thirty years, he generally hires people to head particular spheres of a company's operations and I think that as US President Trump has done that for the most part. Any acts of 'hubris' would occur in his second term, as history bears out.
#6
EC - I don't recall you commenting on Obama's: "I think that I’m a better speechwriter than my speechwriters. I know more about policies on any particular issue than my policy directors. And I’ll tell you right now that I’m gonna think I’m a better political director than my political director.”?
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/27/2019 20:09 Comments ||
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#7
FrankG
A quick research reveals that this quote is from November 2008. I don't think I have been on Rantburg for that long.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
09/27/2019 20:13 Comments ||
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#8
Disagree strongly with you, EC.
Impeachment is an extraordinarily risky option that should almost never be used. It's been used only twice in 232 years, and threatened (but not actually launched) one additional time.
The only time that Congress should revert to this extraordinary option is when a president's behavior is obviously criminal -- so criminal that a vasty majority of the public, on the order of at least 2 to 1, believe him to be a criminal.
Nixon was threatened with impeachment after a series of guilty please from the Watergate conspirators AND a complete collapse in his approval rating. That collapse happened at the beginning of 1974, when his approval rating fell to about 25% and stayed there until he resigned.
Trump is not guilty of any crime. Yes, he's a buffoon, a jerk, a bad person. But he hasn't done anything impeachable. Not even close.
This is why, unlike Nixon (and like Bill Clinton), Trump retains the approval of nearly half of the public and why half of the public - regardless of their feelings about Trump -- strongly disapproves of the Democrats' use of impeachment against him.
It is obviously a stunt. Less obvious is the Machiavellian maneuvering inside of the Democratic Party's leadership, which is aimed at forcing Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race. It's Biden whose behavior is indefensible here.
THAT'S the real story. Warren and Pelosi are forcing Biden out of the race so that he doesn't fall on his face and lose in a landslide to Trump.
#9
I agree that impeachment is risky, and Pelosi certainly knows it is.
The difference to "Russiagate" is that people never really understood what this was all about. And what Trump actually did (or didn't).
This is different: Read that phone transcript. Read it carefully. I can't tell you whether a crime was committed. But it certainly smells of abuse of power.
Trust me, this will not end well. It's possible that Biden won't survive this (his numbers have gone south before the story broke).
But Democrats should be able to make a case everyone understands. And the pony that will sink Trump is Giuliani.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
09/27/2019 20:35 Comments ||
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#10
I've read it, and I responded, point by point, to it here on the 'burg when it first came out.
As a "smoking gun," it's a joke.
There's nothing there. Trump is clumsy (though surprisingly gracious), his "I want to ask a favor" is un-presidential, and he gets into minor details that represent a waste of his valuable time.
But there is absolutely nothing whatsoever that is remotely actionable from the perspective of "treason" or "high crimes and misdemeanors."
This is why the public is yawning about the whole affair, and why there is next to zero support for this stunt outside of the jacobins and other inveterate Trump-haters.
#11
It's unwise, perhaps even foolish, and certainly unpresidential to use one's personal attorney.
But it's not a "high crime", or even a misdemeanor to do so. Let alone treason.
Unless and until you see Trump's approval drop to 1974 Nixonian levels, this stunt will go nowhere-- aside from, of course, forcing Biden to step aside for Warren.
1. Did President Trump abuse the U.S. Constitution so badly that he should be thrown out of office for asking “a favor” from his Ukrainian counterpart?
Lipson's answer: Official business should be insulated from personal or partisan issues. [Neither] Hillary Clinton [nor] Joe Biden [nor] Donald Trump should combine them... [However,] is the request to Ukraine enough, by itself, to overturn an election when the voters themselves can decide soon enough whether Trump should continue in office? In my opinion, no."
2. Lispon observes that "the Biden family has long monetized the former vice president’s position. That swamp gas [Lipson's metaphor for the impeachment process launched by Pelosi] will sink his candidacy, probably before the nomination..."
3. "Unless the House committees uncover significantly more evidence against Trump, trying to impeach him over the Ukraine phone call will harm the Democrats. ...Democrats are attacking Trump for “abuse of office.” This claim is political, not legal. Although the House can define high crimes and misdemeanors broadly, the Democrats’ case would be far stronger if they can show specific laws were broken. So far, they cannot do that. That leaves them with a political dispute where they have strong support from their base but not from the wider public. ..."
4. It's an extraordinarily risky, maneuver with an extremely low probability of success. "The House Democrats are wagering everything on this. Unless they come up with a lot more, they are betting the ranch on a pair of deuces."
#13
Treason, no. Not the definition of treason.
Abuse of power? Different story. And I don't see the public "yawning" over it.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
09/27/2019 21:03 Comments ||
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#14
Even the liberal Trump=haters on National Public Radio went out of their way - every single one of their "analysts" - to highlight that a) the country is exactly divided, 50/50, on impeachment.
Which is to say that this nonsense has not changed Trump's approval rating in the slightest.
Even liberal Trump-haters recognize this will go nowhere.
This is simply politics as theater-- a very risky strategy when used against the Cagliostro of political Cagliostros.
If you'd like to make a wager, I'll put up any sum you wish that he will not be impeached.
#15
EC is (my guessing) still butthurt over our Brexit sentiments. The MSM/DNC/NeverTrump is throwing one last prayer dart which will (again) boomerang.
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/27/2019 21:16 Comments ||
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#16
Oh he will definitely be impeached by Democrats in the House.
Removed from office by the Senate is a much different story.
But if Democrats succeed in making a compelling case against Trump and the Senate acquits him, this will hurt the Republicans a lot and turn the Senate blue.
The phone transcript won't be enough, I guess. But impeachment hearings are dangerous. Of course it's possible that Democrats blow it (Nadler doesn't seem to be up to the job).
We'll see.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
09/27/2019 21:17 Comments ||
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#17
FrankG
Not at all. Nothing is more boring than debating in an echo chamber. We may not agree on Brexit or Trump but we'll find a lot of other things we'd agree upon.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
09/27/2019 21:20 Comments ||
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#18
I meant to say, that Trump will not be subject to a trial by the Senate, without which, impeachment is simply a political stunt that will merely remind everyone in this country who still has a functioning, independent brain why our political class is beyond repair and needs to be replaced with a new group of people from very different backgrounds, far from the coasts.
#19
"I meant to say, that Trump will not be subject to a trial by the Senate"
I certainly won't bet against this. This will only happen if public pressure becomes unbearable. Too early to tell. The problem with impeachment hearings is that government officials will need to be very careful. "Obstruction of Justice" is a very American thing.
Posted by: European Conservative ||
09/27/2019 21:48 Comments ||
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[PJMedia] Wall Street and the DNC have been in bed together like a couple of newlyweds for years now, but the honeymoon might finally end if Senator Elizabeth Warren takes the presidential nomination next year.
CNBC's Brian Schwartz reports that "several high-dollar Democratic donors and fundraisers in the business community" plan to "sit out the presidential campaign fundraising cycle" should Warren sit -- must... resist... urge... to... make... sit Indian-style joke -- at the top of the ticket. A private equity executive who wishes to remain anonymous told the network, "You’re in a box because you’re a Democrat and you’re thinking, ’I want to help the party, but she’s going to hurt me, so I’m going to help President Trump'." Funny how people move in their best intrest instead of the "party"
Warren's proposed "wealth tax," while of dubious constitutionality, threatens to place a 2% tax on the wealth -- not earnings -- of households worth $50 million or more. That's a lot of Wall Street people, it's safe to say.
"Democratic" socialist candidate Bernie Sanders promises an even bigger wealth tax, with a 1% levy on households worth more than $32 million, going all the way up to 8% for fortunes over $10 billion. So far Wall Street doesn't feel as threatened by the prospect of a Bernie candidacy, but with frontrunner Joe Biden sinking in poll after poll, who knows what might happen as the voting starts in Iowa next February. Biden is done and Ms. Fake is the darling of the regressive left. She can't walk back comments in this day and age and she has lost the Wall Stree doners, the union workers and a good chunk of Middle America. Hence the impeachment push from the Demoncrats
#1
place a 2% tax on the wealth -- not earnings -- of households worth $50 million or more
Of course when that failed to generate the expected revenue that $50 million threshold would have to be lowered and the 2% rate raised until it did - which it never would, even if all the wealth was transferred to the government.
#4
Much like Hillary in 2016, the Dems have a lousy field of candidates--whether it's Biden or Warren or whomever. The Dems are desperate and that is why they are going after Trump so hard. They've been trying to cripple him ever since before Day 1.
This will not end well for the Dems. I'd wouldn't be surprised if the Dems don't end up destroying their party. They are making Trump stronger and stronger by showing their true colors.
[AmGreatness] Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, has reportedly voiced his support for a possible investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his questionable conduct regarding Ukraine, the Daily Caller reports.
The reports first surfaced in a Washington Post piece that cited three unnamed sources who were "familiar with the conversations" that Johnson reportedly had with some of his Senate colleagues. When asked about the conversation in question, Johnson said that "we have and will continue to gather information...on alleged misconduct with government agencies."
Biden’s actions towards Ukraine as vice president have come under heavy scrutiny in recent weeks, with the "whistleblower" complaints against President Donald Trump only forcing mainstream media coverage of Biden’s actions, about which President Trump voiced his concern to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
As vice president in 2016, then-Vice President Biden demanded that the Ukrainian government fire then-Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, who was investigating the suspicious business dealings of energy company Burisma Holdings, of which Biden’s son Hunter was a board member. It is widely believed that Biden did so in order to protect his son, and went so far as to threaten to withhold $1 billion in U.S. aid to Ukraine if Shokin was not fired.
#3
It would be a good idea to have some real investigations for a change--instead of these Dem witch hunts with their made-up evidence and with their kangaroo court star chamber trials followed by political lynchings involving Trump.
What the Dems are doing is a sham and a scam. It’s not the way government is supposed to work. If the Dems keep pushing their political lynchings, I can see the people saying enough is enough. I doubt that outcome will be pretty and that they’ll like it.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[PJMedia] Wall Street and the DNC have been in bed together like a couple of newlyweds for years now, but the honeymoon might finally end if Senator Elizabeth Warren takes the presidential nomination next year.
