The imPEACHment Pit Thread

[asahi]

@QuickSilver

Rudy Colludi says he’s got insurance if Trump throws him under the bus.

DA MAYOR: The Deep State’s got nuthin on Trump…but I doooo, tee hee hee

[Bumbershoot]

I posted this link in the Elections thread, thought I’d put it here as well:

Trump distances himself from Giuliani’s Ukraine efforts
From an interview with Bill O’Reilly

O’Reilly: “So you didn’t direct him to go to Ukraine to do anything or put any heat on them?”
Trump: “No, I didn’t direct him, but he’s a warrior, Rudy’s a warrior.”

O’Reilly asked the president what Giuliani was “doing in Ukraine on your behalf.”
Trump: “Well, you have to ask that to Rudy, but Rudy, I don’t, I don’t even know… But, you know, Rudy has other clients, other than me. I’m one person.”

Of course, in May Giuliani told the New York Times “My only client is the president of the United States. He’s the one I have an obligation to report to, tell him what happened.”

I’m surprised Trump didn’t say “I barely know the guy, I think I’ve met him once.”

[margin]

Boy, there sure are lots of coffee boys in this administration.

[mjmlabs]

@septimus

Timeline:
July — Trump calls President Z, almost explicitly asking for a quid pro quo
August — Whistleblower informs us that Trump asked for quid pro quo in the phone call
September — Trump says “I want nothing No quid pro quo” into telephone
(November — Trump addresses cameras and rants from a script “I want nothing I want nothing I want nothing I want nothing”)

Jordan and the other stooges seem to think the September denial is a big gotcha that refutes the whole accusation. Did anyone ask the Idiots whether September comes before August on their calendars?

All of you will surely be as shocked–SHOCKED!–as I was to learn that POTUS* had been briefed on the existence of the whistleblower complaint in “late August,” prior to the famous “I am specifically NOT COMMITTING THIS SPECIFIC IMPROPRIETY, and I would like to REPEAT THAT FOR THE RECORD” phone call with Sondland:

Trump Knew of Whistle-Blower Complaint When He Released Aid to Ukraine
[New York Times story in non-paywalled form via MSN]

WASHINGTON — President Trump had already been briefed on a whistle-blower’s complaint about his dealings with Ukraine when he unfroze military aid for the country in September, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Lawyers from the White House counsel’s office told Mr. Trump in late August about the complaint, explaining that they were trying to determine whether they were legally required to give it to Congress, the people said.

The revelation could shed light on Mr. Trump’s thinking at two critical points under scrutiny by impeachment investigators: his decision in early September to release $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine and his denial to a key ambassador around the same time that there was a “quid pro quo” with Kyiv. Mr. Trump used the phrase before it had entered the public lexicon in the Ukraine affair.

[story continues …]

Shocked. Such totally-normal phrasing in that phone call, hard to believe an ulterior motive was at play.

[Gyrate]

So this happened: The Deutsche Bank executive who signed off on Trump’s loans - the loans currently under investigation - has committed suicide.

Probably not nefarious, but the timing ain’t great. His wife died in 2017 (from “unknown causes”, according to the article) so perhaps the investigation was a final straw.

Or, you know, something else.