# The Trump Impeachment Inquiry **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 24, 2019, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771 "2019-09-24T20:23:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/341 "2019-09-25T20:12:13Z")
The favor Trump was looking for may have been related to the Seth Rich conspiracy theory. From a [2017 AP interview](https://www.apnews.com/c810d7de280a47e88848b0ac74690c83): > [@](#): > > AP: But that didn’t mean that you supported what Assange is doing? > > TRUMP: No, I don’t support or unsupport. It was just information. They shouldn’t have allowed it to get out. If they had the proper defensive devices on their internet, you know, equipment, they wouldn’t even allow the FBI. How about this - they get hacked, and the FBI goes to see them, and they won’t let the FBI see their server. But do you understand, nobody ever writes it. Why wouldn’t (former Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John) Podesta and Hillary Clinton allow the FBI to see the server? They brought in another company that I hear is Ukrainian-based. > > AP: CrowdStrike? > > TRUMP: That’s what I heard. I heard it’s owned by a very rich Ukrainian, that’s what I heard. But they brought in another company to investigate the server. Why didn’t they allow the FBI in to investigate the server? I mean, there is so many things that nobody writes about. It’s incredible. Trump wants the DNC server investigated because he doesn’t agree with CrowdStrike’s conclusion that Russia hacked the server. He apparently believes the conspiracy theory that the DNC server hack was an inside job by Seth Rich which ultimately led to Rich’s murder by the Clinton cabal. He also believes that a very rich Ukrainian owns CrowdStrike. This Ukrainian bit is completely false. From the 2019 transcript: > [@](#): > > The President: I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say Crowdstrike… I guess you have one of your wealthy people… The server, they say Ukraine has it. There are a lot of things that went on, the whole situation. I think you’re surrounding yourself with some of the same people. I would like to have the Attorney General call you or your people and I would like you to get to the bottom of it. As you saw yesterday, that whole nonsense ended with a very poor performance by a man named Robert Mueller, an incompetent performance, but they say a lot of it started with Ukraine. Whatever you can do, it’s very important that you do it if that’s possible. It appears that he is still looking for CrowdStrike’s wealthy (and imaginary) Ukrainian owner to get to the bottom of the DNC hack and Seth Rich’s murder. As an added bonus he thinks this would exonerate his buddy Putin. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/342 "2019-09-25T20:16:14Z")
Somebody should whisper in Trump’s ear that the President of Kenya has a copy of Obama’s real extremely long birth certificate and see if we can get a transcript of that call. Comedy gold! ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/343 "2019-09-25T20:17:33Z")
Just send him an email from a Kenyan Prince who needs to move some money. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/344 "2019-09-25T20:17:44Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > He’s at [43%](https://fivethirtyeight.com) or [44.9% job approval](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_trump_job_approval-6179.html), depending on who you choose to believe. There is plenty of time to worry in the future about the possibility of Trump getting elected for four more years, but I gotta say right now that the fact that Trump’s approval has been on a steady upswing at Five Thirty Eight since early September, for reasons I cannot really fathom, this is the thing that’s worrying me now. It will be quite interesting to see what happens now that the impeachment process has been “officially” started. This does of course go without saying. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/345 "2019-09-25T20:19:37Z")
A Yahoo article laid out what I think sounds like a likely timetable House passes Senate does not convict All wrapped up within three months Republicans and Dems in opposite party districts sweat but this does little to affect the outcome of the presidential election. I think this sounds likely. What do you all think? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/346 "2019-09-25T20:23:08Z")
I think we can already predict the high mark for number of Trump voters- the same as last time. Tops. No matter what happens. (plus or minus some 4 chan teenagers who turned 18 in the meantime and registered to vote.) ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/347 "2019-09-25T20:24:36Z")
> [@Defensive\_Indifference](#): > > Acting DNI Maguire is scheduled to testify to Congress tomorrow. He threatened to resign if the WH pressured him to withhold his testimony. I have to remember this if he in fact does testify and is forthcoming on all questions. I admit it right here that when I heard he was holding back the whistle-blower complaint, I immediately pegged him as just another feckless, craven Trump toady. I’ve got to remind myself not to do that sort of thing, and let the facts out before making such snap decisions. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/348 "2019-09-25T20:26:43Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > Can’t link to cite, but a WH official has claimed there were no redactions and the ellipses indicate that the speaker’s voice trailed off at those points. > > Also, Susan Collins is apparently “not commenting”. I’ve read that there were way too few words in the transcript for the conversation to have taken 30 minutes. If true, I find it hard to believe the part about no redactions. I could accept the part about the ellipses though. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/349 "2019-09-25T20:26:58Z")
From The Federalist: **[Opinion: Impeachment is winning strategy for Trump](https://a.msn.com/r/2/AAHPTxI?m=en-us&referrerID=InAppShare)** > [@](#): > > …Trump believes the impeachment proceedings will actually help his reelection campaign, and the fundraising dollars show it. > > Politico reported that after Democrats announced impeachment proceedings Tuesday, the RNC sent fundraising emails urging conservative voters to join the “Official Impeachment Defense Task Force,” and Trump’s reelection campaign netted about $1 million. > … ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/350 "2019-09-25T20:29:07Z")
Again, these are people who took sharpies to weather maps. Who really believes their self-reported campaign fund raising tallies any more? ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/351 "2019-09-25T20:32:23Z")
IMHO…the barrier to impeachment before was public perception of “Dems using the process to overturn the 2016 election on wishy washy charges leading to a lot of congress seats turning over” I’d say that barrier has been surpassed by the fairly damning nature of whats happened with Ukraine. Now yes we’re gonna dance on the heads on pins for a few months but actual removal wasnt the problem. It was public perception hurting Dems. i still think this is gonna be a wash in the end. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/352 "2019-09-25T20:33:26Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > Can’t link to cite, but a WH official has claimed there were no redactions and the ellipses indicate that the speaker’s voice trailed off at those points. > … Why would you believe a WH official about anything? If you can’t believe them about the weather and they lie directly to the Supreme Court, why would they be truthful here? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/353 "2019-09-25T20:43:13Z")
Burr says the whistleblower report has been delivered to the Senate Intelligence Committee. I haven’t seen if it has been redacted. > ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/354 "2019-09-25T20:45:23Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > What’s your cite for Zelensky knowing that President Trump was “personally withholding the money”? The military aid to Ukraine was approved by congress. [Then Trump didn’t send it. Until September.](https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/9/24/20881505/donald-trump-withhold-aid-ukraine-timeline-whistleblower) It was Trump’s decision to hold back this aid. Nobody else. This is well known. Trump was still withholding the money at the time of his call to the Ukraine president. > [@](#): > > Trump’s administration had initially told Congress it was releasing the aid to Ukraine on February 28. It told Congress again on May 23 that the aid would be released and has struggled to explain — both publicly and to the lawmakers who approved the aid — exactly why the funds were withheld ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/355 "2019-09-25T21:07:24Z")
> [@KidCharlemagne](#): > > Watching Trump and a couple Republicans on Fox, it appears they’re going to play the “Democrats are wasting time and blocking important legislation on gun control, infrastructure, and drug prices.” When the Senate acquits they are going to go fucking nuts about his “innocence.” We are truly fucked. This was an impetuous move that changes nothing regarding the investigation, but opens us up to look like idiots. So where do you draw the line? If extorting a foreign nation to launch a bogus investigation into your political enemies doesn’t have any consequences, Trumps going to see it as an invitation to escalate further. If Barr order the FBI to arrest Biden is that enough? If he order the SEC to shut down the Washington Post will that make you think that maybe someone should stand up to him? Hopefully by the time he canceles the election you won’t worry about the political impact that impeachment might have. At some point you need to make a stand and hope that there are enough level headed Americans to stand with you, or else you are just going to have to accept that the rule of law is dead. ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/356 "2019-09-25T21:17:26Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Republicans: There is no crime to investigate without explicit magic phrases of quid pro quo. > Also Republicans: Biden needs to be investigated because of vague connections for his son working in Ukraine or something. This is fucking beautiful, and dead on. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Republican side summed up so perfectly in just 2 lines. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/357 "2019-09-25T21:25:32Z")
> [@Defensive\_Indifference](#): > > Burr says the whistleblower report has been delivered to the Senate Intelligence Committee. I haven’t seen if it has been redacted. > > [https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1176954680519344128](https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1176954680519344128) I’m interested in hearing more about this. So far, is all I’ve seen is rumors that the whisteblower didn’t have fist-hand knowledge of the call, and that he may have had partisan motives for his/her whistleblowing. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/358 "2019-09-25T21:25:34Z")
> [@steatopygia](#): > > Didn’t I hear something about some of the states doing away with this elections Republican primaries? 🙂 I avoid this shit like the clap, but I recall my wife saying that the Republican Party of Nevada cancelled the primary caucus. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/359 "2019-09-25T21:26:17Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > The _National Review_ is no longer a magazine. Failure to recognize implied figurative noted. I’ll try to be more careful in the future. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2019, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/360 "2019-09-25T21:27:23Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I’m interested in hearing more about this. So far, is all I’ve seen is rumors that the whisteblower didn’t have fist-hand knowledge of the call, and that he may have had partisan motives for his/her whistleblowing. If that’s “all (you’ve) seen”, I may suggest changing the channel. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771.md?page=19)