# 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:** 200
**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:** [November 8, 2019, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/3981 "2019-11-08T15:42:06Z")
1. has already been decided. Moscow Mitch has told the Republican senators how they will vote, before any evidence has even been presented. They refuse to even hear the evidence. They bitched when the hearings were held in committee. Now they bitch that the hearings will be public. In any event, they will not listen to any evidence. Think of all of the Republican Senators as being even MORE intransigent and even MORE resistant to evidence than our own favorite posters here… That is how it will go. \ “La la la la la la I don’t hear you… NOT GUILTY!” ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/3982 "2019-11-08T15:51:31Z")
Don’t forget that Trump already has [$158 million](https://www.politico.com/news/2019/10/21/trump-money-democrats-2020-election-050962) available for his reelection campaign. All that and more will be used to defend Trump in the court of public opinion as well as attacking Democrats and convincing swing voters to stay home. Not to mention the fact that the “mainstream media” _still_ can’t resist repeating every one of Trump’s lies. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/3983 "2019-11-08T16:00:52Z")
I still think there’s a sliver of hope that the live testimony moves public opinion that continuing to support Donald becomes untenable for Republicans. If the political cost for support exceeds the cost to cut him loose, then they will let him go. For this to happen, the public has to engage and those polls really have to shift. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/3984 "2019-11-08T16:06:52Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I still think there’s a sliver of hope that the live testimony moves public opinion that continuing to support Donald becomes untenable for Republicans. If the political cost for support exceeds the cost to cut him loose, then they will let him go. For this to happen, the public has to engage and those polls really have to shift. I think that’s very unlikely – it would have to cut into Trump’s base, which seems impossible. But what might be possible (though who knows how likely) is the live testimony moving public opinion to the edge of Trump’s base – something like 60-40 for impeachment and removal, such that the vulnerable Republican Senators vote for removal. Still wouldn’t be enough to remove, but the intra-GOP shitstorm that this would cause would be hugely beneficial for the Democrats (not to mention hugely entertaining!). ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/3985 "2019-11-08T16:11:25Z")
[Frank Thorp V](https://twitter.com/frankthorp/status/1192833625311588353), _NBC News_: > [@](#): > > Per an official working on the impeachment inquiry: “1 minute before his scheduled deposition was to start, Mulvaney’s outside counsel informed us that his client had been directed by the WH not to comply with the duly authorized subpoena and asserted ‘absolute immunity’” From [Wikipedia’s page on absolute immunity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_immunity): > [@](#): > > In 2019, the Trump administration resisted efforts by House Democrats to compel Trump aides to testify, asserting that close aides to the president enjoy absolute immunity from providing testimony to Congress, with the Justice Department stating in a May 2019 opinion, “The immunity of the President’s immediate advisers from compelled congressional testimony on matters related to their official responsibilities has long been recognized and arises from the fundamental workings of the separation of powers.” However, the only time this concept had been tested in court was in 2008, when US District Court judge John Bates ruled “there is no judicial support whatsoever” for it and that it “would eviscerate Congress’ historical oversight function.” ---
**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:** [November 8, 2019, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/3986 "2019-11-08T16:57:55Z")
I think it is only a matter of time before Trump orders the jailing of his political opponents. Any law enforcement will just ignore him, but still… ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/3987 "2019-11-08T17:02:40Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Any law enforcement will just ignore him, but still… I think that just might be wishful thinking on your part. ---
**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:** [November 8, 2019, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/3988 "2019-11-08T17:52:20Z")
**[CBS Will Pre-Empt Programming For Donald Trump Impeachment Hearing Coverage](https://deadline.com/2019/11/cbs-news-impeachment-hearing-1202781213/)** > [@](#): > > CBS is the first U.S. broadcast network to announce its plans to pre-empt regular daytime programming for coverage of next week’s first public hearings in the impeachment inquiry. All of the broadcast networks are expected to join cable news channels and news streaming services to cover the hearings, which will start Wednesday with the testimony of Bill Taylor, the top diplomat in Ukraine, and George Kent, deputy assistant secretary in the European and Eurasian > > CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell will lead coverage of the hearing and another one scheduled for November 15, with testimony from Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. CBS Evening News also will originate from Washington on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of next week. The newscast is expected to move to Washington permanently by the end of the year. > … Not finding this on the CBS News web page, so not 100% sure it’s legit. Takes me back to 1973 when I was a Bright Young Thing and rushed home from work to watch John Dean’s testimony on TV every day. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/3989 "2019-11-08T17:59:35Z")
It’s so unfair - for once, CSPAN has the chance to be interesting and the other networks are stealing its thunder. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/3990 "2019-11-08T18:09:21Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I think that just might be wishful thinking on your part. I’m afraid you’re right. The US is on the knife edge of falling into despotism. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/3991 "2019-11-08T18:17:56Z")
Andrew Sullivan has a nice take on impeachment > **[Andrew Sullivan: This Is No Ordinary Impeachment](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/11/andrew-sullivan-this-is-no-ordinary-impeachment.html)** > > It’s a deeper reckoning. It’s about whether the legitimacy of our entire system can last much longer without Trump being removed from office. It’s all good, but was especially glad to read this part: > [@](#): > > And most important of all, Trump has turned the GOP — one of our two major parties with a long and distinguished history — into an accomplice in his crimes. Senator Lindsey Graham, perhaps the most contemptible figure of the last couple of years, even says he will not read witness transcripts or follow the proceedings in the House or consider the evidence in a legal impeachment inquiry, because he regards the whole impeachment process as “B.S” and a “sham.” This is a senator calling the constitutional right of the House of Representatives to impeach a president _illegitimate_. ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/3992 "2019-11-08T18:20:14Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > **[CBS Will Pre-Empt Programming For Donald Trump Impeachment Hearing Coverage](https://deadline.com/2019/11/cbs-news-impeachment-hearing-1202781213/)** > Not finding this on the CBS News web page, so not 100% sure it’s legit. > > Takes me back to 1973 when I was a Bright Young Thing and rushed home from work to watch John Dean’s testimony on TV every day. Wonder if Faux News will carry it, and if so, do their own voiceovers so their [del]worshippers[/del] viewers will not have to hear any of the **FAKE** news of their Dear Leader. ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/3993 "2019-11-08T18:27:49Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > **[CBS Will Pre-Empt Programming For Donald Trump Impeachment Hearing Coverage](https://deadline.com/2019/11/cbs-news-impeachment-hearing-1202781213/)** > Not finding this on the CBS News web page, so not 100% sure it’s legit. > > Takes me back to 1973 when I was a Bright Young Thing and rushed home from work to watch John Dean’s testimony on TV every day. I was 11, my brothers were 10, and we were mad that our shows weren’t on the air. Andy Griffith was probably one. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/3994 "2019-11-08T18:33:57Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > **[CBS Will Pre-Empt Programming For Donald Trump Impeachment Hearing Coverage](https://deadline.com/2019/11/cbs-news-impeachment-hearing-1202781213/)** > Not finding this on the CBS News web page, so not 100% sure it’s legit. > > Takes me back to 1973 when I was a Bright Young Thing and rushed home from work to watch John Dean’s testimony on TV every day. And I lamented that they preempted Gilligan’s Island. I can remember so vividly asking my mother wtf was going on. ---
**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:** [November 8, 2019, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/3995 "2019-11-08T18:53:23Z")
Turns out, if Trump can be believed (Ha-ha. Yeah, I know. I’ll give you a minute to catch your breath…) He hardly even knows Gordon Sondland! ““I hardly know the gentleman”, said Trump of Gordon Sondland, whom Donald appointed as Ambassador to the European Union, and who donated $1 million to his inauguration.” > **[Trump on Gordon Sondland: 'I hardly know the gentleman' | Boing Boing](https://boingboing.net/2019/11/08/trump-on-gordon-sondland-i.html)** > > Donald is throwing Gordon Sondland under the Trump bus. You knew this was inevitable. Remember that time Sondland gave him a million dollars? ETA: Amusing .GIFs and Twitter links at above link ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/3996 "2019-11-08T19:04:52Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > I think you should go on, because in none of those cases do I see a judgement or admission of wrongdoing, much less _personal_ wrongdoing or proof of conning. > > ~Max The [judgement](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/07/nyregion/trump-charities-new-york.html) included an admission of wrongdoing. So, everything you wrote is irrelevant. He admitted he ran a fraudulent charity. “The settlement, which was finalized last month and announced on Thursday in the judge’s order, included a detailed admission of misconduct that is rare for the president, who has long employed a scorched-earth approach toward fighting lawsuits.” ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/3997 "2019-11-08T19:05:59Z")
> [@KidCharlemagne](#): > > And I lamented that they preempted Gilligan’s Island. I can remember so vividly asking my mother wtf was going on. We watched it in class! I always had a grudge against Mr \_\_\_\_\_ but he was a good guy. ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/3998 "2019-11-08T19:06:30Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Turns out, if Trump can be believed (Ha-ha. Yeah, I know. I’ll give you a minute to catch your breath…) > He hardly even knows Gordon Sondland! > ““I hardly know the gentleman”, said Trump of Gordon Sondland, whom Donald appointed as Ambassador to the European Union, and who donated $1 million to his inauguration.” > [https://boingboing.net/2019/11/08/trump-on-gordon-sondland-i.html](https://boingboing.net/2019/11/08/trump-on-gordon-sondland-i.html) > ETA: Amusing .GIFs and Twitter links at above link _NYMag/Intelligencer_: [GOP Ukraine Defense: Trump Was Just a Patsy for Sondland](http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/11/gop-ukraine-defense-trump-patsy-sondland-impeachment.html?utm_source=tw) > [@](#): > > _The Washington Post_ reports House Republicans are formulating a new impeachment defense of President Trump. Rather than deny that the extortion scheme took place, or defend the extortion as a legitimate exercise in foreign policy, they plan to make the case that his deputies “could have acted on their own to influence Ukraine policy.” So the whole scheme was going on right under Trump’s nose, without his knowledge or participation? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2019, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/3999 "2019-11-08T19:08:17Z")
> [@MulderMuffin](#): > > Honestly, is he worth it? Is Trump’s vanity and power and reputation worth more than the whole of these United States of America? > > Frankly, if there’s even a decent chance that he’s guilty of what is alleged (and I think he is entirely guilty of all that and more), is this one man’s continued employment worth the legacy that an acquittal would lead to? The future abuses of power? The future unlimited power of the person we call the president, whomever that might be? > > I’d rather it come to pass that we fire an innocent man than that we live under the yoke of a possible corrupt tyrant. And we, after all, are only taking about firing him from his job. Not prison. Not execution. Not fines or deportation or loss of any kind except loss of employment. And I heard him say that he’s losing money by holding this job, so he’d be financially better off if fired, by his own estimation. The fact that the President was elected by the states is a big factor in weighing the importance of his position. I don’t particularly care if the President loses his job, I care that the states(/people) are disenfranchised. But I am making the same argument across two threads, and I invite you to join us in the debate thread. ~Max ---
**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:** [November 8, 2019, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/4000 "2019-11-08T19:15:58Z")
"(CNN)The [National Security Council’s top Ukraine expert](https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/07/politics/alexander-vindman-national-security-council-work/index.html)told lawmakers there was “no ambiguity” ahead of [President Donald Trump’s July call](https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/25/politics/donald-trump-ukraine-transcript-call/index.html)with his Ukrainian counterpart that the Ukrainians would have to start an investigation into Trump’s political rival in order to secure a meeting between the two, according to a transcript of his testimony released Friday. Lt. Col. [Alexander Vindman](https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/28/politics/alexander-vindman-nsc-impeachment-testimony/index.html) testified to House impeachment inquiry investigators in a closed door deposition that “there was no doubt about” what Trump was asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for during the July 25 call: having a foreign government investigate a US citizen in exchange for a meeting between the two heads of state." > **[White House officials testify quid pro quo effort was coordinated with...](https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/08/politics/transcripts-released-fiona-hill-alexander-vindman/index.html)** > > Two White House officials told lawmakers the "blatant" push for politically motivated investigations from President Donald Trump left "no ambiguity" what the Ukrainians needed to do to secure a highly sought meeting — and the effort was coordinated... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771.md?page=199) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771.md?page=201)