# 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:** 211
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/4201 "2019-11-13T15:40:39Z")
As I listen to the opening of the inquiry, I am reminded of this quote\* > [@](#): > > Isn’t that just like an American Democrat? Brings facts to a disinformation fight. > > - Влади́мир Пу́тин \*Imagined ---
**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 13, 2019, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/4202 "2019-11-13T15:56:42Z")
Bill Taylor [in Vietnam](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/WSCT6cvvz9uWvL0RYZIWNA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD0xMTEyLjgzMg--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/BoSZOvbalwB0MNDtPSFJ3Q--~B/aD04OTY7dz0xMDAwO3NtPTE7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://media-mbst-pub-ue1.s3.amazonaws.com/creatr-uploaded-images/2019-11/6ab82170-04e7-11ea-bf95-2992bbbe7e71). ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/4203 "2019-11-13T15:57:14Z")
> [@Mr.Duality](#): > > Many of our current problems could be solved by eliminating the influence of money in politics. Health care costs and gun control leap immediately to mind. > > Allowing only college-educated people to vote would be a good thing. Dinesh D’Souza and Steve Doocy are both college educated. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/4204 "2019-11-13T15:59:02Z")
Watching Kent so far, all I can think is **Stitch Fix Fail** Bill is testifying at his first first Impeachment Hearing, so he called his Stitch Fix stylist to find the perfect outfit. Too bad the stylist was a Republican operative. ---
**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:** [November 13, 2019, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/4205 "2019-11-13T16:06:40Z")
> [@Nunes paraphrased](#): > > First the Dems accused Trump of being a Russian agent, then they pivoted and accuse him of holding up military aid in Ukraine Will someone please explain to Nunes that the military aid that was being held up was to be used against Russia, so its all the same thing? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/4206 "2019-11-13T16:43:49Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Will someone please explain to Nunes that the military aid that was being held up was to be used against Russia, so its all the same thing? :smack: He knows. Truth is not what he’s aiming for. ---
**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:** [November 13, 2019, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/4207 "2019-11-13T16:44:46Z")
Taylor’s opening statement included a bombshell development: On July 26th, a day after the phone call, Taylor’s staffer overheard Trump ask Sondland how the “investigations” were going. When the call was over, the staffer asked Sondland what Trump thinks about Ukraine. Sondland responded that Trump cares more about the Bidens and their being investigated. > ---
**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 13, 2019, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/4208 "2019-11-13T16:52:02Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Taylor’s opening statement included a bombshell development: On July 26th, a day after the phone call, Taylor’s staffer overheard Trump ask Sondland how the “investigations” were going. When the call was over, the staffer asked Sondland what Trump thinks about Ukraine. Sondland responded that Trump cares more about the Bidens and their being investigated. > > [https://twitter.com/kaylatausche/status/1194656148282118144?s=20](https://twitter.com/kaylatausche/status/1194656148282118144?s=20) Sondland will be testifying publicly, right? If he confirms this, then that’s a really big thing that’s actually new. If Sondland isn’t testifying, then they need to try and get this staffer to testify. ---
**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 13, 2019, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/4209 "2019-11-13T17:01:59Z")
I just checked, and Sondland testifies next week on the 20th. ---
**Author:** ![KidCharlemagne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@KidCharlemagne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KidCharlemagne)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/4210 "2019-11-13T17:12:15Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > Bill Taylor [in Vietnam](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/WSCT6cvvz9uWvL0RYZIWNA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD0xMTEyLjgzMg--/https://s.yimg.com/uu/api/res/1.2/BoSZOvbalwB0MNDtPSFJ3Q--~B/aD04OTY7dz0xMDAwO3NtPTE7YXBwaWQ9eXRhY2h5b24-/https://media-mbst-pub-ue1.s3.amazonaws.com/creatr-uploaded-images/2019-11/6ab82170-04e7-11ea-bf95-2992bbbe7e71). He makes for a very credible witness, and I for one, hope he begins a career of audiobook narration after this. He’s got a great voice. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/4211 "2019-11-13T17:18:13Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > Prediction. Republicans will start tossing around the whistleblower’s name to disrupt the hearings. I could see this, and I could see them deliberately trying to disrupt proceedings outright by interrupting, speaking out of turn, basically making it impossible for Schiff to do his job. I wouldn’t have thought this a few months ago, but the stunt they pulled by barging into the SCIF. On a side note, did anyone else hear that none other than AG Bill Barr was apparently colluding with Giuliani on this Ukrainian ‘drug deal,’ as Bolton put it? I mean, Holy Mary Mother of Christ! A sitting AG basically undercutting the Department of State and serving as a de facto foreign policy side channel in an attempt to have another country’s AG initiate criminal proceedings against a political opponent. Post-Nixonian. Nixonian on steroids. ---
**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 13, 2019, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/4212 "2019-11-13T17:25:18Z")
Are the Republicans trying to bolster their image by making Nixon look good in comparison? ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/4213 "2019-11-13T17:26:12Z")
> [@you\_with\_the\_face](#): > > Trump cheated his in way into the White House and he’s trying to cheat again. Even if it means putting our national security interests at risk. This is where you lose me. How did he cheat his way into the white house? The Ukraine quid pro quo seems pretty damning. Claims that he cheated in 2016 seem unsubstantiated. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/4214 "2019-11-13T17:31:34Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > This is where you lose me. How did he cheat his way into the white house? Did you read the Mueller Report? > [@](#): > > We learned that two Trump campaign officials, campaign manager Paul Manafort and Manafort’s deputy Rick Gates, were regularly providing polling information to a Russian national whom Gates believed to be a “spy.” > > We learned that, after Trump publicly called on Russia to find Hillary Clinton’s emails, he privately ordered future National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to find them. Flynn reached out to a man named Peter Smith who (apparently falsely) told a number of people that he was in contact with Russian agents. > > We learned that Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos attempted to arrange meetings between Trump and Putin, and that Trump personally approved Papadopoulos’s work on this front. > > The report is very clear that Mueller’s investigation did not establish that the Trump campaign criminally conspired on illegal Russian election interference, or that it coordinated with Russia through either an active or tacit agreement. > > But the report, combined with other publicly known facts — that Donald Trump Jr. arranged a meeting with the express purpose of obtaining Russian “dirt” on Clinton, and that Papadopoulos was offered similar dirt from a Russian agent, among others — paints a damning picture of the campaign. It was both actively seeking to cultivate a relationship with the Russian government and willing to work with it to acquire damaging information about its political opponents. That willingness included explicitly sharing information with or soliciting information from Russian operatives. > > [Vox](https://www.vox.com/2019/4/18/18484965/mueller-report-trump-no-collusion) Honestly “cheating” is probably the nicest word to use when describing what the Trump campaign demonstratively did and tried to do in order to win the election. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/4215 "2019-11-13T17:44:49Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > This is where you lose me. How did he cheat his way into the white house? > > The Ukraine quid pro quo seems pretty damning. Claims that he cheated in 2016 seem unsubstantiated. One notes that we only ever got a Russia report and never a Saudi Arabia report. The whole Alfa Bank / Trump Tower server communication thing seems to have been tied to Eric Prince and Eric Prince, Steve Bannon, and George Nader were meeting with Alfa and the Saudis in the Seychelles during the interval where their cellphones had all their records deleted. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/4216 "2019-11-13T17:48:21Z")
And here goes Nunes again. Isn’t he supposed to be asking questions at this point, not holding forth? ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/4217 "2019-11-13T17:49:15Z")
> [@Mr.Duality](#): > > Many of our current problems could be solved by eliminating the influence of money in politics. Health care costs and gun control leap immediately to mind. There is a lot of money on the gun control side too. More from the NRA but its not orders of magnitude difference. It might reflect how much more gun rights folks care about guns than gun control folks care about guns. > [@](#): > > Allowing only college-educated people to vote would be a good thing. Sure, because literacy tests worked so well. Or did you mean only require white voters to have a college degree? Why not just say whoever wins in California wins the presidency. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/4218 "2019-11-13T17:53:59Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > One of the wisest, most insightful men I have ever known didn’t finish eighth grade. And I can’t count the number of nincompoops I know with degrees — some with advanced degrees. Not excluding myself. I understand that convicted felon Dinesh D’Souza has a degree from an Ivy League university… ---
**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:** [November 13, 2019, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/4219 "2019-11-13T17:55:16Z")
Despite what you may have heard, the Mueller Report detailed a ton of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. [Guide to the Mueller Report’s Findings on “Collusion”](https://www.justsecurity.org/63838/guide-to-the-mueller-reports-findings-on-collusion/) ---
**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 13, 2019, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771/4220 "2019-11-13T17:59:01Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > There is a lot of money on the gun control side too. More from the NRA but its not orders of magnitude difference. It might reflect how much more gun rights folks care about guns than gun control folks care about guns. > > Sure, because literacy tests worked so well. Or did you mean only require white voters to have a college degree? > > Why not just say whoever wins in California wins the presidency. > **[NRA Reportedly $10.8 Million in Debt, Cutting Spending](https://www.thedailybeast.com/nra-reportedly-nearly-dollar11-million-in-debt-spending-under-scrutiny)** > > According to The Washington Post, the gun rights groups’ took out a $28 million line of credit, and scaled back its services including cancelling some gun-training sessions. The NRA and money have some problems. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771.md?page=210) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-impeachment-inquiry/840771.md?page=212)