However…
Curiouser and curiouser…
If the IG is forcing the issue knowing there are people wavering, yes, cagey. Cagey enough.
Anyway, if what I quoted above, from a journalist on the scene, is true, then never mind. 
It’s not a position, it’s a hypothetical that matches the information that we have been given - presuming that information to be accurate.
I doubt that the IG is doing it for that express reason (if so). More likely, he caught wind that something bad was going to happen to the materials, so he decided to act.
Obviously, the documents were requested for just such a use and whatever “bad thing” that was ordered would have been to try and prevent those documents from being available to Congress. But it’s the timing of the “bad thing” that prompted the IG to act, not political maneuvering. (Or, that would be my expectation.)
I can see why it’s urgent. A bunch of bullshit, sent to Pompeo from “someone” at the Trump hotel, and it’s a bunch of crap intended to smear and intimidate witnesses.
It’s witness tampering, and someone needs to investigate pronto to find out who is attempting to do this.
A Finnish reporter asked the president of Finland “What kind of favors has Mr. Trump asked from you?”
“We don’t know where it came from… the whole thing looks rather amateurish to me,” he says."
Oh that’s got team Trump all over it.
Hypotheticals can be shortlived. 
Yep. Investigate. Find out who sent the bullshit. Charge them. Trial. Jail time.
This IG report is turning into the smocking gun.
(Sorry. Not.)
I was thinking that it smelled like a Jacob Wohl joint.
Yeah, good point. We should try to narrow this down. Was there any Sharpie?
Wait… another tweet… ugh, might go to bed, let y’all tell me what happened:
(Congressional Reporter for Politico)
“Dem source says the WH “sent an envelope to Sec. Pompeo … The envelope contained a bunch of TRUMP HOTEL folders. Those folders contained notes from interviews that took place at Rudy Giuliani’s NYC office with various Ukrainians about debunked conspiracies related to Ukraine.””
Ah, thanks!
Looks like these documents were intended to smear former ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, just before she testifies to congress.
This is called witness tampering, and is illegal.
Find out who sent these documents, investigate them, have a trial and jail them for 20 years.
However, WaPo is reporting that Pence was “involved” in the effort to pressure Ukraine, and one of his top advisers was on the 7/25 call. Pence “could have” had the transcript “within hours”. Pence traveled to Warsaw to meet Zelensky on September 1. His aides say that he either hadn’t read or didnt fully register the call before his trip.
I haven’t read the article, which is paywalled, but a WaPo reporter tweeted about it here: https://twitter.com/JoyceWhiteVance/status/1179515559572058112?s=19
What do you think President Pelosi’s first executive order will be?
Some background on Marie Yovanovitch that is useful:
Trump made a rather clumsy threat about Yovanovitch, in his call to Zelinsky:
Ousted U.S. diplomat could be crucial to impeachment inquiry
Now we can speculate that the “things” were whatever smears Team Trump had cooked up to reveal in the Trump Hotel doc-package.
Well, the Republican is 100% right: the Republican Senators *won’*t put the country or rule-of-law ahead of politics.
But if the politics change, they will vote to convict.
It comes down to that. Some combination of poll numbers combined with major-donor messaging, that signals to Republican Senators ‘I’ll make out better if Trump is removed than if he stays’…that’s what would do it.
Today’s Dow drop* is one of those factors that if continued, could make the difference. And yes, it’s awful to be rooting for the Dow to drop—but much worse than that awaits the world if Mr. Lawless remains in power.
*Just under 500 points:Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) Charts, Data & News - Yahoo Finance
Jesus. Local wingnut Chris Berg, who comes on after the CBS Evening News here, intensely grilled ND senator Kevin Cramer on why the Senate isn’t going hard after “crooked Joe Biden”. :rolleyes:
Actually, the answer to your question is YES. Trump can’t appoint his own Presidential replacement, but he could appoint the person he wants to replace himself (Trump) as VP if Pence resigns, knowing that if he, Trump, also resigns, Pence’s replacement would then become Trump’s replacement, keeping the White House GOP until the 2020 election. Of course, whoever Trump would pick as Pence’s replacement would have to be confirmed by the (GOP-majority) Senate. And this scenario has happened before.
In October, 1973, Richard Nixon’s VP, Spiro Agnew, resigned after pleading nolo contendere to charges of tax fraud and corruption when back Agnew had been governor of Maryland. Nixon appointed Gerald Ford as his new VP. The Senate confirmed Ford. The following August, Nixon resigned, and Ford became President and then pardoned Nixon. Ford then appointed Nelson Rockefeller his VP, and the Senate confirmed. From then until Jimmy Carter’s inauguration in 1977, the President of the United States had never appeared on a ballot as a nominee for US President/Vice-President.
And in fact, this would be a more likely scenario than Trump and the GOP allowing Pelosi to assume the Oval Office as successor.