Impeachment Hearing Circus Begins
I debated whether to cover this sham of an impeachment hearing. It is a total clown show lead by an idiot who himself was totally pranked by a Russian comedian who claimed that Putin had naked pictures of Trump. And we’re supposed to take this guy seriously?
But I decided to proceed because this hearing gets to the root of the entire Trump presidency: Trump vs the Deep State. This was not supposed to happen. Hillary was going to win and the elites would maintain control. But then those pesky gnats, the American voters, upended everything. This could not be allowed to stand. The election must be reversed and Trump removed. The impeachment hearings are just the latest attempt to do this. It will fail as well.
So hear are the highlights of the first day of hearings. And I have to give credit to the House GOP. They are doing an excellent job of exposing this for the laughable sham it is. Putting Jim Jordan on the committee was brilliant. He was the MVP today. And if Bill Taylor is the best witness Schiff has, he’s in deep trouble.
I loved Devin Nunes’ opening statement:
“In a July open hearing of this committee following publication of the Mueller report, the Democrats engaged in a last-ditch effort to convince the American people that President Trump is a Russian agent. That hearing was the pitiful finale of a three year long operation by the Democrats, the corrupt media and partisan bureaucrats to overturn the results of the 2016 election. After the spectacular implosion of their Russia hoax on July 24th in which they spent years denouncing any Republican, whoever shook hands with a Russian. On July 25th they turned on a dime and now claim the real malfeasance is Republican’s dealings with Ukraine. In the blink of an eye, we’re asked to simply forget about Democrats on this committee falsely claiming they had more than circumstantial evidence of collusion between President Trump and Russians. We should forget about them reading fabrications of Trump, Russia, collusion from the steel dossier into the congressional record.
We should also forget about them trying to obtain nude pictures of Trump from Russian pranksters who pretended to be Ukrainian officials. We should forget about them leaking a false story to CNN while he was still testifying to our committee claiming that Donald Trump jr. was colluding with WikiLeaks. And forget about countless other deceptions, large and small that make them the last people on earth with the credibility to hurl more preposterous accusations at their political opponents.”
Then it was on to the questioning:
Michael Turner, Ohio: One example of that, Ambassador Taylor, is that you who testified in your prior testimony that you have not had any contact with the President of the United States. Is that correct?
Bill Taylor: That’s correct, sir.
Michael Turner: Mr. Taylor, Mr. Kent, have you had any contact with President of the United States?
George Kent: I have not.
Michael Turner: So not only, no conversations with the President of the United States about Ukraine. You’ve not had any contact with the President of the United States, correct?
Bill Taylor: That’s correct.
Michael Turner: Okay, so you both know that this impeachment inquiry is about the President of the United States, don’t you? I mean, the man that neither one of you have had any contact with, you’re the first up witnesses. I just find that a little amazing, that the first up, would be two people who have never had any contact with the President himself.
Michael Turner: Ambassador, you testified about a number of things that you heard. Isn’t it true, possible, that the things that you heard were not true? That some of the beliefs and understandings that you had, are not accurate? That in fact, you’re mistaken about some of the things that you testified today, on a factual basis, versus a professional assessment?
Bill Taylor: I am telling you what I heard them tell me.
Michael Turner: They could be wrong, or they could be mistaken, or they could have heard it incorrectly. Right, Ambassador Taylor?
Bill Taylor: People make mistakes
So no direct contact with the President and an admission that he could be wrong. Absolutely brilliant questioning by Turner!
Later, after listening to the Democrats lead their witnesses on just about every question, John Ratcliffe was interrupted by pencil neck Schiff for supposedly doing the same thing. Ratcliffe fired both barrels back at him:
“Mr. Chairman I sat here through the first 45 minutes and literally had an objection to almost the foundation of every question that Mr. Goldman asked regarding facts not in evidence, leading, but House Resolution 660 does not say that we are under the federal rules of evidence. If it is your position that I should be asserting objections to questions that violate the federal rules of evidence, let me know now, because this hearing’s going to change significantly”
Next was Dr. Wenstrup, who destroyed the implied accusation that our relationship with Ukraine was worse under Trump:
Dr Wenstrup: In your deposition, you spoke of support for Ukraine and its relationship to the United States and how much you support that. In 2014 you, and I’m quoting this, “Urged Obama administration to provide lethal defensive weapons in order to deter further Russian aggression.” Did the Obama administration provide lethal weapons?
Taylor: No sir.
Dr. Wenstrup: They provided MREs and blankets and things like that. In your deposition, you also said President Obama’s objection was because it might provoke the Russians and in fact you testified in your deposition that the Obama administration didn’t have a good argument since Russia had already provoked and they have invaded Ukraine. Is that correct?
Taylor: That’s correct sir.
(And Trump is the one who is clueless on foreign policy????).
Dr. Wenstrup: In your deposition, you said, and I quote happy, you were “Happy with Trump administration’s assistance.” And it provided both lethal and financial aid. Did it not?
Taylor: It did sir
Dr: Wenstrup: And you also stated that it was a substantial improvement. Is that correct?
Taylor: That’s correct, sir.
Next was John Ratcliffe again with more devastation:
John Ratcliffe: Ukrainian president stood in front of the world press and repeatedly, consistently over and over again, interview after interview said he had no knowledge of military aid being withheld. Meaning no quid pro quo, no pressure, no demands, no threats, no blackmail, nothing corrupt. And unlike the first 45 minutes that we heard from the Democrats today, that’s not secondhand information. It’s not hearsay it’s not what someone overheard ambassador Sandlin say, that was his direct testimony. Ambassador Taylor, do you have any evidence to assert that president Zelensky was lying to the world press when he said those things? Yes or no?
Bill Taylor: I have no reason to doubt what the president said in his press conference.
John Ratcliffe: Okay, very good. In this impeachment hearing today where we impeach presidents for treason or bribery or other high crimes, where is the impeachable offense in that call? Are either of you here today to assert there was an impeachable offense in that call? Shout it out. Anyone?
(Bueller?).
There was silence at this point for several seconds.
Bill Taylor: Ratcliffe, I would just like to say that I am not here to do anything having to do with having to decide about impeachment. That is not what either of us are here to do. This is your job.
Oh my my my. Adam Schiff must have been having a heart attack about now!
Ratcliffe finished with this: “If house Democrats impeach president Trump for a quid pro quo involving military aid, they have to call president Zelensky a liar. If they impeach him for abusing his power, or pressuring, or making threats or demands, they have to call president Zelensky a liar to do it.”
That is an excellent point!
But the best exchange came from Jim Jordan, who ran over Bill Taylor’s testimony in an 18 wheeler then backed it up and ran over it again for good measure:
Jim Jordan:Ambassador Taylor recalls that Mr. Morrison told Ambassador Taylor that I told Mr. Morrison that I convey this message to Mr. Yarmack on September 1, 2019 in connection with Vice President Pence’s meeting to Warsaw and a meeting with President Zelensky,’ And this is the clarification,” Jordan said. “Let me read it again. ‘Ambassador Taylor recalls that Mr. Morrison told Ambassador Taylor that I told Mr. Morrison that I convey this message to Mr. Yarmack on September 1, 2019 in connection with Vice President Pence’s meeting to Warsaw and a meeting with President Zelensky.’
We got six people having four conversations in one sentence and you just told me this is where you got the clear understanding. I’ve seen church prayer chains that are easier to understand than this.
Devastating!
Here’s more:
Jordan: You didn’t listen in on President Trump & Zelensky’s call?
Taylor: I did not.
Jordan: You’ve never talked with Chief of Staff Mulvaney?
Taylor: I never did.
Jordan: You’ve never met the President?
Taylor: That’s correct.
Jordan: And you’re their star witness.
BOOM!
The stupidest comment of the day, amazingly, does not go to Adam Schiff but to Michael Quigley of Illinois: “Hearsay can be much better evidence than direct.”
You can’t make this stuff up!
So just how bad was it? This bad!:
People are LEAVING their seats in the #ImpeachmentHearings public gallery.
Never happened during Watergate.
If you got a seat, you STAYED put.
People lined up outside are replacing leavers.
This means one thing for Dems. The public is BORED by this.
Even staff seats sparse!
Jeffrey Toobin said it is a problem that neither Kent or Taylor had “direct contact with the president”. You think? Gee that’s quire a brilliant analysis there.
Of course over at Fox Chris Wallace thought things were going peachy for the Democrats: “William Taylor was a very impressive witness and was very damaging to the President. It also doesn’t hurt that he has a voice like Edward R. Murrow.”
Well, with a voice like that he has to be impressive! I remind you that Chris Wallace thought Kavanaugh was in trouble as well. Chris, you need to retire. You simple don’t know what you’re talking about (if you ever did).
It’s hard to describe just what a train wreck this was for the left. It was like a Rock Bottom followed by a Stone Cold Stunner capped off by a Brock Lesner F5. If Pelosi of Borg were smart she’ll be shutting this down soon. I am actually surprised she was stupid enough to let this go forward in the first place. She is obviously not running the show any more. Which means it will probably go on.
Personally I have mixed feelings on this. It is maddening to see radicals trying to execute a coup and reverse the will of the people. It is a sad day for the country. On the other hand, they have ensured Trump’s re-election and likely their own defeat in the House. These folks should suffer incredible punishment at the ballot box next fall. It can’t come soon enough.
