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eke out posted:So the guy who overheard Sondland's call with Trump has just been officially added: Which means Sondland has to decide on Tuesday night if he's going to change his story (and beg forgiveness for lying to Congress) or hope that Holmes isn't found credible on Thursday - and that things he thinks are inconsequential to lie about don't cause Holmes to realize that something he thought was inconsequential was actually important. The Lemondrop Dandy posted:this is the page for the next hearing (Vindman+Williams), starts 8am EST https://www.c-span.org/video/?466376-1/impeachment-hearing-lt-col-vindman-vice-president-pence-aide aughhhhh it was bad enough having a hearing start at 8 Central, but 7 instead of 8? I'll have to subject both my kids to it (or make my husband drive them, hmmmmmm....)
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Nov 18, 2019 23:47
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BigBallChunkyTime posted:Work with Judy To be fair, these hearings would be more interesting with Judge Judy presiding.
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Nov 19, 2019 15:15
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Ehud posted:What is the deal with the "Schiff knows the identity of the whisteblower" sign that the Republicans keep trotting out? He says he doesn't, and nobody has proven they've met. I love that after Republicans used their time so well in the last hearing to read in headlines, Nunes is now using his opening statements to.... read in headlines. And call news organizations puppets. (No puppet, no puppet, you're the puppet.)
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Nov 19, 2019 15:22
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"It was with great pride that I swore an oath to defend the Constitution, administered by a personal hero, former secretary of state Condoleeza Rice" == I am not a Democrat (At least, I think that's why Ms. Williams included that in her opening statement; she knows she's been maligned as a Democrat Puppet.)
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Nov 19, 2019 15:34
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Interesting; I didn't expect Williams's lawyer to prevent her from answering "did anything happen on the call that is relevant to our inquiry", but her expression when she said "I would be very happy to testify in a classified session" suggests there's definitely something in her mind.
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Nov 19, 2019 15:51
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There Bias Two posted:His speculation suggests that it was not intentionally omitted from the "transcript". But when Vindman reported what company had been said, rather than just 'the company', his correction wasn't made.
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Nov 19, 2019 16:05
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Dapper_Swindler posted:whats castor going for with this? This is Goldman, the Dems' counsel, and he's trying to illustrate that nobody in the government would have suggested that Trump ask Zelenskyy about, or ask him for, anything that Trump did ask about/for.
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Nov 19, 2019 16:09
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Wylie posted:It's very Russian-like, but definitely distinct from Russian. They both use the Cyrillic alphabet. Distinct like Spanish and French, or like Spanish-in-Spain and Spanish-in-Argentina? Strange Poon posted:is it just me or is this stuff out of vindman way more damning than the already very damning stuff we've heard Well, yes, of course it is, we've moved from "I heard about this, and it sounded hinky" to "Someone told me about this, and I was suspicious" to today, "I was there for that, and  "
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Nov 19, 2019 16:18
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eke out posted:his demeanor really undercuts the attacks that he's like some brash, insubordinate nevertrumper who had poor judgment And scared as hell. "It's not... it's not entirely accurate but... but I'm not sure I'd describe it as false..."
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Nov 19, 2019 16:22
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refleks posted:Yeah and it's gonna get even more clear in a few minutes when that squinting dipshit Castro takes over... Castor, Castro is the Democratic representative whose twin is running for president.
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Nov 19, 2019 16:34
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"Did you know about this thing?" "I wasn't working on ukraine policy" "How about this other thing" "Uh I wasn't working on Ukraine policy" "WELL WHAT ABOUT THIS" "uh no" oh good he's going to ask the exact same questions of Vindman now!
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Nov 19, 2019 16:36
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refleks posted:What's the catch with these questions? Given that it's Nunes, I think he might think one of them would have said yes, or might laugh, or might look suspicious as they said no; also, even if they say no, now he can say that Vindman "denied knowing" or whatever.
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Nov 19, 2019 16:39
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AHAHAHAH "Do you know anyone who's talked to the press about the July 25th call?" "Well, we have a NSC press shop...?" Edit: "No, I mean, do you know any individual?" "Thank you, Ranking Member, for clarifying. I do not." How do you say "bless your heart" in Ukrainian?
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Nov 19, 2019 16:41
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StrangersInTheNight posted:Shocked awe through the audience at 'you can't expose the whistleblower' And immediately thereafter Nunes asked, "You testified that you did not know the whistleblower, correct?" "I've been advised not to discuss members of the intelligence community. I am following the advice of my counsel and the chairman of the committee." Nunes: "You can plead the fifth, but you're here to answer questions!!"
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Nov 19, 2019 16:46
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Angry_Ed posted:The GOP literally have no new questions, this sounds like the exact same questions posed to Taylor, Kent, and Yovanovich. With the exception that they got asked "you weren't on the call, why are you here?" and these two get asked "you were on the call, who did you tell?", yes. Castor doing his best to make Vindman say that Trump is concerned about corruption was funny, though; the best he could get was a yes to "but the president should be concerned, right?"
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Nov 19, 2019 16:56
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"Was Hunter Biden qualified?" "I don't know him." "You testified you didn't think he was qualified." "Well, I don't know him." At this point subpoena-ing Hunter Biden would honestly be a relief. I mean for all we know he'd say something like "well I took the Rosetta Stone course on the Ukrainian language and also I have a dozen friends who are also failsons on corporate boards and I used Whatsapp to ask them questions during boring meetings".
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Nov 19, 2019 17:00
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PlasticAutomaton posted:What the gently caress is this question line about Canada. So when high school kids get taught how to cross-examine opposing debaters, they're instructed not to ask questions where they don't know the answer; they're not asking because they're curious, they're asking so that the judge (or panel of judges, in finals rounds) hears the answer. Castor apparently really thought that Pence's staff would think going to Canada was more important and would totally have dropped everything, and he keeps flailing around with followup questions because he's not getting the answers he expected. Obviously this means that the Republicans need to hire some high schoolers to do this. Probably not a freshman, but a sophomore could probably do it okay.
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Nov 19, 2019 17:06
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"Did you get offered defense minister?" "Yes" "Did you say yes?" "No" "Then what?" "I told my chain of command." "But it was an honor, right?" "It would be an honor to nurture developing democracies, but I'm an American. I came here when I was a toddler. I immediately dismissed the offers." Castor's trying to prove that Vindman has allegiances to Ukraine, that he's un-American because he's an immigrant.
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Nov 19, 2019 17:12
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Angry_Ed posted:I can't believe they went with the Tom Clancy bullshit and thought it would work Once again it's "don't ask questions if you don't already know the answer" - unless Castor is trying to demonstrate that Vindman is an absolutely unimpeachable witness (pun not intended), it has to be a fishing expedition, trying to get something for Fox News where Vindman indicates that he likes Ukraine better than Our Glorious Leader, Trump the Trumpfulness.
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Nov 19, 2019 17:16
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"Did you talk to Rudy? Any phone calls or text messages?" "No, I only know him as New York's finest mayor." "America's mayor." "Right, America's mayor." Where's the rolleyes-vomiting-rolleyes gif when you need it
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Nov 19, 2019 17:19
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Angry_Ed posted:Ok so which GOP lunatic is going to run damage control during recess. This is why I'm watching the BBC's stream.
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Nov 19, 2019 17:21
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Grocery shopping, just paused to let my 4-year-old eat lunch. Did I miss Hurd's questions, and if so was he mostly or entirely disappointing in the "asking sincere questions" department?
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Nov 19, 2019 18:49
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Angry_Ed posted:I had like...a modicum of respect for him during the Mueller hearings (and his opposition to the border wall among other things), but that's all gone because as the impeachment hearing continued he started to toe the line more and more...predictibly. Well, you'll notice I asked "mostly or entirely disappointing" not "disappointing or not"; I had hopes for him after the Mueller hearings, but I am not still thinking he knows how to reinstall a spine.
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Nov 19, 2019 18:58
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https://twitter.com/KevinMKruse/status/1196851329127370752?s=19 Making the point everyone else has this page, obviously. I mean I'm glad none of these guys are competent, but how are they this bad?
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Nov 19, 2019 19:06
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Speaking of kind and peaceful, the BBC stream had no sound between hearings, and I thought I'd muted my speakers. Then it just came back and startled me, which was neither kind nor peaceful. This is Morrison, right? Goldman's going to ask him why he said Vindman had poor judgment, right? (I mean... maybe he'll say in his opening statement that he never said that, that'd be cool too...)
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Nov 19, 2019 20:52
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evilweasel posted:apparently these two witnesses were requested by republicans, but allowed because democrats think it was, uh, not a super idea for republicans to request them To be honest I can't think of anybody whose testimony wouldn't be damaging to Trump. Edit: interesting observation from twitter: https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1196888604318015488 Did anybody else yield all their time? zonohedron fucked around with this message at 21:34 on Nov 19, 2019 |
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Nov 19, 2019 21:30
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Three years saturating the airwaves with dire warnings! Are those warnings that are preternaturally large and powerful and have extra hit dice?
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Nov 19, 2019 21:36
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https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1196890525816836096 Wouldn't it be, uh... something, I guess, if Schiff said "okay, we'll let you subpoena Hunter Biden if Don Jr. agrees to testify?"
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Nov 19, 2019 21:40
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ChaosReaper posted:The Dem councillor has the face of a man thinking is this motherfucker really this stupid. "Bless his heart, he really did think that Trump had a negative impression of Ukraine in the past and all he needed to do was meet Zelenskyy!"
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Nov 19, 2019 22:52
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StrangersInTheNight posted:Morrison is best friends with his good ol' buddy, Ceilingy! Oh Ceilingy, this inquiry would be nothing without you. "Ceiling Cat, if you're watching, please messily devour me before I have to lie again"
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Nov 19, 2019 22:56
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Heck Yes! Loam! posted:The GOP people keep repeating damaging info as a means to refute it and it is hilarious. Once again, they're stubbornly convinced that as long as no one said, "If you don't bribe me, I won't give you military aid," no bribery occurred!
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Nov 19, 2019 22:59
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Dilber posted:TV RATINGS ARE WAY DOWN. https://twitter.com/KevinMKruse/status/1196910740856283137?s=19
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Nov 19, 2019 23:04
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Jaxyon posted:Again, it's the 'audience of one' thing. Well, right, but as with many things the Republicans on this committee have said, it's not only irrelevant except as a message to Trump, it's also false, and easily provably false at that.
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Nov 19, 2019 23:14
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https://twitter.com/petridishes/status/1196922333375668224quote:“In Russia, my act of expressing my concerns to the chain of command in an official and private channel would have severe personal and professional repercussions and offering public testimony involving the president would surely cost me my life. … Dad, my sitting here today in the U.S. Capitol talking to our elected officials is proof that you made the right decision 40 years ago to leave the Soviet Union and come here to the United States of America in search of a better life for our family. Do not worry, I will be fine for telling the truth.”
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Nov 19, 2019 23:53
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sinburger posted:They are fully aware of the rules and proceedings. They are just putting on a show because they know their only chance of salvaging this shitshow is to generate enough sound bites that they can retain some measure of public support. They are fully aware of the rules and proceedings, because they came up with them, fully expecting to be using them to disadvantage Democrats, and for some reason the shoe pinches an awful lot now that it's on the other foot! https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/1196935611774570496 or put another way https://twitter.com/MusicReviewer7/status/1196936038343741440
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Nov 20, 2019 00:44
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GutBomb posted:Why are the Rs focusing so much on talking about TV ratings? Nearly every time they get a turn they are hammering on the fact that the ratings are low. Who gives a poo poo? It’s not an entertainment program. Or I guess to them everything is? Trump cares about ratings, very much; to him it's proof that people agree with him, or, really, that he himself is worthwhile as a person, as far as I can tell. So the Rs are reassuring him that this Democrat Witch Hunt does not have good ratings for its Democrat Witches. (They may also be reassuring Fox News viewers that it's not just them who didn't watch the hearings.)
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Nov 20, 2019 01:06
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https://twitter.com/petridishes/status/1196945106651226112 impeachgate? waterpeachment?
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Nov 20, 2019 01:18
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sim posted:Ugh, this Hurd questioning... "Did you ever hear about how the thief was going to spend their money?" On the other hand it prompted Volker to say, regarding Sondland, that he cared about Ukraine and he just wanted to be helpful, which... well, it didn't get a laugh from anyone I guess? Then there was this though: "Did you have a clear understanding of what Sondland and Giuliani were doing?" "I can't say I had a clear understanding, I thought Sondland and I were on the same team" "So you didn't have a clear understanding, do you think the Ukrainians did?" "No" I guess this could, theoretically, illustrate that the Ukrainians just didn't know that Sondland was.... swanning about on his own authority? or something? (Also nice swipe at Vindman on the way out, Hurd, what the hell.)
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Nov 20, 2019 01:41
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"President Trump didn't say "investigate my 2020 opponent", or the year 2020, or even that he was planning on running for re-election, right? So obviously he only wants Biden's son investigated, not Biden himself, right right?" 
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Nov 20, 2019 01:49
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The thing is - if Trump just wanted a but-her-e-mails all he had to do was tweet, right? Beyond that, he could have gotten the AG to announce an investigation of something or someone (he still can), or just repeatedly retweet conspiracy theorists (more than he does) - he doesn't need to dangle meeting in the Oval Office in front of the Ukrainians unless a) he actually really wants them to investigate Hunter Biden and/or Crowdstrike (potentially because he really believes that there's a physical machine somewhere in Ukraine) b) he just wants to humiliate the Ukrainian president.
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Nov 20, 2019 02:13
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