Month: January 2020

Democrats warn of 'lawless' president in impeachment arguments

Posted on (Updated by Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines

Democrats warn of 'lawless' president in impeachment argumentsIn what could be their last bid to make the case for removing the US leader from office, the House impeachment prosecutors expressed outrage over Trump lawyer Alan Dershowitz's assertion that a president can do almost anything he wants that he claims is in the public interest. Adam Schiff, the leader of the House impeachment managers, said the claim turned US law on its head and echoed the Watergate case of disgraced president Richard Nixon 45 years ago. "What we have seen in the last couple of days is a descent into constitutional madness," Schiff told the Senate trial.


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Kellyanne Grilled on Bolton Bombshells During Rare Press Briefing

Posted on by Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines

Kellyanne Grilled on Bolton Bombshells During Rare Press BriefingIt was a rare sight on Thursday morning when a Trump administration official stood behind a podium and took questions from reporters. In the seven months since she succeeded Sarah Huckabee Sanders, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham hasn’t done it once.But there was Kellyanne Conway delivering a briefing that was intended to be primarily focused on the CDC’s recent report on a life expectancy increase in the U.S. and the administration’s preparations to combat the coronavirus and the opioid crisis.After dubiously giving the president and First Lady Melania Trump credit for extending the average lifespan of Americans, Conway started to get testy when PBS NewsHour host Yamiche Alcindor asked her to comment on former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly saying he “believes” claims by former National Security Adviser John Bolton that President Trump personally directed his quid pro quo with Ukraine. “Well, I respect General Kelly enormously and like him personally,” Conway replied. “I don’t know what he was referring to so I can’t answer.” She explained that because she has not personally seen a copy of Bolton’s unpublished manuscript she could not verify that he made those allegations against Trump in his new book. Stephen Colbert Grills CNN’s Chris Cuomo on His ‘Friend’ Kellyanne ConwayThe two women continued to spar for several more minutes, with Conway asking, “Are you talking about a leak of an unpublished manuscript reported by The New York Times? Because I don’t know that to be true and neither do you.” “You want me to answer a hypothetical wrapped up in a conundrum,” Conway added, saying she “doesn’t make anything of” Kelly’s belief in Bolton. She then proceeded to attack Alcindor’s other employer NBC News for prematurely reporting Kelly’s departure from the White House. “I am not going to comment, particularly from the podium in the press briefing room on a leaked, unpublished manuscript that I haven’t seen,” Conway said. “I hope it doesn’t include classified information.”“And I know there’s always this rush to imbue credibility on whomever you think is against the president at that moment,” she continued before seeming to equate Bolton with figures like Michael Cohen, Michael Avenatti, and Lev Parnas—all three charged with federal crimes. Kellyanne Conway Melts Down Under Grilling by Fox NewsWhen another reporter followed up by asking why the White House is dragging its feet on reviewing the chapter in Bolton’s book on Ukraine, Conway said “it has nothing to do with me” before deflecting the question by listing off unrelated accomplishment by the administration and boasting about Trump’s approval ratings. “The idea that we should stop what we’re doing to review somebody’s book strikes me as not a big priority, in my view, for the president,” Conway said. When that reporter noted that the contents of the book could become quite important “if witnesses are called” in Trump’s impeachment trial, Conway shot back, “You would hope so, wouldn’t you?” “I’m always happen to answer all of your questions as you full well know,” Conway added. “But I gotta stick to reality, not hypotheticals. And frankly, wishful thinking.” How Comedian Fortune Feimster Became the Gay Representation She Needed in the WorldRead more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.


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Now is the time for Chief Justice Roberts to rise to the defense of his country

Posted on by Joan McCarter

Assuming that there are three Republican senators who care enough about their country and the rule of law to want witnesses and documents in Donald Trump's impeachment trial (not a given by any means) Chief Justice John Roberts could be put in a difficult position. He would have to break the a 50-50 tie either voting for a sham trial or a real one. Or, do what the conventional wisdom expects and choose not to decide and let entropy win. At a stalemate, the side asking for witnesses would lose.

Thus far, Roberts has been more of a spectator than an umpire, to use his infamous analogy during his confirmation hearing of what his role on the Supreme Court would be—"calling balls and strikes." He's watched while Republican senators made the presentation by House managers a farce, napping through the discussion, playing with toys, standing in the back of the room chatting, reading unrelated books, or just flat out leaving the room for long stretches. That is against the rules of impeachment trials, rules he's there to enforce. That has not impressed the experts. So far, Roberts has been "less of a force than some people expected or hoped for," Michael Gerhardt, a University of North Carolina law professor and impeachment expert told the Washington Post. Few watching this have high hopes that he'll rise to the challenge.

No matter how we get there, the end goal is the same: John Bolton must testify.

The only peep out of him on the proceedings was a "both sides" scolding of Rep. Jerry Nadler spurred on, of course, by Sen. Susan Collins' note tattling on him. He's done something helpful in rebuffing Sen. Rand Paul's efforts to out the person who blew the whistle on Trump's Ukraine extortion. That was done behind the scenes, even before the question and answer period began Wednesday.

So, with his chance to actually do the job, call the balls and strikes, the big question is whether he'll step up to save the institution of the Senate from itself, try to save the republic from Trump, or even try to save his own legacy. One Democrat, Sen. Chris Van Hollen from Maryland, is going to attempt to force the issue by offering a motion putting pressure on Roberts to decide. Republicans will almost certainly defeat it, but that doesn't mean Roberts couldn't be the hero all of his own accord.

What should senators ask in the last eight hours of the impeachment Q&A?

Posted on by Mark Sumner

A republic, if you can keep it. A republic, if you can keep it. A republic, if you can keep It. A republic … until Friday.

Republicans in the Senate are set to vote not just that Donald Trump can get away with extorting a foreign government into interfering in the 2020 election, but that such an act isn’t even worthy of their time. They have, sniff, important things to do. As a demonstration of their disdain for democracy, while Republicans prepare to press the plunger on our old friend the Fascism Watch, they’re indulging themselves by burning up the final Q&A session of democracy by asking questions that aren’t questions at all, but just a head start on smearing political opponents.

So with eight hours left before Republicans provide a definitive “No, you can’t” to Benjamin Franklin’s much-quoted remark, this seems like a good time to ponder: What are the right questions to ask, here at the end of all things?

On Wednesday, the eight hours of questions in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump were more than a little agonizing. Democrats—both senators and the House impeachment managers—stayed in there and kept up the pretense that all of this still means something. Exhausted as they all must be at this point, Adam Schiff was still swinging for the fences on every response, and the other members of the team—Jason Crow, Val Demings, Sylvia Garcia, Hakeem Jeffries, Zoe Lofgren, and Jerry Nadler—continued on amazingly undaunted.

Meanwhile, across the aisle, Republicans were engaged in a snickerfest, with Ted Cruz and company stopping just short of handing John Roberts a question to read on the legal position of I.C. Wiener. In fact, considering that Rand Paul authored one note that Roberts refused to read, it could have been worse.

But if Cruz’s parade of “Is Joe Biden just evil, or is he also the evil master of the evil whistleblower?” questions are what America doesn’t need as the ship of state circles the whirlpool, what are the right questions? What notes should senators be dropping in Roberts’ hands that could still embarrass the unembarrassable, shine a light in the smoggy darkness, and maybe snatch at least a hint of victory back from the jaws of corruption?

What question would you ask, if you had the opportunity? If you were in the Senate chamber today and could pass just one note up to John Roberts, knowing that a vote to end democracy is 24 hours away, what would you want him to say? Could you save the nation ... or at least give the people drowning it one last middle finger as we’re going down?

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