House Democrats told a federal judge Tuesday that arguments by President Trump's lawyers in the Senate impeach trial contradicts the Justice Department's stance in its bid to keep the grand jury materials from ex-special counsel Robert Mueller's probe under wraps.
The Justice Department has fought House Democrats' efforts to access ...
President Trump's defense lawyers began their final day of arguments in his impeachment trial Tuesday by rejecting House Democrats' accusation of a White House cover-up of the president's phone conversation with the president of Ukraine last summer.
Deputy White House Counsel Patrick Philbin knocked down "reckless allegations" by Democrats that ...
Donald Trump really cares about fighting corruption, his impeachment defense lawyers keep telling us. He cares so much that he held up nearly $400 in military aid to Ukraine to ensure that it would crack down on corruption (in a way that would just so happen to benefit him personally). And now Trump has showed how strongly opposed he is to corruption by … unveiling a major (deeply problematic) Middle East plan alongside a world leader who was indicted just today for corruption.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been charged with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. In one of the three cases, he steered hundreds of millions of dollars in regulatory benefits to a media company owned by a friend, and in exchange got favorable news coverage. Netanyahu tried to argue he was immune to prosecution and has called the prosecution an “attempted coup.” So actually, he’s the perfect person for Trump to be standing with on the last day of the defense’s opening arguments in Trump’s impeachment trial.
The plan Trump and Netanyahu are unveiling “is overwhelmingly expected to be skewed in Israel's favor and is largely viewed as dead on arrival in the region,” CNN reports. Former Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman charged that Netanyahu is using the event and the plan to boost his own political strength, saying that “Netanyahu is taking a political plan and turning it into a survival plan for him personally.”
With Israel set for an unprecedented third election in early March after the last two resulted in deadlocks, Lieberman explained, “Everyone understands that, 34 days before an election, it is impossible to start a deep, meaningful, fundamental discussion.” Cynically using sham policy for personal political benefit? Another way the Trump-Netanyahu partnership on this plan, on this day is a perfect meeting of minds.
But an hour after Trump was side by side with Netanyahu, his impeachment defense team will be back to argue that he really, really cares about corruption. Tell us another one, guys.
Former White House chief of Staff John Kelly says the Senate should hear from witnesses at President Trump's impeachment trial, and he believes ex-national security adviser John R. Bolton's reported version of the truth about Ukraine.
During a lecture in Sarasota, Florida, Mr. Kelly said Mr. Bolton, who is coming ...
(Bloomberg) -- Two indicted associates of Donald Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani are battling over whether more evidence from their New York criminal case should be turned over to congressional Democrats pursuing the president’s impeachment, with federal prosecutors joining the fray.Lev Parnas has cultivated an unusually public role in recent weeks, granting national television interviews, giving evidence to Congress and offering to testify at the Senate trial of the president, who was impeached last month on charges including abuse of power. Parnas is doing all this while under indictment for breaking campaign finance law.It’s the third time Parnas has sought judicial approval to provide evidence to House impeachment managers. The request was opposed by Parnas’s co-defendants, who’ve kept a lower profile and who said the material could jeopardize their attorney-client privilege, as well as by federal prosecutors.The judge in the case has scheduled a hearing for Jan. 30.Parnas and co-defendant Igor Fruman were involved in the effort by Giuliani, Trump’s private lawyer, to dig up political dirt in Ukraine on Joe Biden, one of the president’s main political rivals in the coming election. Parnas and Fruman are charged with laundering foreign funds for U.S. political campaigns and masking the source of political contributions. Lawyers for Parnas had signaled his willingness to cooperate with the congressional impeachment inquiry since his arrest.Both pleaded not guilty.Read More: Giuliani Ally Got $1 Million From Ukraine Oligarch’s LawyerIn a series of blistering filings on Tuesday, lawyers for the defendants traded accusations and objections. Todd Blanche, a lawyer for Fruman, called Parnas’s approach “unacceptable.” Parnas’s lawyer, Joseph Bondy, shot back that Fruman was trying to avoid his congressional subpoena, “now with Mr. Giuliani aiding in his efforts,” without further explanation. Bondy didn’t return a call seeking comment on the accusation.It isn’t clear exactly what sort of evidence Parnas wants to turn over now, but it is “essential to the committee’s ability to corroborate the strength of Mr. Parnas’s potential testimony,” according to a filing by Bondy. It is described in court papers as material produced for prosecutors by Apple Inc. from Parnas’s iCloud account, in response to the government’s Oct. 21 subpoena.In their own filing, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said the material included reports created by the Federal Bureau of Investigation using data associated with the account.In a separate filing, Blanche said he believed the material jointly belonged to both defendants and therefore couldn’t be turned over without Fruman’s permission.The filings were submitted to the judge over the course of the last two weeks but made public by the court only on Tuesday.Earlier: Giuliani Ukraine Allies Arrested With One-Way Flight TicketsThe case is U.S. v. Parnas, 19-cr-725, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).(Updates with hearing)To contact the reporter on this story: Christian Berthelsen in New York at cberthelsen1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Peter Jeffrey, Joe SchneiderFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
The final day of opening arguments from Donald Trump’s impeachment defense team (which will be closing arguments, too, if they have their way) is expected to be relatively brief. Guess they’ll have to increase their lies-per-minute to make quota.
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 6:08:59 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerAnd we’re underway.
Pat Cipollone opens by saying that they intend to be done “by dinner time.” Pat Philbin up first, then Jay Sekulow, then Cipollone to bring it to a close.
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 6:10:42 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerPhilbin “wouldn’t presume to elaborate” on Dershowitz’s presentation on abuse of power … then goes on to elaborate on Dershowitz’s presentation on abuse of power. Which makes it seem that the faith in Dershowitz’s evening ramble through name-checking founders wasn’t viewed as all that effective.
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 6:13:07 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerPhilbin going through all the concerns of the framers on impeachment and what it meant. While he’s at it, let’s check again:
“The subjects of its jurisdiction are those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust.” — Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 65.
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 6:14:24 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerPhilbin really, really, really stretching here to talk about bills of attainder, which has absolutely nothing to do with impeachment. This isn’t just going back to a dry well, he’s broken out the pick ax in search of a topic.
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 6:20:36 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerHow obvious is it that Trump’s team have failed to knock down abuse of power as an impeachable offense? So obvious that they’re trying to invent new reasons on the final day of the defense.
And now Philbin is declaring that intent can’t be considered … which would be a considerable relief to thousands facing trial.
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 6:22:19 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerNote that what Philbin just claimed was “not a Constitutionally coherent statement” wasn’t a statement at all. It was pieces and scraps of various statements from the House managers that Philbin pasted together, then claimed was not coherent.
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 6:26:39 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerPhilbin now going to address things he says are “extraneous” — which apparently includes every stage of the cover-up.
Philbin starts off with two lies: saying that Lt. Col. Vindman was the only person to raise a complaint about the call, and that Vindman agreed his disagreement was only a “policy concern.”
And then Philbin goes to testimony from Tim Morrison saying that there was nothing “nefarious” about moving the transcript to the secure server. Which is super handy, since Morrison is the person who recommended putting it there.
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 6:29:33 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerPhilbin claiming that the call was “available to everyone who needed it as part of their job” completely contradicts testimony from Sondland, Volker, Taylor and others who claim they were not able to see the call transcript until it became public.
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 6:32:40 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerPhilbin claiming that the House needed to counter the OLC is completely topsy-turvy. The Inspector General of the Intelligence Community already determined that the complaint WAS an urgent concern. OLC overruled the IG. and then the IG felt strongly enough to make Congess aware anyway.
Philbin’s argument isn’t with the House, it’s with the IG.
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 6:34:31 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerPhilbin genuinely arguing that if the Inspector General sees a “violation of law” he’s not responsible for reporting a concern.
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 6:37:42 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerAnd now it’s Jay Sekulow time. Sekulow’s task throughout this affair has been to act a proxy for the worst of the sweaty Jim Jordan / Kevin McCarthy / Matt Gaetz school of screamers. Turn your volume down now.
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 6:38:38 PM +00:00 · Mark Sumner“Danger, danger, danger” says Sekulow. But he leaves out the requisite “Will Robinson.”
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 6:39:41 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerSekulow does not miss the opportunity to say “Crossfire Hurricane” again. And he brings up James Comey. And now Sekulow is genuinely ranting about the “Steele dossier.”
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 6:41:49 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerIf you’re wondering, we are still talking about the FISA warrant. What does this have to do with this trial? NOT A DAMN THING.
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 6:43:00 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerLisa Page! Peter Strzok!
Please check your BINGO cards.
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 6:44:57 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerSekulow is now directly attacking Robert Mueller and claiming he destroyed evidence.
This is a trainwreck. Mixed with an airplane crash. During a 32-car pile-up.
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 6:48:11 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerNellie Ohr! Bruce Ohr! Sorry, but by this point everyone’s BINGO cards are full. No further prizes.
Sekulow now talking about how Trump was busy winning “peace in the Middle East” while under attack for impeachment. This is so, unbelievably, unfathomably awful.
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 6:50:38 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerSekulow's whole speech could be generated by using a random number generator to take phrases from Trump tweets. It's really impossible to overstate just how awful this is in every possible way.
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 6:51:44 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerSekulow isn’t going to go through a detailed analysis of the “facts” on Biden. He’s just going to smear him in general terms by repeating the worst lies.
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 6:54:02 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerIncoherent would be a generous description of this speech. If you’re not listening … heck, go ahead and listen. It’s kind of a wonder.
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 6:58:30 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerSekulow is not even doing a good job of reading a comment from Dershowitz—though to give him some credit, it’s not possible to find a quote from Dershowitz that would make sense.
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 7:00:36 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerNow Sekulow is complaining about Bolton’s book. Complete with statements from Barr and Trump attacking Bolton.
“An unpublished manuscript, that some reporters, maybe, have some idea what it said. If you want to call that evidence.”
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 7:02:24 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerAt this point, I’m genuinely laughing. I don’t think SNL can lampoon this. Sekulow is making a speech that it pre-pardodied.
Tuesday, Jan 28, 2020 · 7:06:52 PM +00:00 · Mark SumnerWe’ve wandered back to attacking Bob Mueller. “Bob Mueller had to correct himself ... so that’s what the president’s been living with”
Now we’re on the battlefield. Now we’re in the Ukraine parliament. Now we’re talking about fiscal year. Now we’re talking about the length of the phone call. Now we’re talking about the whistleblower. Now we’re talking about Ukraine’s anti-corruption court.
By David Kamioner | January 28, 2020
The global coronavirus that has killed over 100 people and sickened thousands across national borders has the potential to jump from China to become a worldwide pandemic.
Thus you’d think the Chinese government would want the aid of the most advanced medical organization in the world, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nope.
HHS Secretary Alex Azar told media that the Chinese have refused more than one offer of help from the U.S. to send CDC officials to China to assist in fighting the outbreak.
RELATED: Supreme Court Allows Trump to Restrict Green Cards For Immigrants Abusing Welfare Benefits
The authoritarian Chicom regime is sensitive about losing face to the Americans and admitting its health programs are not up to Western standards. It also likely thinks the U.S. mission would be filled with U.S. Intelligence operatives.
Hopefully, they would be right.
Azar went on to say the virus is possibly a “very serious public health threat” but that currently the threat in the U.S. is low.
At public places in DC, as students from the virus ground zero in China’s Wuhan province are close to the area in Falls Church, VA, thousands of workers and tourists yesterday could be seen wearing surgical masks as they made their way around the city.
This piece originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.
Read more at LifeZette:
Rocket Strikes U.S. Embassy in Baghdad
More GOP Senators Could Defect in Impeachment Trial
Bolton Manuscript Leaked, Romney and Collins May Vote Against the President
The post DEVELOPING: China Dismisses U.S. Help on Coronavirus appeared first on The Political Insider.