Thursday, January 23, 2020

Russiagate Shampeachment Stew

An awful lot today (in both senses), as both the original Russia/Spygate and the new new Fantabulous Shampeachment have bumper crops.

Stacy McCain, Eric Ciaramella Is the ‘Whistleblower’ and Other Things You’re Not Allowed to Say
Three weeks ago, I posted to Facebook a link to a post by Instapundit, and discovered that it is “coordinating harm and promoting crime” to name Eric Ciaramella, despite the fact that he is allegedly the man responsible for the current impeachment of President Trump. And of course, as I said, his identity is by no means a secret (although some of us have trouble trying to get the spelling right). Just today, in fact, Paul Sperry of Real Clear Investigations reports more on Ciaramella:
Barely two weeks after Donald Trump took office, Eric Ciaramella — the CIA analyst whose name was recently linked in a tweet by the president and mentioned by lawmakers as the anonymous “whistleblower” who touched off Trump’s impeachment — was overheard in the White House discussing with another staffer how to remove the newly elected president from office, according to former colleagues.
Sources told RealClearInvestigations the staffer with whom Ciaramella was speaking was Sean Misko. Both were Obama administration holdovers working in the Trump White House on foreign policy and national security issues. And both expressed anger over Trump’s new “America First” foreign policy, a sea change from President Obama’s approach to international affairs.
“Just days after he was sworn in they were already talking about trying to get rid of him,” said a White House colleague who overheard their conversation.
“They weren’t just bent on subverting his agenda,” the former official added. “They were plotting to actually have him removed from office.”. . .
You can read the whole thing, but the point is plain enough: Two Democrat staffers from the Obama administration had been looking for a way to sabotage Trump ever since he was inaugurated, and this political conspiracy against the President of the United States has now led to an impeachment trial in the Senate, but Facebook has prohibited anyone from naming the “whistleblower” who is responsible for this.
Put him in the witness list. Nice Deb at AmGreat, Anti-Trump ‘Whistleblower’ Heard Discussing Need to ‘Take Out’ Trump 2 Weeks into His Presidency   Ace,  Paul Sperry: Eric Ciaramella Openly Schemed With Fellow Joe Biden Holdover to "Take the President Out," From the Very Moment They Were Briefed on Trump's "America First" Foreign Policy
Instapundit notes that Democrats have taken to calling all inconvenient facts "conspiracy theories."On Tuesday, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) told quite the whopper by claiming Republicans have been spreading a "weird conspiracy theory" that Democrats wanted to impeach Donald Trump since he was inaugurated.
"What I found astounding was they're still saying that we were out to get the president from day one, some sort of a weird conspiracy theory that I have to say, even [Supreme Court Justice Brett] Kavanaugh brought up," Hirono said on MSNBC.
The Democrats' use of the term "conspiracy theory" to describe all claims they don't like is more malicious than it seems. (my link- Fritz)

The Democrats have schemed with social media monopolies to censor all "conspiracy theories" and deplatform all persons "spreading conspiracy theories." So when a Democrat labels any political statement a "conspiracy theory," they are taking the first step towards censoring that statement and punishing anyone who dares express it.
Insty: JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TURNS OVER DOCUMENTS THAT WERE “INADVERTENTLY OMITTED” IN FLYNN CASE.
If I were Judge Sullivan, I would dismiss the case with prejudice on the grounds that the prosecution has demonstrated it is unable or unwilling (likely the latter) to turn over exculptatory evidence, and that therefore, any just verdict is impossible because the possibility that more has been withheld. Oh, and the prosecutors should be charged with contempt.
Eli Lake has a shockingly fair article on The FBI Scandal at commentary. It's too long to fisk or excerpt effectively today. But read it. Liz Vaughn at Red State, Brennan Tweets He’s Never Heard a Govt Lawyer So Deceive Americans; Gets SMOKED by Former CIA Colleague


And the Shampeachment; what can you say that hasn't already been said by multitudes, Stacy McCain, Impeachment Circus Update
What we are watching is the Democrats engaging in a performance staged to provide sound bites for their propagandists in the media. Like the phony “debate” staged on CNN last week, this cable-TV charade is simply part of the Democrats’ 2020 presidential campaign. Insofar as anything important happened Tuesday, Tyler O’Neill suggests it was in Jay Sekulow’s opening argument in defense of Trump . . .
Sundance at CTH, Jay Sekulow Discusses Current Status of House Impeachment Case…



Even the Democrats aren't paying attention, (sundance) Ranking Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein Left Senate During Schiff Testimony – Said “Goodnight” and Went Home… The Blaze, Here's why CBS was right to terminate coverage of the impeachment trial and go back to showing soaps

Following Chief Justice Roberts rebuke, AP notes how Schiff takes conciliatory tone after Roberts’ admonishment and at Town Hall, Republicans Note How Schiff Just Threw Nadler 'Under the Bus. That's a big bump.

Keeping all our Schiff together, Teach at Pirate's Cove, Good Grief: Excitable Adam Schiff Tries To Drag Russia Russia Russia Into Impeachment Theater "Democrats just can’t let it go, despite having zero evidence" Capt. Ed at Hot Air, Sekulow To Schiff, Nadler: Remember When You Endorsed Eric Holder’s Obstruction — And Barack Obama’s Executive Privilege Claim?,  Ace, Surprise: Adam Schiff Misrepresented Evidence In Senate Trial's Opening "I don't think any of us saw this coming." Jeff Dunnetz, The Lid, Did Adam Schiff Purposely Mislead America About The Parnas Texts? "Or Does Schiff Believe Everyone With A Surname Starting With The Letter "Z" Is The Same?"AllahPundit at Hot Air, Schiff On Calling Hunter Biden In Exchange For John Bolton: “This Isn’t Like Some Fantasy Football Trade”; Update: “Off The Table,” Says Schumer. So, no witnesses? Da Fed, Adam Schiff Is Already Claiming The Illegitimacy Of A Trump Reelection. So he's already designed to losing. Allah Pundit (who may hate Schiff more than he hates Trump), Schiff: We Can’t Let Voters Decide This At The Ballot Box Because Now We Can’t Be Sure The Election Will Be Fair. Matt Margolis at PJ Media The Top Seven Lies Adam Schiff Has Told to Boost Impeachment, and still counting. Fox, Impeachment-weary Trump tees off on ‘sleazebags’ Nadler and Schiff, says he’d ‘love’ to attend trial

“First of all, Jerrold Nadler, I’ve known him a long time, he’s a sleazebag. Everybody knows that,” the president said, adding that Schiff acts like he’s “so aggrieved.”

“I watched the lies from Adam Schiff,” he continued. “He’s a liar and he’s a fraud.”

“These are major sleazebags,” Trump said. “It’s a total hoax. It’s a disgrace. They talked about their tremendous case and it’s all done.”
Insty, NO BRAIN? NO PROBLEM! What We Can Learn About Impeachment From Slime Molds.

Tyler O'Meil, PJ Media, CNN Analyst Fabricates Quotes From GOP Senators to Smear Trump, Fox News, Also Insty, EVERY TIME I THINK I COULDN”T POSSIBLY BE MORE CYNICAL, SOMEONE PROVES ME WRONG. . . "but here’s the original tweet, and here’s the confession. Notice that Lockhart is a CNN Contributor. Clearly, CNN hasn’t hit bottom yet." The Babylon Bee has the perfect response, 
Capt. Ed, Schumer whines that McConnell Did Trump’s Bidding In Forcing Votes Late Last Night Rather Than This Morning  Jazz Shaw, Hot Air, Broke: Cocaine Mitch. Woke: Midnight Mitch. "This phenomenon was noted by Andrew Stiles at the Free Beacon, prompting him to ask… why can’t these people stop giving Mitch McConnell badass nicknames?" He's the Yoda of the Senate. CNN McConnell warns against witnesses in pitch for quick impeachment trial resolution. Democrats just want to drag out their own humiliation. Althouse,"The White House on Wednesday passed up a chance to force a vote to dismiss the impeachment charges against President Trump before arguments get underway."
"Both the president’s defense lawyers and the House Democratic impeachment managers had until 9 a.m. on Wednesday to offer motions related to the trial, except for ones that would call for witnesses and new evidence, issues that will be dealt with next week. Neither side did so, aides in both parties said.... A dismissal vote this week would almost certainly have failed to attract a majority of senators, dividing Republicans and dealing Mr. Trump an early symbolic defeat. A motion to dismiss could still be offered later in the trial."
The NYT reports.

And Trump "lashed out". . .
Bonchie at Red State, Mitt Romney Lets the Left Down on Impeachment and Makes a Good Point Along the Way
I may not be a Mitt Romney guy, but I have to give him credit here. After initially signaling he might buck Mitch McConnell and hand Democrats leverage they didn’t deserve, the Utah Senator is now doing the right thing and pushing the trial forward. In 53-47 vote (which I covered here, so be sure to check that out), Chuck Schumer’s plans to bully the majority went up in flames. No one defected. Not Romney, not Collins, nor Murkowski.
AllahPundit,  Biden: A Witness Trade Involving Hunter For John Bolton Would Turn The Process Into A “Farce”. I'd much rather have Joe testify than Hunter, and Neil Braithwaite at AmThink thinks Barack Obama should be key witness in impeachment trial, not Joe or Hunter Biden, and I like his argument. But it won't happen.

Via the Wombat's In The Mailbox: 01.22.20, Legal Insurrection: Nothing Will Be Gained By Appeasing Democrats On Impeachment Witnesses, also JustOneMinute: Trial of The Millennium. So far. Chuck Ross at Da Caller, Giuliani Accuses Lev Parnas Of Lying, Brings Up Possibility Of Tape Recordings

VodkaPundit, Debunking Trump's Impeachment with One Simple Thought Experiment
Let's pretend that Joe Biden had a different name. No, better: Let's pretend that Joe Biden had a different letter after his name. Let's pretend he's Joe Biden (R), former vice president under George W. Bush. In that case, what would the Democrats be doing differently? Literally everything.

Instead of impeaching Trump, they'd be praising him (although perhaps reluctantly) for his non-partisan willingness to look into Republican malfeasance. Adam Schiff would hold months worth of hearings, looking back into the Bush administration in ways he'd never dare look back into Obama's. The Democrat-controlled press would be 24/7 "Biden! Biden! Biden!" Jerry Nadler would have to go back to, I dunno, eating mayonnaise with an ice cream scoop.
At Ace's Morning Rant, the Gorilla said
"As I ranted on Monday, with Pelosi walking around in an impeachment skin and demanding respect, she doesn't seem to know (or care) that her fellow Democrats haven't impeached Trump. Instead, they've impeached impeachment.

"The Democrats have completely diluted 'impeachment' down to nothing. It's not going to be Trump's presidency that has an asterisk, it will be impeachment itself.

"Remember this, next time they try to pretend they were “prayerfully” or “reluctantly” impeaching Donald Trump. They weren’t.
Sundance, 21 State Attorneys General Submit Legal Brief – Urging Senate to Reject Articles of Impeachment…  Fox, State AGs urge Senate to reject impeachment in stinging letter: 'A dangerous historical precedent'. Like somebody cares what they think?
"If not expressly repudiated by the Senate, the theories animating both Articles will set a precedent that is entirely contrary to the Framers' design and ruinous to the most important governmental structure protections contained in our Constitution: the separation of powers," they wrote.
. . .
"Even an unsuccessful effort to impeach the President undermines the integrity of the 2020 presidential election because it weaponizes a process that should only be initiated in exceedingly rare circumstances and should never be used for partisan purposes," the letter continued.
The Dersh,  ‘Pelosi Doesn’t Understand What Impeachment Is’: If Trump’s Acquitted, ‘The Impeachment Disappears’  Althouse cites the Dersh, "It is true that an impeachable 'abuse of power' can’t simply consist in using the powers of the executive for personal, political gain; that happens all the time." CNS News. Capt. Ed, Dems Must End This Sham Impeachment, Says … Former Clinton Adviser? Mark Penn. Fron Da Hill,  Mark Penn, End impeachment's government shutdown!  John Davidson, Da Fed, As The Impeachment Trial Begins, Democrats Are Losing Their Minds. How could you tell?
Anti-Trumper David French, Here’s the Legitimate Question that Should Dominate the Impeachment Trial "Some abuses of presidential power are more easily remedied than others." Abuse of power arguments are simply not legitimate, not because there isn't abuse of power, there always is, but because the three branches are always jockeying for more, and it's built into the system. But Kelly's worst half George Conway says Senate GOP knows Trump is 'guilty': 'What are they afraid of?. How can you tell when a "conservative" jumps the shark? Herr Dr. Jacobsen at LI, Impeachment: Republican Senators “recognize the trial … as an attempted political decapitation”. Politico, thinks hopefully, Trump impeachment team undercuts DOJ position in McGahn case.

Paul Bedard at WaEx, Trump approval ‘the best of his presidency': Gallup, not a high bar, but a sign of the times, also, Impeachment drives 1,000 GOP candidates to run for House. Is it a landslide or a disappointment in the making?

Byron York at WaEx debunks Impeachment, Democrats, and those 90,000 documents. Sundance, ‘The Origin of The Feces’ – White House Lawyer Patrick Philbin Explains House Circumvention of Constitution During Impeachment…



Arkansas Online, Appear in Arkansas court, explain, judge orders Hunter Biden, Ace, Joe Biden Sternly Warns Compliant Media Not to Report On His or His Son's Involvement in Corruption "And of course the Brave Firefighters tipped their fedoras."

Some odds and ends, NewsBusters, OOPS: Lesley Stahl Says Fox News Didn't Exist for Clinton Impeachment "NINAN: No. [Double oops: Ninan was a Fox News Middle East correspondent.]"

Sundance also offers videous, Zeldin, Jordan, Ratcliffe and Meadows Debunk Media Spin… and President Trump Interview with Maria Bartiromo…

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