Friday, December 06, 2019
Thursday, December 05, 2019
U.S. Voters Are Not Buying The GOP Lies About Ukraine
These charts reflect the results of the new Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between December 1st and 3rd of a national sample of 1,200 registered voters, with a 2.9 point margin of error.
In an effort to justify his election and obfuscate Russian involvement in the 2016 election on his behalf, Donald Trump is still trying to float the lie that it was Ukraine, not Russia, that interfered in the election.
And in an effort to cover for Trump's criminal conduct and prevent his impeachment, Republican members of Congress are spreading that same lie. They know it's not true, and don't seem to care that it's Russian propaganda to cover their own criminal involvement in the 2016 election. They also don't seem to care that the Russian propaganda has been debunked by all of our intelligence agencies (and an investigation by the Senate Intelligence Committee).
Fortunately, American voters are not buying the Trump/Republican lies. Note that only 22% of registered voters think Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election, while 50% say that did not happen (see the chart above).
Americans do think a foreign power did interfere in the 2016 election. About 60% of registered voters say Russia interfered, while only 25% say they did not (see chart below).
The congressional Republicans are just destroying their own credibility with the voters.
Biden And Warren Are Still The National Leaders
These charts reflect the results of the new Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between December 1st and 3rd of a national sample of 543 Democrats and Democratic-leaning Independents. (no moe given)
The Facts Found By The House Intelligence Committee
The House Intelligence Committee has completed its report, and sent it to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration of the impeachment of Donald Trump. The report is over 300 pages long. Here, from the report, are the facts found to be true by the committee:
Based on witness testimony and evidence collected during the impeachment inquiry, the Intelligence Committee has found that:
I. Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States—acting personally and through his agents within and outside of the U.S. government—solicited the interference of a foreign government, Ukraine, in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The President engaged in this course of conduct for the benefit of his reelection, to harm the election prospects of a political opponent, and to influence our nation’s upcoming presidential election to his advantage. In so doing, the President placed his personal political interests above the national interests of the United States, sought to undermine the integrity of the U.S. presidential election process, and endangered U.S. national security.
II. In furtherance of this scheme, President Trump—directly and acting through his agents within and outside the U.S. government—sought to pressure and induce Ukraine’s newly-elected president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to publicly announce unfounded investigations that would benefit President Trump’s personal political interests and reelection effort. To advance his personal political objectives, President Trump encouraged the President of Ukraine to work with his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.
III. As part of this scheme, President Trump, acting in his official capacity and using his position of public trust, personally and directly requested from the President of Ukraine that the government of Ukraine publicly announce investigations into (1) the President’s political opponent, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and his son, Hunter Biden, and (2) a baseless theory promoted by Russia alleging that Ukraine—rather than Russia—interfered in the 2016 U.S. election. These investigations were intended to harm a potential political opponent of President Trump and benefit the President’s domestic political standing.
IV. President Trump ordered the suspension of $391 million in vital military assistance urgently needed by Ukraine, a strategic partner, to resist Russian aggression. Because the aid was appropriated by Congress, on a bipartisan basis, and signed into law by the President, its expenditure was required by law. Acting directly and through his subordinates within the U.S. government, the President withheld from Ukraine this military assistance without any legitimate foreign policy, national security, or anti-corruption justification. The President did so despite the longstanding bipartisan support of Congress, uniform support across federal departments and agencies for the provision to Ukraine of the military assistance, and his obligations under the Impoundment Control Act.
V. President Trump used the power of the Office of the President and exercised his authority over the Executive Branch, including his control of the instruments of the federal government, to apply increasing pressure on the President of Ukraine and the Ukrainian government to announce the politically-motivated investigations desired by President Trump. Specifically, to advance and promote his scheme, the President withheld official acts of value to Ukraine and conditioned their fulfillment on actions by Ukraine that would benefit his personal political interests:
A. President Trump—acting through agents within and outside the U.S. government—conditioned a head of state meeting at the White House, which the President of Ukraine desperately sought to demonstrate continued United States support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression, on Ukraine publicly announcing the investigations that President Trump believed would aid his reelection campaign.
B. To increase leverage over the President of Ukraine, President Trump, acting through his agents and subordinates, conditioned release of the vital military assistance he had suspended to Ukraine on the President of Ukraine’s public announcement of the investigations that President Trump sought.
C. President Trump’s closest subordinates and advisors within the Executive Branch, including Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Energy J. Richard Perry, and other senior White House and Executive Branch officials had knowledge of, in some cases facilitated and furthered the President’s scheme, and withheld information about the scheme from the Congress and the American public.
VI. In directing and orchestrating this scheme to advance his personal political interests, President Trump did not implement, promote, or advance U.S. anti-corruption policies. In fact, the President sought to pressure and induce the government of Ukraine to announce politically-motivated investigations lacking legitimate predication that the U.S. government otherwise discourages and opposes as a matter of policy in that country and around the world. In so doing, the President undermined U.S. policy supporting anti-corruption reform and the rule of law in Ukraine, and undermined U.S. national security.
VII. By withholding vital military assistance and diplomatic support from a strategic foreign partner government engaged in an ongoing military conflict illegally instigated by Russia, President Trump compromised national security to advance his personal political interests.
VIII. Faced with the revelation of his actions, President Trump publicly and repeatedly persisted in urging foreign governments, including Ukraine and China, to investigate his political opponent. This continued solicitation of foreign interference in a U.S. election presents a clear and present danger that the President will continue to use the power of his office for his personal political gain.
IX. Using the power of the Office of the President, and exercising his authority over the Executive Branch, President Trump ordered and implemented a campaign to conceal his conduct from the public and frustrate and obstruct the House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry by:
A. refusing to produce to the impeachment inquiry’s investigating Committees information and records in the possession of the White House, in defiance of a lawful subpoena;
B. directing Executive Branch agencies to defy lawful subpoenas and withhold the production of all documents and records from the investigating Committees;
C. directing current and former Executive Branch officials not to cooperate with the Committees, including in defiance of lawful subpoenas for testimony; and
D. intimidating, threatening, and tampering with prospective and actual witnesses in the impeachment inquiry in an effort to prevent, delay, or influence the testimony of those witnesses.
In so doing, and despite the fact that the Constitution vests in the House of Representatives the “sole Power of Impeachment,” the President sought to arrogate to himself the right to determine the propriety, scope, and nature of an impeachment inquiry into his own misconduct, and the right to deny any and all information to the Congress in the conduct of its constitutional responsibilities.
Wednesday, December 04, 2019
Trump Tries To Cover For Failure To Reach Deal With China
That was another of his thousands of lies. He had said several times that he was close to signing a deal with China -- even though China never said any deal was close. That had been enough to send the market up, because American businesses and investors want a deal to be done. They want the trade war to be over before it wrecks the economy.
The truth is that Trump would love to sign a deal. He do it tomorrow if he could. He's not the one delaying a deal. China is.
It has become obvious lately that China has decided to wait until the next election is over to get serious about any new deal. They think there's a good chance that Trump will be defeated in the next election, and a new president might end Trump's trade war on better terms for both countries.
Trump was just trying to save face with his comment about wanting to wait.
Senator Kamala Harris Drops Out Of The Presidential Race
She had made a splash after the initial Democratic debate last June, and at that time it looked like she would be one of the major players in the race for the Democratic nomination.
But she was unable to capitalize on that initial burst, and after the second debate her support began to shrink. By the end of November, her support had dropped into the low single-digits (and without support, her donations began to dry up). The poll above is not an outlier, but shows the same thing many other polls showed -- that she was no longer a viable candidate.
Yesterday, Senator Harris told her supporters that she was dropping out of the presidential race. Here is the e-mail that she sent to her supporters and other Democrats:
Eleven months ago at the launch of our campaign in Oakland I told you all: “I am not perfect. But I will always speak with decency and moral clarity and treat all people with dignity and respect. I will lead with integrity. I will speak the truth.”
And that’s what I have tried to do every day of this campaign. So here’s the truth today.
I’ve taken stock and looked at this from every angle, and over the last few days have come to one of the hardest decisions of my life.
My campaign for president simply doesn’t have the financial resources we need to continue.
I’m not a billionaire. I can’t fund my own campaign. And as the campaign has gone on, it’s become harder and harder to raise the money we need to compete.
In good faith, I can’t tell you, my supporters and volunteers, that I have a path forward if I don’t believe I do.
So, to you my supporters, it is with deep regret -- but also with deep gratitude -- that I am suspending my campaign today.
But I want to be clear with you: I am still very much in this fight.
And I will keep fighting every day for what this campaign has been about. Justice for The People. All the people.
Our campaign has been about fighting for people whose voices have not been heard or too often ignored.
We will keep up that fight.
Let’s remember: we were the first to put the injustice of inadequate teacher pay on the national agenda.
We will keep up that fight.
We were the first to demand justice for our children, declaring we would take bold executive actions to stop gun violence.
We will keep up that fight.
We were the first to demand justice for women with a plan to block unconstitutional state abortion laws.
We will keep up that fight.
And our campaign uniquely spoke to the experiences of Black women and people of color -- and their importance to the success and future of this party. Our campaign demanded no one should be taken for granted by any political party.
We will keep up that fight because no one should be made to fight alone.
And I believe our campaign showed every child in America -- regardless of their color or gender -- that there are no limits to who can lead and hold positions of power in our country.
In that way -- this campaign has been so much bigger than me.
I am extremely grateful to the hundreds of staff who moved and uprooted their lives and sacrificed time away from their families. I know our fight has been personal for each of them.
Of course I could not have done this without my husband Doug and my entire family and friends who gave up so much to embark on this journey with me and have supported me every step of the way.
And I am grateful to the thousands of volunteers and contributors who chipped in, who knocked on doors, who made calls and who put their faith and trust in me. It has been the honor of my life to be your candidate.
And I want to be clear: although I am no longer running for President, I will do everything in my power to defeat Donald Trump and fight for the future of our country and the best of who we are.
I know you will too. So let’s do that together.
Let’s keep fighting for the America we believe in, an America free of injustice.
An America that we know we can be unburdened by what has been.
Thank you.
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