Summations Only

I don't condone illegal immigration. I also don't condone policies that would force illegal immigrants to die on the doorsteps of emergency rooms. The very ability to overstay a visa means they have no borders, according to your logic. I am not OK with people pushing completely debunked conspiracy theories, like you are doing. Yes, a completely debunked conspiracy theory that Trump wants circulated for political purposes. Our intelligence services know its an unfounded and false conspiracy theory, and the Ukranians know it too. So what Trump is really asking is for the Ukranians to make shit up, and for political purposes. This is asking a foreign country to interfere in our elections. Trump is asking for the Ukranians to invent an investigation for political purposes. That's what's wrong. Everyone in the sane part of the world knows that Biden did nothing wrong. Where in the US Constitution does it require a vote in the House to start an impeachment inquiry?She isn't holding the vote because she doesn't have to. Then give us some direct quotes, with context.

That is definitely not the problem. None of us have a problem with fair elections. I never liked George W. Bush, but I never would have supported impeachment proceedings against him. This isn't a Dem v. Rep thing. This is about corruption and incompetence at the top of the Executive branch. The man isn't fit for office and is an ongoing threat to our national security, regardless of what party he is from. There are times when doing the right thing requires sacrifice. At least Democrats are able to put their country ahead of their party. We will see if Republicans are able to do that, too.Edited by Taq, : No reason given.

I could accept a boor who was competent and wasn't corrupt.

I wish George Orwell was still alive. That would have made for an interesting interview.

Republicans are about to become the dog that catches the car.

Again, there are times when you need to put country before party. This is one of those times. When a US President openly abuses his office and threatens national security in the name of his own personal goals then he must be held accountable, especially when that same US President demonstrates that he doesn't understand why those things are wrong. In fact, Trump knows so little about morality and ethics that he committed the same crime right in front of the camera when he asked China to investigate his political rivals.Someone has to be the adult in the room, and it appears to be the Democrats at the moment. Because it is the right thing to do.

They are weighing that risk against the risks the President poses to national security and our sovereignty as a country. Right now, they are putting country ahead of party. These were before the Ukraine scandal erupted. Doubtful. Many think Articles of Impeachment will be sent over to the Senate before New Year's. The simplicity of the case will make for a short trial. Senator's already know almost everything they need to know which is Trump withheld aid and other support for Ukraine in exchange for investigations into his political rivals. They will have to decide if this is something a President should be allowed to do. I disagree. A no vote on removal from office will be used as a beating stick against Republicans. It will demonstrate that those Republicans put their party ahead of Americans.

The scandal where Trump conditioned military aid on investigations into his political opponents. In fact, just asking Ukraine to dig up dirt on his political opponents is a scandal in itself. Trump did not ask Ukraine to fire a corrupt prosecutor, and Trump's actions did not have bipartisan support in Congress nor the support of our allies. Trump also ran this outside of normal channels, and tried to hide it. They aren't the same. They've already found two: abuse of power and obstruction of congress. I know history. Do you? What was Clinton's approval rating at the time of his impeachment trial? What did public support for Clinton's removal look like, and how does it compare to now?Edited by Taq, : No reason given.Edited by Taq, : No reason given.

Do you think it is ok for any president to withhold military aid from a foreign country in exchange for help with their personal political campaign? 1. Soliciting campaign help from a foreign power using tax payer dollars and the power of the presidency.2. Refusing subpoenas which is obstruction of congress, a charge that Nixon was also accused of. Yes, they paid a private company which is entirely legal. It is illegal to solicit campaign help from foreign governments, especially when you are a government official and using tax payer dollars as leverage. Yes. Soliciting campaign help from foreign powers is illegal whether they pressure them or not.Edited by Taq, : No reason given.

False. Congress isn't a bunch of crooks, nor are the governments of the G7 and our other allies. Biden was serving our national interests by asking Ukraine to fire Shokin. Trump asking Ukraine to dig up dirt on Biden served no national interests, and only benefited his personal political campaign. That's the difference. That is irrelevant since Shokin was fired for cause, and asking for his removal served our national interests and the interests of our allies.

You do realize that there is more than just the transcript, right?

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Taylor’s testimony, detailed in a 15-page chronology, confirms that this was a quid pro quo. He describes a July 19 phone call in which two officialsAlex Vindman, the National Security Council’s director of European Affairs, and Fiona Hill, who was then the NSC’s senior director for European and Russian Affairsrecounted a July 10 meeting at the White House. In that meeting, Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, connected ‘investigations’ with an Oval Office meeting for President Zelenskyy. Taylor reports that several weeks later, in a Sept. 1 phone call, Sondland told me that President Trump had told him that he wants President Zelenskyy to state publicly that Ukraine will investigate Burisma and alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. In this call, according to Taylor, Sondland confirmed that he had told Ukrainian officials a White House meeting with President Zelenskyy was dependent on a public announcement of investigations.
Bill Taylor’s testimony goes way beyond quid pro quo.

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Here:

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"There's a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it ... It sounds horrible to me,"

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That would be before the release of the transcript. Trump is also refusing to comply with subpoenas. Using the power of the presidency to solicit campaign help from foreign powers. Conditioning military aid on campaign help from a foreign government. The refusal to comply with subpoenas from congress. You are talking about the political fallout, not legality. Obviously, if Trump's removal has public support then Democrats won't be facing the same thing the Republicans did when they didn't have public support for Clinton's removal.

Doesn't change the fact that Biden has the support of Congress and our allies when he pushed for the firing of Shokin. "I don't believe anything I read in the news or hear, and very little of what I see. I am a total skeptic."--ICANT

I think it is helpful to contrast what Trump has done with legal diplomatic actions that were in the national interest. Hopefully they can learn by example.

Yovanovitch and McKinley have the trascripts of their testimony released:Impeachment inquiry: Committees release first transcripts of closed-door testimonyTime to throw the popcorn in the microwave.

There are also exceptions for libel and slander. Interestingly, there is a woman suing Trump for defamation because he accused her of lying when she said that Trump sexually assaulted her.