Your Move Mitch

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 Yesterday the House  voting along party lines ,passed a resolution that formalizes the current impeachment inquiry, setting out its scope and terms.

For weeks, Republican lawmakers had accused Democrats of mishandling the inquiry by not putting it to a vote.  When Nancy Pelosi announced that there would be a vote, House Republican leaders said their members will vote against it because they maintain the measure should have been passed before the inquiry began.

For weeks the Trump Administration has prevented members from testifying to the House Intelligence Committee.

Recent testimony to the House Intelligence Committee, which is operating under the umbrella of the impeachment inquiry, appears to corroborate the allegation of a quid pro quo offered by Trump to Zelenskiy for the investigations.

Bill Taylor, the most senior U.S. diplomat in the Ukrain and Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman the National Security Council’s Ukraine expert ,have testified to that effect in the past week.

Vindman testified that there were specific details left out of the White House’s rough transcript of the July phone call between President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Zelensky .  Missing in the transcript is  Trump telling  President Zelensky that there were tapes of former Vice President Joe Biden.

The House Intelligence Committee summoned former National Security Adviser John Bolton.  Bolton’s attorney said he “Bolton” was  not willing to appear voluntarily.  However he  appear after the committee subpoena’d him.  .

On Wednesday, Tim Morrison, a senior member of the White House Nationals Security Council resigned.  The resignation came less than 24 hours before he was due to testify in the impeachment inquiry.

Former Republican and now an Independent  Justin Amash representing Michigan ,sent a tweet to Republicans before the vote.

The Hearings 

The Top Ranking Republicans and Democrats of the Intelligence committee are allowed the question witnesses for up to 90 minutes 45 minutes between each party.

Staff counsels s staff counsels to follow their lines of inquiry to their ends,” rather than the back-and-forth five-minute rounds that lawmakers typically have in hearings.
The decision to hold public hearings in the Intelligence Committee means that the Oversight and Foreign Affairs panels, which have been taking part in closed-door depositions, appear to be excluded from the public proceedings. That would mean that some of the Republicans’ most vocal participants in the impeachment inquiry thus far — House Oversight ranking member Jim Jordan of Ohio and Reps. Mark Meadows of North Carolina and Lee Zeldin of New York — would not participate.
The resolution also states that the minority may request witnesses to be called and issue subpoenas — but those subpoenas can only be issued “with the concurrence of the chair,” meaning that Democrats would have to sign off on any Republican-led subpoenas.
The resolution says that the House Intelligence Committee will write a report “setting forth its findings and any recommendations” and that the report will be transmitted to the Judiciary Committee and be made public.
The President’s counsel will have an  opportunity to participate in the proceedings in the Judiciary Committee. The summary says the President’s lawyers will have an opportunity to present their case, attend hearings and respond to evidence and raise an objection to testimony given.
But the committee says that “if the President unlawfully refuses to cooperate with congressional requests,” then the chairman has discretion to deny requests from the President’s lawyers.

 

President Trump

“The Greatest Witch Hunt In American History”

The President’s tweet after the vote.   Unlike the Democrats, every Republican voted along party lines.  The true test for the President is restraint.  Last week. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told the President to stop attacking Senate Republicans . The President has a propensity to attack those who disagrees with him, including other Republicans .

A new Washington Post/ABC that shows that the Presidents  approval rating among Republicans sliding to a record low of 74 percent — down eight points from September and 13 points from July. Overall, the poll pegs Trump’s approval rating at 38 percent, with nearly half of Americans (48 percent) strongly disapproving of his job performance (Trump’s overall disapproval rate is 58 percent).

2020

New York Times/Siena College polling released last week indicates that a majority of voters in Arizona, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin support an impeachment inquiry, with a plurality of Florida voters supporting it as well. Trump won all six of those states in 2016

While the majority of Americans are in favor of Impeachment, many are not in favor of Removing the President from office.   Overzealous Democrats could face a blow back in next years election.

Republicans initially questioned the validity of  comments from the Whisleblower demanding that the President should be given the opportunity to face his accuser.  Taking a page from the Trump playbook, some members of the GOP attacked the witnesses most were members of the President’s administration questioning their patriotism.  The attacks has backfired, with the President of the Senate Mitch McConnell, quieting the Republicans

23

Barring any surprise witnesses, the Impeachment of Donald Trump  by the House seems like a forgone conclusion.

Next year, 23 Republican Senate seats are up.  Including Mitch McConnells seat in Kentucky.   Arizona, Florida, and Possibly Texas are in play. The Democrats needs four seats to take control of the Senate

Mitch McConnell has a delicate  balance.  He has to weigh public opinion during and after the hearings.  He has to enlist people in the administration to monitor the President.  If he fails, some of the Senators up for election may ultimate have to choose whats in the best interest of his constituents.
While many believe the Republican lead Senate will not remove the President.  It all comes down to public opinion.  23 Senate seats are up in 2020. If 20, or more go rouge and join the democrats, the President will be the first President to be removed from office in more the 100 years.
CityFella

Published by CityFella

Moved to the Big Tomata in the nineties from San Francisco. No Suburbs for me with its single colored houses and lawns and the excitement of pulling out my trash can once a week. I'm a CityFella , a part time New Yorker. I'm happiest in the Center City where people the streets and people are alive. I'm still waiting to buy a 34th floor condo somewhere downtown/Midtown with a nightclub. "Hurry I'm old" My politics are somewhere in the middle with a needle that constantly moves. I'm too liberal to be a Republican and too conservative to be a Democrat. Everything interests me . I've come to love Sacratomato, Its a nice town in cheap sensible shoes .

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