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Graham refuses to read impeachment transcripts.

NotreDame

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It will be interesting to see what it will be. The Republican talking point (That Shokin was investigating Hunter Biden and Joe Biden got him canned for it) will not stand up in an open hearing.

I’m skeptical his narrative is sincere, and I want the Dems to present evidence showing the narrative is false, or evidence Trump knew or should have known there was no reasonable basis to believe Biden acted improperly. Dems should attempt to make the very best case they can, and that includes evidence refuting Trump’s anticipated defenses, not merely to obtain a conviction in the Senate, but to establish publicly for the rest of America to see and know Trump abused his power; and sell to the electorate it is their job to do what Senate Republicans didn’t have the intestinal fortitude to do, get him out of office!
 
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NotreDame

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Right -- of course, even if Biden did commit some sort of improper act, that wouldn't let Donald off the hook; the ends do not justify the means.

And if Donald wants to make the claim that his actions were solely to investigate impropriety, and had nothing to do with sabotaging his political rival in the upcoming election, then his credibility will be called into question...

... which he should probably avoid at all costs, seeing as how his credibility is extremely questionable.

Well, your discussing a mixed motive. I do not think a mixed motive should result in impeachment or conviction. If Trump sincerely believed VP Biden acted improperly, then asking for an investigation is sensible, and the fact he had the thought that such an investigation could benefit him politically against Biden doesn’t erode or diminish the fact he had a legitimate reason to ask for an investigation.
 
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GodLovesCats

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ND, the red flag is clearly his motive for investigating the Bidens. Even if Hunter Biden did something that is improper, it is not the President's job to investigate that. The FBI and CIA do that stuff. Why would this be taken on by Donald Trump personally, as if he is a policeman? Something is fishy about that part of it.
 
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timothyu

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Why would this be taken on by Donald Trump personally, as if he is a policeman? Something is fishy about that part of it.
Leverage over a fellow president.. my power is bigger than your power. Why do people look for greater meaning than pettiness? It's the man's MO
 
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Speedwell

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I’m skeptical his narrative is sincere, and I want the Dems to present evidence showing the narrative is false, or evidence Trump knew or should have known there was no reasonable basis to believe Biden acted improperly. Dems should attempt to make the very best case they can, and that includes evidence refuting Trump’s anticipated defenses, not merely to obtain a conviction in the Senate, but to establish publicly for the rest of America to see and know Trump abused his power; and sell to the electorate it is their job to do what Senate Republicans didn’t have the intestinal fortitude to do, get him out of office!
Who's narrative is sincere? Shokin was supposed to be investigating Bursima's activities from a period before Hunter Biden joined the board. He wasn't investigating them actively because he was corrupt. The narrative that he was investigating Hunter Biden and Joe Biden got him canned for it won't stand the light of day.
 
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TLK Valentine

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Obviously the impeachment is going to happen long before any of those 235 Democrats lose their seats. I don't think the fact some of them live in red states (meaning the governor is Republican) will affect which way they vote. The "stranger things" could be on the Senate side (hopefully).

I wasn't talking about them losing their seats so much as siding with Donald in order to keep them...
 
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Speedwell

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I don't understand the point of investigating what a Ukrainian company did before a certain person joined it. Also, Trump had to know several other Democrats are running against JOE Biden.
Of course. But Biden is the centrist candidate, the one he most fears. The received wisdom in the Republican camp is that the others are too far left to stand against Trump.
 
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GodLovesCats

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I wasn't talking about them losing their seats so much as siding with Donald in order to keep them...

Democrats are not going to keep their seats by voting against impeachment. That would backfire because they voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016.
 
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TLK Valentine

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Well, your discussing a mixed motive. I do not think a mixed motive should result in impeachment or conviction. If Trump sincerely believed VP Biden acted improperly, then asking for an investigation is sensible, and the fact he had the thought that such an investigation could benefit him politically against Biden doesn’t erode or diminish the fact he had a legitimate reason to ask for an investigation.

In and of itself, agreed -- but what legitimate reason did Donald have to bring Giuliani into it?

Rudy's very involvement raises questions about the legitimacy of Donald's motives.

ETA: I just had a disturbing idea -- what if Donald brought Rudy into the Ukraine deal... purely as a scapegoat? Donald gets his quid pro quo knowing if anything goes public, he can always claim that Rudy went off the reservation and was acting without Donald's knowledge and permission.

I suppose it would boil down to two questions: 1. is Donald smart enough to set Giuliani up as the fall guy, and 2. is he low enough to go through with it?

Now, my opinion of Donald is well known (and the cause of multiple infractions and a sitewide ban), so I'll give my opinion: "yes" on being low enough; "maybe" on being smart enough.
 
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TLK Valentine

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Rudy Giuliani is a close friend and huge financial supporter. He endorsed Donald Trump on television with commercials during the 2016 campaign.

And before Rudy, Michael Cohen was Donald's personal attorney/bagman. And where is Cohen now? Watching the seasons change from Otisville Federal Prison.

Don't underestimate Donald's ability to betray and abandon.
 
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TLK Valentine

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Ladies and gentlemen, we have a flip-flop!

Graham now says Trump's Ukraine policy was too 'incoherent' for quid pro quo

A day after saying he wouldn’t bother reading transcripts released by House Democrats in the impeachment inquiry into President Trump, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., now says he did read the testimony, and his conclusion is that the administration’s Ukraine policy was too “incoherent” for it to have orchestrated the quid pro quo that is at the heart of the probe.

"Incoherent"?

Is Graham now claiming that Donald is too incompetent to pull off an impeachable quid pro quo? Am I reading this right?
 
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GreatLakes4Ever

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iluvatar5150

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Well, your discussing a mixed motive. I do not think a mixed motive should result in impeachment or conviction. If Trump sincerely believed VP Biden acted improperly, then asking for an investigation is sensible, and the fact he had the thought that such an investigation could benefit him politically against Biden doesn’t erode or diminish the fact he had a legitimate reason to ask for an investigation.

I agree with you. Where I’m getting hung up is how we demonstrate whether or not Trum was sincere in his belief in a claim (i.e. that the Bidens engaged in corruption) that has, so far, been entirely unsubstantiated. On the list of Stupid Things Trump Believes, that one wouldn’t come anywhere close to the top. It would appear that, in this case, his track record as an undiscerning, conspiracy-prone boob affords him some plausible deniability.
 
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SimplyMe

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It should be thoroughly investigated.

That's fine but what exactly are the Ukrainians supposed to be investigating? The Ukrainian Ministry of Justice are not experts, and likely know little, of US law. If they are investigating, it would be against Ukrainian law and I'm not sure exactly what law of theirs he would have broken -- or why we want foreign governments investigating people who were working in their capacity as US government officials. As an example, should we have turned Pres. Bush over to the International Court in The Hague, that wanted to try him on war crimes?

The questions you want answered is if Joe Biden broke any US law, which requires US law enforcement. If they need to investigate things he did in Ukraine, then you use our treaty with Ukraine to do joint investigations -- you don't start in the Ukraine, as they don't know what crimes they are looking for or what evidence is needed to get a conviction in a US court.

And, as others have pointed out, it was widely believed that Shokin was corrupt by most in the US government. There is evidence, including testimony from various Cabinet and sub-Cabinet officials, that their departments (State, CIA, DoD) signed off on the idea of firing Shokin. You even have Republican Senators that signed a letter in support of the plan. This is why it would be tough to make a compelling case, particularly without evidence from the US, that Biden was anything other than the representative of the US government giving Ukraine our requirements to give them the loan.

I personally think Giuliani, particularly the work he did with his "clients" Fruman and Parnas, may end up being one of the major keys to this whole investigation. This is doubly true since Trump was having Giuliani do the investigating (and it had apparently been going on for a couple of years) and never talked to AG Barr, or asked him to open an investigation into the Bidens. I also think this is what makes Trump look so bad, the fact he was doing, and asking the Ukrainians to help, with what appears to be a private investigation.
 
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TLK Valentine

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That sounds more like the Don.

Indeed -- but being legally incompetent is one thing; Graham seems to be implying that Donald is just plain stupid.
 
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NotreDame

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That's fine but what exactly are the Ukrainians supposed to be investigating? The Ukrainian Ministry of Justice are not experts, and likely know little, of US law. If they are investigating, it would be against Ukrainian law and I'm not sure exactly what law of theirs he would have broken -- or why we want foreign governments investigating people who were working in their capacity as US government officials. As an example, should we have turned Pres. Bush over to the International Court in The Hague, that wanted to try him on war crimes?

The questions you want answered is if Joe Biden broke any US law, which requires US law enforcement. If they need to investigate things he did in Ukraine, then you use our treaty with Ukraine to do joint investigations -- you don't start in the Ukraine, as they don't know what crimes they are looking for or what evidence is needed to get a conviction in a US court.

And, as others have pointed out, it was widely believed that Shokin was corrupt by most in the US government. There is evidence, including testimony from various Cabinet and sub-Cabinet officials, that their departments (State, CIA, DoD) signed off on the idea of firing Shokin. You even have Republican Senators that signed a letter in support of the plan. This is why it would be tough to make a compelling case, particularly without evidence from the US, that Biden was anything other than the representative of the US government giving Ukraine our requirements to give them the loan.

I personally think Giuliani, particularly the work he did with his "clients" Fruman and Parnas, may end up being one of the major keys to this whole investigation. This is doubly true since Trump was having Giuliani do the investigating (and it had apparently been going on for a couple of years) and never talked to AG Barr, or asked him to open an investigation into the Bidens. I also think this is what makes Trump look so bad, the fact he was doing, and asking the Ukrainians to help, with what appears to be a private investigation.

You and I had this discussion before. You’re making the same points that were repudiated previously.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Justice are not experts, and likely know little, of US law.

They wouldn’t necessarily need to. Why? Well, first, Trump isn’t suggesting he only was interested in, if interested at all, in legalities. Rather, he is looking to see if Biden improperly threatened withholding U.S. funds for the purpose, at least in part, to terminate an investigation into the company in which his son sat on the board for the benefit of his son and I suppose himself, in seeking to keep the investigation into a company his son is directly associated with from occurring.

Second, Trump may just want to know the facts, what happened, for the purpose of evaluating whether a law was violated. That wouldn’t require Ukraine to know U.S. law.

The questions you want answered is if Joe Biden broke any US law

Gee, for a moment there, I thought I had a grasp of the questions I wanted answered. Who knew you had knowledge of the unasked question that I really wanted answered. I’m so relieved you are here to tell me what I want.

That is not the question I want answered and, well, I’ve specifically stated what I want answered, and legality isn’t it. You aren’t getting anywhere by framing questions for me as if I asked them when I didn’t.

you don't start in the Ukraine

Right, because you say so! Okay. Well, I say the opposite. There. I can make equally vacuous and valueless statements like your own. It’s fun.
Oh wait, your supporting reasoning is the gem below:

as they don't know what crimes they are looking for or what evidence is needed to get a conviction in a US court.

Too bad Trump isn’t necessarily obsessed with a criminal aspect, and even if he was, Ukrainians need not know the law, just gather facts, and Trump and attorneys can then assess those facts for a crime.

Nothing you’ve said makes any sense and doesn’t show Trump’s narrative as false, or he knew or should’ve known Biden didn’t act inappropriately.
 
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NotreDame

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I agree with you. Where I’m getting hung up is how we demonstrate whether or not Trum was sincere in his belief in a claim (i.e. that the Bidens engaged in corruption) that has, so far, been entirely unsubstantiated. On the list of Stupid Things Trump Believes, that one wouldn’t come anywhere close to the top. It would appear that, in this case, his track record as an undiscerning, conspiracy-prone boob affords him some plausible deniability.

Where I’m getting hung up is how we demonstrate whether or not Trum was sincere in his belief in a claim (i.e. that the Bidens engaged in corruption) that has, so far, been entirely unsubstantiated.

Interview the very people Trump doesn’t want interviewed. Such as Bolton. It’s been reported Bolton knew this narrative to be a Giuliani inspired conspiracy theory, and consequently, could take them down, calling him a “grenade.” Well, so, in one ear did Giuliani whisper this theory to Trump, and in the other ear Bolton told Trump Giuliani’s theory was baseless and why?

Who else in the room thought this narrative was false? Did they speak to Trump?
 
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