“Sideshow Amigos” and “Sideshow Shreks” still remain at large in our imagination, as the House Intel Committee deposed Ambassador Yovanovitch.
The GOP tried several procedural stunts, but lost the message as Trump tweeted an attack during the opening.
What remained were what has now become routine in terms of distractions from what is now even more obvious Arms for Dirt activity and its cover-up.
Kayfabe:
At the same time that Rudy Giuliani and his now-indicted pals were pushing for President Donald Trump to remove Amb. Marie Yovanovitch from her post in Ukraine, Trump administration officials were eyeing potential contenders to take over her job. One of the people in the mix, according to three sources familiar with the discussions, was Rep. Pete Sessions, a former Congressman who called for Yovanovitch’s firing. He is also a longtime ally of the former New York Mayor, and is believed to have taken millions of dollars from Giuliani’s indicted cronies.
Yovanovitch is set to testify to the Congressional impeachment inquiry on Nov. 15. The circumstances of her removal from Kyiv are of keen interest to investigators, and she has said the whisper campaign against her left her blindsided. Witnesses in the inquiry have said they believed the people who successfully pushed for her ouster wanted to replace her with someone more pliable — and maybe even more friendly to their business interests.
It’s hard to believe that the Sideshow Bob defense of Trump will be long-lived, as it fails to stand up to even the slightest scrutiny. It is literally a joke. (Still, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Tex.) felt obliged to stamp out any confusion during the impeachment hearing Wednesday. “Is attempted murder a crime?” he asked Ambassador William B. Taylor Jr. Laughing, Taylor responded: “Yes, attempted murder is a crime.”)
www.washingtonpost.com/...
- Trump on allegations of witness tampering: "I have the right to speak. I have freedom of speech, just as other people do."
- Asked if he was trying to intimidate Yovanovitch, Trump says, "I just want to have a total - I want freedom of speech."
- Trump says he watched some of the proceedings today, unlike "yesterday" (two days ago) when he was too busy.
- When a journalist repeated her question about whether he could have intimidated Yovanovitch, Trump said, "Quiet. Quiet. Quiet." He eventually answered, "I don't think so at all."
- Trump has jumped on the Nunes-Stefanik nonsense, criticizing Democrats for not allowing a "talented" Republican to speak. Again, Stefanik was allowed to speak later; under the hearing rules, only Nunes and the Republican lawyer were allowed to speak at the time of their stunt.
- Trump bashes the media, then ends the Q-and-A.
"Holmes was summoned by the House impeachment inquiry to give non-public testimony — a deposition now scheduled for Friday. That means Sondland will not know what Holmes said about the call when he testifies in public next week."
David Holmes, counselor for political affairs at U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, expected to testify in closed session Nov.15. (the Bill Taylor aide who overheard Gordon Sondland’s July 26 call with Trump.)
Trump’s word against that of Holmes and Sondland...
But nobody had accused Trump of doing anything wrong in that initial, congratulatory call. And the transcript raises a few questions that deserve further scrutiny.
Here's a breakdown of three discrepancies.
Zelensky inauguration
In the phone call, Trump said he would look into attending Zelensky's inauguration, and promised that "at a minimum" the US would send a "very, very high level" official to the event in May.
[...]
Cleaning up corruption
In the call, there is no mention of corruption -- despite a White House readout released on the day of the call, saying the issue arose. And Trump administration officials later claimed that corruption was a persistent issue in Ukraine that
Trump was intent on rooting out, begging the question why he didn't bring it up in his first conversation with Zelensky.
The readout in April, which was distributed to reporters, said Trump "expressed his commitment to work together with President-elect Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people to implement reforms that strengthen democracy, increase prosperity, and root out corruption."
That is not reflected in the call, during which Trump mentions a White House invite, the "tremendous" US economy, and the Miss Universe pageant, which he previously owned -- but not corruption.
It's a notable omission.
In defending Trump against accusations of a quid pro quo, Republicans have repeatedly said rooting out corruption was a top priority of the President's. But in the phone call, it doesn't arise.
Impressions of Zelensky
Trump is effusive in his praise of Zelensky in the phone call -- which doesn't reflect the skepticism Republicans have claimed led to a hold on US military aid over the summer.
In October 2019 Lev Parnas, a Florida-based Ukrainian immigrant and former stock trader, was indicted with his business associates Igor Fruman, David Correia and Andrey Kukushkin, for conspiring to make illegal foreign campaign contributions.
Since then the work of Parnas and Fruman on behalf of Rudy Giuliani, and by extension on behalf of Giuliani’s client Donald Trump, have become a central part of the House impeachment inquiry. Parnas, Fruman and Giuliani worked together to seek damaging information about Joe Biden to help Trump in his 2020 presidential campaign. They also sought evidence to blame the DNC for its own hack and to exonerate Russia.
At the same time, Parnas and Fruman were advocating on behalf of Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash, who had partnered with Paul Manafort, was a major backer of Ukraine’s pro-Russian political Party of Regions and has deep ties to Russian organized crime. Parnas was also hired as a translator for Firtash, who is under house arrest in Vienna as he fights against a U.S. extradition request.
Trump has claimed he does not know Lev Parnas or Igor Fruman, but many photographs have been published since their indictment showing them at events with Giuliani, in photos with Trump, in one with Trump and Pence and others with members of Trump’s family and inner circle.
medium.com/...