Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee would have you believe the Ukraine scandal was just one phone call on July 25, the call that prompted the whistleblower complaint, and despite the inspector general of the intelligence community finding that complaint an “urgent matter of concern,” Republicans do not find anything in the call readout to … Read more
Aaron Blake of The Washington Post reports that Trump’s allies want to focus the Ukraine scandal on the tree, so you miss the forest: The new GOP strategy appears to be misdirection. In recent days, Republicans have maintained a laserlike focus on a very narrow defense of Trump: that there was nothing illegal about his July … Read more
If you need any further evidence that the Republican Party is now a personality cult in thrall to a dangerous demagogue, Donald Trump, today’s House vote to formalize the rules for the next public phase of the impeachment inquiry should erase any remaining doubt. During the Watergate scandal the House did not approve the rules … Read more
In the Watergate scandal, White House counsel John Dean had a photographic memory and near total recall of events in delivering his devastating testimony before Congress. The Nixon tapes later confirmed John Dean’s testimony in astonishing detail. Ambassador William Taylor may not have John Dean’s photographic memory, but he does appear to have near total … Read more
Permanent musical accompaniment: When the walls come crumblin’ down. Kurt Volker, the former special envoy to Ukraine who resigned abruptly, testified before lawmakers behind closed doors for more than nine hours [last] Thursday. He provided messages he had exchanged with other diplomats, the president’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and a high-level adviser to Ukrainian President … Read more