Trump White House to Democrats on Impeachment: We’re Not Cooperating, so Come and Get Us

By Townhall. The Trump White House is throwing down the gauntlet. They’ve had it. After three years of being under siege by the Democrats and their allies in the media, the Trump administration is done playing nice. No one from the administration is going to cooperate. In the meantime, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has declared the president will be held accountable. The White House flat-out told Democrats to go pound sound with their impeachment inquiry. . .

The letter is eight pages and outlines why this impeachment inquiry is a total circus. House Democrats executed this impeachment push based off of a July phone call Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, where it was alleged in a whistleblower report that Trump had threatened to withhold military aid unless Zelensky opened a corruption probe into Hunter Biden. The transcript refuted all of that; there is no quid pro quo. The report is based on second-hand accounts. This person, who is reportedly a CIA agent and registered Democrat, never listened in on the call. They also worked with a 2020 candidate. Need I say more about the shoddiness of this attempt? It’s a witch hunt that is fueled by Trump Derangement Syndrome of the most extreme sort (via The White House):

For example, you have denied the President the right to cross-examine witnesses, to call witnesses, to receive transcripts of testimony, to have access to evidence, to have counsel present, and many other basic rights guaranteed to all Americans. You have conducted your proceedings in secret. You have violated civil liberties and the separation of powers by threatening Executive Branch officials, claiming that you will seek to punish those who exercise fundamental constitutional rights and prerogatives. All of this violates the Constitution, the rule of law, and eve1ypastprecedent. Never before in our history has the House of Representatives-under the control of either political party-taken the American people down the dangerous path you seem determined to pursue.

Put simply, you seek to overturn the results of the 2016 election and deprive the American people of the President they have freely chosen. Many Democrats now apparently view impeachment not only as a means to undo the democratic results of the last election, but as a strategy to influence the next election, which is barely more than a year away. As one member of Congress explained, he is “concerned that if we don’t impeach the President, he will get reelected.” 1 Your highly partisan and unconstitutional effort threatens grave and lasting damage to our democratic institutions, to our system of free elections, and to the American people.

[…]

For the foregoing reasons, the President cannot allow your constitutionally illegitimate proceedings to distract him and those in the Executive Branch from their work on behalf of the American people. The President has a country to lead. The American people elected him to do this job, and he remains focused on fulfilling his promises to the American people. He has important work that he must continue on their behalf, both at home and around the world, including continuing strong economic growth, extending historically low levels of unemployment, negotiating trade deals, fixing our broken immigration system, lowering prescription drug prices, and addressing mass shooting violence. We hope that,in light of the many deficiencies we have identified in your proceedings, you will abandon the current invalid efforts to pursue an impeachment inquiry and join the President in focusing on the many important goals that matter to the American people.

(Read more from “Trump White House to Democrats on Impeachment: We’re Not Cooperating, so Come and Get Us” HERE)

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Giuliani: No Administration Officials Will Testify or Provide Documents to Impeachment Probe Unless Adam Schiff Is Removed as House Intel Committee Chairman

By The Blaze. Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, said that he will not testify before House investigators as part of Democrats’ ongoing impeachment efforts against the president unless Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is removed as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, and the House votes in full on taking up the impeachment probe.

In an interview with the Washington Post published Tuesday, Giuliani said that he wouldn’t appear before the House Intelligence Committee and “can’t imagine” Trump administration officials would do so either.

“The position I’m stating is now the position of the administration,” Giuliani told the newspaper. “I wouldn’t testify in front of that committee until there is a vote of Congress and [Schiff] is removed.”

The former New York City mayor referred a soon-to-be-released letter that the Trump administration has sent to Congress regarding the legitimacy of the impeachment inquiry. Reports about such a letter broke late last week. In the letter, the White House reportedly made the argument that it doesn’t have to cooperate with impeachment probe demands until the House formally votes to launch an inquiry.

The chairmen of the three House committees that have subpoenaed Giuliani have given him until Oct. 15 to respond to them, but he says he’s ready to challenge them on the summons. (Read more from “Giuliani: No Administration Officials Will Testify or Provide Documents to Impeachment Probe Unless Adam Schiff Is Removed as House Intel Committee Chairman” HERE)

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Second Ukraine Whistleblower Comes Forward; Attorney for Impeachment ‘Whistleblowers’ Actively Sought Trump Admin Informants

By The Blaze. The attorney representing the whistleblower who filed a complaint against President Donald Trump revealed Sunday that he is now representing a second whistleblower with “firsthand knowledge” of some of the allegations against the president.

Attorney Mark Zaid confirmed to ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos that the second whistleblower has firsthand knowledge of some of the allegations outlined in the first complaint. Like the first whistleblower, Zaid’s newest client is also an intelligence official. . .

The development is significant particularly because a second whistleblower could cast further doubt on Trump’s denials that he did anything wrong.

The New York Times first reported Friday that a second whistleblower was weighing whether to file his own complaint. According to the Times, the official had firsthand knowledge that corroborated information contained in the first complaint.

Zaid told the Washington Examiner on Sunday that the second whistleblower has not filed an official complaint because he “doesn’t need to.” Indeed, the Times reported that government officials who meet with inspectors general are “protected by federal law that outlaws reprisals.”

(Read more from “Second Ukraine Whistleblower Comes Forward” HERE)

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Attorney for Impeachment ‘Whistleblowers’ Actively Sought Trump Admin Informants

By Breitbart. Mark Zaid, the activist attorney representing the so-called whistleblower at the center of the impeachment movement targeting President Donald Trump, says he is representing a second so-called whistleblower who spoke to the Intelligence Community’s inspector general about Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian president.

Missing from the avalanche of news media coverage about Zaid’s two anonymous clients rocking the nation’s capital is that at the beginning of Trump’s presidency Zaid co-founded Whistleblower Aid, a small nonprofit that blasted advertisements around D.C. actively seeking whistleblowers during the Trump administration.

Whistleblower Aid is heavily tied to far-left activist organizations and Democratic politics.

ABC News broke the story on Sunday about the existence of the second so-called whistleblower speaking about Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. (Read more from “Attorney for Impeachment ‘Whistleblowers’ Actively Sought Trump Admin Informants” HERE)

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New Poll: Here’s How Many Voters Say They Want President Trump Impeached, Removed from Office

Just over half of voters want President Trump impeached and removed from office, according to a Fox News Poll released Wednesday.

A new high of 51 percent wants Trump impeached and removed from office, another 4 percent want him impeached but not removed, and 40 percent oppose impeachment altogether. In July, 42 percent favored impeachment and removal, while 5 percent said impeach but don’t remove him, and 45 percent opposed impeachment.

Since July, support for impeachment increased among voters of all stripes: up 11 points among Democrats, 5 points among Republicans and 3 among independents. Support also went up among some of Trump’s key constituencies, including white evangelical Christians (+5 points), white men without a college degree (+8), and rural whites (+10). . .

A lot has happened since the July Fox poll on impeachment — namely, the launch of an impeachment inquiry in the House following allegations Trump improperly pressured Ukraine to investigate the Bidens’ dealings in that country. The 9-point increase in support for impeachment since July, however, doesn’t appear to be based solely on the latest allegations. To that point, more Democrats favor impeaching Trump (85 percent) than consider his call with Ukraine’s president an impeachable offense (76 percent). The same holds true among independents: 39 percent favor impeachment, while 30 percent describe the Ukraine call as impeachable.

The 4-in-10 voters opposing impeachment give a variety of reasons, including: Trump did nothing wrong (21 percent), it is politically motivated (20 percent), and don’t believe allegations (15 percent). (Read more from “New Poll: Here’s How Many Voters Say They Want President Trump Impeached, Removed from Office” HERE)

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Feds Seize JP Morgan Ship With $1 Billion in Cocaine, Investigation Heats up Big Time

Federal authorities are combing through “voluminous” evidence including audio in obscure languages, texts, navigation data, and physical evidence after seizing $1 billion worth of cocaine on a ship owned by JPMorgan this summer.

Prosecutors indicted Nenad Ilic, a nautical engineering trainee from Montenegro, last month. Court filings show they accused the MSC Gayane crewmember of taking part in a conspiracy that involved mobile “narco” phones, ski masks, fake container seals, acts of intimidation, and smuggling drugs onto the ship under the cover of darkness. . .

“This case is so unusual and complex due to the nature of the prosecution, including the volume of discovery materials and the large number of potential witnesses, that it is unreasonable to expect adequate preparation for pretrial proceedings or for the trial itself within the time limits,” Judge Brattle ruled on a motion for a speedy trial.

Judge Brattle underlined the immense scale of the MSC Gayane in the court order. He highlighted that it carries thousands of shipping containers, spans “more than three football fields in length,” and contains an “extensive network” of navigation technology and other computers and electronics. (Read more from “Feds Seize JP Morgan Ship With $1 Billion in Cocaine, Investigation Heats up Big Time” HERE)

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Trump Called for Romney’s Impeachment in Tweet, but Could That Actually Happen?

You never quite know when President Trump might fire off a tweet, targeting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., or House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif. . .

The conventional argument is that no, House members and senators cannot be impeached. That’s true for the most part – even though the House did impeach Tennessee Sen. William Blount – twice – in the 18th Century. But we’ll come back to that in a minute.

Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution grants the House “the sole Power of Impeachment.” Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution awards the Senate “the sole Power to try all Impeachments.” Then, Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution articulates who is eligible for impeachment: “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.” . . .

It was determined that a “civil Officer” is someone subject to presidential appointment and Senate confirmation – like a cabinet official or a federal judge. That’s why the House has impeached various federal judges over the years, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase (who bore the nickname “Old Bacon Face”) and Secretary of War William Belknap. In other words, House members and senators aren’t “civil Officers,” and thus, exempt from impeachment.

There’s no mechanism in the Constitution for a voter “recall” as is possible for some state officeholders. The president, vice president, House and Senate members serve a fixed term. However, Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution grants the House and Senate authority to “punish its Members for disorderly Behaviour, and, with the Concurrence of two thirds, expel a Member.” (Read more from “Trump Called for Romney’s Impeachment in Tweet, but Could That Actually Happen?” HERE)

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Leftist Dark Money Group Pushes Scheme to Pack Supreme Court With Liberal Justices

Demand Justice, an organization founded by former members of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and associated with a secretive “social welfare organization” financed by billionaire activist George Soros, is pushing a scheme to pack the Supreme Court with liberal justices by adding new seats to the nation’s highest court.

This comes after Demand Justice has failed in its repeated attempts to bring about the impeachment of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. . .

The missive, also promoted in Demand Justice mass emails, claims “Republicans stole a seat when they put Neil Gorsuch on the bench, so Democrats need to be committed to fighting back by adding seats to the Supreme Court.”

The petition continues, “You know what’s at stake: the right to a safe and legal abortion, the right to seek asylum, the right to a workplace free of discrimination for LGBTQ+ people, and so much more.” . . .

Immediately after the confirmation of Kavanaugh last year, Breitbart News reported that already some Democrats and progressive activists began shifting tactics, pushing the scheme to “pack” or “balance” the Supreme Court by adding two new seats to be filled by liberal judges. (Read more from “Leftist Dark Money Group Pushes Scheme to Pack Supreme Court With Liberal Justices” HERE)

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2020 Dem Considering Skipping Upcoming Debate Because the DNC Is so Corrupt

Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) said Friday that she may skip Tuesday’s primary debate because the Democratic National Committee has rigged the system to influence the primary result, according to The Hill. . .

Gabbard did not qualify for the September debate, but she has qualified for Tuesday night’s debate. The threshold was 130,000 individual donors and at least 2 percent in four national polls approved by the DNC.

“The DNC and their corporate media partners are essentially trying to hijack this election process away from the responsibility that voters have,” Gabbard said Friday. “They’re trying to be the ones to hold their own, essentially their own primary election before the primary election even begins by deciding through their pseudo-polls and arbitrary requirements—who’s raising how much money, how much grassroots support do they have—and determining who’s winning and who’s not winning, blocking voters from hearing from all the candidates who are offering to hear them as president.” . . .

Despite Gabbard’s complaints, some have felt the DNC’s debate criteria, announced in May, has actually been too lax. The debates held to this point have featured stages with 10 or more candidates, some of them split into two nights.

The debates, crowded with candidates who have never stood a chance at securing the nomination, have produced events during which the contenders rarely are forced to speak thoroughly about their policies and political histories. Tuesday’s debate will be the largest stage yet, with 12 candidates. (Read more from “2020 Dem Considering Skipping Upcoming Debate Because the DNC Is so Corrupt” HERE)

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Hunter Biden Breaks His Silence on Ukraine Scandal; Hunter Biden Likely Still Has Millions in China-Backed Investment Fund

By Townhall. Hunter Biden has decided to step down from the board of BKR, a Chinese private equity firm, and vows to avoid foreign work should his father, former Vice President Joe Biden, become president.

“Hunter always understood that his father would be guided, entirely and unequivocally, by established U.S. policy, regardless of its effects on Hunter’s professional interests,” Hunter’s attorney, George Mesires, said in a statement. “He never anticipated the barrage of false charges against both him and his father by the President of the United States.” . . .

“Under a Biden Administration, Hunter will readily comply with any and all guidelines or standards a President Biden may issue to address purported conflicts of interest, or the appearance of such conflicts, including any restrictions related to overseas business interests,” Mesires said. “In any event, Hunter will agree not to serve on boards of, or work on behalf of, foreign owned companies.”

“He will continue to keep his father personally uninvolved in his business affairs, while availing himself as necessary and appropriate to the Office of the White House Counsel to help inform his application of the Biden Administration’s guidelines or standards to his business decision-making,” Mesires said.

Former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, has been at the center of the Ukraine scandal. While Biden was handling international relations with Ukraine on behalf of the Obama administration, Hunter was being paid $50,000 a month by Ukrainian gas company Bursima despite having no natural energy experience. (Read more from “Hunter Biden Breaks His Silence on Ukraine Scandal” HERE)

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Expert: Hunter Biden Likely Still Has Millions in China-Backed Investment Fund

By Breitbart. Former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden announced Sunday that he was stepping down from his board position at BHR Equity Investment Fund Management, but he likely still has millions of dollars of value in the company.

Hunter Biden has a 10 percent stake in BHR, which he acquired through a company he created named Skaneateles LLC in 2017.

Although Hunter Biden’s lawyer has said that his client’s stake in the company is only valued at $420,000, a FactCheck.org analysis estimates it’s value to be millions.

“It is difficult to imagine, if not incomprehensible, that a 10% stake in those economics is worth only $420K,” Steven Kaplan of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business told FactCheck.org. “The distinction they appear to be making is they capitalized the management company with $4.2 M even if the fund manages $2 B. The value of that management company is likely far in excess of $4.2 M if they are managing $2 B.” (Read more from “Expert: Hunter Biden Likely Still Has Millions in China-Backed Investment Fund” HERE)

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Democrat Rep: We’re Considering Jailing the President’s Allies If They Don’t Comply With Impeachment Inquiry

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), one of the key members of the progressive Congressional “squad,” reiterated a claim Sunday that Democrats are quietly considering jailing allies of President Donald Trump if they do not comply with the House’s impeachment inquiry.

Tlaib told local Detroit news program, Deadline Detroit, that Democrats, who have issued a number of subpoenas to Trump friends, family members, and administration officials, have discussed detaining those who don’t show up to testify, the Hill reports.

“There have been actual serious conversations about what the logistics would look like … if we did have to force someone through a court order to come before the Congressional committee,” she said.

Congress typically negotiates with potential witnesses who receive subpoenas but have concerns about testifying. Jailing those who refuse to comply with a demand for testimony would be a novel approach, which Tlaib acknowledged: “This is pretty uncharted territory for many of us and even for Congress.”

This isn’t the first time Tlaib has talked about jailing ideological opponents, particularly those allied with the president, who could have information as to whether Trump discussed a deal with Ukrainian officials, returning cancelled foreign aid if Ukrainian prosecutors pursued Hunter Biden, son of former Vice President Joe Biden, and investigated an energy corporation that placed Hunter Biden on its board. (Read more from “Democrat Rep.: We’re Considering Jailing the President’s Allies If They Don’t Comply With Impeachment Inquiry” HERE)

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Harry Reid Praises Trump as ‘a Very, Very Smart Man’

Harry Reid had high praise for President Trump calling him “smart” and hard to beat in a recent appearance.

“I used to think that Donald Trump was not too smart. I certainly don’t believe that anymore,” the former Senate majority leader told David Axelrod in an interview preview that aired Friday on CNN. “I don’t think he’s intellectually a powerhouse, but he is basically a very, very smart man. No matter what the subject, any argument he involves himself in, it’s on his terms.”

The 79-year-old Nevada Democrat said the Democratic presidential contenders should not be under the illusion that Trump would be beaten easily in 2020.

In August, he warned that his party’s presidential candidates were taking far-left positions that were hurting their chances of beating Trump. He specifically pointed to “Medicare for all” and decriminalized border crossings as two potentially hazardous positions for Democrats.

Reid held his Nevada Senate seat from 1987-2017 and was the leader of the Democratic conference from 2005 to 2017. He announced he would not be running for reelection in 2016 after an injury left him blind in one eye. Sen. Chuck Schumer from New York is now the leader of the Senate Democrats. (Read more from “Harry Reid Praises Trump as ‘a Very, Very Smart Man'” HERE)

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