It’s unfair to the President and dangerous to the Presidency,’ Graham told reporters at a Senate news conference.“There’s a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it,” Graham added, as he was part of the impeachment effort twenty years ago involving President Bill Clinton.’It is a hyper-partisan process completely void of due process,’ said Sen.Kevin Cramer (R-ND).’It is a disservice to the American people.’ House Democrats have said there is no rule which forces them to take a vote to authorize an impeachment investigation – even as they acknowledge that was done in the past for Presidents Nixon and Clinton.While GOP lawmakers disrupted a deposition on Wednesday, the three committees involved in this process are expected to work this weekend, with testimony from a former staffer on the White House’s National Security Council.Democrats say Republicans are just trying to do everything they can to steer the debate away from the details of the Ukraine investigation, and the possible impeachment process.
It wasn’t immediately clear if GOP leaders would try to force a vote on the resolution in the Senate.
Graham said some Republicans have urged him to force Rep.Adam Schiff (D-CA) to testify – as Schiff has led the impeachment effort for House Democrats.But Graham told reporters that would probably not work.Rep.
Tim Ryan drops out of Democratic race for President The size of the Democratic field for 2020 shrank on Thursday as Rep.Tim Ryan of Ohio announced that he was giving up his bid for the White House, one of a number of candidates who never were able to break out from the lower tier of a large primary field.
In a video message released by his campaign, Ryan thanked his supporters, and said he had decided to run for re-election to his seat in the U.S.House.
‘I wanted to give voice to the forgotten communities that have been left behind,’ Ryan said, acknowledging with a smile that his race for President ‘didn’t work out the way we had planned.’ Ryan has argued that the Democratic Party needs to slow down a big shift to the more liberal side, arguing economic issues in the Rust Belt cannot be ignored by his party.Ryan had missed the last two debates because of a lack of fund raising and little strength in the polls – which led to him having little impact on the overall race.“I honestly didn’t realize he was still in the race,” tweeted Frank Luntz, a GOP polling expert.There are several other Democratic candidates in much the same situation as Ryan – who are not qualifying for the upcoming debates, and are far behind in the polls, like Marianne Williamson, Michael Bennet, John Delaney, and others.
Trump lawyers: The President cannot be investigated, even for murder In arguments before a federal appeals court on Wednesday, lawyers for President Donald Trump argued he has sweeping immunity from any law enforcement investigation while he is office – even for something as serious as murder.The back and forth came in a case about President Trump’s tax returns, as a judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals panel asked about the President’s famous line in the 2016 campaign – where he said if he killed someone on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan – he wouldn’t lose any political support.At one point, appellate judge Denny Chin pressed Mr.Trump’s lawyer, William Consovoy on that murder hypothetical.
‘I’m talking about while in office,’ Judge Chin said about possible investigations while Mr.Trump is President.’Nothing could be done – that is your position?’ ‘That is correct,’ said Consovoy, who cast it as a temporary protection from investigation while Mr.Trump is President.
‘This is not a permanent immunity,” Consovoy added.This was not the first time that lawyers for the President had made this type of argument, as his attorneys – and top officials in his administration – have said that Congress has no power to investigate Mr.
Trump, either.’Article I grants Congress no express power to investigate,’ Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said back in April, as the Trump Administration refused to give Congress the President’s tax returns.
‘Congress’s investigative power is not unlimited,’ Mnuchin added.The legal arguments on Wednesday in a tax return case came as another federal court ordered the State Department to give Congress a series of records related to Ukraine by late November.That came as three committees in the House sent a letter to the State Department, reminding officials of a request for documents related to the Ukraine investigation.’The Department has not produced any documents,’ the Democrats wrote, ‘in response to the subpoena issued…on September 27, 2019.’ So far, the State Department and White House have not complied with a variety of subpoenas, along with multiple requests by Democrats in Congress for documents and other materials.’President Trump has tried to obstruct the impeachment investigation by refusing to comply with doc requests, subpoenas & demanding administration officials not appear before Congress,’ tweeted Rep.Ed Perlmutter (D-CO).The lack of cooperation by the White House and State Department has been undermined by a series of individual officials who have testified in recent weeks in closed door depositions.Wednesday was another example, as a Pentagon official ignored orders not to testify, and cooperated with the investigation.
A series of State Department officials also ignored similar orders in order to give their testimony to lawmakers.GOP lawmakers invade hearing room, delay impeachment testimony Denouncing the impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump undertaken by Democrats in the House, several dozen GOP lawmakers stormed into a secure hearing room in the bowels of the Capitol on Wednesday, demanding that the proceedings be made public, and delaying a scheduled deposition involving a Pentagon official for a little over five hours.’We’re going to go, and see if we can get inside,’ said Rep.Matt Gaetz (R-FL), as a group of several dozen Republicans pushed their way into the room, unhappy with how Democrats are handling this investigation.’This is very unfair to the President,’ said Rep.
Debbie Lesko (R-AZ).’The American people deserve a public and open process,’ said Rep.Mo Brooks (R-AL), as Republicans prevented three different committees from moving ahead with Wednesday’s hearing.
Those interrupting the proceedings included Republican lawmakers who are allowed into the secure hearing room – because they are on one of the three committees involved in these closed door depositions – Intelligence, Oversight, and Foreign Affairs.
Democrats labeled the sit-in a political stunt that smacked of desperation.
‘Trump wanted a foreign government to investigate his political opponent,’ said Rep.Tim Ryan (D-OH).’That is a crime.’ “Today’s circus-like stunt will delay but it will not prevent our search for the truth about the president’s stunning misconduct,” said Rep.Val Demings (D-FL).’GOP ‘storming’ a classified deposition was a ridiculous stunt,’ said Rep.Carolyn Maloney (D-NY).
Democrats also criticized the GOP effort for violating rules on security, as a number of Republican lawmakers brought cell phones into the secure facility, which is prohibited.It resulted in officials having to conduct a sweep of the rooms, to make sure no electronic devices had been left behind.’You may wonder why is it happening now?” asked Rep.Ted Lieu (D-CA).“Because Bill Taylor gave a devastating opening statement yesterday.They’re freaked out.They’re trying to stop this investigation.” Taylor is the top U.S.
diplomat in Ukraine – he testified Tuesday before investigators, making the case that President Trump was withholding military aid for Ukraine in a bid to get the Ukraine government to publicly announce investigations which might help Mr.Trump’s re-election bid.In a tweet on Wednesday afternoon, the President took direct aim at Taylor.Reports indicated the President may have been told by allies in the U.S.House of their Wednesday plans.“This looks awfully like obstruction,” said Rep.Don Beyer (D-VA).
After ordering some pizza and refusing to leave the room known as a SCIF – Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility – GOP lawmakers moved on after about five hours, as Laura Cooper, a deputy assistant Secretary of Defense began her testimony around 3:15 pm.Facebook chief grilled over political ads, cryptocurrency plan Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg tangled with lawmakers at a House hearing on Wednesday, as Democrats pressed the Facebook chief to block false political advertising on his site, while Republicans urged him not to censor ads from President Donald Trump and the GOP.’Our policy is that we do not fact check politician’s speech,’ Zuckerberg told the House Financial Services Committee, as Democrats pressed him to crack down on false advertising carried by the social media giant.’Your claim to promote freedom of speech does not ring true, Mr.Zuckerberg,’ said panel chair Rep.
Maxine Waters (D-CA).’You announced a new ad policy that gives politicians a license to lie so you can earn more money off this division, I suppose,’ Waters added.Democrats argued the refusal of Facebook to fact check political ads will make into a hotbed of misleading and false attacks, which could skew future elections.“Could I run ads targeting Republicans in primaries saying that they voted for the Green New Deal?” asked Rep.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), pressing Zuckerberg to see where he would draw the line on false advertising on Facebook.
“I don’t know the answer to that off the top of my head,” Zuckerberg said, as Ocasio-Cortez pressed him for an answer.“So you don’t know if I will be able to do that,” Ocasio-Cortez continued.“I think, probably,” Zuckerberg answered.While Democrats complained about a lack of fact checking on political ads, most Republicans said there should be no limits on the freedom of speech through Facebook.’I don’t want you to be bullied by politicians who want to censor politically incorrect speech,’ Rep.
Andy Barr (R-KY) told Zuckerberg at one point.At the hearing – which stretched over six hours – Zuckerberg also took flak again over Facebook’s plan to develop a new cryptocurrency, known as Libra.As in previous appearances before Congress, Zuckerberg said his company will go ahead with the Libra cryptocurrency plan only after U.S.
regulators give it a green light.So far, that has not happened.
‘Is it a currency? Are you a bank?’ asked Rep.
Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), as both parties questioned why Zuckerberg was going to base his Libra currency in Switzerland – and not in the United States.’Do you consider Libra to be money? Perlmutter asked.’I consider Libra to be a payment system,’ Zuckerberg replied, as lawmakers expressed concern that it could be used for money laundering and by terrorist groups.’We have to regulate this,’ Perlmutter concluded..
