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Post by Webster on Sept 28, 2023 16:08:26 GMT -5
(The Guardian) “I think this hearing is all about look over here, not over there,” Democrat Gerry Connolly said, as he began an exchange with Michael J. Gerhardt. Connelly asked Gerhardt to comment on “all those Biden towers” he’s seen across the world. There aren’t any Biden towers – the Democrat was referring to Donald Trump’s properties in countries across the world, one of a host of the former president’s international entanglements Connolly accused Republicans of ignoring. “I just think that one of the reasons we’re here is because somebody has been indicted in four different locales on four different sets of concerns with I think 81, 91 actual counts and has been found guilty in two civil proceedings, one on involving sexual behavior and one on actual corporate fraudulent activity, and we don’t want to talk about any of that,” Connolly said. “We want to speculate about discredited testimony from discredited witnesses, like Rudy Giuliani, whom we’re afraid to subpoena. That’s what this is all about. This isn’t about our need to defend Joe Biden, this is about their need to make sure we get off topic, that we no longer talk about the pending criminal trials of the former president of the United States, and if anything’s worthy of examination, that is – not this.”
Democrats then, again, attempted to disrupt the hearing with a point of order. The culprit was Dan Goldman, who, before Republican Byron Donalds could talk, wanted to raise an issue. “You’re out of order, out of order,” James Comer, clearly wise to the minority’s tactics, quickly responded, before moving on to Donalds, who presented a number of text messages from Hunter Biden to his siblings and relatives. After Donalds finished speaking, Comer came back to Goldman, who requested that a specific page from Hunter Biden’s former business associate Devon Archer’s testimony to the committee was entered into the hearing record. Comer granted the request, and the hearing moved on.
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Post by Webster on Sept 28, 2023 16:09:10 GMT -5
(The Guardian) South Carolina’s Nancy Mace then displayed a text message between Hunter Biden and a Chinese businessman working for a company she said was affiliated with the Communist Party. “Hunter says ‘my uncle will be here with his brother’ in all caps, ‘who would like to say hello to the chairman,’” Mace said, reading off the text message. “He goes on: ‘Jim’s brother, if he’s coming, wants to say hello,’” Mace said. “His uncle’s brother. Hmm, I wonder who that could be,” Mace continued. “I can’t quite figure it out. Hunter puts brother in all caps, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure this out. But, since I’m not always dealing with geniuses in Washington DC, as has been illustrated today, I’ll spell it out. The brother of Hunter’s Uncle Jim is Joe Biden.” “Why was Hunter so secretive about his father?” Mace asked. “I’m gonna tell you why. It’s because Joe Biden didn’t want the American people to know he and his family were getting paid millions and millions of dollars from a company closely tied to the Chinese Communist Party.” While Joe Biden has erroneously downplayed his son’s business dealings in China, despite what Mace says, there’s no proof that the president financially benefitted from Hunter Biden’s ventures there, as this Washington Post fact check makes clear. It’s also worth noting that Hunter Biden’s involvement with the Chinese company, CEFC, began in 2017 – after Joe Biden’s term as vice-president ended.
Democrats, led by congressman Kweisi Mfume, just attempted to, once again, subpoena Rudy Giuliani. Mfume argued that the lawyer for Donald Trump has crucial information about the impeachment inquiry. Giuliani was also at the center of Democrats’ impeachment of Trump in 2019 for pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden. “Doesn’t seem to have a lot to do with this,” Republican Nancy Mace grumbled, before voting against it, together with other GOP lawmakers, who blocked the motion by a vote of 20 to 18. “Where in the world is Rudy Giuliani?” Mfume said, after the motion failed. “That’s how we got here, ladies and gentlemen, and this committee is afraid to bring him before us and put him on the record. Shame.”
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Post by Webster on Sept 28, 2023 16:09:43 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Democratic congresswoman accused Republicans of fabricating impeachment evidenceDemocratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused Republicans of fabricating evidence presented in today’s impeachment hearing. “Earlier today, one of our colleagues, the gentleman from Florida, presented up on the screen something that looked, appeared to be a screenshot of a text message containing or insinuating an explosive allegation. That screenshot of what appeared to be a text message was a fabricated image,” Ocasio-Cortez said, referring to a presentation from Republican Byron Donalds. Earlier in the hearing, Donalds had shown a series of text messages that he said were indications Hunter Biden engaged in fraud and money laundering, and that Joe Biden benefited from it. “I don’t know where it came from. I don’t know if it was the staff of the committee, but it was not the actual direct screenshot from that phone,” Ocasio-Cortez said. She also noted that only the four witnesses before the oversight committee were under oath, while the lawmakers on the panel could say what they want – including lies. “I would ask that the chair, and I would ask that this committee, elevate to the promise of our duties here and comport ourselves with the consistency and practice that is required of our seats and our duty and our oath,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
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Post by Webster on Sept 28, 2023 16:10:30 GMT -5
(The Guardian) One tactic Democrats are using to blunt the impeachment effort is to get the three Republican-invited witnesses to acknowledge that the facts don’t yet support charging Joe Biden. Earlier in the hearing, Democrat Ro Khanna asked George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley to elaborate on his opening statement, where he said, “I do not believe that the current evidence would support articles of impeachment. That is something that an inquiry has to establish, but I also do believe that the House has passed the threshold for an impeachment inquiry into the conduct of President Biden.” “The key here that the committee has to drill down on, is whether they can establish a linkage with the influence peddling, which is a form of corruption,” Turley said. “And the [resident, whether he had knowledge, whether he participated, whether he encouraged it, we simply don’t know, and we don’t even know if this was an illusion or not.” “Currently, it’s your testimony that that nexus has not been established, correct?” Khanna asked. “No, I think that’s the purpose of the inquiry,” Turley replied.
Republicans, meanwhile, are using their time to get support from their witnesses for their investigation of Joe Biden. Clay Higgins asked law professor Jonathan Turley for his interpretation of “high crimes and misdemeanors,” one of the things the constitution says a president can be removed for committing. “This has been a matter of obviously robust debate for many decades. What we do know is that there were various terms that were offered, and were rejected,” Turley replied. “Would Madison argue that ‘betrayal of trust to foreign powers’ is an impeachable offense?” Higgins asked, referring to founding father James Madison, who played a major role in writing the United States’s governing document. “There are references into that type of betrayal of trust, but also, if you take a look at past impeachments, they have gone to the violation of public trust, including the use of office to perpetuate false accounts or to obstruct this body,” Turley replied. Higgins then went on to recite the evidence Republicans have accumulated against Biden, which mostly centers on his son’s overseas business activities and the justice department’s investigation into it, which they allege was politically undermined. “Do you agree that the oversight committee, judiciary committee and ways and means committee should be judiciously investigating reasonable suspicion of impeachable actions by president Joe Biden?” Higgins then asked. “I do … I think it is your duty to get answers to these questions and to see if the president was involved in what I think is a confirmed corrupt influence peddling effort,” Turley replied.
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Post by Webster on Sept 28, 2023 16:11:14 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Democrat Melanie Stansbury is using her time to make the case that the whole impeachment inquiry is being done at the behest of Donald Trump – or “the grand puppet master”, as she calls him. “Let’s be clear about what this hearing actually is. It’s an effort to undermine our democracy, to diminish Donald Trump’s own two impeachments,” the New Mexico lawmaker said. She went on: We know that Donald Trump has called for this impeachment inquiry, because we have the direct evidence from his own social. You can see it right here. He says, impeach the bum. And we also know that he’s been directly coordinating with members of this committee as reported by the New York Times right here, a member of this committee has been briefing Donald Trump on this inquiry.
We also know that if Donald Trump doesn’t get his way he wants his loyalists to shut down the government. How do we know that? Because he posted it right here on his social media. And his loyalists in this committee, who are doing his bidding for him today, retweeted it. And in fact, it actually says right here that the reason why they want to defund the government and impeach is because this is the last chance to defund these political prosecutions against me.So, folks, this is not a serious inquiry. This is not a serious hearing. In fact, the witnesses here don’t even believe there’s enough evidence to impeach their own members don’t even believe there’s a much is enough evidence to impeach. “I think it’s obvious who the grand puppet master is here. He tweeted about it on his own social and we see the long arm, the little hands of Mr. Donald Trump, whose fingerprints are all over this hearing and this sham impeachment,” Stansbury concluded.
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Post by Webster on Sept 28, 2023 16:11:51 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Sept 28, 2023 16:13:05 GMT -5
(The Guardian) After a lengthy speech in which he referred to the impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden as a “disgrace,” Democrat Greg Casar declared, “It is my firm belief that Hunter and Trump should both face trial and, if guilty, be held accountable for the crimes they’ve been accused of.” Then he asked committee members to raise their hands if they agree. “Please raise your hand if you believe both Hunter and Trump should be held accountable for any of the indictments against them, if convicted by a jury of their peers,” Casar said. Democrats held their hands high, but few, if any, Republicans did the same. “I think it is worse than embarrassing that Republicans won’t raise their hands. They refuse to say that equal justice under the law should apply to everyone,” Casar said. “This double standard insults the institutions of Congress that people fought and died to build. This impeachment hearing clearly is not about justice. We cannot say equal justice under the law for everyone, except for the guy who holds the leash.”
Democrat Jasmine Crockett took issue with Republicans’ propensity for using the word “if”. Arguing that the GOP and their three witnesses had spent the hearing dabbling in hypotheticals, she asked Democratic witness Michael J. Gerhardt how many times they’d said “if”. Gerhardt replied that he’d been keeping a tally, and the GOP has used the word 35 times. “Thank you so much for that because, honestly, if they would continue to say if or Hunter and we were playing a drinking game, I would be drunk by now,” Crockett said.
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Post by Webster on Sept 28, 2023 16:13:56 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of the most extreme rightwing House lawmakers, took the hearing deep into conspiracy land by claiming Hunter Biden was engaged in sex trafficking. She then displayed a placard that appeared to show naked bodies, drawing a protest from Democrats. “Our colleague from Georgia has introduced before pornographic exhibits and displayed things that are really not suitable for children who might be watching,” Democratic ranking member Jamie Raskin said. “I would like the member to be instructed to not introduce any pornography today.” “A bathing suit is not pornography,” Greene shot back. “You are submitting a naked woman’s body,” Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said. Greene again insisted she was showing a picture of someone wearing a bathing suit, then asked Ocasi-Cortez, “Glasses, do you wear them or not?” “I have contacts,” the Democrat replied. “Congratulations,” was Greene’s response.
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Post by Webster on Sept 28, 2023 16:14:46 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Republicans keep coming to Jonathan Turley, hoping the George Washington University law professor will offer his opinion on if Joe Biden should be impeached. But while he has said he believes Hunter Biden tried to sell access to his father, he has refused to offer his thoughts on if the president acted improperly. The latest Republican to try was Jim Jordan, who asked, “I want you to elaborate on something you said earlier … you said ‘confirmed corrupt influence peddling operation’. Can you elaborate on what you what you think that entails?” “It’s now in my view, at least largely unassailable, even people that have long been critical of some of the investigations have acknowledged recently, particularly after the Archer interview, that this was an influence peddling effort,” Turley said, referring to an interview with Biden’s former business partner Devon Archer. But Turley declined to go further than that: Whether it was an illusion or not is part of the task for the inquiry. But it seems to be abundantly clear from these emails and statements, and now sworn testimony, that Hunter Biden, his associates, were selling access to Joe Biden, and the question is whether any of that effort resulted in decisions and changes being made by Joe Biden and also the degree to which he knew of it, directed it, encouraged it. That’s all the subject of an inquiry that has to be determined. It can be disproven or proven, but that’s what lays ahead of you.
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Post by Webster on Oct 6, 2023 18:04:12 GMT -5
(The Guardian) With no speaker, the House is currently paralyzed. But whenever it returns to functionality, Republicans are expected to continue pressing on with their impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden. But as NBC News reports, two of the far-right lawmakers who orchestrated Kevin McCarthy’s ouster – including Matt Gaetz, who led the motion to vacate – don’t think impeaching the president is a good idea: Days before Rep. Matt Gaetz led an effort to oust Kevin McCarthy as House speaker, Gaetz and Rep. Matt Rosendale, a fellow Freedom Caucus member, denounced as a political stunt Republicans’ high-stakes effort to impeach President Joe Biden, according to a video obtained by NBC News.
At an invitation-only fundraiser held over Zoom last week, Gaetz, R-Fla., and Rosendale, who is said to be plotting another Senate run next year, heaped skepticism on the probe. “I don’t believe that we are endeavoring upon a legitimate impeachment of Joe Biden,” Gaetz told Steve Bannon, a podcaster and onetime political adviser to former President Donald Trump, who was moderating the discussion. “They’re trying to engage in a, like, ‘forever war’ of impeachment,” Gaetz said. “And like many of our forever wars, it will drag on forever and end in a bloody draw.”
As they fielded questions from high-dollar conservative donors, Gaetz and Rosendale were just days away from moving to end McCarthy’s speakership — and tipping the Republican caucus into its own protracted battle over who will lead the conference.
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Post by Webster on Oct 27, 2023 15:06:18 GMT -5
(The Guardian) New House speaker Mike Johnson signals willingness to continue Biden impeachmentIn his first major interview since winning election as speaker of the House, Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson both made clear that the conservative ideology he embraced throughout his six years in office has not changed, while also avoiding weighing in one some of the most controversial issues before him. Speaking to conservative Fox News commentator Sean Hannity, he declined to reiterate his attacks on same-sex marriage, nor elaborate on if he would push for a national ban on abortion. But there was one topic on which Johnson did not hold back, perhaps because it’s not particularly controversial among Republicans: Joe Biden. “I think it’s been a failed presidency,” he said, and repeated the familiar allegation that the president is suffering from cognitive decline. The speaker also said it was “very likely” the ongoing impeachment inquiry into the president, which centers into long-running and still-unverified corruption allegations regarding his son Hunter Biden, will turn up offenses worth of bringing charges. It was as sure a sign as any that the divisive and almost certainly quixotic effort will continue in the months to come.
Mike Johnson’s interview on Fox News was as notable for what he said as for what he didn’t say. He has been outspoken against gay marriage before – and we’ll get to that shortly on this blog – but as the Guardian’s Martin Pengelly reports, declined to reiterate those attacks in last night’s interview: Questioned about comments and actions deemed by many to be homophobic, the new Republican US House speaker, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, told Fox News his worldview was: “Go pick up a Bible.”
Speaking on Thursday, Johnson said he “genuinely love[d] all people regardless of their lifestyle choices. “This is not about the people themselves. I am a Bible-believing Christian. Someone asked me today in the media, they said, ‘… People are curious. What does Mike Johnson think about any issue under the sun?’ I said, well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it – that’s my worldview. That’s what I believe and so I make no apologies for it.”
Johnson added: “That’s my personal worldview.”
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Post by Webster on Nov 29, 2023 15:17:15 GMT -5
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Post by Webster on Dec 5, 2023 15:50:54 GMT -5
(The Guardian) House to vote next week on formalizing impeachment inquiry into Biden - reportsHouse Republicans will next week hold a vote to formalize their impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden, CNN reports: Former speaker Kevin McCarthy announced the start of the investigation in September, which centers on thus-far unproven allegations of corruption against the president in connection to his family members’ overseas business dealings. The House has thus far held one hearing as part of the inquiry, in which Republican-invited witnesses said they were not aware of any criminal activity by the president, but said the investigation was worth continuing. In a press conference today, the chamber’s Republican leader Mike Johnson said the vote is necessary to establish its authority to investigate the president:
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Post by Webster on Dec 8, 2023 18:43:29 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Top House Republican takes credit for new charges against Hunter BidenBesides federal prosecutors, Hunter Biden’s most tenacious nemesis is James Comer, the Republican chair of the House oversight committee, who has been leading the investigation into his overseas business dealings. Comer has alleged that the Bidens are a “crime family”, even though his months of hearings and inquiries have yet to reveal any evidence that the president benefited from his son or any other family member’s forays overseas. The oversight committee has been dogged in keeping the focus on Hunter Biden, and earlier this year held a hearing in which two IRS whistleblowers alleged the investigation into his taxes had been slow-walked and mismanaged. In a statement released yesterday following the announcement of new charges against Biden, Comer said that testimony was crucial in getting the charges filed: Two brave IRS whistleblowers, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, placed their careers on the line to blow the whistle on misconduct and politicization in the Hunter Biden criminal investigation. The Department of Justice got caught in its attempt to give Hunter Biden an unprecedented sweetheart plea deal and today’s charges filed against Hunter Biden are the result of Mr. Shapley and Mr. Ziegler’s efforts to ensure all Americans are treated equally under the law. Every American should applaud these men for their courage to expose the truth.
Comer then goes on to say, “The House Oversight Committee’s investigation of the Bidens’ influence peddling schemes reveals how Joe Biden knew about, participated in, and benefitted from his family cashing in on the Biden name.” However, that’s not quite true. The committee has made public lots of evidence about Joe Biden’s financial relationships with Hunter and other family members, but none of it quite adds up to proof of him being enriched by their business activities. Here’s a Washington Post story that shows how some allegedly damaging evidence Comer released is less than it appears.The “sweetheart deal” he speaks of was a plea agreement Biden’s attorneys briefly reached with prosecutors, which collapsed unexpectedly in a July court hearing, leading to his indictment. -Read more: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/12/04/comer-mischaracterizes-hunter-biden-car-payment-reimbursement-his-dad/-Read more: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/26/why-hunter-biden-plea-deal-fell-apart
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Post by Webster on Jan 5, 2024 18:44:37 GMT -5
(The Guardian) Donald Trump allies who took part in the legal strategy to block Joe Biden from taking office despite his 2020 election victory now hold key positions in Congress, where they are working to impeach the current president, the Guardian’s David Smith reports, based on a watchdog report: The attempted US coup of 6 January 2021 never ended, according to a watchdog report, since the same Donald Trump allies behind that insurrection are now leading a sham impeachment effort against Joe Biden.
The report, marking three years since a mob of Trump supporters ransacked the US Capitol in a bid to overturn his election defeat, was produced by the Congressional Integrity Project and obtained by the Guardian.
It argues that scores of Trump loyalists in the House of Representatives have continued to push the former president’s election lies and are ready to go further in a bid to put him back in the White House.
“In fact, the key players involved in Trump’s scheme to overturn the election in 2020 are the very same Republicans leading the bogus impeachment effort against President Biden,” it says.
These include Mike Johnson, the House speaker; Jim Jordan, the chair of the House judiciary committee; and James Comer, the chair of the House oversight committee, all of whom continue to push Trump’s debunked conspiracy theories and wage a crusade to impeach Biden.
Last month, the House voted along party lines to officially authorise an impeachment inquiry into Biden after months of claiming that he and his son, Hunter, engaged in an influence-peddling scheme. Even some Republicans, such as Utah senator Mitt Romney, pointed out that there is no evidence of wrongdoing by Biden himself.
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