Impeachment Inquiry Updates

The Washington Post's John Wagner is providing an updated digest of impeachment inquiry- related news (so we don't have to!).  Here's some of the latest, and what's on tap:

Kurt D. Volker, who resigned last week as the Trump administration’s special envoy for Ukraine, arrived on Capitol Hill to be interviewed behind closed doors in front of three House committees, accelerating the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry.  [snip]

(Volker began his day at 9:30 a.m. to begin his round of depositions.)

●Trump involved Vice President Pence in efforts to pressure Ukraine’s leader, though officials say that Pence was unaware of allegations in the whistleblower complaint

●Odd markings, ellipses fuel doubts about the ‘rough transcript’ of Trump’s Ukraine call

●Trump’s personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani consulted on Ukraine with imprisoned Paul Manafort via a lawyer

Check Wagner's live updates at the link in the first paragraph above.

BONUS:


(democraticunderground.com)

Losing It

Steven Colbert covers the most recent bonkers news conference of rancid, malignant narcissist Donald "The Chosen One" Trump, and more.

Daddy Vladdy Vouches For Trump

Authoritarians gotta stick together:

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday defended Donald Trump over accusations the US leader pressured Kiev to dig up dirt on a rival, saying there was "nothing compromising" in transcripts of the call.

"I see nothing compromising in the conversation between Trump and (Ukrainian leader Volodymyr) Zelensky," Putin said of the phone call that has sparked an impeachment probe in the US.

"President Trump turned to a colleague with a request to investigate possible corruption relating to members of the former administration," the Russian leader said at an energy forum in Moscow.

"Any head of state would have had to do the same."

Yes, any corrupt, political- enemy- and- journalist- murdering former KGB thug would have had to do the same, and much more!

Note to Trump:  Now that Daddy Vladdy has changed his mind and says he's okay with releasing the transcripts of your conversations with him, you should follow his lead, as usual, and release them!  You have nothing to hide, right?!

"Crazy Rudy Law"

Spotted on the New York City subway (click to enlarge):

From the New York Daily News:

"The ad’s phone number leads to a belligerent voicemail, where a male voice blares, 'You have called the law offices of crazy Rudy! We specialize in back channel deals, cable news appearances and will work when drunk!' 

According to the ad, Giuliani also works for 'FREE!' and has 'NO SHAME.'”

Today's Cartoons

(click on images to enlarge)


(Jim Morin, Miami Herald)


(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)


(Nick Anderson, Washington Post Writers Group)


(Drew Sheneman, The Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ)


(Walt Handelsman, The Advocate, New Orleans)


(Signe Wilkinson, Philadelphia Daily News)


(John Deering, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)
 
(Tim Campbell, Washington Post Writers Group)


(Matt Davies, Newsday)


(Joe Heller, Green Bay Press-Gazette)


(Jack Ohman, Sacramento Bee)


(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)
 
(Clay Jones, claytoonz.com)

Netanyahu Corruption Hearing Today

In echoes of the legal problems faced by his U.S. counterpart, far-right Likudnik Israeli Prime Minister Bibi "Bomb Bomb" Netanyahu's pre-indictment hearing on the three corruption charges began today in Jerusalem. Netanyahu is facing bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges leveled by Israel's attorney general following a lengthy investigation:

"The allegations against him include suspicions that he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of champagne and cigars from billionaire friends, offered a critical publisher legislation that would weaken his paper’s main rival in return for softer treatment and allegedly used his influence to help a wealthy telecom magnate in exchange for favorable coverage on a popular news site."

Netanyahu's response to the charges also mimics his U.S. counterpart's: it's all a media-orchestrated witch hunt.

Netanyahu's Likud Party and their right-wing allies came up short in last month's parliamentary elections, beaten by the centrist Blue and White Party led by former Israeli General Benny Gantz. Netanyahu has been desperately trying to form a governing coalition with Gantz, but Gantz has properly refused. Should Netanyahu have to step down as Prime Minister, he could be tried and convicted of the crimes, something that his position as Prime Minister currently protects him from. Elections have consequences there, also.

(photo: Campaign poster for Netanyahu, who leaned heavily on his close relationship with demagogue and unindicted felon Donald "Individual-1" Trump)

Mid-Week Tribute Song

On Monday, the world lost a giant in opera when dramatic soprano Jessye Norman passed away at the age of 74. In a career that spanned decades, Ms. Norman collected the highest honors for her work, including five classical vocal Grammys and a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement, the National Medal of Arts, and so many more. She graduated from Howard University and the University of Michigan with respectively a Bachelor's Degree and a Master's Degree in Music.

At the 1995 Kennedy Center Honors, Ms. Norman sang a soaring "Amazing Grace" in tribute to honoree Sidney Poitier. It was one of the most spellbinding performances in the history of the awards.

The Khashoggi Murder, One Year Later

(Tom Toles, Washington Post)

One year ago today, journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered and dismembered in the Istanbul consulate of Saudi Arabia. The Washington Post has a special Opinions section today dedicated to Khashoggi's memory -- and, ultimately, to seeking justice for him. 

One year ago, Post contributing columnist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered by a hit squad dispatched on the orders of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. Evidence suggests the Saudis expected to dodge justice as Jamal’s case faded from memory. Initially, they stalled by denying any knowledge of Jamal’s whereabouts. When the international community still insisted on answers, they claimed Jamal was the victim of a “rogue" killing. Reports indicate that even months after the murder, Mohammed assured the plot’s ringleader that he would restore him to the royal inner circle as soon as the furor over Jamal’s death subsided.

Mohammed should expect to wait a long time. The world’s horror over Jamal’s murder won’t simply blow over, for many reasons...

Brutal scumbag Crown Prince Mohammed bin "Bone Saw" Salman ordered Khashoggi's murder believing that the U.S. Government, under the amoral, corrupt, tiny hand of Donald "Rump" Trump would carry on as if nothing had happened.  He was largely right.  Although our intelligence community clearly put the blame for Khashoggi's murder on Bone Saw, arms deals needed to be concluded, oil needed to keep flowing, and business deals for Trump and his corrupt family needed to be made.

The Post concludes an editorial on the Khashoggi murder saying,

...[W]e believe history will show that our lost friend and colleague Jamal Khashoggi was on the right side of the debate that Mohammed bin Salman thought, mistakenly, he could win with a bone saw.

It's a debate between freedom and tyranny that our own scumbag of a president also believes he can win, perhaps not with a bone saw, but with other tools just as vicious and deadly for our country.

A Government Of One

With the confirmation that, after days of evasion, loathsome Secretary of State Smug Mike Pompeo, did indeed sit in on the infamous call between Donald "The Chosen One" Trump and the president of Ukraine, the Washington Post takes a moment to reflect on the ever- clearer turn toward authoritarianism by the Trump regime, specifically it's bending of executive agencies to the will of The Chosen One:

The Justice Department has prioritized a probe that the president hopes will discredit a finding by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help him win. As part of that effort, Attorney General William P. Barr has met overseas with foreign intelligence officials to enlist their aid in “investigating the investigators,” as the right’s rallying cry goes, and dig into the president’s suspicions.

The State Department, meanwhile, has been investigating the email records of as many as 130 current and former department officials who sent messages to the private email account of Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and Trump’s 2016 opponent. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defied Congress on Tuesday by attempting to block the depositions of five department employees called to testify in the impeachment inquiry.  [snip]

“Barr and Pompeo are stuck in the fog machine. They seem captives of the president’s perverse worldview,” said Timothy Naftali, a historian and former director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. “Authoritarian regimes have this problem all the time . . . when all government activity is the product of the id of the leader. But in a republic, that’s unusual.” [snip]

... Trump’s moves represent a fundamental reorientation of American democracy, said Timothy Snyder, a Yale history professor and author of “On Tyranny,” a resistance guide to what he describes as America’s turn toward authoritarianism.

“Rather than having the boring system we take for granted, where you have laws based on facts, instead you have a personality who makes up his own reality,” Snyder said. “At first, that reality is just confusing and seems to gum up the works, but after a while, the leader starts to draw people into that reality by making them defend it or making them prove it. This is what’s happening here.”

This passed norm- busting years ago.  As Snyder says, it's a fundamental reorientation of American democracy.   Fighting back against this is an all hands on deck effort by every citizen who values the rule of law.

As far as Pompeo and fellow co- conspirator AG William "Low" Barr go, they're not to be seen as victims of Trump's mania, but rather as cynical enablers and enthusiastic messengers. They're true believers who bubbled up from the miasma of the ultra- right (Pompeo from the tea bagger movement and Barr from the Iran-Contra coverup and radical Opus Dei Catholic movement). Trump is the vessel to achieve their ends, so they're willing and active co- conspirators in his corruption and authoritarian actions.

Tweets Of The Day -- Trump's Trade War Killing Manufacturing Activity

More winning!

U.S. factory activity sinks to 10-year low in September https://t.co/cVHKf4BmUG pic.twitter.com/uDcQDEZ3qM

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) October 1, 2019

OK, that's not good. ISM manufacturing index. Important contrast with 2015-16 slump, which was due to nonpolicy factors (mainly slump in oil prices and hence energy investment). This is all about Trump's trade war pic.twitter.com/Riy6T0aHR2

— Paul Krugman (@paulkrugman) October 1, 2019

I remember when the trade war was going to help bring a revival of American manufacturing... https://t.co/phGXWQ0FEG

— Shawn Donnan (@sdonnan) October 1, 2019

This grim ISM manufacturing number has been coming down the pike for a while. And things are worst in some very important states for Trump's re-election: Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

My Bloomberg @BW story from last month: https://t.co/u4z8lT19oT pic.twitter.com/LnqLea1isv

— Shawn Donnan (@sdonnan) October 1, 2019

Today's Cartoons

(click on images to enlarge)


(Jack Ohman, Sacramento Bee)
 
(Kevin Siers, Charlotte Observer)


(Matt Davies, Newsday)


(Jeff Stahler, gocomics.com)


(Stuart Carlson, gocomics.com)


(Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)


(Ken Catalino, gocomics.com)


(Tom Toles, Washington Post)


(Nick Anderson, Washington Post Writers Group)


(Bill Day, caglecartoons.com)


(Clay Bennett, Chattanooga Times Free Press)


(Kevin Necessary, gocomics.com)

QOTD: The Mobster's Mentality

"That something like the Trump-Zelensky phone call would occur was entirely predictable given what we know about Donald Trump. He is an extreme narcissist, pathologically dishonest, shameless, a man who delights in flouting norms. He has a mobster’s mentality. Mr. Trump’s behavior isn’t governed by moral standards; he doesn’t seem to believe objective moral standards even exist. He can no more understand the language of morality than a person listening to someone speak a foreign language for the first time can." -- Political moralist and former aide to Rethuglican presidents (an oxymoron if there ever was one) Pete Wehner, lamenting what his Party has vomited up after decades of their politics of resentment, lies and bigotry. His lengthy op-ed is worth a read in that context.

Clueless In Florida: Wingnut Dash Arrested

D-list actress and Trump worshiper Stacey Dash was arrested on charges of domestic battery on Sunday night at an apartment in New Port Richey, FL, WFTS in Tampa reports. She was arrested after police noticed scratch marks on the arm of the complainant, who also said that Dash pushed and slapped him in the face. She was released on $500 bail.

Dash, whose career has gone nowhere after her role in the 1995 film "Clueless," has appeared at far-right forums and in numerous media appearances where she delighted in obnoxiously presenting herself as a loyal, Trump-supporting black woman, similar to the role that rabid Candace Owens plays far better, and grifters Diamond and Silk play far worse.

If she spends any time in the slammer, we'd suggest a gift of Ex-Lax brownies to clear her mind.

(photo: "MAKEUP!")

The Barr Is Lowered

Demagogue and Kremlin asset Donald "The Chosen One" Trump's Attorney General corrupt fixer William "Low" Barr is reported to have been shuttling around the world seeking to engage foreign intelligence officials in a scheme to discredit U.S. intelligence agencies' unanimous finding that Russia interfered in the 2016 elections on behalf of Trump. Barr's "investigate the investigators" plan is an attempt to both undermine the consensus that Russia meddled in the elections, giving Trump's fragile ego a massage, and to curry favor with the Kremlin, even as it continues to undermine the U.S. elections process. Trump himself has signaled repeatedly that he doesn't believe Putin was behind the 2016 meddling, and is reported to have told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and then-Ambassador to the U.S. Sergei Kislyak in a 2017 Oval Office meeting that he wasn't concerned about their meddling in the election.

According to the Washington Post report:

"The direct involvement of the nation’s top law enforcement official shows the priority Barr places on the investigation being conducted by John Durham, the U.S. attorney in Connecticut, who has been assigned the sensitive task of reviewing U.S. intelligence work surrounding the 2016 election and its aftermath.

The attorney general’s active role also underscores the degree to which a nearly three-year-old election still consumes significant resources and attention inside the federal government. Current and former intelligence and law enforcement officials expressed frustration and alarm Monday that the head of the Justice Department was taking such a direct role in reexamining what they view as conspiracy theories and baseless allegations of misconduct." (our emphasis)

In Trump's infamous phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25, Trump used extortion methods to ask Zelensky to manufacture dirt on former VP Biden and his son in exchange for receiving military assistance to fight Russian aggression in Ukraine. Barr was mentioned repeatedly as someone that the Ukrainians should speak with in that effort, and is now feigning anger at being mentioned in a "fixer" role, despite his own travels to do just that for Trump.

Perhaps Congress will initiate a separate inquiry to look at impeaching this corrupt and cynical hack. Stay tuned.

Trump's Unraveling (If He Was Ever Raveled In The First Place)

Jimmy Kimmel does a nice job of describing how malignant moron Donald "Rump" Trump is "losing what little is left of his mind" over the impeachment inquiry, and delivers the line of the night (about how Trump could be the first president impeached.... you can hear the punch line starting around 2:48;  the short video that follows shortly after is also a hoot).  There's more, so check out the whole clip.