Formal Impeachment Inquiry of Trump Begins

scottagibson · 2019-12-18T18:58:07.895Z

Jon Favreau (jonfavs)

Pelosi and Schumer should hold a somber press conference where they offer to drop the impeachment vote if Trump is willing to resign today, and then say they look forward to starting a new chapter with Vice President Pence. It's the kind of thing McConnell would do! twitter.com/kyledcheney/st…

Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney

ODD MOMENT: Nadler points out that if Trump is removed, Pence becomes president, not Hillary Clinton To which a cluster of Republicans on the floor ... start cheering

6:42 PM - 18 Dec 2019 3.8K 750

I endorse this plan.

Thrag · 2019-12-18T19:03:08.455Z

“no president will be immune from impeachment”

GOOD! That’s kind of the point!

Thrag · 2019-12-18T19:11:50.130Z

Oh Jesus!

kerzain · 2019-12-18T19:22:41.961Z

Thrag:

Oh Jesus!

I’m not watching right now. What happened!?

Thrag · 2019-12-18T19:23:54.404Z

One of the GOP reps invoked Jesus and claimed that Jesus got a fairer trial from Pilate than Trump is getting.

kerzain · 2019-12-18T19:24:29.065Z

Thanks!

None · 2019-12-18T19:33:10.274Z

twitter.com

Oliver Willis (owillis)

Attempting to deflect on Trump's behalf during a Rules Committee hearing on impeachment, GOP Rep @DebbieLesko accuses several Democrats of previously voting to bring up an impeachment vote. But then she is informed that several of the members she is attacking weren't in Congress. https://t.co/seHZdF7vMW

10:16 PM - 17 Dec 2019 23K 6.3K

Gordon_Cameron · 2019-12-18T19:33:20.666Z

Worse punishment, though.

MrGrumpy · 2019-12-18T19:33:59.930Z

Holy crap. How far gone do you have to be to even imagine saying this, let alone saying it out loud on the House floor? Bring on the phase transition.

twitter.com

Josh Marshall (joshtpm)

Rep. Loudermilk: "When Jesus was falsely accused of treason, Pontius Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers." https://t.co/HqlRYFMIaN

7:14 PM - 18 Dec 2019 270 110

rei · 2019-12-18T19:37:33.896Z

Fucking American Taliban.

KevinC · 2019-12-18T19:46:40.373Z

The FAT. I like it.

Time to trim the FAT, boys.

Thrag · 2019-12-18T19:54:49.874Z

I love the constant pearl clutching about weaponizing impeachment as if Clinton’s impeachment never happened, not to mention that they literally started planning to impeach Hilary before the election even happened.

Washington Post

Some Republicans are discussing their plans for President Clinton — starting...

“It is my honest opinion that the Clinton Foundation represents potentially one of the greatest examples of political corruption in American history,” said Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), who leads the Constitution and Civil Justice subcommittee.

scottagibson · 2019-12-18T19:55:21.958Z

The thing is, what does he mean? As I recall, confronting his accusers didn’t work out well for Jesus. And if Trump wants the opportunity to confront the witnesses against him, all he has to do is permit them to testify.

magnet · 2019-12-18T20:03:25.554Z

He means the whistle-blower.

And yes, his argument is… flawed.

Mark_Asher · 2019-12-18T20:07:49.872Z

magnet:

He means the whistle-blower.

What is there to face? They released the phone call transcript. Trump is clearly guilty. He asked a foreign power to investigate a political rival. It’s cut and dried. The only real argument is should he be removed from office over this? It has nothing to do with the whistleblower at this point other than in wanting to do harm to that person.

BennyProfane · 2019-12-18T20:13:38.968Z

Mark_Asher:

magnet:

He means the whistle-blower.

What is there to face? They released the phone call transcript. Trump is clearly guilty. He asked a foreign power to investigate a political rival. It’s cut and dried. The only real argument is should he be removed from office over this? It has nothing to do with the whistleblower at this point other than in wanting to do harm to that person.

But Trump fixates on things and never lets them go.

MrGrumpy · 2019-12-18T20:14:08.192Z

scottagibson:

The thing is, what does he mean?

Who knows what goes on in the (so-called) mind of these guys. It’s not like trump wasn’t afforded an opportunity to testify at Congress. (edit/update: I see Magnet managed to sussed out the motive.)

Some twitter takes to peruse:

twitter.com

Mark Jacob (MarkJacob16)

Here's a Republican congressman praising Pontius Pilate for giving Jesus Christ a fair shake. twitter.com/joshtpm/status…

Josh Marshall @joshtpm

Rep. Loudermilk: "When Jesus was falsely accused of treason, Pontius Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers." https://t.co/HqlRYFMIaN

7:31 PM - 18 Dec 2019 310 170

twitter.com

Josh Marshall (joshtpm)

There is in fact a long tradition in Christian apologetics that Pilate thought it was a perfect call and Jesus was victim of a witch hunt. But the Jewish elders were so balls to the wall for crucifixion that Pilate said fuck it and voted for crucifixion.

7:51 PM - 18 Dec 2019 170 38

ShivaX · 2019-12-18T20:14:20.766Z

twitter.com

Windsor Mann (WindsorMann)

No joke: This is the same guy. https://t.co/6HhDCJL6fh

8:03 PM - 11 Dec 2019 8.3K 2.2K

ShivaX · 2019-12-18T20:16:09.806Z

twitter.com

Judd Legum (JuddLegum)

REMINDER: Collin Peterson (D-MN) who, except for the guy who is becoming a Republican, is the only Democrat publicly opposing impeachment, co-sponsored a bill with Steve King THIS YEAR. popular.info/p/steve-kings-… https://t.co/vfJqcCTM1q

5:16 PM - 18 Dec 2019 390 230

Strollen · 2019-12-18T20:30:33.339Z

antlers:

The sad thing is that Trump passionately believes every word in that letter. He is delusional, and the 25th Amendment is a much more appropriate remedy than impeachment and removal.

So true, I stopped reading halfway through. Seriously, this is the type of paranoid delusional talk that gets most people locked up in insane asylums. Not allowed to work in the oval office.