Six on Impeachment: 7 takeaways from the ["rough"] transcript of Trump’s call with Ukraine’s president; How the Impeachment Process Works; I Voted to Impeach Nixon. I’d Do the Same for Trump; Why a Trump Impeachment Should Terrify You; Giuliani: St

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Six on Impeachment: 7 takeaways from the ["rough"] transcript of Trump’s call with Ukraine’s president; How the Impeachment Process Works; I Voted to Impeach Nixon. I’d Do the Same for Trump; Why a Trump Impeachment Should Terrify You; Giuliani: State Department ‘Asked Me’ to Look Into Ukraine; Giuliani pursued shadow Ukraine agenda as key foreign policy officials were sidelined

 7 takeaways from the transcript of Trump’s call with Ukraine’s president

"Below, some takeaways.   Trump-Ukraine live updates

1. It mentions no explicit quid pro quo

The idea that Trump would proactively release a document that showed him engaging in an explicit quid pro quo with a foreign government was always far-fetched, but it’s worth noting that it’s not there.

5. This is hardly an exoneration, and it’s only a piece of the puzzle

The rough transcript indicates there is no quid pro quo, but it is not the exoneration Trump will claim it to be.

The first reason is that the whistleblower complaint involves multiple events and no single communication, as the intelligence community’s inspector general, Michael Atkinson, testified last week. This is the highest-profile known event involving Trump and Ukraine, but there are many unknowns. We don’t even know what other events might be involved, much less what transpired in them.

The full Trump-Ukraine timeline — as of now

Analysis | The full Trump-Ukraine timeline — as of now Everything you could possibly want to know about this unfolding whistleblower situation, chronologically.

Indeed, the fact that Trump released the call and not the whistleblower complaint (at least yet, though that could be coming) suggests this piece of evidence is perceived as being better for him than the rest. It could also be a trial balloon to see how the call is received before making a decision on the full complaint.

The second is that, as Philip Bump wrote Tuesday, the whistleblower reportedly wasn’t even privy to the call; they heard about it secondhand. And Atkinson reviewed their complaint and determined it to be both credible — suggesting there was some corroboration — and of “urgent concern.” So both of them seemed to be relying upon plenty besides this call.

The full Trump-Ukraine timeline — as of now

Indeed, the fact that Trump released the call and not the whistleblower complaint (at least yet, though that could be coming) suggests this piece of evidence is perceived as being better for him than the rest. It could also be a trial balloon to see how the call is received before making a decision on the full complaint.

The second is that, as Philip Bump wrote Tuesday, the whistleblower reportedly wasn’t even privy to the call; they heard about it secondhand. And Atkinson reviewed their complaint and determined it to be both credible — suggesting there was some corroboration — and of “urgent concern.” So both of them seemed to be relying upon plenty besides this call.

Also to keep in mind, the rough transcript is not a verbatim account of the conversation. It is a White House memorandum that is based on the notes and memories of officials in the room. A disclaimer in the rough transcript warns that a number of factors “can affect the accuracy of the record, including poor telecommunications connections and variations in accent.”

Analysis | Why Trump releasing the transcript of his call with Ukraine’s... https://www.facebook.com/philip.bump The whistleblower complaint alleges that the call is part of a pattern — a pattern that the transcript alone won...

Also to keep in mind, the rough transcript is not a verbatim account of the conversation. It is a White House memorandum that is based on the notes and memories of officials in the room. A disclaimer in the rough transcript warns that a number of factors “can affect the accuracy of the record, including poor telecommunications connections and variations in accent.”

Analysis | 10 questions about the Trump whistleblower complaint, answered Everything you need to know, all in one place.

Analysis | 7 takeaways from the transcript of Trump’s call with Ukraine’s president

Analysis | 7 takeaways from the transcript of Trump’s call with Ukraine’... https://www.facebook.com/aaronblakewp?fref=ts Here's what we just learned.

How the Impeachment Process Works

"In that same Federalist Paper written in 1788, Mr. Hamilton wrote that the inherently political nature of impeachment proceedings would be sure to polarize the country.

Their prosecution, he wrote, “will seldom fail to agitate the passions of the whole community, and to divide it into parties more or less friendly or inimical to the accused. In many cases it will connect itself with the pre-existing factions, and will enlist all their animosities, partialities, influence and interest on one side or on the other; and in such cases there will always be the greatest danger that the decision will be regulated more by the comparative strength of parties, than by the real demonstrations of innocence or guilt.”

How the Impeachment Process Works

How the Impeachment Process Works The inquiry into President Trump has the potential to reshape his presidency. Here’s how impeachment works.

I Voted to Impeach Nixon. I’d Do the Same for Trump.

"But even if it isn’t conclusive evidence of a shakedown, such a tape of the conversation is likely to show that Mr. Trump, like Mr. Nixon, used his presidential powers against political opponents. Among the grounds for the 1974 committee vote to approve three articles of impeachment against Mr. Nixon was that he authorized I.R.S. audits of political opponents on his “enemies list” as well as an illegal wiretap on a White House staff member who worked for his chief presidential rival.

Like Mr. Nixon, Mr. Trump appears to have acted for his own personal political interests as opposed to a legitimate national interest. Mr. Nixon used his personal lawyer to pay hush money to the Watergate burglars. Mr. Trump used his personal attorney as the go-between with Mr. Zelensky, urging the Ukrainian president to work with Mr. Giuliani to investigate Mr. Biden.

Going through Mr. Giuliani says it all. If Mr. Trump had a shred of evidence against Mr. Biden or any legitimate governmental objective in view, he would have directed the Justice Department or State Department to work directly with Ukraine."

Opinion | I Voted to Impeach Nixon. I’d Do the Same for Trump.

Opinion | I Voted to Impeach Nixon. I’d Do the Same for Trump. The Ukraine scandal has a lot of similarities to Watergate.

Why a Trump Impeachment Should Terrify You - What’s just and what’s wise aren’t always the same.

"Any scenario is possible, including one in which impeachment redounds to Trump’s benefit and increases the chances of his re-election, because he paints himself a martyr, eludes conviction in the Senate, frames that as exoneration and watches his fans mobilize and turn out as never before. And a second Trump term wouldn’t just be the sadly suboptimal byproduct of a noble stand; it would be disastrous. Morally as well as practically, limiting this unfit, amoral, unsteady man’s time in the presidency takes precedence over any small cluster of sentences written centuries ago.

Opinion | When Should a President Be Impeached? Only two presidents have ever been put on trial. Democrats may make Trump the third.

But while an impeachment’s impact on November 2020 is unknowable, its effect on us as a nation is almost certain. A dangerously polarized and often viciously partisan country would grow more so, with people on opposing sides hunkering down deeper in their camps and clinging harder to their chosen narratives as the president — concerned only with himself — ratcheted up his insistence that truth itself was subjective and up for grabs.

That’s not a reason to blink, but it’s a reality to brace for. At a juncture when we so desperately need to rediscover common ground, we’d be widening the fault lines. Bringing the country together afterward would call for more than a talented politician; it would demand a miracle worker. None of the Democratic presidential candidates qualify"

Opinion | Why I Changed My Mind About Impeachment Trump was always unfit, but that’s not enough.

Opinion | Why a Trump Impeachment Should Terrify You

Opinion | Why a Trump Impeachment Should Terrify You What’s just and what’s wise aren’t always the same.

Rudy Giuliani: State Department ‘Asked Me’ to Look Into Ukraine

Rudy Giuliani: State Department ‘Asked Me’ to Look Into Ukraine

Rudy Giuliani: State Department ‘Asked Me’ to Look Into Ukraine “I never talked to a Ukrainian official until the State Department called me and asked me to do it. And then I r...

Giuliani pursued shadow Ukraine agenda as key foreign policy officials were sidelined

Giuliani pursued shadow Ukraine agenda as key foreign policy officials were sidelined

Giuliani pursued shadow Ukraine agenda as key foreign policy officials w... https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=729171040 The effort to exploit the U.S. relationship with the government in Kiev included the removal of the U.S. ambassa...