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Volkers texts make it clear the investigation was a precondition

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  • #16
    Originally posted by Sam View Post
    The point is that Sonderland understands what a quid pro quo entails.
    Again, that’s your opinion and we know why you accept this opinion.

    I find it funny that the defense of Trump ("Did you actually HEAR him say it?") is lifted pretty much straight out of Godfather II.

    --Sam
    I find it funny that liberals are so desperate to ‘get Trump’ they ignore rights and the rule of law to do it. Text, from a government officials are opinions, not facts. Have you seriously never had a difference of opinion with your supervisor or manager? I have and some of my subordinates have too. It’s life in the professional world. You need to prove this opinion is in fact, what you say it is.
    "The man from the yacht thought he was the first to find England; I thought I was the first to find Europe. I did try to found a heresy of my own; and when I had put the last touches to it, I discovered that it was orthodoxy."
    GK Chesterton; Orthodoxy

    Comment


    • #17
      Originally posted by lilpixieofterror View Post
      Again, that’s your opinion and we know why you accept this opinion.
      No, that's a pretty literal and obvious quid pro quo when a man with lots of money but no diplomatic experience donates $1m to a political campaign and gets placed as ambassador to the EU. A person looks mighty silly arguing that such a situation is a matter of opinion.



      Originally posted by lilpixieofterror View Post
      I find it funny that liberals are so desperate to ‘get Trump’ they ignore rights and the rule of law to do it. Text, from a government officials are opinions, not facts. Have you seriously never had a difference of opinion with your supervisor or manager? I have and some of my subordinates have too. It’s life in the professional world. You need to prove this opinion is in fact, what you say it is.
      We already have a substantial chain of evidence linking Trump to Giuliani to this effort. Not least because Giuliani said he was doing it for "his client's" campaign back in May.

      Again, you have to turn your brain completely off to dismiss this. And while I understand that's the opening price for the anti-anti crowd when it comes to Trump, one would expect there to be limits.

      --Sam
      "I wonder about the trees. / Why do we wish to bear / Forever the noise of these / More than another noise / So close to our dwelling place?" — Robert Frost, "The Sound of Trees"

      Comment


      • #18
        Originally posted by Sam View Post
        No, that's a pretty literal and obvious quid pro quo when a man with lots of money but no diplomatic experience donates $1m to a political campaign and gets placed as ambassador to the EU. A person looks mighty silly arguing that such a situation is a matter of opinion.
        Hate to tell you this, but that’s been common practice for decades. Giving people nice jobs who make large campaign contributions goes back a long time. Read this:

        https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...y-jobs-rewards

        Note the date and who the president was at the time.

        I’m sure you’ll condemn Obama any minute now...

        We already have a substantial chain of evidence linking Trump to Giuliani to this effort. Not least because Giuliani said he was doing it for "his client's" campaign back in May.

        Again, you have to turn your brain completely off to dismiss this. And while I understand that's the opening price for the anti-anti crowd when it comes to Trump, one would expect there to be limits.

        --Sam
        No Sam, I see an opinion based on text messages, still no strong smoking gun, but I’m sure we’ll here more about it and how Democrats lied, left something out, for a detail wrong, etc.
        Last edited by lilpixieofterror; 10-04-2019, 09:34 AM.
        "The man from the yacht thought he was the first to find England; I thought I was the first to find Europe. I did try to found a heresy of my own; and when I had put the last touches to it, I discovered that it was orthodoxy."
        GK Chesterton; Orthodoxy

        Comment


        • #19
          Originally posted by oxmixmudd View Post
          All the spin from the diehard TWEB Trump supporters is moot. Volker's texts make it clear Trump was all about withholding aid, conversations, and visits over the issue of Ukraine investigating issues associated with 2016 and Burisma (biden).

          Consider this text on the day of the call:

          Volker: Good Lunch, Thanks! Heard from white house, Assuming President Z convinces Trump he will investigate/"get to the bottom of what happened in 2016" we will nail down date for visit to Washington. Good luck, see you Tomorrow, kurt

          and BEFORE the call:

          Had breakfast with Rudy this morning - teeing up call with Yermak monday. Must have helped. Most important is for Zelensky to say he will help with investigation - and address any personnel issues - if there are any

          Note that later (8/10) he calls for a REBOOT of US/UKraine relations and mentions investigation of Burisma specifically

          https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/03/polit...ker/index.html



          Jim
          So Jim was it illegal for Biden to threaten to withhold funds if they didn't fire the prosecutor?
          Atheism is the cult of death, the death of hope. The universe is doomed, you are doomed, the only thing that remains is to await your execution...

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbnueb2OI4o&t=3s

          Comment


          • #20
            I've been plenty vocal about ending paid ambassadorships and recognize them to be a frequent and bi-partisan quid pro quo. I agree with Warren's push to ban them.

            But that's the not the quid pro quo that's being identified here as beyond the pale; Sonderland knows what a quid pro quo is because he paid for his ambassadorship but the quid pro quo that is unprecedented and impeachable is Trump's exchange of political "favors" to a foreign government in exchange for incriminating his political opponents.

            When you operate on a knee-jerk, information-deprived "punch back" strategy, you quickly lose the ability to keep the story straight.

            --Sam


            Originally posted by lilpixieofterror View Post
            Hate to tell you this, but that’s been common practice for decades. Giving people nice jobs who make large campaign contributions goes back a long time. Read this:

            https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...y-jobs-rewards

            Note the date and who the president was at the time.

            I’m sure you’ll condemn Obama any minute now...



            No Sam, I see an opinion based on text messages, still no strong smoking gun, but I’m sure we’ll here more about it and how Democrats lied, left something out, for a detail wrong, etc.
            "I wonder about the trees. / Why do we wish to bear / Forever the noise of these / More than another noise / So close to our dwelling place?" — Robert Frost, "The Sound of Trees"

            Comment


            • #21
              Originally posted by Sam View Post
              I've been plenty vocal about ending paid ambassadorships and recognize them to be a frequent and bi-partisan quid pro quo. I agree with Warren's push to ban them.
              Lots of people make promises, few deliver.

              But that's the not the quid pro quo that's being identified here as beyond the pale; Sonderland knows what a quid pro quo is because he paid for his ambassadorship but the quid pro quo that is unprecedented and impeachable is Trump's exchange of political "favors" to a foreign government in exchange for incriminating his political opponents.

              When you operate on a knee-jerk, information-deprived "punch back" strategy, you quickly lose the ability to keep the story straight.

              --Sam
              And again, I see lots of opinion, lots of filling in the gaps with more opinion, but really nothing that would hold up in court. I suspect you know this, but merely are doing your usual arrogant thing you always do we’re you assume you’re automatically right and all your opponents are too dumb to understand you.
              "The man from the yacht thought he was the first to find England; I thought I was the first to find Europe. I did try to found a heresy of my own; and when I had put the last touches to it, I discovered that it was orthodoxy."
              GK Chesterton; Orthodoxy

              Comment


              • #22
                Originally posted by seer View Post
                So Jim was it illegal for Biden to threaten to withhold funds if they didn't fire the prosecutor?
                Of course it wasn't illegal! But only because the persecutor was accused of but never proven to be corrupt.

                The fact that it also happened to protect Joe's son from an uncomfortable criminal investigation into his suspiciously highly paid board position is a complete coincidence. No, really.
                Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
                But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
                Than a fool in the eyes of God


                From "Fools Gold" by Petra

                Comment


                • #23
                  Originally posted by seer View Post
                  So Jim was it illegal for Biden to threaten to withhold funds if they didn't fire the prosecutor?
                  No, not under those circumstances. Because in that case the request was at the behest of both the US and European governments and was targeting the removal of a major source of corruption in Ukraine's government


                  Jim
                  My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. James 2:1

                  If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not  bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless James 1:26

                  This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; James 1:19

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Originally posted by lilpixieofterror View Post
                    Lots of people make promises, few deliver.



                    And again, I see lots of opinion, lots of filling in the gaps with more opinion, but really nothing that would hold up in court. I suspect you know this, but merely are doing your usual arrogant thing you always do we’re you assume you’re automatically right and all your opponents are too dumb to understand you.

                    I don't think you understand how such contemporaneous material evidence is utilized in court to establish corrupt behavior.

                    And, for fun, here's Senator Ron Johnson blurting out that Sonderland, who is featured in the exchanges above and talking about POTUS deliverables, told him that aid was conditioned on Ukraine investigating specific cases, not just generally cleaning up corruption (which Trump doesn't care about when it comes to supplying arms to, say, Saudi Arabia).

                    This guy is lucky that OLC opinion is protecting him because this stuff makes a prosecutor's job much easier.

                    --Sam
                    "I wonder about the trees. / Why do we wish to bear / Forever the noise of these / More than another noise / So close to our dwelling place?" — Robert Frost, "The Sound of Trees"

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Originally posted by Sam View Post
                      I don't think you understand how such contemporaneous material evidence is utilized in court to establish corrupt behavior.

                      And, for fun, here's Senator Ron Johnson blurting out that Sonderland, who is featured in the exchanges above and talking about POTUS deliverables, told him that aid was conditioned on Ukraine investigating specific cases, not just generally cleaning up corruption (which Trump doesn't care about when it comes to supplying arms to, say, Saudi Arabia).

                      This guy is lucky that OLC opinion is protecting him because this stuff makes a prosecutor's job much easier.

                      --Sam

                      “As you will see from the extensive text messages I am providing, which convey a sense of real-time dialogue with several different actors, Vice President Biden was never a topic of discussion” during negotiations with Ukraine, Volker testified. Cherry-picked snippets of those texts were released by the office of Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., late Thursday evening.
                      https://thefederalist.com/2019/10/04...ent-narrative/


                      Oops, looks like you were wrong again. Quick, act all arrogant and pretend that I’m just too dumb to understand the great and awesome Sam!
                      "The man from the yacht thought he was the first to find England; I thought I was the first to find Europe. I did try to found a heresy of my own; and when I had put the last touches to it, I discovered that it was orthodoxy."
                      GK Chesterton; Orthodoxy

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Originally posted by lilpixieofterror View Post

                        “As you will see from the extensive text messages I am providing, which convey a sense of real-time dialogue with several different actors, Vice President Biden was never a topic of discussion” during negotiations with Ukraine, Volker testified. Cherry-picked snippets of those texts were released by the office of Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., late Thursday evening.
                        https://thefederalist.com/2019/10/04...ent-narrative/


                        Oops, looks like you were wrong again. Quick, act all arrogant and pretend that I’m just too dumb to understand the great and awesome Sam!

                        Maybe you should actually read the documents. Specifically, how Ukraine was to investigate "Burisma".

                        And I never imagined you were dumb. That, unfortunately, is not what these displays of selective outrage and excuse are about. It's about winning, the cost to principle and character be damned.

                        --Sam
                        "I wonder about the trees. / Why do we wish to bear / Forever the noise of these / More than another noise / So close to our dwelling place?" — Robert Frost, "The Sound of Trees"

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Originally posted by Sam View Post
                          Maybe you should actually read the documents. Specifically, how Ukraine was to investigate "Burisma".

                          And I never imagined you were dumb. That, unfortunately, is not what these displays of selective outrage and excuse are about. It's about winning, the cost to principle and character be damned.

                          --Sam
                          I did and for the life of me, I can’t find where he said a word about aid in turn for dirt on Biden. Perhaps you can explain where it’s at and why the democrats had to cherry pick what text to release. I’m sure you’re next arrogant excuse will come any minute now...
                          "The man from the yacht thought he was the first to find England; I thought I was the first to find Europe. I did try to found a heresy of my own; and when I had put the last touches to it, I discovered that it was orthodoxy."
                          GK Chesterton; Orthodoxy

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Hmmm...

                            Prepared remarks by the first impeachment inquiry witness indicate House Democrat leaders cherry-picked and mischaracterized texts he provided during testimony Thursday to fuel their effort to remove President Donald Trump from office.

                            Former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker provided evidence in the form of texts to show he was not trying to push Ukraine into investigating former Vice President Joe Biden.

                            The texts cover conversations between Volker, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine William Taylor, and Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s private lawyer.

                            Democrats and the liberal mainstream media suggested the texts amounted to evidence that Volker helped Trump’s attempt to push Ukraine into probing into Biden.

                            That would mean Volker, a Trump appointee, provided self-incriminating evidence to House Democrat lawmakers pursuing the impeachment inquiry that would harm himself and others at the center of the investigation.

                            In the written testimony, obtained by BuzzFeed News, Volker declared:
                            [A]t no time was I aware of or took part in an effort to urge Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Biden. As you will see from the extensive text messages I am providing, which convey a sense of real-time dialogue with several different actors, Vice President Biden was never a topic of discussion.

                            Volker even defended Biden against accusations of Ukraine-linked corruption, saying:
                            I have known former Vice President Biden for 24 years, and the suggestion that he would be influenced in his duties as Vice President by money for his son simply has no credibility to me. I know him as a man of integrity and dedication to our country.

                            The Democrat leaders seeking Trump’s impeachment, however, released some of the texts to support their claim that Volker helped Trump coerce Ukraine into investigating Biden.

                            Reps. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Eliot Engel (D-NY) conceded that the texts were “only a subset of the full body of materials” they received from Volker.

                            House Democrats refuse to release the full transcripts of the more than eight hours of testimony provided by Volker on Thursday. Breitbart News’s requests for comment on this story and releasing the full transcripts went unanswered.

                            Volker’s prepared remarks suggest the Democrats mischaracterized the texts.

                            https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2...be-into-biden/
                            Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
                            But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
                            Than a fool in the eyes of God


                            From "Fools Gold" by Petra

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              One has to be mighty naive to imagine that Volker would walk into HCSPI and say "Well of course we were doing crimes". That he characterizes his activity as trying to mitigate Giulani's influence is not particularly news. Nor does it throw the texts into new light: discussing the draft Ukranian statement with Sonderland, Volker specifically outlines that the statement should include investigations of Burisma and the 2016 US elections. Whether or not Volker wants to say that he was helping direct an investigation into Biden and Clinton/DNC in exchange for a WH meeting and military funding, the texts are explicit proof that's what he was doing.

                              And even the most partisan hackery can't undo that.

                              --Sam

                              Originally posted by Mountain Man View Post
                              Hmmm...

                              Prepared remarks by the first impeachment inquiry witness indicate House Democrat leaders cherry-picked and mischaracterized texts he provided during testimony Thursday to fuel their effort to remove President Donald Trump from office.

                              Former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker provided evidence in the form of texts to show he was not trying to push Ukraine into investigating former Vice President Joe Biden.

                              The texts cover conversations between Volker, U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine William Taylor, and Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s private lawyer.

                              Democrats and the liberal mainstream media suggested the texts amounted to evidence that Volker helped Trump’s attempt to push Ukraine into probing into Biden.

                              That would mean Volker, a Trump appointee, provided self-incriminating evidence to House Democrat lawmakers pursuing the impeachment inquiry that would harm himself and others at the center of the investigation.

                              In the written testimony, obtained by BuzzFeed News, Volker declared:
                              [A]t no time was I aware of or took part in an effort to urge Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Biden. As you will see from the extensive text messages I am providing, which convey a sense of real-time dialogue with several different actors, Vice President Biden was never a topic of discussion.

                              Volker even defended Biden against accusations of Ukraine-linked corruption, saying:
                              I have known former Vice President Biden for 24 years, and the suggestion that he would be influenced in his duties as Vice President by money for his son simply has no credibility to me. I know him as a man of integrity and dedication to our country.

                              The Democrat leaders seeking Trump’s impeachment, however, released some of the texts to support their claim that Volker helped Trump coerce Ukraine into investigating Biden.

                              Reps. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Eliot Engel (D-NY) conceded that the texts were “only a subset of the full body of materials” they received from Volker.

                              House Democrats refuse to release the full transcripts of the more than eight hours of testimony provided by Volker on Thursday. Breitbart News’s requests for comment on this story and releasing the full transcripts went unanswered.

                              Volker’s prepared remarks suggest the Democrats mischaracterized the texts.

                              https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2...be-into-biden/
                              "I wonder about the trees. / Why do we wish to bear / Forever the noise of these / More than another noise / So close to our dwelling place?" — Robert Frost, "The Sound of Trees"

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Was wondering about this. I'm sure sticklers for retention of government correspondence will be outraged beyond measure:

                                Source: Holding Ukraine hostage: How the president and his allies, chasing 2020 ammunition, fanned a political storm. Greg Miller,Paul Sonne, Greg Jaffe and Michael Birnbaum. The Washington Post. 2019.10.04

                                Newly released texts exchanged by Sondland, Volker and other U.S. officials during this period read like a government-sanctioned shakedown. Again and again, they make clear that Ukraine’s new president, Volodymyr Zelensky, would not get military aid or the Oval Office invitation he coveted until he committed to investigations that Trump hoped would deliver damaging information on former vice president Joe Biden and undermine the origins of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.


                                Rather than official State Department email, the text exchanges between the diplomats took place over WhatsApp, a U.S. official said.

                                © Copyright Original Source



                                Emphasis added

                                --Sam
                                "I wonder about the trees. / Why do we wish to bear / Forever the noise of these / More than another noise / So close to our dwelling place?" — Robert Frost, "The Sound of Trees"

                                Comment

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