I don't care if the Whistleblower actually is a spy. She or he is a damn good one.

The brevity of the words of this Whistleblower has never been more important. I thank the Whistleblower for being on our side, of which Donald J. Trump is obviously not. To him, and I have said this from the beginning of his occupation of the White House, everything is politics. That is not in the job description of the President of the USA.

Trump is a case in point that absolute power corrupts absolutely.

The Whistleblower complaint will be a part of history that elevates the honor of the American people's demand of their country. Can't say thank you enough.

This what he did with "Executive Time."

I am sure I am not alone in thinking a task force needs to be set up by the US House to subpoena all Trump's phone records. It would take too long to include any of that information in an impeachment inquiry, but, for the sole purpose of understanding how world leaders might be compromised by Trump, Guiliani and Barr.

I am concerned with this new understanding of Trump and his ruthlessness along with Guiliani and Barr.  This is probably not an isolated incident. That Helsinki meeting went on for something like 3 and a half hours. They talked about a lot. I didn't trust him before and this only solidifies that profile of Trump.

Trump's economy is built on CREDIT and not sound policy. Americans can't afford the Trump economy.

August 2, 2019
By Michael Collins

Washington - Donald Trump promised during his campaign (click here) that if he won the White House, he would wipe out the national debt in just eight years.

But in his first 2½ years in office, he has gone in the opposite direction.

Trump Friday signed into law a budget bill hammered out with leaders of the Democratic-led House and the Republican-controlled Senate. It was a rare bipartisan agreement but some in the GOP were furious over the increase in spending.

The legislation will add an estimated $1.7 trillion to the national debt over the next decade, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

That’s not all: When other bills that Trump has signed are factored in, Trump’s total contribution to the national debt is projected to top $4.1 trillion, the budget watchdog group said.

“Our national debt is a self-inflicted wound,” said Maya MacGuineas, the group’s president. “It will take the kind of leadership that currently doesn't exist in Washington to fix.”...

The US economy is in bad shape as I write this, never mind about next year, the financial agencies are buoying this economy in spite of Trump and Secretary Muchkins's mess. The financial markets are getting bailouts even though it is not as evident as the global economic collapse of 2008.

Trump's economy is a very expensive failure. He is waiting for the country to be grateful for an economy that is paid for by the USA Treasury.

September 21, 2019
By Colin Harper

This week, (click here) the Federal Reserve leveraged one of its tools for tinkering with U.S. financial markets — one that it hasn’t used since the Great Recession.

The New York branch of America’s central bank financed some $278 billion worth of repurchasing agreements (repo) from September 17 to 19, 2019. For some market watchers, the move raised an alarm because, as Nobel laureate Paul Krugman put it, the financial turmoil that necessitated this intervention “was at the heart of the 2008 financial crisis.” Still, other economists have posited that the cash injections came in response to a hiccup and that markets are doing just fine.

That “hiccup” was a spike in the overnight money market interest rate in response to a cash crunch. Typically, this rate stays on track with the Federal Reserve’s fed funds rate — an interest rate set by the Federal Reserve to guide the lending rates for bank-to-bank loans. At the beginning of the week, the money market rate decoupled from the funds rate — surging from the target 1.75 to 2 percent rate to 10 percent. By pumping more dollars into the cash-strapped lending market, the Federal Reserve brought the market money rate back in line with its funds rate.

What started as a single act on September 17, 2019, has now snowballed into four straight days of repo agreements to inject more than a quarter of a trillion dollars’ worth of capital into the system....

Let me say this, I believe Director Joseph Mcguire is in the class of federal employee along with Robert Mueller. We are lucky to have him and we cannot afford to lose a highly qualified Director at this point in our history. I am sure the intelligence community would agree.

It isn't easy living in a vice that tightens when someone in the chain of command is corrupt. But, he managed just fine.

Congress has the complaint and letter. That is a victory for the USA. Everyone should be congratulated.

Donald J. Trump had NO RIGHT to place a sovereign allied country in the breach with Russia for the purpose of political gain. IF there ever was legitimate crime blackmail would not be necessary!

The Republicans on the US House Intelligent Committee will not pretend this is the Democrats instigation.

The whistleblower complaint is profound and that cannot be sacrificed for Republican rhetoric.

President Donald J. Trump was blackmailing a lesser country's President for his own purposes. 

GET OVER IT!

Ukraine is very vulnerable to Russian interference and violence. The current war depends on the backing of The West, the USA came forward to offer munitions to Ukraine to end this hideous war with Russia. That is not minor matter. There is nothing that stands the line between Ukraine and Russia than the USA. NATO is vital to the Post Soviet countries and to LEARN President Donald J. Trump was blackmailing Ukraine's president for his own selfish political purposes WHILE he not only exposed Ukraine to more violence from Russia, but, NATO as well.

Donald J. Trump needs to be removed from office and this complaint is the catalyst to other misdeeds that CLEARLY illustrates the power of the presidency is compromised by a man that favors Russia over his own country. I have had enough of the Republican election nonsense over a man that is no more loyal to the USA than he is NATO.

As far as the Whistleblower Law, Mr. Mcguire repeatedly has stated this is unprecedented. REPEATEDLY STATED THIS COMPLAINT IS UNPRECEDENTED. The law is not adequate when it comes to a disloyal president. The law has to be clarified to include a statute that moves a Whistleblower Complaint to a committee of US Senate and US House members as well as members of the Intelligence Staff. 

That said, the Republicans need to end this USE of the power of the USA for their own profiteering and stand up for the US Constitution. It would be refreshing to have a Senate Majority Leader that actually lead instead of being a follower too scared for his own misdeeds.

The assault against Ukraine by Trump is foundational to democracy and reintroduced Russia corruption.

September 26, 2019

By Matthew Knott

The Donald Trump who fronted the media to speak (click here) about his bombshell phone call with Ukraine's President was unrecognisable from the ebullient showman we have come to know.

At Trump's press conference in New York on Wednesday, local time, he appeared more demoralised than at any other point in his presidency. His voice was soft, his energy levels low. He sulked and stewed, reminiscing about the days when he received positive media coverage as a celebrity citizen.

It scotched the idea that Trump feels enthused by the prospect of an impeachment battle with Nancy Pelosi, or triumphant after the release of the summary of his phone call with Volodymyr Zelensky....

Western nations involved with Ukraine need to recognize the corrupt Russian influence with the Donald J. Trump administration. There is no guarantee that he will be removed from office if the US Senate ignores the US Constitution. It is astounding to realize that fact, but, there is a definite anti-democracy movement in Western countries, including the UK as demonstrated by the Prime Minister's proclamation to shut down Parliament.

Trump is introducing corruption back into Ukraine by carrying out personal directives I believe were discussed in Helsinki with Putin. I believe much of what is happening with Ukraine is sabotage of the fledgling democracy by Putin. I sincerely believe more than ever that Trump is Putin's puppet. Obviously, that is the case with this latest Trump episode. Just imagine what would happen in Ukraine if they were completely denied the weapons they need to defend their country. The whistleblower was entirely correct to make the complaint. It is very plain what was transpiring. And there is no defense by any of the parties involved for carrying out such diabolical plans.

The US House has not overreached. If nothing else comes out of this impeachment inquiry, Ukraine is safer today than two days ago. Nothing is wasted on the efforts by the US House. They are taking very brave measures and it is necessary.

September 26, 2019

Donald Trump is facing the biggest crisis of his political career to date. (click here)

It all revolves around a controversial phone call he had with the President of Ukraine in July that was investigated after a whistleblower complained of corruption, reports News.com.au.

Now, thanks to that complaint, a formal impeachment inquiry has been launched against him. Joe Biden, who is also at the centre of the scandal, just went on Jimmy Kimmel's tonight show to say the President had committed a "blatant abuse of power" that "cannot stand"....

...The Short Version

On July 25,  Trump had a 30-minute phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In August, a whistleblower from within the US intelligence community complained that Trump's behaviour during the phone call was highly unethical.

On September 19, it was revealed that the complaint alleged that Trump attempted to coerce the Ukrainian government into investigating alleged corrupt acts involving former vice president Joe Biden and his son Robert Hunter Biden.

Specifically, he wanted Ukraine to probe Joe Biden's role in the dismissal of the country's prosecutor-general, Viktor Shokin, who was axed in 2016....

It is no coincidence Trump's ideology parallels that of Russia and China. I believe he is groomed by Putin and his leanings that favor dictators in the world.

September 26, 2019

International cooperation (click here) is crucial for coordinating the interests of each country and maintaining a stable world order. It is important to continue advocating the significance of this approach and prevent the spread of excessive “country first” policies.

In a speech at the United Nations, U.S. President Donald Trump declared: “The future does not belong to globalists. The future belongs to patriots.” Trump also said, “Wise leaders always put the good of their own people and their own country first.”

Of course, every country’s leader gives priority to the interests of one’s own nation. However, terrorism, climate change, poverty and other issues that transcend national boundaries cannot be resolved if each country acts alone. It is obvious that pursuing only the gains of one’s own country will cause conflicts to spread and also harm wider economic interests.

The United States led the creation of the United Nations, which was spurred by reflection on two world wars. The United Nations’ basic principle is that every nation must work together to protect global peace and security. It is unfortunate that the leader of a major country that stood at the forefront of this initiative is clinging to a self-centered approach.

During his speech, Trump suggested that each nation’s independence and sovereignty should be prized above international frameworks. China and Russia use the same argument to reject interference in their affairs by the international community. This line of thinking could result in more heavy-handed politics and human rights violations going unaddressed....

"China Daily"

September 25, 2019

Washington - US President Donald Trump (click here) asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a July telephone call to investigate whether former Vice President Joe Biden shut down an investigation into a company that employed his son, a summary of the call released by the Trump administration on Wednesday showed.

House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday announced that the Democratic-led House was moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry and directed six committees to proceed with investigations of the president's actions.

Democrats have accused Trump, who is seeking re-election next year, of soliciting Ukraine's help to smear Biden, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, before the 2020 election.

"There's a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that, so whatever you can do with the attorney general would be great," Trump said in the call, according to the summary provided by the Justice Department.

"Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it. ... It sounds horrible to me," Trump said, according to the memo.

The call occurred after Trump had ordered the US government to freeze about $391 million in American aid to Ukraine....

The BBC

The Three Biden Mentions (click here)

The "evidence field" of the Trump coercion of Ukraine is larger than one conversation. President Zelenskyy is not alone in Ukraine in knowing the degree Trump was leveraging Russia's influence. Zelenskyy advisors were not as timid as he.

25 September 2019
By Jonah Fisher

A year ago (click here) Volodymyr Zelensky was a comedian and an actor who starred as a fictional Ukrainian president in a hit television series. Many people assumed he'd take the straight-talking, principled style from TV to the office with him. It was seen as a big factor in his election win.

The memo of the phone call, detailing President Trump's requests that he speak to Mr Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, shows a very different side.

There were frequent, embarrassing displays of flattery directed at President Trump. This is now considered standard practice among world leaders looking to curry favour with the White House, but if President Zelensky was still a comedian, he'd be using this material.

At one point Ukraine's president told Mr Trump he had modelled his election win on him, that he too wanted to "drain the swamp" and cringingly said how much he enjoyed talking on the phone to him.

When Mr Trump said that he had heard that the previous prosecutor general, Viktor Shokin, was "very good and he was shut down and that's really unfair", Mr Zelensky accepted it.

In fact Mr Shokin was widely seen, both by international donors and activists in Ukraine as an awful prosecutor general and an obstacle to fighting corruption.

Then Mr Trump rubbished the former US ambassador to Ukraine calling her "the woman" and "bad news". Mr Zelensky said he agreed with him "100 percent". Most reformers in Ukraine consider Marie Yovanovitch to have been an ally and a friend.

Then there was the surprise.

It had previously been assumed that President Zelensky had politely declined Mr Trump's request to launch a new investigation into the Ukrainian company that Joe Biden's son Hunter worked for.

To most it seemed a smart decision. Despite the best efforts of Mr Giuliani, no evidence has been put forward to support the claims of President Trump that the former US vice president intervened in 2015 to help his son's company.

Many thought the absence of a Biden-related investigation was the reason US-Ukraine relations went into the deep freeze this summer. Defence funding and a trip to the White House had after all been put on hold.

In fact the phone call shows that President Zelensky appeared to roll over and agree to start an investigation.

"We will be very serious about the case," he told Mr Trump before agreeing to talk to Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr.

Whether this subsequent phone call happened - and indeed what happened to the promised investigation - is not clear.

Perhaps one of President's Zelensky's advisers had a firm word....

2019 Global Teacher Prize winner, Kenya’s Peter Tabichi meets U.S. President Donald Trump on September 16, 2019.

15 September 2019
By Francis Mureithi

The world's best teacher, (click here) Peter Tabichi, will set a record yet again as the first such professional in Kenya to address the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Brother Tabichi is a member of the St Franciscan Friars, a religious order founded by St Francis of Assisi in the 13th century.
He teaches science at Keriko Mixed Day Secondary School at Pwani village in Njoro, Nakuru County.

In March, the teacher won the 2019 Global Teacher Prize that came with a $1 million reward..

Not a word about the impeachment inquiry, but, Uganda is complaining about sanctions. Johannesburg's local news isn't mentioning Trump's impeachment inquiry, but, they receive a lot of their news from the BBC.

From "Buenos Aires Times:"

September 26, 2019

US SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE NANCY PELOSI, DEMOCRAT OF CALIFORNIA, ANNOUNCES A FORMAL IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY OF US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP IN WASHINGTON, DC. 

Top Democrat and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (click here) dramatically announced on  Tuesday the opening of a formal impeachment inquiry into US President Donald Trump, saying he betrayed his oath of office by seeking help from a foreign power to hurt his Democratic rival Joe Biden.

The dramatic move – the first step in a complex process that stands little chance of driving Trump from office – pushed US politics into a perilous new chapter just 14 months before new elections over control of the White House and Congress.

Following the bombshell developments from Trump Tower in New York – after addressing the UN General Assembly – the president denounced the inquiry as "Witch Hunt garbage" while also claiming it would help his re-election chances in 2020.

"The actions of the Trump presidency revealed the dishonourable facts of the president's betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security, and betrayal of the integrity of our elections," Pelosi told a highly anticipated press conference in the US capital....

end

Trump is guilty of attempting a scheme to build a story about Joe and Hunter Biden in Ukraine.

This release is the second phone call, where is the first? (click here) And where is the whistleblower complaint?

The Ukraine President Zelenskyy made a big deal out of the fact, this was the second call.

Zelenskyy never said the EU was not doing as much economically or in humanitarian aid, he stated he would like to see stronger resolve to the sanctions placed against Russia.

President Zelenskyy was anxious to begin the arrival of military munitions. Why was he so worried about THE NEXT STEP.

This is the Javelin (click here) Ukraine President stated was important to the national defense of his country.

Trump never answered Zelenskyy's question. He changed the subject.

Crowdstrike (click here)

Executive Leadership (click here)

Board of Directors (click here)

Crowdstrike was the company the DNC called after the Russian hacking.

...So far, so good. (click here) Critically, though, CrowdStrike was the firm the Democratic National Committee called in 2016 after the organization discovered that hackers had broken into its email and chat systems and stolen data. The US intelligence community later confirmed that the attackers were Russian hacking group APT 28, also known as Fancy Bear—a moniker coined by CrowdStrike. (The Russian hacking group APT 29, or Cozy Bear, also infiltrated the DNC network in 2015.) When CrowdStrike began its investigation, Fancy Bear hackers still had active access to the DNC's networks, and CrowdStrike worked to remove them.

As part of that remediation, the DNC, CrowdStrike, and government investigators had to "decommission more than 140 servers, remove and reinstall all software, including the operating systems, for more than 180 computers, and rebuild at least 11 servers," according to court documents filed by the DNC in 2018.

Trump has had a very public, long-held fascination with that process, for years referring to the DNC's "missing server." But when CrowdStrike or another firm investigates an incident, they typically don't physically remove a client's devices. Instead, they make "images" of the hard drive and memory of every relevant device so that they can preserve a sort of snapshot of the compromised systems. Over time, digital forensic evidences washes away, as people reboot their devices or add and delete files.

In other words, there is no missing server....

This is way out of line for Trump to be asking a newly elected President of Ukraine to be involved with finding a server that doesn't exist, BUT, Trump believes it does. There is no reason for a newly elected Ukraine president to be asked these questions unless there was something nefarious behind it. Trump, Guiliani and Barr could not carry out such tasks from the USA without being discovered. I doubt the Ukraine president could find out anything at CrowdStrike, either, but Trump's asking is highly unethical, illegitimate and illegal. Was he hoping Guiliani and Barr would be able to carry out some sort of secret cyber hacking to fulfill Trump's delusional dream of finding 30,000 emails? And who do these men think they are to be leaning on an American ally with a war existing within the country's borders? This is all maniacal scheming that is criminal on it's face.

This type of scheming was to carry out some sort of social media blitz to turn Trump from the worst president in USA history to the man who saved the USA from THE DEEP STATE!

Once again, the American voter is the target of a scheme by Trump only this time carried out on foreign soil.

At a time when President Zelenskyy was frantic about corruption and riding Ukraine of it, is willing to entertain Rudy Guiliani. And why? Because the President of Ukraine was frantic about his strategic position in defending against Russia now in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine. What does Guiliani have to do with any of that? Nothing. He was going to be entertained by the President of Ukraine so he could mastermind an election victory by Trump when Joe Biden was going to win the presidency in 2020.

Trump, Barr and Guiliani had the President of Ukraine by the throat and they weren't going to let go until they got what they wanted. In addition, it was playing to Russia and the possibility of retaking all of Ukraine. They all have to be charged for the crimes they have already committed.

Viktor Shokin (click here) is the prosecutor Trump referred to. In doing so, Trump is doing Putin's bidding. The people of Ukraine never trusted him. He never prosecuted the right people responsible for the corruption and took issue with anyone who said differently, including the CEO of Burisma Holdings, the company Hunter Biden would eventually have a place within their leadership. 

Shokin wanted to prosecute Mykola Vladislavovich Zlochevsky, the CEO of Burisma Holdings for money laundering, tax evasion and generalized corruption. The big three that most corrupt prosecutors know they can find SOMETHING that is illegal. That prosecution never happened as Ukraine cleaned up it's corruption infrastructure which included the General Prosecutor of Ukraine, Viktor Shokin.

I was just thinking that even if Hunter Biden wanted to come forward to tell his story, he couldn't because so much of it is probably classified.

At the time of the paradigm shift in Ukraine that freed it from Russia, there was a lot of pressure from Europe and the USA to end the corruption. Yanukovych's home was open for display to prove the extent corruption ruled the country. Europe and the USA was willing to put sanctions in place if Ukraine did not purge itself of the corruption. The World Bank was also stating for as much as it wanted to help Ukraine restructure debt and find a way forward, the corruption had to an end. To that reality, there were plans drawn up for the new government under the new constitution to follow to act in good faith to secure financial stability while ridding itself of corruption. There was no going back. Ukraine had to move in the direction the people demanded. There were people that died for that change and the world, in general, would not let them forget.

So, after all this time, after all the deaths of Ukraine citizens fighting for their country, Trump has the god almighty nerve to interrupt military shipments to Ukraine for the sake of investigating a KNOWN corrupt prosecutor in Shokin. I don't think so. Trump is guilty up to his eyeballs in regard to the coercion of the President of Ukraine.

The impeachment committees need to go forward. The Republicans need to stand up for the USA Constitution and not their party politics. This is disgraceful and they should not be on the wrong side of the Constitution.

This is a good reminder of the TRUST so many around the world place in the USA.

September 25, 2019
By Lucia Navas

A delegation from the Civic Alliance began intense lobbying efforts in the United States, hoping to increase the pressure brought to bear against Daniel Ortega’s regime. Photo: taken from social media sites 

Havana Times - On Monday, September 23, (click here) a delegation from the opposition group Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy began an intense lobbying campaign that includes the US House and Senate, as well as the Organization of American States (OAS). Their agenda also contemplated meetings with the Nicaraguan diaspora.

Both efforts were concentrated on increasing the pressure on Daniel Ortega’s regime to renew the dialogue and, in that way, find a solution to the socio-political crisis that has engulfed Nicaragua for nearly a year and a half.

Opposition leaders Juan Sebastian Chamorro, Mario Arana, Azahalea Solis, Medardo Mairena, and Jose Adan Aguerri, together with university students Max Jerez, Edwin Carcache, Lesther Aleman and Douglas Castro, plus Felix Maradiaga, a member  of the political council of the National Blue and White Unity, all formed part of the delegation that will be reporting on how the Ortega regime continues violating Nicaraguans’ human rights by maintaining and intensifying their repression.

The opposition figures were also to participate in a demonstration that the community of Nicaraguans residing in the United States scheduled for Tuesday, September 24, in front of the Nicaraguan embassy in Washington D.C....

Continued from previous entry.

The Report of the Special Council - Volume 1 - Page 107 and Page 115 on the PDF (click here)

The Office found no evidence that Kislyak conversed with either Trump or Sessions after the speech, or would have had the opportunity to do so. Simes, for example, did not recall seeing Kislyak at the post-speech luncheon,632 and the only witness who accounted for Sessions’s whereabouts stated that Sessions may have spoken to the press after the event but then departed for Capitol Hill.633 Saunders recalled, based in part on a food-related request he received from a Campaign staff member, that Trump left the hotel a few minutes after the speech to go to the airport.634

c. Jeff Sessions’s Post-Speech Interactions with CNI

In the wake of Sessions’s confirmation hearings as Attorney General, questions arose about whether Sessions’s campaign-period interactions with CNI apart from the Mayflower speech included any additional meetings with Ambassador Kislyak or involved Russian-related matters. With respect to Kislyak contacts, on May 23, 2016, Sessions attended CNI’s Distinguished Service Award dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C.635 Sessions attended a pre-dinner reception and was seated at one of two head tables for the event.636 A seating chart prepared by Saunders indicates that Sessions was scheduled to be seated next to Kislyak, who appears to have responded to the invitation by indicating he would attend the event.637 Sessions, however, did not remember seeing, speaking with, or sitting next to Kislyak at the dinner.638 Although CNI board member Charles Boyd said he may have seen Kislyak at the dinner, 639 Simes, Saunders, and Jacob Heilbrunn—editor of the National Interest—all had no recollection of seeing Kislyak at the May 23 event.640 Kislyak also does not appear in any of the photos from the event that the Office obtained.

So, whenever Kislyak was in attendance Trump and Sessions distanced themselves from him. However, there was a decision from somewhere that put Sessions and Kislyak at the same table, but, Kislyak was a no show. Why the photos?

...He then amended (click here) his Senate Judiciary Committee testimony to note the two reported interactions he had with Kislyak. In the amended testimony, the former Alabama senator said he spoke "briefly" in July 2016 to the Russian ambassador during the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. He also said that he spoke with the Russian ambassador in September 2016 in his Senate office with his staff members. He said he did not initially list those meetings because he did not think they were relevant to the questions asked during the confirmation proceedings....

In the summer of 2016, CNI organized at least two dinners in Washington, D.C. for Sessions to meet with experienced foreign policy professionals.641 The dinners included CNI affiliated individuals, such as Richard Burt and Zalmay Khalilzad, a former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq and the person who had introduced Trump before the April 27, 2016 foreign policy speech.642 Khalilzad also met with Sessions one-on-one separately from the dinners.643 At the dinners and in the meetings, the participants addressed U.S. relations with Russia, including how U.S. relations with NATO and European countries affected U.S. policy toward Russia.644 But the discussions were not exclusively focused on Russia.645 Khalilzad, for example, recalled discussing “nation-building” and violent extremism with Sessions.646 In addition, Sessions asked Saunders (of CNI) to draft two memoranda not specific to Russia: one on Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy shortcomings and another on Egypt.647


Footnote 632 Simes 3/8/18 302, at 22; Heilbrunn 2/1/18 302, at 7.
Footnote 633 Luff 1/30/18 302, at 4.
Footnote 634 Saunders 2/15/18 302, at 15.
Footnote 635 Sessions 1/17/18 302, at 22; Saunders 2/15/18 302, at 17.
Footnote 636 Saunders 2/15/18 302, at 17; C00004779-80 (5/23/16 Email, Cantelmo to Saunders & Hagberg (9:30:12 a.m.); C00004362 (5/23/16 Email, Bauman to Cantelmo et al. (2:02:32 a.m.).
Footnote 637 C00004362 (5/23/16 Email Bauman to Cantelmo et al. (2:02:32 a.m.).
Footnote 638 Sessions 1/17/18 302, at 22.
Footnote 639 Boyd 1/24/18 302, at 4.
Footnote 640 Simes 3/8/18 302, at 23; Saunders 2/15/18 302, at 18; Heilbrunn 2/1/18 302, at 7.
Footnote 641 Simes 3/8/18 302, at 31; Saunders 2/15/18 302, at 19; Burt 2/9/18 302, at 9-10; Khalilzad 1/9/18 302, at 5.
Footnote 642 Burt 2/9/18 302, at 9-10; Khalilzad 1/9/18 302, at 1-2, 5.
Footnote 643 Khalilzad 1/9/18 302, at 5-6.
Footnote 644 Simes 3/8/18 302, at 31; Burt 2/9/18 302, at 9-10; Khalilzad 1/9/18 302, at 5. 
Footnote 645 Saunders 2/15/18 302, at 20.
Footnote 646 Khalilzad 1/9/18 302, at 6.
Footnote 647 Saunders 2/15/18 302, at 19-20.

All the footnotes seem to be within the evidence file of the Special Counsel.

...to be continued in next entry...

September 25, 2019

By Rebecca Ellis

Most of Oregon’s delegation stood behind House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (click here) Tuesday as she launched a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Pelosi’s announcement followed new allegations that the president had tried to coerce a foreign power to aid his political campaign. 

Three of the state’s congressional representatives had spoken out in favor of an inquiry prior to last week’s reports that Trump had pressured the president of Ukraine to launch a corruption investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden, a leading Democratic presidential contender, and his son, Hunter.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., was the first in Congress to call for an impeachment inquiry in early May, a few weeks after Special Counsel Robert Mueller released his report. At the time, Blumenauer called the investigation “a treasure trove of information that deserves further investigation,” which he believed, ought to be spearheaded by the House through a formal impeachment investigation....

There was no reason for Trump to be pursuing criminal anything with Joe Biden or his son, that is a process the Ukraine government has to carry out. Trump inappropriately weighted the importance of any statement about Joe Biden to any government official of Ukraine, yet alone the President. We are allies and if there was a danger to the USA, Ukraine would not hesitate to report it. 

The COMPLAINT by the Whistleblower has yet to be presented to Congress.

Trump needs to resign and Guliani must be charged. Trump wasn't even allowing the Ukraine government to find the outcome regarding Hunter Biden AGAIN, he was ending sending Guiliani to guarantee the outcome, because, after all what do Ukrainians know about corruption?

September 24, 2019
By Mimi Rocha

President-elect Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani shake hands following a meeting at Trump International Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., on Nov. 20, 2016.

UPDATE (September 24, 2019, 5:30 pm. E.T.): (click here) This piece has been updated with Rep. Nancy Pelosi's announcement that Democrats are opening a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.

With respect to Ukraine, most of the focus, rightfully, rests on President Donald Trump’s conduct, but the conduct of his attorney Rudolph Giuliani also deserves serious attention. Based on the facts already in the public arena, the Department of Justice has more than enough basis to open a federal criminal investigation into the former New York mayor.

Let’s start with the basic facts as reported by multiple news organizations and as essentially confirmed by Trump in public statements: In one conversation between Trump and Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25, Trump made “about eight” demands for Zelensky to work with Giuliani to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter. On Tuesday, Trump confirmed reports that his administration froze nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine, but said that move was unrelated to any requests for information from the Ukrainians....

...On Tuesday, Trump confirmed reports that his administration froze nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine, but said that move was unrelated to any requests for information from the Ukrainians....

Mr. Trump is incorrect in stating the USA alone provides funding to Ukraine.

September 7, 2019

Donald Tusk visiting EU funded humanitarian demining project in Eastern Ukraine

...The EU (click here) is also stepping up humanitarian funding to help those most in need in Ukraine with an additional €17.7 million. The assistance includes essential support such as healthcare, shelter repairs, water, cash transfers and Education in Emergencies projects. All EU humanitarian aid is impartial and independent, and will be provided along the line of conflict and in the non-government controlled areas. This brings the total EU humanitarian support for Ukraine to €133.8 million....

Eastern Ukraine is where the border meets Russian borders. It is where the civil war is the worst because Russia supports the rebels in the name of "The Russian People," as if something is going to happen to those in Eastern Ukraine to take away their culture.

...Background

The EU has been at the forefront of the response to the humanitarian crisis. Humanitarian needs are still high in eastern Ukraine: the conflict is affecting over 4.4 million people, of which 3.4 million are still in need of humanitarian assistance, especially along the contact line and in the non-government controlled territories.

The European Union and its Member States have provided financial support to the most vulnerable people. The EU, together with its Member States, is the biggest donor of humanitarian and early recovery/development assistance to Ukraine.

The EU's Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) have operated in Ukraine since February 2014 and plays a key role in facilitating humanitarian coordination and information sharing with various humanitarian organisations, including donors, authorities and aid partners.

In addition to financial aid, in-kind assistance was mobilised through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism in the early onset of the conflict. The EU also provides assistance to displaced Ukrainians in Belarus and Russia.

Thank you, Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Her words were nothing short of eloquent. The country needs to have justice in order to function. It is simply astounding to have a President of the USA hold our national security and that of a pledged NATO nation only as a self-serving entity. 

We are the United States of America. We welcome countries seeking democracy and freedom. That has been the case since the inception of this country. This is just an astounding situation. This is the second time Donald J. Trump has leaned on a foreign power to be elected into office. 

Ukraine as well has a great deal on the line. Discovery of any breach of trust by a pledged NATO country could be a rejection of it's application. It is important NATO military support, in providing munitions to Ukraine, be delivered without delay. We cannot abandon Ukraine after a very important treaty was violated by Russia. Such abandonment of trust by President Trump is a very serious insult to the integrity of NATO.

It is a very sad day, but, again I thank Speaker Pelosi for her guidance as always and in these circumstances, her bravery.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi is a great American. She knows how to handle the US House exceptionally well. She has not added Impeachment to the agenda of the House because she simply didn't believe there was enough support for the issues of obstruction. 

Circumstances have changed, the blatant disregard of the Rule of Law, the US Constitution and the integrity of the USA in the international community is becoming extremely obvious of the Trump White House and President Trump himself. It is astounding that Trump uses the power of the Executive Branch for his own purposes with disregard of national security.

Every person that loves the USA should come to realize there is a lot wrong with the Trump administration and the President's conduct. But, moreover is the reality that this administration is obstructing the legal processes of Congress.

As much as I believe Speaker Pelosi has every right to protect her House members from potentially wayward politics with any process of impeachment, there comes a time when that protection of her members needs to take a back seat to the US Constitution they pledged to serve and protect.

I believe Trump is dangerous and becoming more so as time goes by. It is time Speaker Pelosi begin an Impeachment Inquiry in order to receive the documents, information and testimony the US House is entitled to by law.

I know this has been a very difficult topic for her while she handles all the House's other business with ease. I believe in her and I stand with her no matter her decision at this time.