Another subpoena deadline has come and gone, this one ignored by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Pompeo was ordered to present documents related to Trump’s attempts to extort assistance of the Ukrainian government to dig up dirt on the person he considers his most formidable political opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, and his son, in exchange for $400 million in aid that Congress had already designated for the country.
Both the new Ukrainian President Zelensky and his predecessor Petro Poroshenko, have repeatedly stated no evidence exists, of wrongdoing in Ukraine by Biden or his son, but that has no bearing on Trump’s attempt to involve a foreign government in our election. Beyond his illegal conduct, and perhaps more concerning, is the concerted effort by others in the White House to cover up his crimes.
In addition to failing to comply with the subpoena, Pompeo has suggested that he will prevent other officials from speaking to Congress, calling efforts by House Democrats “intimidation and bullying.” Democrats warn Pompeo that his attempts to do so are “illegal and will constitute evidence of obstruction of the impeachment inquiry.”
Pompeo has been fending off House Committee requests for information since September 9, when details emerged of the “urgent and credible” whistleblower complaint, filed on August 12. But, it was his admission last week, that he had been listening in on the controversial phone call between Trump and Ukraine’s new president, Zelensky, that prompted Democratic House committee leaders to seek more information.
So, now what?
Pompeo can be added to the increasingly long list of Trump’s staff and cabinet members who have been flippant in their non-compliance with congress:
- Attorney General Bill Barr,
- Former White House Counsel Don McGahn,
- Department of Commerce Secretary Bill Ross,
- Former Deputy Counsel Annie Donaldson,
- Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin,
- Former Communications Director Hope Hicks,
- And etcetera.
House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel of (D/NY) says they ”remain a hopeful” that the Department will “cooperate in full promptly.”
And if they don’t?
Bill Barr, for one, has been threatened with a citation of Contempt of Congress. His response to the threat was to ask Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, during a Capitol Hill event, if she brought her handcuffs.
Contempt of Congress is a federal misdemeanor punishable by a maximum $100,000 fine and a maximum one-year sentence in federal prison. But if the executive branch is not inclined to prosecute the person or entity who is guilty of contempt before a judicial or legislative body, Congress will have a difficult time implementing such a penalty. Congress can also file a lawsuit asking a judge to order the witness to provide the information, raising the additional possibility of imprisonment for contempt of court.
It is a threat without teeth.
A strongly worded letter to force compliance is equally ineffective. No real action has been taken to mitigate the blatant defiance that is diminishing the effectiveness of one of our three branches of government.
Democrats are focusing on fighting a battle for public opinion. The problem with this tactic is that the vast majority of the American public is ignorant of the threat Trump poses to our country.
We’re busy; just look at Facebook— Johnny has a hockey game, Melody made the all-star softball team, the basement flooded, there is no money to repair the furnace, some asshole dinked my car…
More people are finally paying attention; however, thanks to Trump’s most recent faux pas. 51% now support impeachment.
Speaking of Facebook, it is playing a part in undermining the progress Democrats have made. Trump is using the medium to fight Democrats with an onslaught of propaganda.
Mark Zuckerberg, the soulless creator of Facebook, who sells your personal information to the highest bidder, quietly changed the language of Facebook advertising policies to make it easier for politicians to lie in ads. Trump spent $1.5 million on Facebook ads that have been proven false by fact-checkers.
Propaganda works, and it is only one of several questionable tactics the Trump camp used to undermine the 2016 election.
Facebook says Trump can lie in his Facebook ads
Pompeo fails to meet House subpoena deadline to produce Ukraine documents
A lot from Lydia 
The scandal has really changed the calculus of whether or not Pompeo should run for the Kansas Senate seat in 2020. The Democrats have a much better chance of flipping that seat if he isn’t the candidate.
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I wonder if they are too close to see a clear picture of their predicament, or if they believe they’ll win in 2020 by manipulating the vote.
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Not sure. Trump breaks all the rules of politics, so perhaps they’re hoping that they can benefit from that.
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I’ve seen a couple of op-eds lately about “saving the Republican Party”. If they filter into the local paper here then there may be more.
It seems to me like neither side is taking the time to educate the public. The congress is doing what it has to do: act on the constitution. That is what they did with Bill Clinton and the current incumbent should receive the exact same treatment. Because we are a nation with a constitution and rule of law.
It shouldn’t be taken as a slam dunk that the Difficult Toddler is guilty and yet the two op-eds about saving the Republican party seem to take it as given that he is, but shouldn’t be impeached or removed from office. The rationale seems to come down to “he is a Republican so he shouldn’t be impeached”. Some are arguing that potential gun violence by his followers as a reason.
I wasn’t crazy about Bill Clinton being impeached, because it wasn’t about doing his job as president, unlike the current situation. However the person I was mad at was Bill Clinton. He knew better and couldn’t just do what he knew was right until he was out of office.
It is time for “Republicans” to decide if they are in fact participating in our republic by up holding the constitution, or are in fact anarchists. Which seems more and more the case, especially when gun violence is threatened because they aren’t getting their illegal way.
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When I hear people say they’re worried about the gun violence an impeachment might incite, I think they’re trying to scare people into submission.
I also thought Clinton was a good president. Republicans have two sets of rules, and this impeachment is a prime example of that.
Now I’ll share my frustration with the public. We have no attention span. The Mueller report took too long to be released (thanks to Barr,) so people lost interest. At 400 pages, it was too long, so no one read it. It was easier to listen to someone’s false interpretation of what it said.
Willful ignorance and laziness are to blame for the situation we’re in.
“Political news is depressing,” is an excuse I hear. My daughter’s boyfriend, 25 years old, had no idea that this administration is separating families, or about any abuses happening at the border. There is a Netflix documentary series called “Living Undocumented,” about people in detention centers. That is how the word is spreading. People are shocked by it. This has been going on for almost three years, and it took a tv show for people to notice.
I have friends at work who are happily oblivious to everything that is Trump because “they’re busy.” Those are the people who think he’s doing a fine job. Unless they are personally affected, they don’t care.
I am hearing predictions that Trump will be out before the new year. We’ll see.
Something good has to come from this. We need significant changes in government— to get the bribery out of politics and have term limits for congress and the judicial branch to begin with.
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They should be thrown in jail.
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Sixty-nine people were indicted in Watergate, 48 were found guilty, many of whom were Nixon’s cabinet and advisors. He walked away with a pardon.
I hope Trump gets no mercy for his lifelong crime spree— no parson, no plea deal, and I hope he lives long enough to do time.
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I hope so too! I just have the horrible feeling he wont. Even if he claimed mentally instability or something, but at the same time I think he’d deny, while claiming it. Too get him off…If that makes sense?lol
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