Where TF is the Impeachment Inquiry Thread?

[Shirley]

Consider me shocked.

Charities steered $65M to Trump lawyer Sekulow and family

https://apnews.com/9d2ed80ca912d18abd6650f55d2db935

Sekulow, 63, is registered as chief counsel at the American Center for Law and Justice, a non-profit Christian legal advocacy group based in an expansive Capitol Hill row house a short walk from the Senate chamber.

[...]

Charity watchdogs for years have raised concerns about the blurred lines between for-profit businesses tied to Sekulow and the complex web of non-profit entities he and his family control.

The Associated Press reviewed 10 years of tax returns for the ACLJ and other charities tied to Sekulow, which are released to the public under federal law. The records from 2008 to 2017, the most recent year available, show that more than $65 million in charitable funds were paid to Sekulow, his wife, his sons, his brother, his sister-in-law, his nephew and corporations they own.

[...]

A 2005 investigation by the publication Legal Times reported about questionable spending at ACLJ, quoting former employees describing millions in charity funds being spent to support the Sekulows’ lavish lifestyle, which included multiple homes, golf junkets, chauffeur-driven cars and a private jet used to ferry then-Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. The Guardian and The Washington Post reported additional details in 2017, shortly after Sekulow was named as Trump’s lawyer.

Over the 10-year-period examined by AP, the tax returns show nearly $37 million in charitable funds were paid by ACLJ to the CLA Group, the phantom law firm listed on court filings as defending Trump.

Sekulow has been a shady dirtbag masquerading as a Christian for decades. This is nothing new.

It's just difficult to believe that our president would be associated with anyone who might bring even a hint of impropriety to his administration.

[Geezer]

A veritable all star team of scumbags.

[Shirley]

What took him so long?

[DCHawk1]

Talk about burying the lede.

Trump runs CPAC!

[Geezer]

Is there a Republican group that hasn't pledged fealty to Trump?

[Shirley]

Talk about burying the lede.

Trump runs CPAC!

I figured you and Matt were likely roommates at some point.

[Geezer]

Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the final holdout this morning among the moderates, released a brief statement that avoided addressing Mr. Trump’s behavior. Instead, she criticized the style of the proceedings. “Given the partisan nature of this impeachment from the very beginning and throughout,” she wrote, “I have come to the conclusion that there will be no fair trial in the Senate. I don’t believe the continuation of this process will change anything. It is sad for me to admit that, as an institution, the Congress has failed.”

Hey Lisa, are you in Congress?

[DCHawk1]

He lived in my basement before lobster did.

[DCHawk1]

Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the final holdout this morning among the moderates, released a brief statement that avoided addressing Mr. Trump’s behavior. Instead, she criticized the style of the proceedings. “Given the partisan nature of this impeachment from the very beginning and throughout,” she wrote, “I have come to the conclusion that there will be no fair trial in the Senate. I don’t believe the continuation of this process will change anything. It is sad for me to admit that, as an institution, the Congress has failed.”

Hey Lisa, are you in Congress?

Are you really not smart enough to know what she said and why?

[Geezer]

Can you possibly be a more arrogant asshole?

[DCHawk1]

Sure.

I could be you.

[Shirley]

Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the final holdout this morning among the moderates, released a brief statement that avoided addressing Mr. Trump’s behavior. Instead, she criticized the style of the proceedings. “Given the partisan nature of this impeachment from the very beginning and throughout,” she wrote, “I have come to the conclusion that there will be no fair trial in the Senate. I don’t believe the continuation of this process will change anything. It is sad for me to admit that, as an institution, the Congress has failed.”

Hey Lisa, are you in Congress?

[DCHawk1]

lulz

What's flawed is that Schiff wanted it done before Christmas and couldn't be bothered to wait two months for for privilege claims to be litigated.

But by all means, celebrate him as a heeero.

[Geezer]

Any excuse you can think of.

[zsn]

I was hoping some House Manager would say during the discussion of deposing witnesses “the Senate can go back to its regular business of ineptitude and not take up any House passed bills”. That would have been awesome. I’m sure they were thinking it

[ousdahl]

Actually I was thinking about that. What if dems had dragged this out in the courts? Wouldn’t that have been more time for the dirt to keep digging?

And say they got a favorable ruling and courts said Trump’s gotta do something...so what?

[Shirley]

lulz

What's flawed is that Schiff wanted it done before Christmas and couldn't be bothered to wait two months for for privilege claims to be litigated.

But by all means, celebrate him as a heeero.

How many months ago did the House Intelligence Committee subpoena McGahn?

Schiff's biggest mistake was assuming that senate republicans would honor their oath to the constitution, rather than cower in fealty and fear to Donald Trump.

[Deleted User 62]

lulz

What's flawed is that Schiff wanted it done before Christmas and couldn't be bothered to wait two months for for privilege claims to be litigated.

But by all means, celebrate him as a heeero.

How many months ago did the House Intelligence Committee subpoena McGahn?

Schiff's biggest mistake was assuming that senate republicans would honor their oath to the constitution, rather than cower in fealty and fear to Donald Trump.

^^^^^^^^^^

[Mjl]

Improperly using heavily secured servers is a very minor offense compared to using lightly secured servers for classified documents. I am surprised that hasn't been the GOP talking point considering their obsession with Clinton.

Politically, the problem here is the 24 hour news cycle. If there is actual damning evidence of wrongdoing enough to get a successful impeachment, it's going to take some time to dig that up. But if you give it enough time the public is going to lose interest.

After Isikoff/Drudge broke the Lewinsky story, WJC brought Dick Morris back to the White House to conduct some off-the-record polling, all of which showed that an overwhelming majority of Americans would demand his resignation if it turned out that he'd had any relationship at all with a White House intern. His recommendation: delay, deny, obfuscate. By the time the trial rolled around, almost a year later, not only was there physical evidence of the affair, there was also strong evidence of perjury, of suborning perjury, and of obstruction of justice. And no one cared.

Morris was right, in other words.

[twocoach]

So apparently the cost of some people's soul was a $1,000 tax break and a 15+% increase to their retirement account.