The wheels are falling off the Republican Clown Car, and we should not be surprised that the impeachment inquiry is expanding to include the rabid pseudo-Christian, Vice-Resident Mike Pence.  Here is an article on that subject by retired conservative lawyer, Martin London.  He is known for his legal defense Spiro T. Agnew.  He also advised Trump to resign in 2018.

The Constitution provides for impeachment of “The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers…”

The current House impeachment inquiry is focused on President Trump’s apparent effort to persuade a foreign government to interfere in the 2020 presidential election–specifically, to press Ukraine’s President Volodymy Zelensky to investigate the leading Democratic contender, Joe Biden. Trump is still the central U.S. civil officer in the spotlight, but now it seems Vice President Pence may be implicated as well.

While the President claims his July call with Zelensky was “perfect,” the House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff describes it as a “shakedown,” and a majority of the House of Representatives now support an impeachment inquiry. Pence, meanwhile, has defended the President, saying, “I think the American people have the right to know if the Vice President of the United States or his family profited from his position as vice president during the last administration.”

While we do not know precisely what Pence knew about Trump’s conversation with Biden or what he said to Zelensky when they met last month, there’s a lot we do know – and it doesn’t look good. Pence was not on the call in which Trump asked Zelensky for a “favor” — a Ukrainian investigation of Joe Biden and his son Hunter — at a time when the U.S. was withholding hundreds of millions of dollars of aid, but one of his top advisers was, and according to the Washington Post, “the vice president should have had access to the transcript within hours.” It was in this context that he flew to Poland in September and reinforced to Zelensky the Trump message that U.S. aid was still being withheld because of concerns about “corruption.”…

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Please click through for more.  It’s increasingly rare to find integrity in an analysis from a right-winger.

Rachel Maddow covered this in even more depth.

At Heart, Trump Ukraine Scandal Simple, Impeachable, Uncontested (21:48)

If Trump is removed from office first, Pence will just pardon him.

I know this is not realistic, but please allow me a moment of pipe dream fantasy.  Doesn’t President Pelosi sound nice?

RESIST!!

It’s been a huge day into the investigation of Resident Donald Trump and the Republican Reich over their attempt to coerce a foreign leader to fabricate evidence to assist Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign and to hide Russia’s role in the Republican election theft of 2016.  The proof of that attempt has become so damning in the last 24 hours, that Trump is now asking for multiple countries to investigate Joe Biden in public!  The idea is to bluff that it must be OK if he does it blatantly.

On Thursday night, Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives released a set of text messages they have received in their investigation of the State Department and its involvement in the Ukraine scandal…

…Here are 7 key details from the texts:

1. Ukraine feared it would be used as an “instrument” in American “domestic, reelection politics.”

Top U.S. diplomat Bill Taylor comes out the cleanest from the texts of the State employees, showing the most consistent concern for the wellbeing of Ukraine. In one exchange, he wrote on July 21 to United States Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland — a top donor to Trump — that Ukrainian “President Zelenskyy is sensitive about Ukraine being taken seriously, not merely as an instrument in Washington domestic, reelection politics.”…

Sondland replies “Absolutely,” but quickly pivots back to getting a conversation started between Trump and Zelensky. This shows that even before Trump’s infamous July 25 call with Ukraine, the country’s government feared it would be used for the president’s reelection campaign. This is exactly what Democrats accuse Trump of doing when he told Zelensky to open an investigation into Joe Biden, a potential 2020 opponent. It’s the whole reason the House’s impeachment inquiry has been reinvigorated.

But it gets worse.

… 2. An explicit quid pro quo

Former U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker — who recently resigned after his involvement in the scandal was revealed — sends one of the most jaw-dropping single messages in the bunch. He lays out an explicit quid pro quo in a text to Ukrainian official Andrey Yermak on July 25, the same day as Trump’s call:

Kurt Volker: Good lunch – thanks.  Heard from the 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

This is a bombshell. It shows the White House set up a clear offer of an official U.S. government action — a visit to the White House — in exchange for Ukraine’s delivering investigations of the president’s political rivals. (In addition to the investigation of Biden and his son Hunter’s company Burisma, Trump has asked Zelensky to investigate conspiracy theories about the 2016 election and collusion between Ukraine and Hillary Clinton…

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I shared two of seven. Click through for the other five.  I recommend it in the strongest possible terms.

Here is a complete transcript of the Ukraine texts.

Lawrence O’Donnell did an amazing job covering this last night, and he devoted three segments of his show to it.

Lawrence: The Smoking Guns Keep Coming On President Donald Trump And Ukraine

I hope that all those strikes mean he’s out!

Rpt: Top U.S. Diplomat In Ukraine Texted It Would Be “Crazy” To Withhold Aid

That’s enough witnesses’ with damning evidence against the Tangerine Traitor for the House Intelligence Committee, that Shifty had better Shift into high gear to put Trump in a cell.

Texts Between Diplomats On Ukraine Situation Released

I doubt that Bill Taylor will have his job for long, if he still has it now. He should be rehired, when possible, and deserves our thanks for his integrity.

I trust this is only the beginning of this story.

RESIST!!

It’s that time of week again, and here are three excellent video clips from Sam’s show last night.  Enjoy!

Impeachment: Trump Has Officially Gone Off the Deep End

Someone please give that poor Finn an Alka-Seltzer and a Sauna! I taka one too, please. You?

Mike Pence Takes HHS To The Past

In Sex Education, I generally oppose teaching abstinence as birth control, but wouldn’t this be a better world, if all Republicans practiced it cradle to grave?

Ilhan Omar: Impeachment Pioneer

Kudos to Ilhan! She was spot-on first!

Another good week for Sam!

RESIST!!

Last night Rachel Maddow appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.  I rather hoped she would try her hand at comedy.  If she did, she just wasn’t funny, but, as always, she was most informative.  Colbert, on the other hand, was hilarious.  He had Rachel laughing so hard, that I hope she was wearing Depends.  Here are three video clips.

Rachel Maddow: We Just Don’t Know How Impeachment Will Play Out

“America’s Premier Explainer” is a perfect description for Rachel. Republicans have neither integrity nor patriotism, but they may act to save their own skins.

Rachel Maddow: Russia Uses Oil And Gas As A Weapon

The revenue always goes to the elite and powerful when Republicans or other extreme-right fascists control the government.

Rachel Maddow: There’s A Second Trump Whistleblower

I have no doubt that, before this is done, enough whistles will be blown to form an orchestra of whistles.

Is there any wonder that Rachel is my favorite commentator?

RESIST!!