Open Impeachment Hearing #2
The second public impeachment hearing featured former ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, the career public servant who was smeared and fired by Trump because she was too good. Ambassador Yovanovitch has been a foreign service officer for 33 years in 6 presidential administrations — 4 Republican and 2 Democrat. She has been appointed ambassador 3 times — twice by George W. Bush and once by Barack Obama. She has lived all over the world, has have moved 13 times and served in 7 different countries, 5 of which were hardship posts, to develop relationships with other countries on behalf of the US government. She’s been shot at.
During her opening statement, she reminded members of Congress that she is a foreign service officer just like the 52 men and women trapped in Tehran during their revolution and like Ambassador Stevens who lost his life in Benghazi. It’s a dangerous job and foreign service officers who testify are putting themselves at risk.
She concluded her statement with, “Ambassadors are the symbol of the United States abroad, the personal representatives of the President. As Foreign Service professionals are being denigrated and undermined, the institution is also being degraded. This will soon cause real harm, if it hasn’t already. Moreover, the attacks are leading to a crisis in the State Department as the policy process is visibly unravelling, leadership vacancies go unfilled, and senior and midlevel officers ponder an uncertain future and head for the doors. The crisis has moved from the impact on individuals to an impact on the institution. The State Department is being hollowed out from within at a competitive and complex time on the world stage. This is not a time to undercut our diplomats.”
She explained what her duties were in Ukraine. She was there to further the partnership between the US and Ukraine and assist Ukraine in its quest to turn itself around by eliminating corruption. Then she found herself in the middle of US/Ukraine corruption. “How could our system fail? How is it that foreign corrupt interests could manipulate our government?”
During questioning, it was brought up that Trump had a phone conversation with the president of Ukraine and talked about getting rid of the good Ambassador. She was “going to go through some things,” Trump told the president of Ukraine. When asked about it she answered, “It sounded like a threat.”
She warned of a crisis in the State Department and expressed grave concerns about leadership. Without mentioning his name, she implied that Mike Pompeo didn’t have her back. “Our Ukraine policy has been thrown into disarray and shady interests the world over have learned how little it takes to remove an American Ambassador who does not give them what they want.”
Trump was sitting on his ass back at the White House, watching it all on TV. He took a shot at her by tweeting: Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad. She started off in Somalia, how did that go? Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavorably about her in my second phone call with him. It is a US President’s absolute right to appoint ambassadors.
A US president attacked a government employee, right in the middle of her congressional testimony, on national television. A US president blamed a US diplomat for the turmoil and tragedy in a war torn country. Unpresidented.
An aide quickly passed the tweet to Adam Schiff and he read it out loud. He invited the Ambassador to respond. She said she felt threatened. Adam Schiff said that that was witness intimidation and that they take that very seriously. Even though impeachment doesn’t require a crime, witness intimidation is a crime and can be one more article of impeachment.
Marie Yovanovitch exhibited such seriousness, depth of knowledge, and measured demeanor that the Republicans looked like the 10 stooges in contrast. She got a standing ovation at the end of her testimony. Afterwards, the stooges went out and tripped all over each other slapping for reporters. Bumbling fools.
Stooges, amigos, a big, dumb, spoiled, baby, and dumb criminals. That’s what we’ve got here.
“I can’t believe that impeachment hearings are going to regularly and seriously refer to ‘the three amigos.’” — Garrett Haake
Meanwhile during recess, Roger Stone was found guilty on all 7 counts.
Trump tweeted: So they now convict Roger Stone of lying and want to jail him for many years to come. Well, what about Crooked Hillary, Comey, Strzok, Page, McCabe, Brennan, Clapper, Shifty Schiff, Ohr & Nellie, Steele & all of the others, including even Mueller himself? Didn’t they lie?….
I know you are but what am I? Big dumb baby. Liar liar pants on fire! Ouch! My butt!
“Guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty — seven counts of lying to Congress and witness intimidation, the very thing Trump did in real time during today’s impeachment testimony of Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. Karma x 7.” — Laurence Tribe
While the impeachment inquiry hearing was going on and Roger Stone was being found guilty, news broke that federal prosecutors were investigating Rudy Giuliani to see if he personally profited from a Ukrainian natural gas business pushed by 2 dingalings.
Stooges, amigos, a big, dumb, spoiled, baby, dumb criminals, and 2 dingalings.
That’s what we’ve got here.
Read Marie Yovanovitch’s opening statement here.
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