Trump Corruption

From the far-right Newsmax: A Florida preacher says Roger Stone, facing up to 50 years in jail later this month on a his felony conviction, prayed with evangelical leader Franklin Graham and has “put his faith in God.” “Hundreds of Graham’s supporters flocked to meet Roger with nothing but well-wishes, support, and prayers,” Tampa Bay area-based millennial pastor Randy Coggins …

Axios reports: Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he believes President Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine to “encourage” its government to investigate the Bidens, but that he will vote to acquit Trump on Wednesday because he believes the consequences of the president’s actions should be decided in the next election. “If you have eight …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump’s senior adviser Jared Kushner told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that impeachment has not hurt the President’s support, insisting that his base “is strong and getting stronger” and that former White House officials who have raised concerns about Trump “didn’t have what it took.” Kushner told Zakaria that people outside Washington aren’t paying attention to the impeachment …

CNN reports: The Department of Justice revealed in a court filing late Friday that it has two dozen emails related to the President Donald Trump’s involvement in the withholding of millions in security assistance to Ukraine — a disclosure that came just hours after the Senate voted against subpoenaing additional documents and witnesses in Trump’s impeachment trial, paving the way …

The New Jersey Advance reports: A Senate vote to end President Donald Trump’s impeachment proceedings without calling witnesses should be considered “half a trial,” the president’s former chief of staff John Kelly said Friday. “In my view, they kind of leave themselves open to a lot of criticism,” Kelly said in an interview in advance of his Feb. 12 appearance …

Axios reports: Former Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch has retired from the State Department, NPR first reported. The career diplomat remained on payroll since she was ousted from the department last year, per NPR. Why it matters: During her closed-door deposition before House impeachment committees, Yovanovitch testified that President Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani led the smear campaign that led to her …

NPR reports: The Senate still must vote on whether or not to acquit Trump of the charges against him, a vote now expected to come next Wednesday, Republican Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri told reporters. The agreement would give senators the weekend off, with the trial resuming Monday with closing arguments from both sides, as well as time for senators …

The New York Times reports: The Senate voted on Friday to block the consideration of additional witnesses and documents in President Trump’s impeachment trial, as Republicans shut down a push by Democrats to bring in new evidence and cleared the way for a swift acquittal in the coming days. The nearly party-line vote came after a bitter, four-hour debate between …

Click the videos. Much consulting going on. CNET reports: Friday marks a pivotal day in the Senate’s impeachment trial of President Donald Trump. Senators will first decide whether to call witnesses. If they then vote against witnesses, they could move straight to votes on the articles of impeachment. Friday’s session will start at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET. With 53 …

ABC News reports: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declined to directly dispute allegations reportedly contained in an unpublished manuscript of former national security adviser John Bolton’s forthcoming book, saying he would not comment on press reports “off in the lands of the hypothetical.” In Kyiv on Friday, Pompeo downplayed the report’s credibility — but did not explicitly deny its contents. …

I was all set to post this and then Schumer denied it all. NBC News reports: Sens. Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell told their members at their respective closed-door lunches that the two leaders have agreed to a proposal that would culminate in a Wednesday vote to acquit the president, according to two Democrats in the room and two Republican …

From Rubio’s statement published today on Medium: As Manager Jerry Nadler (D-NY) reminded us Wednesday night, removal is not a punishment for a crime. Nor is removal supposed to be a way to hold Presidents accountable; that is what elections are for. The sole purpose of this extraordinary power to remove the one person entrusted with all of the powers …

The New York Times report: Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said Friday she would vote against including new witnesses and documents in President Trump’s impeachment trial, likely dealing a fatal blow to Democrats’ attempts to compel new evidence. “I carefully considered the need for additional witnesses and documents, to cure the shortcomings of its process, but ultimately decided that …

The New York Times reports: More than two months before he asked Ukraine’s president to investigate his political opponents, President Trump directed John R. Bolton, then his national security adviser, to help with his pressure campaign to extract damaging information on Democrats from Ukrainian officials, according to an unpublished manuscript by Mr. Bolton. Mr. Trump gave the instruction, Mr. Bolton …

Austin’s NBC News affiliate reports: Speaking at a private event in Austin Thursday, Former National Security Advisor John Bolton defended government officials who testified in front of the U.S. House impeachment inquiry.  Sources tell KXAN Bolton defended former officials Fiona Hill, Tim Morrison, Alex Vindman, Bill Taylor, and Marie Yovanovitch. “All of them acted in the best interest of the …

NBC News reports: Trump painted a doomsday scenario under a Democratic president. “If we don’t win, your farms are going to hell,” he said, claiming that under the Green New Deal supported by some of the 2020 contenders, “they want to kill your cows.” “That means you’re next,” he said. The proposed legislation does not call for killing or banning …

The Associated Press reports: Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee will oppose calling more witnesses in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, all but dashing Democratic efforts to hear more testimony and boosting odds the Senate will vote imminently to acquit without new testimony, in a matter of days. Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said late Thursday she would vote …

From the editorial board of the Washington Post: Polls show that Americans overwhelmingly want the trial to hear witnesses. There is no precedent for an impeachment trial without live testimony. If it suppresses it, the Senate will ratify a coverup, making any acquittal of Mr. Trump meaningless. Mr. Trump tried to use his office to force Ukraine to intervene in …

ABC News reports: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) says in a new interview that President Trump may target Republican senators who buck party leadership and vote for additional witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial for primary challenges. In an interview with ABC News, Christie said he could “definitely” see the president at least encouraging primary challengers if not …

Politico reports: New video released by the attorney for Lev Parnas, the indicted associate of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani who worked to drum up an investigation of Joe Biden out of Ukraine, appears to show Parnas and his business partner Igor Fruman mingling with Trump and GOP officials at a donor event in April 2018. The recording …