Impeachment Hearings: Big, Busy Week Ahead [UPDATE-1]

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[NB: Updates will appear at the bottom of this post. /~Rayne]

Better get all your big tasks done today or hold off until Friday because the week is stacked with hearings and witnesses. These are the folks scheduled to testify before the House Intelligence Committee (HIC):

Tuesday 19-NOV-2019

Jennifer Williams, Special Adviser on EU+Russia to VP Mike Pence (heard the July 25 phone call)
Alexander Vindman, former National Security Council Director for European affairs (heard the July 25 phone call)
Kurt Volker, Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations
Timothy Morrison, Presidential Adviser for Europe and Russia on the National Security Council staff (heard the July 25 phone call)

Wednesday 20-NOV-2019

Gordon Sondland, Ambassador to the EU
Laura Cooper, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russian, Ukrainian, and Eurasian affairs
David Maclain Hale, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs

Thursday 21-NOV-2019

Fiona Hill, former Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Council’s Senior Director for Europe and Russia
NEW -> David Holmes, Counselor for Political Affairs in Ukraine [Added with UPDATE-1]

You’re going to want to bone up ahead of these hearings with the transcripts released so far:

Jennifer Williams’s transcript
Alexander Vindman’s transcript
Kurt Volker’s transcript
Timothy Morrison’s transcript

Gordon Sondland’s transcript (includes addendum from November 4)
Laura Cooper’s transcript

Fiona Hill’s transcript

Note the witnesses who listened in on the Trump-Zelensky call; the concentration of call observers/participants might explain why Trump has no public appearances scheduled on his calendar tomorrow. Note also I don’t have a transcript yet for David Hale; I’ll furnish a link as soon as I find one, assuming it’s been or will be released.

And do note also two of three witnesses whose depositions Matt Gaetz and other House GOP tried to barge in on are scheduled to testify this week — that’s Fiona Hill and Laura Cooper.

I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see the GOP members of the HIC do something obnoxious and obstructive to these same witnesses again; my suspicion is that they offer particularly damning testimony.

And they’re both women.  Great optics, that, all those suited-up white dudes (except for jacketless Gym Jordan) storming around and barging into closed-door SCIF depositions to intimidate women employees of our federal government.

For the same reason the GOP deployed her against former Ambassdor Marie Yovanovitch, we shouldn’t be surprised if the GOP tasks Elise Stefanik with a substantive portion of their questions to these two and the other female witnesses. It’ll be like siccing a lipsticked pitbull on them; can’t wait to see this because Stefanik’s performance this past week helped her Democratic opponent garner +225,000 new followers on Twitter and a million dollars in campaign donations.

(Really effective program the GOP has in place to increase the number of female GOP representatives in Congress. LOL)

Get reading, get ready.

UPDATE-1 — 10:10 P.M. ET —

Transcript for David Maclain Hale’s deposition has been released — link here. Hale is the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and at present the highest-ranked serving foreign service officer.

HIC has also announced that David Holmes, counselor for political affairs in Ukraine, will testify on Thursday along with Fiona Hill. A transcript of his deposition taken in a closed door session last Friday has been released and it’s colorful (a euphemism referring to its candid language). Holmes’ deposition has ‘shaken’ GOP members, it’s said.

Thanks to community member harpie for the assist with the transcripts.

Thursday’s after-hours cocktail will need a much bigger glass.

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121 replies
  1. Rayne says:

    Also going on today:

    DC Circuit Court of Appeals: Arguments today began at 9:30 am wrt DOJ’s appeal for emergency stay after HJC won district court decision about Special Counsel’s Office grand jury materials.

    Deadline: Bill Barr-DOJ has been FOIA’d by Senate for materials related to Trump’s request for Barr to hold a press conference exonerating him of wrongdoing related to the July 25 phone call with Ukraine’s president Zelensky.

    I think I’m missing another item or two which are supposed to happen today. ???

      • Americana says:

        Save the date! (I could speculate about how Lindsey Graham strategically arrived at Dec. 11 as the date for IG Horowitz’s appearance before Congress but I won’t.) But be sure and save enough popcorn for this little Lindsey Graham orchestrated event starring IG Horowitz:

        https://news.yahoo.com/graham-announces-hearing-doj-inspector-233238515.html

        From the above link:

        Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham announced Monday that he will hold a hearing on Dec. 11 featuring Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz.

        Horowitz's scheduled appearance before the committee comes as the inspector general is wrapping up an investigation into the origins of the FBI probe into the 2016 Trump campaign's dealings with Russia.

    • Rayne says:

      Thanks for the breakdown AM/PM; I imagine, though, floor votes and length of responses combined with showboating by GOP will make timing a bit fluid.

      OT: Haven’t heard from my mom so I am guessing she’s happy with the current Florida weather. She’s got a very narrow range of perceived comfort, between 68-72F. She and my dad went on some vacation-from-retirement-tour thing in south Florida, guess I should call her and find out how that went.

    • Eureka says:

      Yes, thank you Rayne for the comprehensive post with *transcript links* (they can be hard to locate at times via house dot gov) and harpie for updates.

      This is going to be a blisteringly-paced week.

  6. Vince says:

    Gordy has already had to unperjurize, er “revise”, his prior sworn testimony, and now he has the poignant reminder of what can happen to someone lying during congressional testimony with the example of the wannabe Penguin being convicted on six counts. The truth shall set you free.

  7. CCM says:

    Enjoy the House show. Wait till Moscow Mitch gets his turn. Start witnesses Hunter Biden and John Solomon. Conspiracy clown show.

    • Geoff says:

      This is the pre-firing, self-immolation moment, where the President is said to have 100% confidence in him. He say’s “I’m a great guy, and the American people love my ass.” After the 415pm meeting with the stable genius, there will be another announcement where Trump says he couldn’t convince Pompeo to stay on.

    • Vince says:

      What the Israelis are overlooking, is that for the evangelicals vision of the second coming of Jesus to come to fruition, all the Jews who don’t convert to Christianity, MUST DIE.

      A bunch a Fruit Loops.

      • P J Evans says:

        The Israelis don’t care about the evangelicals (they’d prefer that those disappear). They’re after continued support at the UN and in the form of $$$ and arms.

        • Vince says:

          Speaking of which, what Pompeo has announced is a violation of the 4th Genova Convention, as well as a standing UN resolution.

          Criminals don’t care about the law.

        • bmaz says:

          Is that a Vicky and Joe DiGenova resolution?

          Would make a lot more sense than Geneva Conventions which, I do not think, go there.

        • Vince says:

          HEH.

          Any other time, when I didn’t need it, I got the edit countdown clock. That’s twice now that I realized I needed to edit, but couldn’t. Very weird.

          Anyway, yep the 4th convention makes it illegal to forcibly move/relocate populations that are under illegal military occupation, and the specific UN resolution was passed in 2016, which declared the settlements themselves a flagrant violation of international law.

  9. BobCon says:

    I would not be surprised if Stefanik is carrying water like this because her internal numbers are already showing her much worse than the Cook Report +4 number that has been reported. Ironically, the windfall her opponent has raised will only reinforce her decision to do whatever she was planning on doing after Congress.

    Still, she’s going to be a good warning sign for other Republicans, maybe especially in the Senate and statehouses.

  10. Rugger9 says:

    Bevin’s loss in KY was more due to him than KQ, given how the rest of the GOP candidates prevailed (IIRC). LA and VA are another situations entirely in that Individual-1 made a point about making it about himself as a referendum, and we see how that turned out. So, Stefank is playing with fire here and frankly if Peter King wanted to leave after reading the polls, I can’t see Stefanik surviving 2020 in an impeachment scenario.

  11. harpie says:

    More reading, class:
    https://twitter.com/speechboy71/status/1196509001888010240
    11:22 AM – 18 Nov 2019

    David Holmes opening statement to the House impeachment inquiry is an absolute blockbuster. Makes clear not only that Trump was directing Sondland’s actions but that everything in US-Ukr relations was predicated on the Burisma investigation

    links to:
    Read David Holmes’ full opening statement in impeachment inquiry
    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/david-holmes-statement-impeachment-inquiry-full-opening-statement/
    NOVEMBER 15, 2019 / 10:08 PM / CBS NEWS

    • Cathy says:

      Gee [@harpie], you always bring us the very best [evidence of] violence [to our democracy].

      h/t Mr. Universe (Movie: Serenity)

    • harpie says:

      OY! This came out on the 15th! The date is right there!
      And I KNEW that days ago!
      I am SO under water/behind on all this stuff…
      There are so funking many balls to keep track of…
      I’ll just have to admit that it’s simply impossible for me to process everything…
      embarrassing

      • Eureka says:

        LOL, harpie — before your addition, I was going to comment that I had already failed this class: Rayne’s opener about getting this week’s stuff done ahead puts me squarely behind the eight-ball of all of last week’s stuff I blew off.

        Not sure I’ll get the homework in… ever?

  13. Matthew Harris says:

    The impeachment hearings are going to be gigantic, but they might not even be the biggest story of the week.

    Other things that might grab the spotlight this week (just in Trump and Trump related news):

    1. Mike Flynn and his attempts to back out of his guilty plea. It is still a month out from his sentencing date, and I don’t know if there are any scheduled court pleadings, but there might be Flynn news.

    2. Roger Stone is still under a gag order, but he may violate it to publicly complain, or he might file an appeal through his lawyers.

    3. Parnas, Fruman, Correia and Kukushkin are all due in court for a hearing on December 2. Maybe they will be quiet until then…or maybe they won’t be.
    3a. If the investigation into them continues to work up the chain, there is a chance that Rudy Giuliani could find himself in developing legal trouble this week.

    4. Bingo Free Space! Have you heard any news lately about Elaine Chao, Elliot Broidy, Jacob Wohl, Duncan Hunter, Rick Perry, Robert Kraft, Alex Acosta, Paul Erickson, Cambridge Analytica, George Nader or Matthew Whittaker? Neither have I, but that doesn’t mean they won’t pop up again.

    I just have to keep reminding myself that we live at a time when there is an open House of Representatives impeachment inquiry into the President of the United States…and that might not even be the biggest trouble he finds himself in.

    • Rayne says:

      These are all “might be” versus scheduled hearings. When something bigger comes along we’ll take note.

      North Korea saying thanks but no thanks to Trump is fairly big but there’s no imminent threat behind it, just a nose thumbing at the mangled tangerine hellbeast.

      • Matthew Harris says:

        Rereading my post, I realize it could seem a little rude. And hipsterish. “I am into more obscure stuff than the impeachment hearings, like Paul Erickson’s money laundering charges”.

        The reason I wanted to write this all out is that probably at least one day of the impeachment hearings will bring “no real news”, something that the right-wing media will jump on with glee and that even the mainstream media will repeat.

        So I was just kind of repeating for my own benefit that this week’s impeachment hearings are just the ball in the juggler’s hand, and there are other ones coming down pretty soon, as well.

  14. Glacier says:

    Not a peep in the news about the pending govt shutdown related to Nov 22 debt/deficit/budget problems related to the “WALL” and a lack of Fed funds for trump campaign promise.

    A few tidbits last week, but very little noise about this pending problem, where Fed interest on the debt is eating away at the on-going persistent trillion-dollar budget …

    “Unless something unusual happens around here, I don’t see how we get all our work done and put all the pieces together by [December] 20th,” said Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.), who heads of the Homeland Security appropriations subcommittee that deals with wall funding.

  15. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Anyone else tired of hearing that “Democrats” are tired of impeachment and want it to be over, believing that they need do nothing now because voters will “do something” a year from now?

    The argument seems cowardly and opportunistic. It seems to ignore that those most likely to get out and vote – and to encourage others to do so – are demanding a real hopey-changey moment from the Democrats and their next president.

      • Rayne says:

        If the House can impeach a president for lying about a consensual blowjob, the House can impeach about all of Trump’s lies during office — at a minimum.

        Probably ought to have a post to that effect.

  16. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Elise Jordan on MSNBC posits that Trump had severe cabin fever on Saturday, so WH staff urgently bundled him off to Walter Reed to keep him distracted and busy.

    That’s worth a coffee spew. It breaks the bogus meter. It would require that WH staff and doctors be in on it, and staff at Walter Reed, who might have spilled the beans by saying, nothing new here to worry about. Would Mick or Kellyanne coordinate that at the risk of being outed? Unlikely. Not to mention, they’d have to convince a brain-challenged Trump to fall for it.

    If the explanation is even partly true, it’s another demonstration that both Trump and his staff are criminally incompetent. If not, its absurdity as an excuse suggests a) the above, and b) Trump’s herculean physique is plagued by more than an Achilles heel.

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      The argument was that it was too cold. It’s hard for Don to swing a club at the best of times, almost impossible when wearing a sweater or jacket. The attire makes him look less svelt, and warm hats tend to muss up his hair. The whole thing is too bogus for words, which suggests there’s something to hide.

      • P J Evans says:

        That’s nice. It hasn’t stopped him in the past.
        And it doesn’t explain why he was having meetings in his *personal quarters* today, instead of in the West Wing.

        • Cathy says:

          Ironic if it turns out the 25th Amendment is still in the running? After this mixed martial arts match between impeachment and 2020 elections, what if the 25th just sidles up to the cage and ~BONK~ smacks down both of them?

    • BobCon says:

      One thing that bugs me is that we have a corps of reporters on the Trump beat for over three years now, doing favors for the White House supposedly in return for access.

      This would be the right time to actually get something in return and find out what happened, But clearly the Habermans and Schmidts of the DC scene are either unable or unwilling to get anything in return for slanting stories and running interference.

      And of course CNN and gets nothing from the GOP shills it pays to supposedly give us insight into the White House.

    • Eureka says:

      Stahhpit, earl– coffee is expensive!

      We all know that a hospital is the best place to take a cranky toddler.

    • posaune says:

      I have a colleague who, with acute abdominal pain, went to urgent care and was instructed to go to the hospital ER for appendicitis. It wasn’t appendicitis — and she was penalized $500 for going to the ER for a “non-emergency” and mis-using her health care plan. So, if Trump’s ailment wasn’t an emergency, why did he go on a weekend?

      • Rayne says:

        — His regular Fox News programming wasn’t on;
        — He wasn’t golfing at any of his courses;
        — He doesn’t watch football OR his preferred team(s) were on a bye week.

        Not buying any of these excuses, of course, when all he does most weeks is sit around watching TV and munching on junk food.

  17. Jenny says:

    Thank you Rayne, informative post. I especially appreciate the links to the transcripts.
    Volker and Sondland will have to do some major explaining. However, I look forward to Fiona Hill word wrestling with Jordan.

    “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

  18. Jenny says:

    Garrett Haake on Twitter
    JUST IN: Congressional aides working on the impeachment inquiry announce that David Holmes, the man who overheard the Sondland/Trump phone call, will testify alongside Fiona Hill on Thursday.

    1:22 PM – 18 Nov 2019

  19. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Joe Biden’s “centrism” is probably not what the Dems need in their standard bearer for 2020. He still thinks, for example, that Mary Wanna may be a gateway drug. (Like Gen. Turgidson, he’s waiting until all the facts are in.)

    His affinity for big capital – tech, FIRE, drugs companies – is clear, but it’s price is not. His latest fundraiser was held at the home of Amazon’s general counsel, which means he sought and found backing from Jeff Bezos, too.

    https://www.thedailybeast.com/biden-fundraises-at-home-of-top-amazon-lawyer-as-other-dems-denounce-big-tech

    • P J Evans says:

      it’s sure not what I want. That kind of centrism got us not-much-of-anything under Obama, and he did try a bit. Joe’s more centrist than that, and keeps going down the road to the past.
      I don’t object to big tech, but I object to Too Big To Fail in every field. Too Big To Fail is too big to pass anti-trust reviews.

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      I think there’s a lot not to like about Big Tech, starting with its monopolistic behavior. It’s not just that it makes things more expensive, while providing fewer choices. It’s that if the product is free, you’re the product. Big Tech’s privacy record is abysmal: a fundamental part of its business model is built on keeping it that way.

      You don’t have to work at Whole Paycheck or in an Amazin’ warehouse to know that Jeff Bezos is nobody’s friend. He is a horrible employer, no surprise for a former investment banker. With his level of largely untaxed wealth, he can act like a branch of government. I suspect he does, and he’s only one actor. Biden and Mayor Pete, though, think he’s peachy.

      • P J Evans says:

        I think a wealth tax is a fine idea, along with a top income tax bracket at about 90% for everything over $10 million per year. Mot of us would be happy if we could have an income as high as 50 thousand a year, so the billionaires can just shut the F up about their hardships.

    • Valley girl says:

      I think/hope it’s the younger voters who will decide this election. They have the most at stake, like the future. And I hope they will convince their wayward elders to vote on their behalf. As in do it for us. My arm doesn’t need twisting though; I’m trying to twist other arms.

      I get really aggravated when I see people of my age, or anyone for that matter, trying to argue for backing the most “electable” candidate. Like, say, Biden. Sure people, just compromise beforehand based on your “idea” of electability. NO. This is not the time to do that. Go for what will be the best hope of rescuing the planet and the next generations.

      It should be clear by now that Mr. Obama’s VP is not the man.

  20. klynn says:

    Stefanik was neither a “star” nor a “standout” that Dem donors noticed during the hearings.

    Dem donors noticed Stefanik has not one care for the rules. Dem donors noticed her dishonest drama. Dem donors decided she was a threat to Democracy and the Constitution.

  22. harpie says:

    SENATOR RON JOHNSON [Juror in possible impeachment trial]

    https://twitter.com/Journo_Christal/status/1196551332125200384
    2:10 PM – 18 Nov 2019

    Sen. Ron Johnson has sent GOP an 11-page letter on his involvement with Ukraine. The letter starts off talking about Hillary Clinton and Strzok/Page texts. Johnson goes on to say it’s “entirely possible” that Lt. Col. Vindman is a bureaucrat against Trump [link]

    …to which Marcy replies:
    […] emptywheel/status/1196615458763558912
    6:25 PM – 18 Nov 2019

    Ron Johnson lays out why he needs to recuse on Trump’s impeachment trial.

    NinjaEsq replies to Marcy:
    https://twitter.com/NinjaEsq/status/1196619319830024193
    6:40 PM – 18 Nov 2019

    Replying to @emptywheel Might be worth noting Johnson left out his July 11 meeting about “the DNC issue” with Andrii Telizhenko, which took place the same day he met with the official Ukrainian delegation (Danylyuk and Yermak).

  23. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Mike Pompeo today gave Donald Trump the “answer to a prayer.” He declared that Israeli civilian settlements in the Palestinian territories are A-OK. Israel has occupied many of those territories for fifty years. The UN has consistently declared civilian settlements in them to be a flagrant violation of international law, the last time in 2016.

    Donald Trump’s view of the international world order is sthpecial, though. He recently moved the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, another highly controversial move. That’s because part of Jerusalem is among those Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories. As I said, sthpecial.

    My guess is that Trump is planning to retire there. It may be the only place he feels safe after his landlord evicts him from the White House. He’s likely to be short of cash, too, and Vlad is likely to charge higher rent than Don can afford.

  24. Worried says:

    I am curious if there is a time requirement in the impeachment process.
    If not, one strategy could be to be very deliberate. Slow things down, especially when the White House refuses to let prospective witnesses testify.
    Use that as a lever to get the testimony; “if you won’t let them testify, we’ll wait”
    In the meantime put the WH on the defensive with the whatever is available testimony that they would have to respond to whenever it occurs.
    In the end, maybe keeping the process out of the hands of McConnell; i.e. keep investigating until 1) smoking gun ensures removal from office or 2) 2020 election.
    In the case of 2), the People decide.

  25. harpie says:

    Yet MORE for today:
    https://twitter.com/AriMelber/status/1196617825043058689
    6:34 PM – 18 Nov 2019

    Sondland may be haunted most by his own words — literally touting “quid pro quo” as his appprach to politics, boasting of his private talk with Trump “minutes” before the July call, and then his emails about how the plotting was going [link]

    Caught on tape: Trump’s Ukraine envoy Gordon Sondland touting ‘quid pro quo’
    https://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari/watch/caught-on-tape-trump-s-ukraine-envoy-gordon-sondland-touting-quid-pro-quo-73657413897
    Nov. 18, 2019

    I haven’t watched this…don’t know when the interview was done.

    • Jenny says:

      Thanks Harpie. Informative. Sondland will either continue to drink the Orange Kool aide or not.

      “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.”
      ― Mark Twain

    • earlofhuntingdon says:

      Welcome news, but a day late and a dollar short. That he was acting as a stenographer for some patron(s) has been obvious to his management and co-workers. It is one reason he was moved from the status of journalist to opinion writer. Was he too profitable or did he have some other juice that has now drained away?

      • BobCon says:

        A chronic problem in the news biz is that rotten news is easily pegged to reporters, while editors skate.

        There might be a justification for this when in comes to a specific article, but when it’s a long running problem, like you get with Solomon, editors and higher ups need to be on the line. Who reviewed his bad reporting, not just at The Hill but at places like AP?

        For that matter, who is supposed to be keeping reporters like Vogel, Peters, Haberman and Schmidt in line at the NY Times? It’s possible to track down the names of editors, but that gives little insight into the process how their hack work emerges, from pitch and framing to sourcing to actual editing.

        Dumping Solomon is great, but it does little to fix the larger institutional problem, just as dropping Bill O’Reilly left most of the Fox News management free from accountability.

    • harpie says:

      From the WaPo, Eric Wemple link:

      […] When a reporter for the Beltway publication approached Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) amid the impeachment furor, she asked where he worked. His answer pretty much ended the transaction.

      “I’m not speaking to the Hill anymore. Sorry.” Then she explained: “I just find it reprehensible that any newspaper would just be willing to put that kind of crap out that is not — has no veracity whatsoever, and not check to see if it had any veracity,” Speier said, according to audio reported by Politico’s Michael Calderone. […]

      Good for Speier!

      Top State Department official George Kent, in his deposition in the impeachment inquiry, characterized one of Solomon’s key pieces this way:
      “It was, if not entirely made up in full cloth, it was primarily non-truths and non-sequiturs.”

      ooof!

      Then we get to read the Hill’s response to Wemple,and later in an UPDATE, John Solomon tries to defend himself.

      […] all my source documents and original interviews are transparently linked for all to see. And the three main points of my Ukraine columns are now validated by Adam Schiff’s impeachment witnesses. […]

      Later in the evening, Laura Rozen retweeted Eric Wemple:
      https://twitter.com/ErikWemple/status/1196600923365265408
      5:27 PM – 18 Nov 2019

      Excellent by @ oliverdarcy and @ brianstelter on centrality of The Hill owner Jimmy Finkelstein to the John Solomon saga:
      Jimmy Finkelstein, the owner of The Hill, has flown under the radar. But he’s played a key role in the Ukraine scandal
      [link] CNN Business 7:24 PM ET, Mon November 18, 2019

      • harpie says:

        I’d like to add this, because it amplifies what Speier is saying:

        https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1196115902481289217
        9:20 AM – 17 Nov 2019

        PELOSI: [on Meet the Nation]
        “I have a real discomfort level of responding to what Republicans say, b/c they’re in denial about what’s happened in the country…

        I find it a waste of my time & yours to just be talking about what Republicans say… let their arguments stand b/c it’s on such quicksand” [VIDEO]

        Note: this is not a word for word transcription, and it’s partial, but it’s close.

  28. earlofhuntingdon says:

    Lt. Col. Vindman is more nervous than previously. He pointedly says that were he in Russia, voicing criticism of the president through the chain of command would lead to severe consequences for him and his family. Were he to voice them publicly before the legislature, it would cost him his life.

    He is voicing concerns and hope that the US not become like Putin’s Russia, a hope apparently not shared with Donald Trump.

    • Rayne says:

      Vindman’s point about the threat to witnesses in other countries who give testimony against a government shouldn’t be treated as a throw-away.

      A Russian journalist and opposition politician died mysteriously this past Saturday while traveling on a train. Nikita Isaev was only 41 years old; in 2017 he’d made some waves insisting Russia release kompromat on Trump after Trump failed to lift sanctions on Russia.

      What odd timing of this death from undetermined causes — Isaev looked okay in the last selfie he tweeted from the train.

      • OldTulsaDude says:

        I would not be shocked to find that Trump’s recent pardons of soldiers was meant as a message to Vindman.

        • Rayne says:

          I don’t know — I think the pardons were intended to undermine military discipline and morale more widely, which Putin would certainly do if he could.

        • timbo says:

          More cynically, I think this is a test run to see who sides with Vindman and military good and legal order vs supporting the Great Leader. Again, the wisdom of the Framers is well apparent in the Constitutional requirement that commissioning of officers is the Congress’ prerogative and not that of the President.

        • Arj says:

          And, surely, to put the idea of pardons in general ‘out there’ (with no promises, natch). Could think of a few applicants, if they become available – perhaps they could be for sale, like, oh I dunno, ambassadorships or those old-time papal tickets to Heaven.

  29. timbo says:

    Just started wading into Sondland’s previous testimony. It was like more than one lie per page once he got to his opening statement and early testimony—I mean, I gathered it was bad by earlier news reports but hadn’t quite gotten the gist of how bad he may get grilled tmw. Hopefully that’s not as disappointing as the Morrison exam was today…c’mon, DP, let’s get with it!

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