Dr. X's Free Associations

The more I talk talk to sources, the more i’m hearing America’s betrayal of the Kurds, and the humiliation, “misogynistic” “squashing” of US ambassador in Ukraine for political motivations makes people think, we, Americans, have become the “bad guys.” Hearing it was gut punch.

— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) November 17, 2019

Did Trump and Giuliani Send Indicted Giuliani Client Lev Parnas on Arms for Dirt Mission?

Inquisitir:

Donald Trump has denied knowing Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, the two close associates of his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, who were arrested and indicted last month. But Parnas has privately told friends a very different story, saying that he met privately at the White House with Trump and Giuliani last December, according to a CNN exclusive report on Friday evening.

Not only did Parnas and Fruman meet with Trump secretly, but at that meeting, Trump dispatched the pair on what Parnas’ friends called a “James Bond mission” to pressure the Ukraine government into staging an investigation of former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, according to the CNN report.

The Democrats are like the desperate ex girlfriend/boyfriend that you want absolutely nothing to do with!

— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) November 13, 2019

Eric is bad at analogies. Also, his father is the husband who cheats on his third wife while she's at home with his newborn child. That's what he did. Literally.

There is no accountability where there is no truth...

which is why obliterating truth itself is the first order of business for authoritarian despots.

The Hill:

President Trump on Wednesday said his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has a "great relationship with the Kurds" amid concerns of possible ethnic violence against the minority group in northern Syria.

Dumb Defenses

So the GOP defense of Trump is to throw every stupid and debunked argument they can at the wall and hope that any of it sticks to Trump's marks. They needn't worry. A con man's marks will twist and contort themselves into pretzels denying they've been conned.

Of all the dumb defenses pushed yesterday, this one, presented after the hearing, has to be the dumbest. Jim Jordan couldn't even keep a straight face when he put it out there.

So @Jim_Jordan is now saying that @realDonaldTrump was just testing the Ukranians to see if they were corrupt. And...

Good news! They passed!

This may be a whole new level of fuckery. #UkraniumDumb pic.twitter.com/UPGnbrMBt1

— KevinlyFather 🇺🇲🇨🇦🇲🇼🇸🇿 (@KevinlyFather) November 13, 2019

;

Rep. Jordan’s mantra that Amb. Taylor has to be wrong because the aid was in fact released without Zelinski ever making a public announcement is absurd. What happened in-between to release the aid was that Trump was caught red-handed when the whistleblower spoke up!

— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) November 13, 2019

Ambassador George Kent:

You can't promote principled anti-corrupt action without pissing off corrupt people.

Ratcliffe used to be a US Attorney so of course he can’t understand why an extortion victim might deny being extorted in front of the extortionist upon whom he still relies

— Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) November 13, 2019

Preet is a former US Attorney, SDNY.

A Business Deal

Pretty much this:

 

Trump: "I will give them the money and a WH visit only after the Ukrainian president publicly smears my political opponents on CNN,"

 

Taylor: "So it's a quid pro quo."

 

Trump: "No quid pro quo.  I will pay them if he smears my opponents on CNN."

 

Taylor: "So it's a bribe."

 

Trump: "Not a bribe. If they want the money and the visit, he must smear my opponent on CNN."

 

Taylor: "Extortion?"

 

Trump: "No. It's  business deal. I will only pay him if he smears my political opponent on CNN. It's a business deal-- like buying a car or a home appliance. I'm buying a foreign official to help with my domestic political campaign. It's simple business deal."

 

Roger Stone's Trial

Trump denied in writing and under oath to Mueller any recollection of ever discussing WikiLeaks with Stone or being aware of Stone discussing WikiLeaks with the campaign.

Gates testified he was in the car with Trump when he Trump talked to Stone about it. https://t.co/BEUPfCtyk2

— Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) November 12, 2019

Trump's latest hire is a thrice-married, money-grubbing, flock-fleecing, prosperity gospel charlatan. She's a perfect fit for a con artist president. Here she is is in all her crackpot glory.

Donald Trump Is A Black-hearted Liar

False. “Under current policy, an individual may be considered for DACA if he or she has not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, or three or more “non-significant” misdemeanors..or does not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.” -USCIS https://t.co/DsiCkmDLbN

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) November 12, 2019

Biden Reacts To Trump Considering Going to Moscow's May Day Parade

Reporter: "What do you think of the idea of President Trump going to Moscow for the May Day parade?"

Joe Biden: "Are you serious?"

Reporter: "Yes, he's been invited and he said he's considering it."

Joe Biden: "You're kidding me. Whoa. Are you joking?" pic.twitter.com/n1ocjENCRm

— The Hill (@thehill) November 9, 2019

Moved Goal Posts, I've lost track of which edition

Raw Story:

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) on Sunday argued that President Donald Trump may not be guilty of a quid pro quo with Ukraine if he did not have a “culpable state of mind” when he allegedly tried to extort the country’s president.

Kennedy made the remarks while speaking to CBS News host Margaret Brennan.

“The quid pro quo, in my judgment, is a red herring,” Kennedy opined before agreeing that it would be “over the line” for Trump to ask Ukraine to conduct an investigation into Joe Biden.

But the Louisiana senator suggested that the president may be in the clear if he did not have a guilty “state of mind” while extorting Ukraine.

To be clear, proposing a quid pro quo isn't necessary for Trump's action to be a crime. Calling on a foreign leader to provide dirt on a domestic political opponent is itself illegal. But Trump, Lindsey Graham and others have insisted that a quid pro quo was necessary and there was no quid pro quo. All a quid pro quo adds to what is already illegal are the dimensions of bribery and extortion.

Not only does the so-called 'transcript' show the solicitation, but it also shows the quid pro quo. But that isn't all. Numerous first-hand witnesses have now testified that the solicitation (demand) and the quid pro quo were explicitly and persistently pursued over the course of several months.

So now the defense is going to be that Trump didn't have a "culpable state of mind" when he committed the crimes? Maybe he didn't have a culpable state of mind because he believes that he's above the law. Both his history and his claim that the Constitution gives him the right to do anything he wants indicate that he believes that the law don't apply to him. But if lack of culpability because one thinks they're above the law were a legitimate defense, it would give every psychopath and narcissist out there a free pass to commit any crime they please without consequence. I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way.

Giuliani Lies To Defend Trump

Newsmax:

Rudy Giuliani said Friday that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., has "completely trashed the Constitution" in overseeing the impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump. "Basically, Schiff has completely trashed the Constitution: no right of counsel, no right of cross-examination, no right to call witnesses," Giuliani, 75, the president's personal attorney, said on the "War Room: Impeachment" podcast.

Giuliani was a federal prosecutor, and he's still an attorney. He knows that there is no right to cross-examine witnesses in an investigation. And Trump has the right to counsel, but counsel is not entitled to be part of the investigation. The right to confront witnesses only occurs at trial, after an indictment.  No criminal charges have been filed against Trump.

Prior to trial, law enforcement and prosecutors can investigate crimes and interview witnesses or potential witnesses to their hearts' content without a target's lawyer present and, if they choose, without even telling a target they're under investigation. It happens all the time.