Politics Trump wants to meet ‘whistleblower’

[Lanny]

The operative word is.....prove it. That's why I deferred to your liberal leaders.

Prove what? Prove that Barfo actually asked a question?

 

[ABM]

Prove what? Prove that Barfo actually asked a question?

I had already responded above to some of this.

 

[Lanny]

Not dodging a thing.

The question was do you have a definition of an impeachable offense and you've done nothing but bob and weave. How about a direct answer to a direct question?

 

[Lanny]

I had already responded above to some of this.

1. What do you mean by "some of this"? The question was only about a single issue that cannot be subdivided;
2. Show me the money.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

1. What do you mean by "some of this"? The question was only about a single issue that cannot be subdivided;
2. Show me the money.

 

[riverman]

I for one truly miss original thought as conversation in general...pub talk, café talk....pre internet conversations about the state of the world. It's a dying art...when I was a young man in my 20s and 30s I'd buy a Sunday paper once a week and spend the week reading it for topics of controversy or just entertainment...you'd get together and talk about Nixon being an asshole and the war being a usless waste of resources and lives.....now you need to take a law library to the pub and display charts and graphs to discuss anything. I never watched TV much if at all but now with the internet TV is coming to my news feeds like it or not....the trick is to keep excercising original thought and not using media shields as a defensive counter. My son's generation only knows of this onslaught of too much info in a millisecond without any self reflection or contemplation. Time they are a changin' ….sometimes less is more.

 

[Lanny]

View attachment 27791

That was my favorite game for a long time during my mid teen years. Even then, I hated to lose.

 

[ABM]

The question was do you have a definition of an impeachable offense and you've done nothing but bob and weave. How about a direct answer to a direct question?

Because I really have no idea if any of these are impeachable, or not. That said, accusations can be made all day long. Just ask SCOTUS Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

 

[Hoopguru]

I for one truly miss original thought as conversation in general...pub talk, café talk....pre internet conversations about the state of the world. It's a dying art...when I was a young man in my 20s and 30s I'd buy a Sunday paper once a week and spend the week reading it for topics of controversy or just entertainment...you'd get together and talk about Nixon being an asshole and the war being a usless waste of resources and lives.....now you need to take a law library to the pub and display charts and graphs to discuss anything. I never watched TV much if at all but now with the internet TV is coming to my news feeds like it or not....the trick is to keep excercising original thought and not using media shields as a defensive counter. My son's generation only knows of this onslaught of too much info in a millisecond without any self reflection or contemplation. Time they are a changin' ….sometimes less is more.

super post. Those were the days, and you could civilly disagree with a someone, friend or relative and not be attacked or ridiculed for your point of view. I actually enjoyed hearing opposing arguments from others as long as they keep it civil. There seemed to be more time for introspection and cooling off during a days time. Now its constant banter.

 

[Lanny]

I for one truly miss original thought as conversation in general...pub talk, café talk....pre internet conversations about the state of the world. It's a dying art...when I was a young man in my 20s and 30s I'd buy a Sunday paper once a week and spend the week reading it for topics of controversy or just entertainment...you'd get together and talk about Nixon being an asshole and the war being a usless waste of resources and lives.....now you need to take a law library to the pub and display charts and graphs to discuss anything. I never watched TV much if at all but now with the internet TV is coming to my news feeds like it or not....the trick is to keep excercising original thought and not using media shields as a defensive counter. My son's generation only knows of this onslaught of too much info in a millisecond without any self reflection or contemplation. Time they are a changin' ….sometimes less is more.

1. When I first turned 21 one of my favorite places was the Goose Hollow Inn, owned at that time by our future mayor, Bud Clark. He had a record player and a sound system where he only played classical music. He had a sign over the record player that said "Requests $50 which was a lot of money back then;
2. The people who gathered there were the various news media including the TV journalists in Portland.

You could always strike up an interesting conversation with anyone. Didn't have to be with whoever you went in there with. Could be the guy next to you at the bar or one of the patrons sitting at a table. Could be Bud, himself. Could be anyone.
God, I miss those days.

 

[riverman]

Because I really have no idea if any of these are impeachable,

I'll have to point out that you must not be paying attention then or are using selectively slanted ways of viewing circumstances...on camera and on record via video or tweet Trump has tampered with witnesses and investigators in ongoing trials....Mueller, Cohen, Comey, etc....without showing any reasonable doubt...he's asked foreign govts to uncover dirt on political opponents...China, Ukraine, Australia and Russia, he's broken the emoluments clause...sent his son in law and daughter on the tax payers dime to foreign countries to do deals that have made them 92 million dollars since his election...made his private hotel the Winter White House.....I could go on but obstruction is impeachable and so is pay for play foreign diplomacy

 

[Lanny]

Because I really have no idea if any of these are impeachable, or not. That said, accusations can be made all day long. Just ask SCOTUS Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

The question was not whether you thought any of Trump's actions were impeachable or not, that was just used as an example, albeit an important example. The question had to do with your definition of what's impeachable, as I understand the question.
A reasonable answer although not a preferable one, might be some examples. A more preferable answer would be some specifics like, treason or murder or drug dealing and so on.

 

[CupWizier]

Because I really have no idea if any of these are impeachable, or not. That said, accusations can be made all day long. Just ask SCOTUS Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

lol, more dodging and deflecting.

ABM's wife: Honey, what do you want for dinner?

ABM: Well, I'm not sure what you mean by dinner. Do you know that Brett Kavanaugh likes chili?

 

[illmatic99]

Because I really have no idea if any of these are impeachable, or not. That said, accusations can be made all day long. Just ask SCOTUS Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

Your moral compass is clearly broken when you can't tell between what's obviously wrong and what's right.

 

[riverman]

The question was not whether you thought any of Trump's actions were impeachable or not, that was just used as an example, albeit an important example. The question had to do with your definition of what's impeachable, as I understand the question.
A reasonable answer although not a preferable one, might be some examples. A more preferable answer would be some specifics like, treason or murder or drug dealing and so on.

Good point....Alexander Hamilton wrote the section on impeachment and how it relates to foreign relations concerning the presidency....Trump is ignoring that part of the constitution...I seriously doubt he's ever read it or had it read to him.

 

[CupWizier]

Sometimes, I feel like I HAVE to use green font with you. Other times, I just take chances. I'll try to be more careful.

I always feel like a dentist when having a discussion with you. Wonder why?

Your game has become more exposed as time goes on.

 

[Lanny]

Good point....Alexander Hamilton wrote the section on impeachment and how it relates to foreign relations concerning the presidency....Trump is ignoring that part of the constitution...I seriously doubt he's ever read it or had it read to him.

Trump has no idea, whatsoever, what's in the Constitution. He probably thinks it is written somewhere on the Statue of Liberty. Remember when the father of the fallen soldier held up his pocket copy at the Democratic convention and asked if he had ever read a copy of the Constitution?

 

[yankeesince59]

Because I really have no idea if any of these are impeachable, or not. That said, accusations can be made all day long. Just ask SCOTUS Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

Seriously?...out of all of the offenses listed by barfo, you could not find any that were impeachable offenses?

...and "Brett Kavanaugh"?...again, Seriously?...what, no love for OJ ?

 

[MARIS61]

Just keeps getting worse for Schiff and Co.

Whistleblower lawyer acknowledges client had 'contact' with presidential candidates

By Gregg Re | Fox News

The Washington Examiner reported that Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson told lawmakers the whistleblower worked “or had some type of professional relationship” with one of the Democratic presidential candidates, citing three sources familiar with Atkinson’s interview with lawmakers on Friday.

Zaid and Bakaj did not respond to questions from Fox News on Wednesday, even as Zaid's open animus towards the White House over the past two and a half years called into question the extent of his own bias.

But Republicans have challenged that claim, noting that various statements in the whistleblower claim have seemingly proved inaccurate. For example, the whistleblower complaint stated that President Trump made a “specific request that the Ukrainian leader locate and turn over servers used by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and examined by the U.S. cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike" -- a request that does not appear in the declassified transcript of the call released by the Trump administration. Trump mentioned CrowdStrike, but did not demand the server.

TRUMP SUGGESTS SCHIFF 'HELPED WRITE' WHISTLEBLOWER COMPLAINT, AFTER SCHIFF CHANGES TUNE ON COMMUNICATIONS WITH WHISTLEBLOWER

And according to the whistleblower complaint, by mid-May, U.S. diplomat Kurt Volker sought to "contain the damage" from Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani's outreach to Ukraine. But a July 19 text message conversation from Volker to Giuliani, provided to Fox News, showed that Volker had in fact encouraged Giuliani to reach out to Ukraine -- even sending Giuliani a message reading, "Connecting you here with Andrey Yermak, who is very close to President Zelensky."

Additionally, details concerning Zaid's overt political advocacy have surfaced as he represents the anonymous whistleblower publicly.

Although the lawyer has described Democratic House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., as a "mature professional," and circulated articles that touted the reliability of the largely discredited Steele dossier used by the FBI to surveil a former member of Trump's campaign, Zaid has repeatedly unloaded on the president in no uncertain terms.

WHISTLEBLOWER CHECKED FORM INDICATING 'FIRSTHAND' KNOWLEDGE -- CONTRARY TO CONGRESSIONAL DOCS

Also in the podcast, Zaid acknowledged that he had been fishing for plaintiffs to launch a lawsuit concerning the Trump hotel in Washington, D.C., alleging unfair competition by the president and his associates.

"The unfair competition becomes, when Donald Trump became president, he has exploited his use of the presidency, of the Oval Office. ... to send business to the hotel. ... We identified this as a cause of action, and we were looking for a plaintiff, and we finally found this one restaurant that was willing," Zaid admitted. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit last year.

Zaid also said Trump supporters "out in the heartland" were "so narrow-minded" because they did not understand his concerns were nonpartisan.

And Zaid put out something of an open casting call for whistleblowers on Twitter as Trump took office, writing that CIA employees should "come to" his law firm "to lawfully challenge" the new president.

Zaid also publicly requested celebrities Debra Messing, Nancy Sinatra, Cher and Rob Reiner to promote his whistleblower law firm.

"@cher please check out our new whistleblower page," Zaid wrote in one tweet, which garnered no response from the famed singer.

In February, Zaid escalated his pitch to Reiner, asserting that "we have a chance to depose" Trump in court.

At one point last year, Zaid even pitched his services to Michael Avenatti, after the now-embattled attorney mentioned that he was "now representing whistleblowers within ICE."

Additionally, Zaid openly encouraged individuals to apply to the CIA so that they could become his clients when they discovered "waste, fraud, abuse or unlawful conduct."

Fox News has learned that Whistleblower Aid -- the nonprofit where Zaid is a founding partner and that established a GoFundMe that has raised more than $200,000 for the whistleblower's legal team -- is also known as Values United. Tax documents filed by Valued United show that the organization paid West End Strategy Group $258,085 for advertising and consulting services.

West End Strategy founder Matt Dorf says on that group's website that he "influences progressive politics, skillfully shifting the conversation to achieve the goals of West End Strategy clients."

Earlier Wednesday, Trump pressed for the whistleblower to be “exposed and questioned” after new reports surfaced suggesting the person has ties to a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.

“The Whistleblower’s facts have been so incorrect about my ‘no pressure’ conversation with the Ukrainian President, and now the conflict of interest and involvement with a Democrat Candidate, that he or she should be exposed and questioned properly,” Trump tweeted.

“This is no Whistleblower….The Whistleblower’s lawyer is a big Democrat. The Whistleblower has ties to one of my DEMOCRAT OPPONENTS. Why does the [Intelligence Community Inspector General] allow this scam to continue?”

On Friday sources told Fox News that Atkinson revealed the whistleblower volunteered that he or she was a registered Democrat and had a prior working relationship with a prominent Democratic politician.

Zaid has confirmed this past week that there is a second whistleblower who has come forward and has already spoken to the inspector general.

The whistleblower, whose identity remains secret, originally alerted the inspector general to a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which Trump sought investigations into possible Ukraine actions in the 2016 election and former Vice President Joe Biden’s conduct in relation to his own family’s ties in the country. Fox News first reported that the whistleblower, after learning of the call, wrote a dramatic personal memo saying a White House official characterized the call as “crazy," “frightening," and "completely lacking in substance related to national security."

The whistleblower complaint touched off a controversy that led to the White House releasing an account of the call, while Democrats immediately launched an impeachment inquiry. On Wednesday, Trump called the whistleblower's claims "a very big Lie," and pointed to statements made by Zelensky that he felt no pressure.

"No Pressure at all said Ukraine! Very congenial, a perfect call. The Whistleblower and others spoke BEFORE seeing the Transcript," he tweeted. "Now they must apologize to me and stop this ridiculous impeachment!"

 

[MARIS61]

Former CIA whistleblower blasts media, dismisses unnamed official who flagged Trump-Ukraine call
By Charles Creitz | Fox News

Former whistleblower John Kiriakou responds to Trump-Ukraine case whistleblower

A former CIA officer who blew the whistle on the use of waterboarding against Middle Eastern detainees claimed the individual in the Trump-Ukraine case is not a real whistleblower.

That individual also should not have his identity "hidden" by Democratic lawmakers and is getting very different media coverage than his own case did, John Kiriakou told "Tucker Carlson Tonight" Wednesday.

"I don't think this is a whistleblower -- not at all," he said.

"I think this is an anonymous source for the Democratic staff in the House of Representatives."
Kiriakou, who was imprisoned in a Pennsylvania federal facility for several months after his whistleblower case, claimed he was treated much more harshly than the current whistleblower.

"This person is not an undercover CIA operative," he said. "You cannot hide this person's name or identity just to save him from embarrassment or the trouble of being recognized because it's just not appropriate. If this is a whistleblower, he needs to come forward in public, testify in open session and blow that whistle."

Kiriakou continued, claiming figures familiar to President Trump were also involved in his own case.

"The same people that attacked me are attacking the president," he claimed.

"Robert Mueller set up the 'John Kiriakou Task Force' at the FBI... Ironically, it was Peter Strzok who put the cuffs on me in 2012." Mueller, the special counsel during the Russia investigation, previously served as FBI director.

Kiriakou also told Carlson that during his whistleblowing period, some in the media initially refused to call him a "whistleblower," claiming one network referred to him as a "CIA leaker."

"It's tough being a whistleblower," he said.

"Political lines are drawn. We see the Democrats trying to do the same thing right now with this whistleblower."

He claimed the media is "imposing upon" the public the notion that the individual is a true whistleblower.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/trump-ukraine-whistleblower-john-kiriakou-cia-media

 

[Lanny]

Just keeps getting worse for Schiff and Co.

Whistleblower lawyer acknowledges client had 'contact' with presidential candidates

By Gregg Re | Fox News

The Washington Examiner reported that Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson told lawmakers the whistleblower worked “or had some type of professional relationship” with one of the Democratic presidential candidates, citing three sources familiar with Atkinson’s interview with lawmakers on Friday.

Zaid and Bakaj did not respond to questions from Fox News on Wednesday, even as Zaid's open animus towards the White House over the past two and a half years called into question the extent of his own bias.

But Republicans have challenged that claim, noting that various statements in the whistleblower claim have seemingly proved inaccurate. For example, the whistleblower complaint stated that President Trump made a “specific request that the Ukrainian leader locate and turn over servers used by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and examined by the U.S. cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike" -- a request that does not appear in the declassified transcript of the call released by the Trump administration. Trump mentioned CrowdStrike, but did not demand the server.

TRUMP SUGGESTS SCHIFF 'HELPED WRITE' WHISTLEBLOWER COMPLAINT, AFTER SCHIFF CHANGES TUNE ON COMMUNICATIONS WITH WHISTLEBLOWER

And according to the whistleblower complaint, by mid-May, U.S. diplomat Kurt Volker sought to "contain the damage" from Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani's outreach to Ukraine. But a July 19 text message conversation from Volker to Giuliani, provided to Fox News, showed that Volker had in fact encouraged Giuliani to reach out to Ukraine -- even sending Giuliani a message reading, "Connecting you here with Andrey Yermak, who is very close to President Zelensky."

Additionally, details concerning Zaid's overt political advocacy have surfaced as he represents the anonymous whistleblower publicly.

Although the lawyer has described Democratic House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., as a "mature professional," and circulated articles that touted the reliability of the largely discredited Steele dossier used by the FBI to surveil a former member of Trump's campaign, Zaid has repeatedly unloaded on the president in no uncertain terms.

WHISTLEBLOWER CHECKED FORM INDICATING 'FIRSTHAND' KNOWLEDGE -- CONTRARY TO CONGRESSIONAL DOCS

Also in the podcast, Zaid acknowledged that he had been fishing for plaintiffs to launch a lawsuit concerning the Trump hotel in Washington, D.C., alleging unfair competition by the president and his associates.

"The unfair competition becomes, when Donald Trump became president, he has exploited his use of the presidency, of the Oval Office. ... to send business to the hotel. ... We identified this as a cause of action, and we were looking for a plaintiff, and we finally found this one restaurant that was willing," Zaid admitted. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit last year.

Zaid also said Trump supporters "out in the heartland" were "so narrow-minded" because they did not understand his concerns were nonpartisan.

And Zaid put out something of an open casting call for whistleblowers on Twitter as Trump took office, writing that CIA employees should "come to" his law firm "to lawfully challenge" the new president.

Zaid also publicly requested celebrities Debra Messing, Nancy Sinatra, Cher and Rob Reiner to promote his whistleblower law firm.

"@cher please check out our new whistleblower page," Zaid wrote in one tweet, which garnered no response from the famed singer.

In February, Zaid escalated his pitch to Reiner, asserting that "we have a chance to depose" Trump in court.

At one point last year, Zaid even pitched his services to Michael Avenatti, after the now-embattled attorney mentioned that he was "now representing whistleblowers within ICE."

Additionally, Zaid openly encouraged individuals to apply to the CIA so that they could become his clients when they discovered "waste, fraud, abuse or unlawful conduct."

Fox News has learned that Whistleblower Aid -- the nonprofit where Zaid is a founding partner and that established a GoFundMe that has raised more than $200,000 for the whistleblower's legal team -- is also known as Values United. Tax documents filed by Valued United show that the organization paid West End Strategy Group $258,085 for advertising and consulting services.

West End Strategy founder Matt Dorf says on that group's website that he "influences progressive politics, skillfully shifting the conversation to achieve the goals of West End Strategy clients."

Earlier Wednesday, Trump pressed for the whistleblower to be “exposed and questioned” after new reports surfaced suggesting the person has ties to a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.

“The Whistleblower’s facts have been so incorrect about my ‘no pressure’ conversation with the Ukrainian President, and now the conflict of interest and involvement with a Democrat Candidate, that he or she should be exposed and questioned properly,” Trump tweeted.

“This is no Whistleblower….The Whistleblower’s lawyer is a big Democrat. The Whistleblower has ties to one of my DEMOCRAT OPPONENTS. Why does the [Intelligence Community Inspector General] allow this scam to continue?”

On Friday sources told Fox News that Atkinson revealed the whistleblower volunteered that he or she was a registered Democrat and had a prior working relationship with a prominent Democratic politician.

Zaid has confirmed this past week that there is a second whistleblower who has come forward and has already spoken to the inspector general.

The whistleblower, whose identity remains secret, originally alerted the inspector general to a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which Trump sought investigations into possible Ukraine actions in the 2016 election and former Vice President Joe Biden’s conduct in relation to his own family’s ties in the country. Fox News first reported that the whistleblower, after learning of the call, wrote a dramatic personal memo saying a White House official characterized the call as “crazy," “frightening," and "completely lacking in substance related to national security."

The whistleblower complaint touched off a controversy that led to the White House releasing an account of the call, while Democrats immediately launched an impeachment inquiry. On Wednesday, Trump called the whistleblower's claims "a very big Lie," and pointed to statements made by Zelensky that he felt no pressure.

"No Pressure at all said Ukraine! Very congenial, a perfect call. The Whistleblower and others spoke BEFORE seeing the Transcript," he tweeted. "Now they must apologize to me and stop this ridiculous impeachment!"

I'm sure Trump is right. He's just not known for lying.