Sole reference to ‘bribery’ in impeachment transcripts relates to Biden, not Trump
Nov 22, 2019 11:51:35 #
Ratcliffe: Sole reference to ‘bribery’ in impeachment transcripts relates to Biden, not Trump
Because they have reportedly discovered that it polls better, Democrats have recently shifted their impeachment terminology away from “quid pro quo,” and have begun accusing President Donald Trump of “bribery” — but this adjustment may actually be attributable to a simple case of projection.
Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) helped visualize this during impeachment hearings Tuesday with a giant stack of witness transcripts in which “bribery” was only mentioned once — not in reference to President Trump, but to Joe Biden, Breitbart reported.
The former vice president infamously pressured Ukraine to fire a prosecutor who had investigated the company on whose board his son sat by threatening to withhold U.S. loan guarantees.
“The number of times witnesses have used the word bribery or bribe to describe President Trump’s conduct in the last six weeks of this inquiry is zero,” Ratcliffe said. “In fact, in these 3,500 pages exactly one time.”
Tweaking their message
As the impeachment hearings have gotten underway, Democrats have sought to focus their messaging against Trump by switching from vague accusations of abuse of his office to “bribery.” Republicans have accused Democrats of changing their story on what crime Trump allegedly committed because the original charge, that of a “quid pro quo,” was too confusing and didn’t hold up — something that Ratcliffe demonstrated rather dramatically during the Tuesday testimony of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and Jennifer Williams.
Heaving a giant stack of papers onto his desk, Ratcliffe said that he searched through the hundreds of pages of testimony produced so far for the term “bribery” and found no instances when it was used in reference to President Trump. Ratcliffe got both Vindman and Williams to agree that they never used the word “bribery” to describe Trump’s conduct.
“The problem is in an impeachment inquiry that the speaker of the House says it is all about bribery, where bribery is the impeachable offense,” Ratcliffe said. “No witness has used the word bribery to describe President Trump’s conduct. None of them.”
This poses a problem for Democrats, as it suggests that they simply came up with the “bribery” narrative to dramatize the charges against Trump, charges that have continually shifted. Ratcliffe noted that witnesses have used terms like “unusual” and “inappropriate” to describe Trump’s phone call with Ukraine, but that Democrats only recently adopted the “bribery” accusation after it was poll-tested as the most damning, according to Fox News.
A classic case of projection
According to The Federalist, Joe Biden pressured Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor, who had investigated Burisma Holdings (the company for which his son served as a board member) by threatening to withhold U.S. loan guarantees — and the prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, was indeed sacked. Ironically, Democrats and the mainstream media have insisted that allegations of corruption involving the Bidens are a mere “conspiracy theory,” while pushing at the same time the narrative that Trump (unsuccessfully) sought to “bribe” Ukraine to probe those “conspiracies.”
The Biden story has not, as the media claims, been “debunked.” Aside from the glaring conflict of interest, Biden did manage to get Shokin fired by pressuring Ukraine in a classic quid pro quo –– one that actually went through.
Certainly, the “bribery” narrative seems calculated to make Trump’s alleged wrongdoing sound as sinister as possible, but depending on how things play out, the “no quid pro quo” defense could soon crumble anyway, as conservative writer Andrew McCarthy has suggested. Democrats claimed vindication Wednesday when Ambassador Gordon Sondland testified that there was, in fact, a quid pro quo between Trump and Ukraine.
Even if there was a “quid pro quo,” the “bribe” narrative is an attempt to make what Trump presumably did — have Ukraine investigate corruption — sound like a crime rather than a legitimate act of foreign policy. It might be more productive for Republicans to instead focus on the fact that Democrats appear to be doing wh**ever they can to protect the Bidens.
Democrats have rejected out of hand the notion of calling H****r B***n to testify, but Devin Nunes (R-CA), ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, again formally requested Wednesday that Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) subpoena H****r along with the so-called “whistleblower.”
Because they have reportedly discovered that it polls better, Democrats have recently shifted their impeachment terminology away from “quid pro quo,” and have begun accusing President Donald Trump of “bribery” — but this adjustment may actually be attributable to a simple case of projection.
Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) helped visualize this during impeachment hearings Tuesday with a giant stack of witness transcripts in which “bribery” was only mentioned once — not in reference to President Trump, but to Joe Biden, Breitbart reported.
The former vice president infamously pressured Ukraine to fire a prosecutor who had investigated the company on whose board his son sat by threatening to withhold U.S. loan guarantees.
“The number of times witnesses have used the word bribery or bribe to describe President Trump’s conduct in the last six weeks of this inquiry is zero,” Ratcliffe said. “In fact, in these 3,500 pages exactly one time.”
Tweaking their message
As the impeachment hearings have gotten underway, Democrats have sought to focus their messaging against Trump by switching from vague accusations of abuse of his office to “bribery.” Republicans have accused Democrats of changing their story on what crime Trump allegedly committed because the original charge, that of a “quid pro quo,” was too confusing and didn’t hold up — something that Ratcliffe demonstrated rather dramatically during the Tuesday testimony of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman and Jennifer Williams.
Heaving a giant stack of papers onto his desk, Ratcliffe said that he searched through the hundreds of pages of testimony produced so far for the term “bribery” and found no instances when it was used in reference to President Trump. Ratcliffe got both Vindman and Williams to agree that they never used the word “bribery” to describe Trump’s conduct.
“The problem is in an impeachment inquiry that the speaker of the House says it is all about bribery, where bribery is the impeachable offense,” Ratcliffe said. “No witness has used the word bribery to describe President Trump’s conduct. None of them.”
This poses a problem for Democrats, as it suggests that they simply came up with the “bribery” narrative to dramatize the charges against Trump, charges that have continually shifted. Ratcliffe noted that witnesses have used terms like “unusual” and “inappropriate” to describe Trump’s phone call with Ukraine, but that Democrats only recently adopted the “bribery” accusation after it was poll-tested as the most damning, according to Fox News.
A classic case of projection
According to The Federalist, Joe Biden pressured Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor, who had investigated Burisma Holdings (the company for which his son served as a board member) by threatening to withhold U.S. loan guarantees — and the prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, was indeed sacked. Ironically, Democrats and the mainstream media have insisted that allegations of corruption involving the Bidens are a mere “conspiracy theory,” while pushing at the same time the narrative that Trump (unsuccessfully) sought to “bribe” Ukraine to probe those “conspiracies.”
The Biden story has not, as the media claims, been “debunked.” Aside from the glaring conflict of interest, Biden did manage to get Shokin fired by pressuring Ukraine in a classic quid pro quo –– one that actually went through.
Certainly, the “bribery” narrative seems calculated to make Trump’s alleged wrongdoing sound as sinister as possible, but depending on how things play out, the “no quid pro quo” defense could soon crumble anyway, as conservative writer Andrew McCarthy has suggested. Democrats claimed vindication Wednesday when Ambassador Gordon Sondland testified that there was, in fact, a quid pro quo between Trump and Ukraine.
Even if there was a “quid pro quo,” the “bribe” narrative is an attempt to make what Trump presumably did — have Ukraine investigate corruption — sound like a crime rather than a legitimate act of foreign policy. It might be more productive for Republicans to instead focus on the fact that Democrats appear to be doing wh**ever they can to protect the Bidens.
Democrats have rejected out of hand the notion of calling H****r B***n to testify, but Devin Nunes (R-CA), ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, again formally requested Wednesday that Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) subpoena H****r along with the so-called “whistleblower.”
Nov 22, 2019 12:15:37 #
eagleye13 wrote:
Ratcliffe: Sole reference to ‘bribery’ in impeachm... (show quote)
Could it be that both Biden Trump are guilty of bribery Trump certainly guilty of abuse of power maybe we should just hang them both side by side on the White House lawn
Nov 22, 2019 12:18:55 #
Lonewolf wrote:
Could it be that both Biden Trump are guilty of bribery Trump certainly guilty of abuse of power maybe we should just hang them both side by side on the White House lawn
"maybe we should just hang them both side by side on the White House lawn" - Lonewolf
Nope!!!
Trump is doing a tremendously good job for America.
America needs him.
So you are alright with h*****g Biden?
Nov 22, 2019 12:40:06 #
eagleye13 wrote:
"maybe we should just hang them both side by side on the White House lawn" - Lonewolf
Nope!!!
Trump is doing a tremendously good job for America.
America needs him.
So you are alright with h*****g Biden?
Nope!!!
Trump is doing a tremendously good job for America.
America needs him.
So you are alright with h*****g Biden?
If he's guilty we also know trump is guilty
Nov 23, 2019 09:22:03 #
Lonewolf wrote:
If he's guilty we also know trump is guilty
BUT
Trump deserves a "reprieve"? (actually he does not need one) and commendation for service well served.
5 more years and America will continue to leave the other countries behind.
Americans are head and shoulders above all other citizens, and it shows.
ALSO; God/Yahwah is on our side so far.
The heathen Left are trying to change that.
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