There are multiple monster flaws in the rhetorical and simple defense that there was no crime because the aid went out. At the heart of that is that people do go to jail when they try to hire someone to k**l another person, just because they are caught and it didn't happen is not a defense...although trump and the GOP believes that this makes for a perfect defense...it does if you stop right there. But when there are a multitude of other details that affect whether this is the full reality those who know the whole story can't debate it with people that stopped with the one line rhetorical basis and want to deny that anything else makes a difference. You need to be able to listen to facts and not reject them before you've even heard them, or you are a member of the ranks of the uninformed and ignorant.

This obstruction, the delay in funding the military aid the house and senate appropriated for military aid was delayed somewhere around 90 days from the time the money was authorized....not a couple of weeks as the white house and GOP rhetoric implies.

The process of actually funding and delivering the aid is involved, it has safeties built in that keep the money from being abuse with waste and fraud. Also there is a stipulation that the Ukraine was cleared by a review process of any corruption concerns with the aid. This had been done.

The whistleblower report came as the result of dozens of concerned people saw the process being illegally held up. Multiple people filed reports with superiors and oversight legal staffers, which were either ignored, or responded to with both warnings that is was coming from the top, or people who had concerns being removed, replaced, or fired. The concerns about the inappropriateness of trump's obstruction with matters of national security and pressuring the Ukraine went all the way to the top, and the people at the top were telling others coming to them who they should file reports with.

Parts of the funds authorized for military aid have to be contracted to the supplier or manufacturer of the weapons need, which can take weeks even under an expedited execution of the funds. One month is considered the minimum period to where the process can't be fulfilled and the money is set to expire, which takes new appropriations or special authority. Trump knew this and intended to run the clock out on this aid, which was part of the concern that those trying to make this happen were worried about.

When an OMB person was objecting to the legality of this stop on the funding process, he was replaced by someone with no applicable experience who would sign the hold orders. This indicates Trump's willingness to ignore warnings that the law was being broken by not placing the hold through official channels, which would have entailed congress being informed of the hold, which obviously would not have flown.

So in spite of GOP assertions that there was no harm, no crime, the funds that were released as a result of being caught by the whistleblower process, the Intelligence Inspector General, and the house were released late enough that even though the OMB tried to make it happen, $38 million was not contracted for funding. Special provisions are being attempted to facilitate this.

This the aid went out so what's the crime rhetoric is for r****ded politicians defending the president, and those who are ignorant enough to stop their search for the t***h right there.

It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of an OPP icon from the recent past...PoppaGringo. I was notified by his daughter when she returned my call over concerns for him.

'Salty,' as I always addressed him, was as fine a gentleman as I have ever encountered. Though we differed in much (yet, not all) of our political leanings, we respected each other in countless ways. There is no doubt that much of that respect was due to our similar backgrounds in service to this great nation of ours. Salty, just as it is with BadBobby, will always be a hero of mine. Nothing could change that.

Salty served in Korea and I in Viet Nam...both as Marines. Having met on several occasions, we often shared our common experiences of having served in combat. However, he endured at least one hardship that I and others had the good fortune of avoiding: He was a survivor of being a POW for almost two years during the Korean conflict. That time served as a POW had a profound and lasting effect upon him to no small degree, and was accompanied by the pain of losing two sons to unsolved murders, plus a granddaughter to illness.

I honored and loved the man as one would a familial elder. Just as I called him 'Salty' as a term of endearment, in the same manner, he referred to me as 'Boot.' When I attended a Khe Sanh reunion in San Diego a few years ago, I took him with me to meet some fellow combatants from that infamous battle and war. He regaled them...although initially reluctantly...with 'sea stories' as only a Marine Vet of his experience and status could have. They all were so impressed with him, we decided to include him as an honorary member of our 'Nam unit.

Though I had feared this for a while, due to his obvious failing health, I type with silent tears rolling down my face. I had called him regularly and become somewhat alarmed when he did not answer the phone. I soon found it had been disconnected. That was attributed, in my mind, to the fact that he had recently moved from San Diego to Orlando, Florida to be with his eldest daughter, Rin, and her family.

I would ask that all who knew Salty from his past contributions on this forum...and those who may not, to honor him and his surviving Family & friends with thoughts, wishes and prayers for both theirs & our loss.

Micheal Yawn, aka 'OldGringo,' 'PoppaGringo,' and 'Salty' would have been 86 years old on January 1st. Again, goodbye ol' friend, may you Rest In Peace. As you epitomized a true proud & patriotic American, you will be sorely missed by all...

Forever, ol' friend, your Junior NCO...

'Boot'