Posted on 09/29/2019 7:13:35 AM PDT by robowombat
Whistleblower accuses White House of Ukraine call cover-up
By The Associated Press Posted Sep 26, 2019 at 8:28 AM Updated Sep 26, 2019 at 5:47 PM
The 9-page document released Thursday fleshes out the circumstances of a summertime phone call in which the president encouraged his Ukraine counterpart to help investigate a political rival.
WASHINGTON — White House officials took extraordinary steps to “lock down” information about President Donald Trump’s summertime phone call with the president of Ukraine, even moving the transcript to a secret computer system, a whistleblower alleges in a politically explosive complaint that accuses the administration of a wide-ranging cover-up.
The whistleblower, in a 9-page document released Thursday , provides substantial new details about the circumstances of the phone call in which Trump repeatedly spoke of how much the U.S. had aided Ukraine and encouraged new President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to help investigate political rival Joe Biden and his son.
Accusations of efforts to pressure the leader of a foreign nation to dig for dirt on a potential 2020 Trump rival are now at the heart of a House impeachment inquiry against the president. The whistleblower’s official complaint alleges a concerted White House effort to suppress the transcript of the call, and describes a shadow campaign of foreign policy efforts by the president’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani that unnerved some senior administration officials who felt he was circumventing normal channels.
“In the days following the phone call, I learned from multiple U.S. officials that senior White House officials had intervened to ‘lock down’ all the records of the phone call, especially the official word-for-word transcript of the call that was produced as is customary by the White House situation room,” the complaint says.
The previously secret document, with its detail and clear narrative, is likely to accelerate the impeachment process and put more pressure on Trump to rebut its core contentions and on his fellow Republicans to defend him or not. It also provides a road map for Democrats to seek corroborating witnesses and evidence , which will complicate the president’s efforts to characterize the findings as those of a lone partisan out to undermine him.
In response, Trump threatened “the person” who he said gave information to the whistleblower as he spoke at a private event in New York with staff from the U.S. mission to the United Nations.
“Who’s the person who gave the whistleblower the information? Because that’s close to a spy,” Trump said in audio posted by The Los Angeles Times. “You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart? Right? The spies and treason, we used to handle it a little differently than we do now.” .............Blah, blah.
BULL SHIT....
Lock Down? Susan Rice said Obama did the same all the time...
This nutty “whistleblower” sounds like he’s been blowing too many “whistles” or something up there in the District of Corruption.
There is no whistle blower, all this is from the deep state.
Pretty sure the so called “whistleblower” is a piece of left behind garbage working for Brennan.
Oooooh, fear the “whistleblower “. He’s the ultimate “spook” just in time for Halloween.
more total lib lying BS.
This is the cockamamie world St Obama gave us.
Trump tries to defend our country and the progressives impeach him.
This CIA hack is no whistleblower. Is a liar and spied on the WH.
Just another deep state leaker. And should be treated as such.
This so called whistleblower does NOT meet the statutory definition of a whistleblower, which means he is a SPY that Mishandled Top Secret Classified Information and disseminated it to Persons UNauthorized to Receive such information
LOCK HIM UP
Has anyone seen the “mooch” lately?
So....there's a cabal of spies in the WH.
<><> Lying in wait like common criminals;
<><> stalking Pres Trump's every move.....
<><> spying on Trump's official activities,
<><> noting everything he does.
Lawmakers were working out logistics to protect the person’s identity and also get security clearance for lawyers who will be representing the whistleblower. He hopes the whistleblower can appear very soon, Schiff said.
Yes and the same paper ran this longish article on Sept 28in which most of the people quoted are so very concerned about the horrible behavior of DJT. The one really interesting individual is the fellow from Lexington, NC who is a small business owner, black and a Trump supporter who takes a shot at ‘identity politics’.
What a week...Americans try to digest whistleblower, impeachment drama
Mark Epstein, Gastonia, N.C.: ‘One verifiable truth about recent events in Washington is that as passions run ever higher, the risk to our social and political integrity as a country grows ever greater. As our elected representatives work through this very difficult time, it is critical that we citizens, if our politicians can’t, deliberate this among ourselves in the most thoughtful, effective manners possible.’
We spoke with voters across the country, young and old, Republicans and Democrats, about their reactions to the allegations against President Donald Trump and what an impeachment inquiry could mean. Many shared concerns that the process could further divide the country, including some critics of the president.
Myranda Strader, Fayetteville, N.C.: ’I’m torn between the impeachment inquiry. I don’t like the things that the president says. When you hold the position of president of the United States, you should not be so willing to tear other people down just because they don’t necessarily agree with you. ‘Trump has done a lot of good things for the military, but with my husband in Syria, it scares me to have an impeachment taking place. I also feel that the president has brought this upon himself. He hates the Congress, he even hates the Republicans. I hope the ultimate outcome will be something that will benefit our country.’
Chuck Still, 63, Houston: He questions the timing that Democrats have chosen to move forward with impeachment proceedings. ’It’s like one more pebble on top of the pile. You know, it’s like, why is that the pebble? Because there’s been so many other things that are impeachment worthy that have happened before this. While none of the developments have changed Still’s mind on his choice for 2020, he worries that an impeachment proceeding so close to an election could strengthen Trump’s base and push him into reelection. ‘I think Trump does his absolute best when he has somebody to call names. (Impeachment) is just going to give him a whole bunch of people to call names and a whole bunch of people to fight against.’
Alex Bigelow, 23, East Stroudsburg, Pa.: ‘If it’s not actual impeachment, if it doesn’t pass, I would hope that he would at least see and realize actually care about the things that he is doing, because I don’t think that he does. If he’s not out, I hope it teaches him something.’
Dan Simpson, Sarasota, Florida: “I think an inquiry is necessary to prove or disprove innocence. I agree with an inquiry. That doesn’t mean I think he did anything impeachable, but you have to look into these things in my opinion. I think he’ll be absolved. From what I’ve been able to ascertain, there has not been anything impeachable.”
David Masters, Mount Holly, N.C.: ‘Impeachment proceedings only serve to divide the country even more with enormous amounts of false rhetoric.’
Leigh Ann Poole, Tuscaloosa, Ala.: ‘I believe that some of the media is portraying this to be a really divisive country and it’s making it more so. And I’m sad for that, because – people here, especially – we all, pretty much, get along. We may disagree about things, but we’re usually able to say what we disagree about and not turn to hate and violence, and I’m afraid our country is on a dangerous path to destruction.’
Scott Morgan, 62, Lawrence, Kansas: ‘It reduces the chances of someone other than Trump winning the presidency next year while doing nothing for the underlying disease affecting our nation’s governing class. Trump is a symptom, not the cause. Even without Trump, we will just be back to two parties controlled by fanatics who genuinely seem to hate each other more than they love our country. While others from these two parties might be better at going through the motions of our country’s norms of decency, they will still value winning above all else.’
Michael Conner, 55, of Lexington, N.C.: ‘It’s long awaited. Donald Trump is a decent businessman, you have to give that to him; he’s a blue blood, it’s in his genes. But I don’t think that he has enough human compassion within him to run a country.’ He said the impeachment proceedings will not impact the way he votes in the 2020 election. ‘If I have a feeling in my heart of hearts, that is who I will vote for. A lot of people say because I am a black man, I should vote a certain way. Who cares about his or her color? You have to stand for people, good people.’
Amanda Gopal, Moon Township, Pa.: ‘Not only is the president involved in this, but it seems like the people he is surrounding himself with are also involved in the cover-up. They seem to be working for one person rather than the country.’
Colen Lindell, 30, of Aiken, S.C.: ’I hope the outcome is that the president is acquitted in the Senate if it goes that far with impeachment. It has been petty on both sides, trying to make noise. I think most Americans aren’t paying attention and couldn’t care less. ‘What concerns me is Congress not focusing of what most Americans would consider real issues - like trying to pass the new trade deal between Canada, Mexico and the U.S.A. The drama of it - that’s all the media, at least the cable news media will focus on 24-7 in what’s a distraction from improving people’s lives with the economy. The economy is so good and it’s a political distraction.’
Edward Smith, 86, of Los Altos Hills, Calif.: ‘My primary concern is the damage being done to our country by his political decisions and actions. It’s not affecting me personally, because I’m going to be dead in 10 to 15 years - it’s what happening that the younger people will have to deal with - the national debt, the country is almost out of control in terms of spending. Republicans used to be the fiscally responsible party. I was a Republican for many, many years. I voted for Barry Goldwater but the Republican Party is no longer the one of fiscal responsibility and that is very troubling for me.’ ’I hope that the ultimate outcome is that Trump gets thrown out of office and that he will get prosecuted for the various crimes that he has committed. He has broken the law upon many occasions and I would hope that he is brought to trial.
Mike Lynch, 72, of Eugene, Ore.: ‘My biggest concern is probably a political one: that if they go down the road of impeachment and they fail, that it’ll become a positive for him in the next general election.’
Randal Ford, 54, Tuscaloosa, Ala.: ‘It may end up being like the Nixon thing, where everybody’s against it until all the information comes out and then he gets impeached. There’s nothing that’s been alleged by the president that I’ve found surprising since he’s been elected. That’s kind of how he’s done business his whole life – it’s not a secret. It’s not like they were hiding it on the back shelf. I mean, it just is what it is.’ ‘If he’s done something wrong in office, he’s got to go. And if he hasn’t, then he gets to stay.’ He hasn’t changed how he plans to vote in November 2020. ‘I’m going to show up to the polls, but I’m not going to vote for the president. I’d like a better selection of candidates on both sides. I’m tired of the same old, same old, and I’m tired of television personalities that are basing their whole persona and their whole allegation of competence upon how they did on a TV show and not based on what they did in their actual business life.’
Bryant Parson, Gastonia, N.C.: What has been your overall reaction to the news this week? ‘Unfortunately, my reaction has been numbness. There have been so many scandals in this administration, I’ve become indifferent to the impeachment of the President, something I never thought I’d feel. It seemed inevitable.’
Moses Todd, 69, Augusta, Ga.: ’My reaction was shock and dismay that he would use the leverage of the U.S. government for his personal benefit in the election cycle. The $395 million we were supposed to give the Ukraine for anti-Soviet tank weapons - he used that leverage to persuade another government to go after his chief political opponent. ‘If there was a downside to impeachment, what would concern me is what it would do to the economy. We have a good economy going at this time and that would be my biggest concern, but I think the upside outweighs the downside.’
Mark Epstein, Gastonia, N.C.: ‘One verifiable truth about recent events in Washington is that as passions run ever higher, the risk to our social and political integrity as a country grows ever greater. As our elected representatives work through this very difficult time, it is critical that we citizens, if our politicians can’t, deliberate this among ourselves in the most thoughtful, effective manners possible.’
We spoke with voters across the country, young and old, Republicans and Democrats, about their reactions to the allegations against President Donald Trump and what an impeachment inquiry could mean. Many shared concerns that the process could further divide the country, including some critics of the president.
Not just a political rival but at the time the Vice-President of the United States who was SELLING his office . That is by any definition CRIMINAL!!! Jail him and those who protect him.
Schiff’s reading into the Congressonal Record, his version of the Trump/Ukraine telephone call...... which Schiff called a “parody” .......is reminiscent of banana republic courts.
In Woody Allen’s “Banana’s” classic courtroom scene, Mellish (Allen) tries to defend himself from a series of incriminating witnesses, including a reigning Miss America and a middle-aged African-American woman claiming to be J. Edgar Hoover in disguise.
One of the witnesses does provide testimony favorable to Mellish, but the court clerk, when asked to read back the testimony, replies with an entirely different, wholly unfavorable rendition.
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