Posted on 01/24/2020 11:47:27 AM PST by SeekAndFind
The latest impeachment related story a non-story in my view is about a tape recording in which President Trump (according to reports) instructed associates to fire Marie Yovanovitch, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. The recording apparently was made at a dinner party in April 2018 by Igor Fruman, one of Rudy Giulianis main Ukraine operatives (along with Lev Parnas).
Yovanovitch wasnt fired until May 2019. Thus, there is less to this story than meets the eye.
Nor did much meet the eye to begin with. According to reports, Trump demanded that Yovanovitch be fired after he heard she was bad mouthing the president in Ukraine. Get rid of her and take her out apparently was how he put it.
A president can fire an ambassador for any reason or no reason. If the ambassador is bad mouthing the president, thats an excellent reason.
To be sure, a wise president will want to confirm reports of the bad mouthing before he acts. In this case, Trump didnt act at the time he first heard such a report. Yovanovitch was removed more than a year later.
Since the tape recording, as reported, does not remotely show improper conduct by Trump, some critics are spinning it in a different direction. Trump has said of Parnas I dont know him. Yet, reportedly they were at the same dinner, and interacted there.
Ive interacted with public figures at fairly small dinners. If they dont remember me, and Im sure most of them dont, Im not offended. If they say they dont know me, Im not going to say they are lying.
I dont know if Trump is lying about whether he knows Parnas. Maybe it comes down what the meaning of know him in this context.
If Trump is lying, it will wont be the first or last time. If a president could be impeached for lying, Trump should have been impeached long ago. Obama, under that standard, should have been impeached too along with many other U.S. presidents.
The drive to impeach President Trump is about to fail. It doesnt seem to have turned public opinion against the president. Hence the continuing need for stories like the one arising from the April 2018 recording.
How much longer are these stories going to refer to “tape recordings” when the recording was almost certainly done digitally on a digital phone or similar device. When I hear “tape recording” I can only think of 1970s Gene Hackman with his high end open reel recorders in “The Conversation”, a 1990s reporter with a battery powered Marantz cassette recorder, or possibly a 1980s businessman with a Realistic microcassette pocket recorder. Shades of Peter Brady!
How does a recording by Igor Fruman have anything to do with Lev Parnas?
Depends on what the meaning of “know” is.
She was NEVER FIRED. Still has cushy gubmit job.
“After being ousted as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Yovanovitch became a Senior State Department Fellow at Georgetown University’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy.[4]”
Is this recording evidence of what is behind this impeachment? The whole idea on the part of the demoncrats is to stretch out the impeachment for as long as possible, with a steady drip-drip-drip of incriminating evidence which turns out to be nothing-burgers, but grab headlines when initially released.
Nothing would please Schiff et al more than to have Bolton et al subpeonaed with a lengthy court fight to follow. Gives them more time to drip-drip-drip.
She was apparently following Trump administration people around and surveilling other diplomatic personnel. He shouldnt have fired her...he should have arrested her.
No matter but if my employee was bad mouthing me in public I’d fire it’s arse!
So is it now acceptable to record ppl at dinner parties and other social gatherings? If so, I can only imagine Americas future, lol.
Name three.
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