• Subscriptions
    • Log in
    Ad-Free Login - Go Ad-Free & Join The Movement
    The fight for our future is not over. Help Raw Story hold those in power accountable for just $1.
    The fight for our future is not over. Help Raw Story hold those in power accountable for just $1. Click to enable push notifications.
    Listen Now: The New Raw Story PodcastUS NEWStrumpvideoget the newsletter
    AD-FREE LOGIN
    • Home
    • New: Shop to Support Independent Journalism
    • We Have Issues
    • Trump
    • U.S. News
    • Video
    • Ad-Free Login
    Tired of ads? Want to support our progressive journalism? Click to learn more.LEARN MORE

    Impeachment transcripts expose the truth: House Republicans don't give a damn about protecting America

    David Cay Johnston, DCReport @ RawStory
    November 05, 2019

    Thanks for your support!

    This article was paid for by reader donations to Raw Story Investigates.

    Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Mark Meadows (R-NC) speaking at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland. Photo by Gage Skidmore

    This article was paid for by Raw Story subscribers. Not a subscriber? Try us and go ad-free for $1. Prefer to give a one-time tip? Click here.

    David Cay Johnston, DCReport @ RawStory

    Transcripts of closed-door testimony in the Trump impeachment investigation show a disturbing pattern of behavior by Republican lawmakers, not one of whom expressed concern about our national security, White House undermining of our diplomats or their safety.


    Maria Yovanovitch, who got a middle of the night call from the State Department telling her to be on the next plane out of Kyiv, told in vivid detail how the Trump Administration's actions are “hollowing out” our State Department and benefitting our adversaries, notably Russia.

    She predicted that the damage already done will last for decades and may be irreparable, undoing the influence American won with blood and treasure by defeating its enemies in World War II and then building a global community to replace the war-ravaged past.

    Republican lawmakers are less concerned about loyalty to country than to their own grasp on power.

    Asked if she feels threatened, Yovanovitch said. “Yes.”

    Then, bit by bit, the former ambassador was asked to flesh out her concerns. She testified of her worries that she may be under FBI investigation for who knows what, may be fired, may lose her pension.

    Q: Do you have concerns about your personal safety?

    A: So far, no.

    Q: But you hesitate in saying, "So far, no," or you condition that on what might happen in the future. So what…

    A: Well, I would say a number of my friends are very concerned.

    That was of no interest to Republicans on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

    Rep. Mark Meadows, a Trump loyalist from North Carolina, raising a point of order, asserted that “there are no rules that would give the authority of you to actually depose this witness.”

    Out of Order

    Chairman Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, referred Meadows House deposition Rule 11. It states that House committees may “require, by subpoena or otherwise, the attendance and testimony of” witnesses.

    So, Meadows either was a) ignorant of the rules, b) too lazy to read the nearly eight pages of relevant rules or c) acting in bad faith. We’ll go with c.

    The Republican effort to derail the deposition continued. Representative Lee Zeldin from outer Long Island, New York, raised the same issue as Meadows. Schiff cut him off: “We won' t allow any further dilatory motions.”

    When public hearings begin, we can anticipate more such tactics at least until the final date for challengers to file papers in Republican primary elections. Many Republican lawmakers are less concerned about loyalty to country than to their own grasp on power, their conduct shows.

    Should any Democrats act this way, we will tell readers all about it.

    Meadows shows up later in the transcript (p. 297) trying to put words in Yovanovitch’s mouth. He fails.

    Jordan Plays 'Gotcha,'  Misses

    A few pages later Representative Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, asks how extraordinary, and by implication improper, it is for current State Department officials to discuss Ukraine issues with former State officials.

    Jordan, who as a college gym coach claims to be unaware of numerous complaints of sexual abuse of wrestlers, was taken aback to learn that experts in and out of government share information.

    Jordan: Has that ever happened before, to your knowledge?

    Yovanovitch: I 'm sure it has.

    Jordan: Really?

    Yovanovitch: Yeah.

    Yovanovitch warned of the State Department being weakened, even ruined.  This is also something I warned about two years ago when I wrote my second Trump book It’s Even Worse Than You Think: What the Trump Administration Is Doing to America.

    In the infamous July 25 phone call with the president of Ukraine Trump denounced our ambassador, calling Yovanovitch “bad news.”

    Yovanovitch testified that diplomats who are posted abroad expect that “our government will have our backs and protect us if we come under attack from foreign interests.”

    She continued in words worth reading and pondering:

    “That basic understanding no longer holds true. Today, we see the State Department attacked and hollowed out from within. State Department leadership with Congress needs to take action now to defend this great institution and its thousands of loyal and effective employees. We need to rebuild diplomacy as the first resort to advance America' s interest, and the front line of America' s defense.

    "I fear that not doing so will harm our Nation's interest, perhaps irreparably. That harm will come not just through the inevitable and continuing resignation and loss of many of this Nation's most loyal and talented public servants. It also will come when those diplomats who soldier on and do their best to represent our Nation , face partners abroad who question whether the ambassador really speaks for the President, and can be counted upon as a reliable partner."

    The Real Harm

    The harm will come when private interests circumvent professional diplomats for their own gain, not for the public good.

    The harm will come when bad actors and countries beyond Ukraine see how easy it is to use fiction and innuendo to manipulate our system.

    In such circumstances, the only interests that are going to be served are those of our strategic adversaries like Russia, that spread chaos and attack the institutions and norms that the U. S. helped create and which we have benefited from for the last 75 years.”

    Yovanovitch testified that no previous White House had done anything like Trump in pursuing a president’s personal and political interests rather than our national interests.

    She also told of baseless news stories about her, the kind Trump never calls “fake news” because they spread falsehoods he favors.

    “I have heard the allegation in the media that I supposedly told our embassy team to ignore the President's orders since he was going to be impeached. That allegation is false. I have never said such a thing to my embassy colleagues or anyone else.”

    She also said these words which serve as a reminder of why the rule of law and respect for people who act with decency, dignity and integrity matters:

    “Ukraine is full of people who want the very things we have always said we want for the United States, a government that acts in the interest of the people, a government of the people, by the people, for the people. The overwhelming support for President Zelensky in April's election proved that. And it was one of our most important tasks at the embassy in Kyiv to understand and act upon the difference between those who sought to serve their people and those who sought to serve only themselves.”

    We can only hope that in the glare of television lights and national broadcasts of the impeachment public hearings that all members of Congress will seek to serve the people and not only themselves.

    This article was paid for by Raw Story subscribers. Not a subscriber? Try us and go ad-free for $1. Prefer to give a one-time tip? Click here.

    Enjoy good journalism?

    … then let us make a small request. The COVID crisis has slashed advertising rates, and we need your help. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and legal efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. And unlike other news outlets, we’ve decided to make our original content free. But we need your support to do what we do.

    Raw Story is independent. Unhinged from corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.

    We need your support in this difficult time. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click to donate by check.

    Value Raw Story?

    … then let us make a small request. The COVID crisis has slashed advertising rates, and we need your help. Like you, we believe in the power of progressive journalism — and we’re investing in investigative reporting as other publications give it the ax. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. We need your support to do what we do.

    Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us in the future. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you.


    Report typos and corrections to: corrections@rawstory.com.
    READ COMMENTS - JOIN THE DISCUSSION

    Survey: Should Donald Trump be prosecuted after he leaves office?

    Seth Meyers details the work done to clean the White House post-Trump: 'Getting ketchup off the Constitution'

    Sarah K. Burris
    January 21, 2021

    Thousands had to be spent to clean the White House after President Donald Trump and his family stayed in the residence for four years. While reports maintained that the fumigation was due to the coronavirus pandemic and a need to ensure sanitation, "Late Night" host Seth Meyers thinks something else was afoot.

    "Scrubbing out Diet Coke rings, pulling loose hair out of the drain, trying to get ketchup off the Constitution," he said, detailing the work that had to be done. "I know they're saying that this is because of COVID but even without the pandemic if I were moving in after Trump anywhere I'd want the place fumigated. The guy was glued to his TV, barely left his bedroom, and only ate fast food. That place probably looks like a locker on 'Storage Wars.' Or a studio apartment in a rent-controlled building after the tenant, who lived there for 80 years dies. There's just piles of old newspapers, loose change and a collection of weird ceramic pigs."

    See Meyers video below:


    Biden Sworn In as 46th President After Trump Leaves White House: A Closer Look www.youtube.com

    Bernie Sanders' mittens were a low-key message of unity, warmth and community

    Sarah K. Burris
    January 20, 2021

    He sat quietly as the brisk Washington breeze blew his wild, silver hair; his hands neatly folded over his lap clad in knitted mittens. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) made a fashion statement during the inauguration of his friend President Joe Biden Wednesday, but more he made a statement about America.

    Jen Ellis, a teacher from Essex Junction, gave Sanders the mittens several years ago. They're made from repurposed wool sweaters and lined with fleece made from recycled plastic bottles. Sweaters that warmed the days of many through harsh Vermont winters and bottles that touched the lips of thousands of Americans warmed the hands of a United States Senator.


    Inauguration Topshots: A photo by @AFP's Brendan Smialowski showing Senator Bernie Sanders and his lovely warm mit… https://t.co/05A9jyEM31
    — AFP News Agency (@AFP News Agency)1611201802.0


    Many wore tight-fitting gloves, separating each finger in leather-clad division. Sanders' brought each of his fingers together, encased in the loving, home-spun, warmth of unity.

    "But the answer is not to turn inward, to retreat into competing factions, distrusting those who don't look like you do, or worship the way you do, or don't get their news from the same sources you do," Biden's voice sang out across the empty Washington streets.

    Sanders' hands weren't jammed into the pockets of isolationism. They were gathered in a congress of devotion.

    Many have responded to the poetic moment of Sanders sitting simply. His hands warm with a passion for America's future. Feeling the zeal of the moment, and embracing the sense of community and heart, Americans have put the historic moment in some of the greatest moments of history.

    Satire aside, you can see the photos below:



    Undefeated. The internet...🤣😭 https://t.co/eFKJuXNt4w
    — Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@Rex Chapman🏇🏼)1611198297.0


    Bernie and his mittens: a meme thread https://t.co/DrAH5q5WMe
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@Dirtycracker 🌊)1611199747.0


    pic.twitter.com/3Mgm2Aj7cE
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/bNTPoVWNXx
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    https://t.co/ORws5m9YIY
    — Cheeky Nando 🌹⚓ (@Cheeky Nando 🌹⚓)1611171801.0


    pic.twitter.com/q40waHRviK
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/EsaJqkC4Bj
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/a6pkSJUM0x
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/DKm3aKDdxi
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021



    pic.twitter.com/Ae3tsyJlgX
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/tT9UF8uTWr
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/1wd4b4EE9u
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/25yvoe3ugC
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/49fHwhwK7W
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/NSBjboFJmL
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/W3GG2EemIV
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/f4vaCWdwlX
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/e8IuOfrNXK
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    Before this meme loses its charm, here's my contribution to Bernie sitting with mittens. I wonder what his quirk is? 🦉🚿 pic.twitter.com/WcYVGHq9Ku
    — Owl in the Shower🦉🚿🦇☮️ (@History4Life92) January 21, 2021


    On Wednesdays, we wear mittens.
    --Bernie (probably) pic.twitter.com/c5m1lqEzcS
    — T.J. from Blue Georgia 🇺🇸 (@ChattFC42) January 21, 2021


    Presenting: Lofi Bernie Sanders. pic.twitter.com/BIKFjaabYO
    — GOOD (@good) January 20, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/jLQKTeskxd
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/JEELF4dAYN
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    pic.twitter.com/2skuaJpI2I
    — Dirtycracker 🌊 (@dirtycracker) January 21, 2021


    I am once again asking you not to touch the artwork. H/T to @elissaolinsky for the #AltText lift!… https://t.co/D3blOQ2goZ
    — The Phillips Collection (@The Phillips Collection)1611176536.0




    @BelfastAgmt My personal favorite https://t.co/8666Qg9fcx
    — Empress of Anarchist Jurisdictions (@Empress of Anarchist Jurisdictions)1611202940.0


    https://t.co/xqAoSxLXoH
    — Good Friday Agreement (@Good Friday Agreement)1611202440.0


    https://t.co/53bXuLSwRZ
    — Good Friday Agreement (@Good Friday Agreement)1611202442.0

    Trump put Senate GOP in tough spot with 'crony pardons' ahead of impeachment: Top Republican

    Sarah K. Burris
    January 20, 2021

    Former President Donald Trump released the full list of 145 pardons in the early hours of Wednesday morning, but some of those are already problematic for Republicans, reported Politico.

    Elliott Broidy, a GOP fundraiser, pleaded guilty in a foreign lobbying scandal. GOP Maine donor Michael Liberty, was "convicted of making illegal campaign contributions — and who was once described as 'Donald Trump with a Maine accent.' Drew Brownstein, a hedge funder and son to a Colorado lobbyist. All of those added to the other political cronies like Steve Bannon, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and Michael Flynn.

    "The granting of even more sleazy crony pardons as the clock ran out on his one term," Politico cited GOP election lawyer Benjamin Ginsberg, "will define the nature of his presidency."

    Republican strategist Mike Madrid similarly told Politico that he expected a few "unseemly" pardons, but that these were "a whole different level."

    "This is pardoning your friends who are doing illegal behavior on your behalf," Madrid said. "It's all of his henchmen."

    While the move is an inside-baseball game, there were so many of the "crony" pardons that it creates a story around Trump's corruption and desperation to overthrow the 2020 election.

    "That Trump's Tuesday night combined another tranche of sleazy crony pardons with revoking his 2017 revolving door lobbying ban he bragged would drain the swamp will burn in the legacy of his presidency," Ginsberg said. "And not in a positive way. In his hubris, he apparently didn't consider, or didn't care, how this might impact the Senate Republicans who will now be asked to ignore his actions and save 'his reputation' in the impeachment trial."

    Just as Trump was pulling out of the White House, it was also revealed that he rescinded his ban on Trump staff not being able to become a lobbyist for five years after leaving office. In 2017, Trump made a big production signing Executive Order 13770, saying that he campaigned on "draining the swamp." But when it came to the end, Trump withdrew the pledge.

    Read the full report at Politico.

     
    Trending
    Latest
    Videos

    ‘We really are the cucks’: QAnon adrift after Trump ‘fails to ascend as God Emperor'

    MSNBC panel erupts after historian rips Melania Trump for making the White House look like the Beverly Hillbillies

    Viewers joke about 'unlies' in new press briefing: 'She'll never be on Dancing with the Stars'

    Kayleigh McEnany slammed for her 'cowardly exit' from the White House

    'I'm the laughing stock of my family': QAnon believers implode as they watch Biden getting sworn in

    Pro-insurrection deputy arrested for 'absolutely frightening' threat to 'make the streets of DC run red with blood'

    Trump staffers blew off his departure ceremony because they were sick of his election lies: report

    Lindsey Graham uses inauguration to rip Hunter Biden: 'Nobody hesitated to send a wrecking ball to the Trump family'

    Delaware reporter reveals the story behind viral photo of the uniformed man praying at Beau Biden's grave

    Seth Meyers details the work done to clean the White House post-Trump: 'Getting ketchup off the Constitution'

    Bernie Sanders' mittens were a low-key message of unity, warmth and community

    Trump put Senate GOP in tough spot with 'crony pardons' ahead of impeachment: Top Republican

    Republican group aims to take down Biden's Cabinet appointees

    'Andy spread election fraud lies': Arizona Republican's brothers condemn his conspiracy theories

    Michael Flynn's brother involved in military response of Capitol invasion — but Army covered it up: report

    Trump still faces criminal and civil liability for phone call to rig Georgia election: Law professor

    Republican loyalist installed at NSA by Trump being placed on leave pending investigation: report

    Taxpayers will continue to fund millions in security for Trump kids and random former staffers

    Joe Biden promises ‘we will defeat’ political extremism and white supremacy in inauguration address

    WATCH: NBC repeatedly cuts to Mike Pence as Joe Biden mentions 'lies' and 'manufactured' facts

    WATCH: Lincoln Project uses Reagan’s ‘morning in America’ ad to celebrate Biden in new video

    'A fraudulent, phony thing': Fox News pundit says Trump skipped inauguration because he 'doesn't fake things'

    QAnon lawmaker leads Tennessee Assembly in a moment of silence to mourn the end of Trump's presidency

    MSNBC's Morning Joe and Mika bust Trump's boasts about working hard: 'He golfed and watched TV!'

    'Pretty repulsive': Wolf Blitzer bashes Trump's 'totally inappropriate' rally before leaving office

    'An embarrassment': Trump's final speech as president immediately gets panned by CNN's Jake Tapper

    Trump has 'surpassed an awfulness' that ranks him among America's very worst presidents: historians

     
     

    Copyright © 2021 Raw Story Media, Inc. PO Box 21050, Washington, D.C. 20009 | Masthead | Privacy Policy | For corrections or concerns, please email corrections@rawstory.com.

    Manage Preferences

    Close
    Copy link