‘Trump’s Own Guy, Put Knife In His Back’: Historic Impeachment Testimony Ties Trump To Bribery Plot

The Beat breaks down a week unlike any other in the Trump era, with impeachment hearings revealing bribery evidence against President Trump. Neal Katyal, former acting solicitor general of the United States called Amb. Gordon Sondland’s testimony “devastating” and the witnesses “perfect” because “key details that launched this investigation have now been corroborated.” Ryan Goodman, former special counsel to the general counsel at the Defense Department “absolutely” sees several felonies with “clean facts” emerging. The New York Times’ Michelle Goldberg calls the case “overwhelming” but thinks the hearings were rushed, not getting the “full spectrum of corruption” in the Trump administration out. Aired on 11/22/19.
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'Trump's Own Guy, Put Knife In His Back': Historic Impeachment Testimony Ties Trump To Bribery Plot

76 comments

  1. Nunes had a mortifying look on his face when Sondland testified. Sort of like the same look that perps have on “To Catch a Predator” when Chris Hansen walks into the room and introduces himself. 😄
    “Hey, I’m Chris Hansen. Sooo, what are you doing here?”👀

    1. Yes, I heard how he was testing the waters to see which side Sondland was on. Sondland gave him the clue by saying he was proudly one of the 3 amigos.

  2. On July 23, 2019, Trump said this:  “I have an Article 2, where I have the right to do whatever I want as President.”😲
    This is clearly a man who sees himself as a dictator. Since his campaign, Trump has been trying to tell us that he doesn’t believe in democracy or our Constitution. He said it when he bragged about shooting someone on 5th Ave. He said it when he bragged about falling in love with the most despotic dictator in modern history.

    June 15 2018
    Trump praises Kim Jung Un ‘ control over his people.
    “He’s the head of the country,” Trump said of Kim during a Fox interview.
    “And I mean he’s the strong head. Don’t let anyone think anything different.”
    “He speaks and his people sit up at attention,”  Trump added. “I want my people to do the same.”

    Sept 30 2018
    Trump confesses the love he has for his muse, Kim Jung Un, during a rally.
    “I like him, he likes me. I guess that’s okay. Am I allowed to say that?” Trump said.
     “And then we fell in love, okay” he said. “No really. He wrote me beautiful letters, and they’re great letters. We fell in love.”

    “If there is one fact we really can prove, from the history that we really do know, it is that despotism can be a development, often a late development and very often indeed the end of societies that have been highly democratic.. A despotism may almost be defined as a tired democracy. As fatigue falls on a community, the citizens are less inclined for that eternal vigilance which has truly been called the price of liberty; and they prefer to arm only one single sentinel to watch the city while they sleep.” 
    ― G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man

    “There’s no English equivalent for silovik. It doesn’t translate succinctly because to create something as Machiavellian as a silovik requires both the KGB and the GRU, and then a shift from communism to capitalism, followed by a gear-grinding reverse into despotism.” 
    ― Tanya Thompson, Red Russia

    “The actions of government, we are told, bear down only on imprudent souls who provoke them. The man who resigns himself and keeps silent is always safe. Reassured by this worthless and specious argument, we do not protest against the oppressors. Instead we find fault with the victims. Nobody knows how to be brave even prudentially. Everyone stays silent, keeping his head low in the self-deceiving hope of disarming the powers that be by his silence. People give despotism free access, flattering themselves they will be treated with consideration. Eyes to the ground, each person walks in silence the narrow path leading him safely to the tomb.” 
    ― Benjamin Constant, Principles of Politics Applicable to All Governments

    “The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That in its essence is fascism: ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power.” 
    ― Franklin D. Roosevelt.

    The Founders placed articles of impeachment in the Constitution for the purpose of protecting our democracy. A democracy that Trump clearly has no respect for, and is trying to tear apart.

    Article II, Section 4, says the president “shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

    1. @Wilma
      You don’t debate with people Wilma, because when people debate a premise, they actually discuss each other’s questions, while also considering the opposition’s arguments.

      People who debate, they express different opinions on a subject, but they do it in a deferential and fairly formal manner, and through discussion, questions, and even regardful arguments, they put forward each other’s views for equal consideration.

      Like I said, what you do isn’t debating with people, it’s bullying them! It’s calling them names like nit wits, drama queens, and goofs, ect! It’s chastising people and telling them how moronic they are, because their views and beliefs are different form your own. Your hyper-partisanship and blind support for  D.T. leaves you disadvantaged, because you’re unable to recognize or consider the perfectly laid out facts before you.

      This is the gravest of times, because even if D.T. is removed from office, the corruption contrecoup he’s hurt our country with, it’s going to leave the U.S. crippled and bleeding for many years!

    2. Well, Article 2 obviously has a hidden proviso to that “power to do anything” the occupant claims. I guess he didn’t allow his tutor read it out loud down to Section 4 before he turned on Fox News?

    3. you need to write a book about this particular election cycle as it relates to the other impeachment presidencies.

    4. @Kryptonarie Lightworker What you call facts, I call supposition, opinion, wishful thinking, gossip, and just plain fake news. Do you even have a job? Millions do now, good ones, because of the President, and we’re not going to vote socialist. He may be voted out next year but I can guarantee you, he will not be “removed.”

  3. There’s really only two conclusions here: You’re either ok with Trump committing bribery/extortion or you’re not. The fact that he’s innocent of these accusations is just false. We’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg of all the corrupt actions Trump has initiated and still its incredibly obvious.

    1. @Janet A First off ma’am, you didnt refer to me by my preferred personal pronoun so let me first say that I’m very triggered. Also how dare you BLEEP me Janet, thats offensive and racist!

      I would caution you against any further racist, demeaning or transphobic remarks. I will have you know that I have some damning information on you. My cousins, brothers, uncles’ landlord worked with your sister’s, best friends godmother.

      I was informed by reliable sources that you gave your vote to Hillary Clinton in exchange for a specific set of legal, financial and other contractual promises. You do realize the moral and ethical implications of you bribing and manipulating a political figure for financial benefit? I thought maybe that was an exception but they then informed me how you forced your spouse to “quid pro quo”, you called it “vows” but Janet, youre supposed to love that person unconditionally and not make your marriage this manipulative and self serving contractual farce. Infact, I hear that your quidding has actually gotten so out of hand, that it has extended to your work environment as well. I hear that you extorted your boss into paying you a certain amount of money in return for your time.

      I thought about informing people earlier about your obsessive QUIDDING, but to be honest, I came to a set of moral dillemas. The longer I thought about it, the more I came to sympathize with you and understand. Hillary is pretty corrupt herself, so fair’s fair right? Also she would surely be a much better politician than a man because she has female genitalia and XX chromosomes. Your husband , yeah .. sure he’s a good guy but he’s already benefiting by the patriarchy – so youre just evening out the playing field. Your boss, well – he’s just a manipulative, exploitative, capitalist pig anyway- so you were just sticking it to the man. I ultimately came to understand that you were real HERO, fighting the patriarchy. capitalism and gender pay gap all along!

      I really was beginning to understand you and agree, but to be honest, I had a real change of heart when I heard that you were bribing your child into doing janitorial duties around your primary residency for money. Janet, …I just don’t understand how you could sink so low that you would ever QUID YOUR OWN KID! Janet, there are FEDERAL CHILD LABOR STATUES AND LAWS that require a child to be 14 or older to work, also they aren’t allowed to work past 7pm. Janet, you willingly and knowingly broke both of these federal laws and statutes.

    2. @Jam Who Oh my god, you have to stop being so silly, stay away from right wing youtube conspiracy. The howitz report is
      not the fantasy conspiracy you want it to be. Just like all the rest of the silly conspiracy and the arrests are not starting
      next week. Go check, it is expected to largely debunk the right wing crazy and at most condemn sloppy FBI work. When no
      one is arrested, do you know how silly that sounds when you look at all the arrests that have happened and still are around
      Trump. No disrespect but your down the rabbit hole and need to start going to any legitimate political fact checking page
      and realise how stupid Trump treats his supporters and lies to them all the time. The impeachment thing is the sanctity of
      democracy do you know how much blood in history was shed for it and where we would be without it. It should never be
      tampered with in anyway, you and others need to start thinking about that.

  4. Future dictionary definition: “Trumpet”, noun, a phrase or piece of information only a republican would believe.

    1. ​@Michael Strawser it was on record , trump in the conversation: i do not want a quid pro quo…and “Mulvaney out to do a press conference where he admitted they did it. In fact, he said they did it “all the time” he gave a long explanation to that, it was going on long before the call and was over massive corruption and no one(the other eu nations) else giving aid, they can only hold it up a month and then it has to be released or a serious reason to with hold it, they tried to link an on going public 2016 investigation into corruption to the call and the aid, it gets confusing here but its actually two separate things going on in the same world so the media paints a picture,joe happens to be an opponent and also happens to be involved in a long on going investigation, the money held due to the corruption , it was going no matter what which it did, trump just inquired about the investigation as i am sure any one would ,zelensky even agreed to all that was just mentioned in the call and how its strange the u.s is its biggest allie,trump mentions the server is in ukrain they believe which is the purpose of the investigation (2016) and that some of these people involved may be close to him, he wanted to send help, , i am just a canadian i have no stake in this but i have been following it , this is the best break down of it i can give.lol

    2. Lynn Stewart

      Its not quite the same. Micky did it out of sheer arrogance and was slapped in the face for it. Sondland did this to chain everybody to himself in case anyone, including trump, tries to throw him under the bus – in that case, everybody will be run over by the bus with him. Including trump.

      It was a little disappointing that he was very vague and “did not remember” a lot of his direct conversations with trump. It appears he wanted to keep this last ace close to himself for now.

    3. @DA A lawyer named Roy Cohn, disbarred for fraud and witness tampering I believe, was a mentor to a young man named Donald J. Trump. Mr. Cohn was a young lawyer for one Senator Joseph McCarthy. Sen. McCarthy was infamous for the Communist baiting hearings in the early 50’s. Their method was to announce the investigation of suspected Communist perpetrators or followers. They never had to open real investigations. Only announce it and the suspicion alone ruined the lives and careers of many people. Fast forward to Trump’s investigators he “was sending ” to Hawaii to investigate one Pres. Obama’s birth records. This President is not now or ever had any sincere interest in investigating corruption. Only the appearance of an investigation in order to plant that seed of doubt or suspicion in people’s minds about an adversary. It worked 70 years ago and still works today when you have people in a society who are fearful of something they don’t understand . In this case it’s a society that has changed faster in accepting social mores and is directly in conflict with their basic religious thoughts.
      Pres. Trump doesn’t believe in anything but Donald Trump. If you believe different my condolences for your democracy.

  5. It seems all too obvious now, in spite of all the evidence of Trumps guilt and treasonous behavior, that those of us who have no doubt about Trumps guilt are ultimately going to have to take out our outrage at the ballot box, and it is in the United States Senate that we are going to have to exact and demand justice by emptying this august body of all of the senatorial wimps and rats hiding in the corners, shadows, and behind their guilded desks.

    1. “To say you won’t respect the results of the election, that is a direct threat to our democracy.” – Hillary Clinton.

      Maybe you should take some advice from your corrupt wannabe leader

    2. What evidence??? Are these people seriously not gonna talk about the fact that sondland said it was only his presumption????

    1. Yeah, he stopped it
      Just like the Apple factory he toured and claimed was a result of his policies.
      The factory was built in 2013.
      That was during President Obama’s 2nd term.
      If it comes out of little Donnie’s mouth. It’s a lie.

  6. Bolton is more interested in his Book Deal and his wallet! If he doesn’t testify, his book is dead upon arrival and wouldn’t be surprised if boycotted!

    1. That’s great if you know or were taught history. Few were/are today…which proves out those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.

    2. @Holly G – That Jefferson quote is not really helpful, because knowing how Americans dealt with bad presidents in the past wouldn’t help us to deal with Trump. Has there ever been a president like Trump?

    3. ​@Ben Lutz except for the fact the the guy getting “bribed” had no clue that he supposedly was being “bribed”.. Every single witness denied any “quid quo pro” with regard to the funding. The only one person that even remotely said anything towards “quid quo pro” with regarding the monetary aid was sondland but he states he just “presumed” that and that he was never actually told that by anyone. Everyone else blatantly denies it period.. volker, morrison, zelenskky,et al.

      I’m sorry but 500 hundred million dollars is a lot of our tax dollars, I want our money to be used only for our true and proven allies and people that prove themselves to be anticorruption. If youre honest with yourself, every single person that was involved with trump painted a consistent pattern of him being skeptical of foreign aid in general, he also felt that EU was not helping Ukraine financially or otherwise to the degree that they should be. Also Zelenskky has only been in office for a relatively brief time, since like april?

    4. @Ben Lutz what do you claim I’m lying about?I’ll send you a video clip of actual court testimony or transcript word for word…..

  7. John Bolton is the lowest form of coward and TRAITOR. He would rather reap a fat profit from his book sales than stand up and defend America against a Commie-loving, treasonous crime boss.

    1. Bunchoffuckingbullshit

      I knew that. Those who love to scream “War!” and send our soldiers into harms way and death but have never served the country in the military, will put money over country just like they put their ideology of country.

    1. mayalman: Oh please god, don’t force me to vote for Joe Biden. It would be as exactly as painful as singing the unabridged version of our national anthem.

    2. @Janet A That’s what I think happened. They kept saying that the interference didn’t affect the outcome. But I believe it did affect it. Now it is like living in a “Through the Looking Glass” world where nothing makes sense. I mean “alternative facts” is a term I never would have ever imagined hearing. Locking kids in cages after separation from parents, undoing environmental laws that protect the air and water, emboldening hate crimes and who knows what else we don’t know. In the future people will look back and say “what were we thinking?” and the future generations will look at their parents who went along with this and ask “why?” Nixon was a girl scout compared to this. All that happened was that instead of a crooked politician, we got a crooked business man who knows nothing about governing.

    3. @Linda Tate – well said. I AGREE. Just a GREEDY, morally bankrupt – BANKRUPTSY KING/ LOSER BUSINESSMAN with NO GOVERNMENT experience and NO CONSCIENCE.

  8. Giuliani would say “truth is not truth” at this juncture. Absurd that Trump is not impeached at this point. It is nothing more than pure political partisan corruption.

    1. @Kim Coates we can only hope they care enough about our country to choose it over Trump. So far I haven’t seen much evidence that gives me confidence in that. They all seem too corrupt and self serving to stand up and do what’s needed.

    2. @Name Redacted Message Retracted The problem is that most of the GOP haven’t stood up for anything. Everytime Trump has done something outrageous, they’ve remained silent or gone into hiding. Knowing where each of them stand is certain to get a response from their constituents. Hopefully, the GOP get reminded of what the Constitution says & who they work for.

  9. You know why Trump didn’t learn from the Mueller investigation, and just jumped back into business as usual? It’s very simple. He’s that kid, that got away with everything he did, because he’s the kid whose dad always bailed him out. He never learned there are consequences for his actions. And he’s not going to learn, because Republicans are acting just like his dad!! They will bail him out what ever he does. And look how all his friends pay the price for his actions. Most likely his friends have been paying that price his whole life. Would love to know the story of his childhood. Wish someone who went to school with Trump would write a book.

    1. @Separate Realities. Anyone who went to the same school as Trump is probably unable to be able to read or write.

    1. @Mr. & Mrs. MGTow haha, ok incel _sure_ you’re married… Then how does “MGTow” mean “men going their own way” if you’re married, ya moron?
      *_OOOOHHHH… I get it!_* xD
      *You married your waifu pillow!* That’s so cute!
      Was it a beautiful ceremony, incel? Did you cry? (You cry a lot, don’t you?) Did you wear your best katana? Did “she” wear your grandmother’s pillowcase?
      x’D

    1. Walter – He’s out of breath because he knew his own house of cards was tumbling at the same time. This whole Lev Parnass/Nunes connection gives this whole thing a different depth. The Republican leading the questioning of a scandal involving a Republican president is now himself one of the key players in the scandal. You can hear a prosecutor saying: Well…..wait a minute….what do we have here? Nunes and his cow have some splaining to do.

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