The title of my blog has been, for a very long time, Sound and Fury. It is part of a quote from Shakespeare's Scottish Play known to we mere mortals as Macbeth. I think I am about to earn my wings again. Buckle up - it's going to be a bumpy ride.
On July 25, 2019, the President of the United States placed a call by phone to President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. A leaker who has no direct knowledge of these events (that is called hearsay in the legal profession and is inadmissible in a Court of Law) alleges that the President "sought to pressure the Ukrainian leader to take actions to help the President's 2020 reelection bid." He or she further is concerned that in the days following the call, that senior White House officials had intervened to lock down all records of the call. White House lawyers had directed that electronic transcripts were transferred to a more secure system. Third, the leaker presents a number of news media stories. The leaker submitted a complaint dated August 12, 2019, claiming that he or she was reporting an "urgent concern" under the procedures and requirements of U.S.C. §3033, to the Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG). The problem was that the complaint was against President Trump and is not covered under the Intelligence Whistleblower Act because the President is not covered by the act and the action being reported does not refer "to the funding, administration, or operation of an intelligence activity within the responsibility and authority of the Director of National Intelligence involving classified information, but does not include differences of opinions concerning public policy matters."
DNI Maguire was concerned that a confidential diplomatic communication between the President and a foreign leader may involve issues of Executive Privilege. He sought guidance from the White House Counsel's office and the Office of Legal Counsel of the DOJ (Department of Justice). On September 24, 2019, the President declassified and released a transcript (memorandum of the telephone conversation), eliminating the questions of Executive Privilege. The Office of Legal Counsel gave an opinion the complaint did not come under the statute defining an "Urgent Concern" under U.S.C. §3033. Consistent with the general provisions of 28 U.S.C. §535, the matter was referred to the Criminal Division of the DOJ.
Nevertheless, copies of the complaint dated August 12, 2019, were received by the House Intelligence Committee. Speaker Pelosi declared that appropriate house committees should proceed with an official impeachment inquiry... which is interesting because she has not yet submitted the authority for such an inquiry to a vote of the full House of Representatives in accordance with the established precedents from the Nixon and Clinton Impeachment Inquiries. (Not a lot of recent precedents for the Impeachment of a President - but if this is successful, I would expect we will see more of them).
Adam Shiff, Chairman of the Intelligence Committee made an opening statement in the initial hearing which is astonishing, misleading and a complete misrepresentation of the President's call speaking to the committee, the congress and to many Americans, as the hearing was televised.
"Shorn of its rambling character and in not so many words, this is the essence of what the president communicates: ‘We've been very good to your country. Very good. No other country has done as much as we have. But you know what? I don't see much reciprocity here. I hear what you want. I have a favor I want from you, though. And I'm going to say this only seven times, so you better listen good. I want you to make up dirt on my political opponent, understand? Lots of it. On this and on that. I’m going to put you in touch with people, not just any people. I’m going to put you in touch with the attorney general of the United States, my attorney general Bill Barr. He’s got the whole weight of the American law enforcement behind him. And I’m going to put you in touch with Rudy. You’re going to love him, trust me. You know what I’m asking and so I’m only going to say this a few more times, in a few more ways. And by the way, don’t call me again. I’ll call you when you’ve done what I asked." When called to account for his actions, he stated he was presenting a parody. That is not reasonable and has no place in this proceeding.
I have put a copy of the Leaker's complaint which you can read for yourself at https://chilp.it/a257834
I have put the transcript of the President's call which you can read for yourself at https://chilp.it/3b5fa3c
Do your homework if you want to talk about this further. I will return in my next blog.
I find this to be a wild fabrication. To consider this to charge the President you must view all of the known facts in the worst possible light. Clearly, in view of the lack of first-hand witnesses, the evidence (and I use the term advisedly) must be viewed in the light most favorable to the President. Not only do the Democrats make wild assumptions about the intent of the President as their starting point, but they tend to project what they have done and what they consider to be proper conduct on to the President. And I believe he doesn't share their view of the world or his actions.
President Trump has done amazing things in his time as President against a constant barrage of investigations, fabricated charges and dishonest media attacks. Most of all he has been able to do most of what he promised he would do as a candidate. He has transformed the judiciary with 150 judicial appointments that will be on their respective court benches for more than a generation, long after President Trump is gone. The US is respected around the world and he is improving our trade balances, general economy and employment environment for every American. Think what he would have accomplished with any help from the Democrats in Congress. In my next blog, I will do an analysis of the transcript of President Trump's call to Ukraine and see if I can explain what I feel is the explanation for the call. And I will not start with calls for impeachment and then look for facts that support it. Please let me try to show you what I see when I look at the evidence.
Thank you for your consideration.
