Republicans in Congress take the reins in impeachment defense amid damaging testimony for Trump

CNN ^ | Oct. 24, 2019 | Jeremy Herb, Manu Raju, Lauren Fox and Phil Mattingly

[Innovative]

Faced with a barrage of damaging headlines for President Donald Trump stemming from impeachment inquiry testimony, congressional Republicans are beginning to coalesce around a strategy aimed at discrediting key witnesses and taking a more confrontational stance against the Democratic-led impeachment process.

Republicans on Thursday ramped up their skepticism of the testimony delivered by US diplomat Bill Taylor — which undercut White House claims Ukraine aid wasn't tied to an investigation that could help him politically — and the Senate's No. 2 Republican Sen. John Thune walked back earlier concerns he expressed about Taylor's opening statement.

Republicans in the Senate have also shown little interest in investigating the frozen Ukraine aid, with two committee chairmen signaling that's not a priority right now.

Congressional Republican lawmakers and aides say they are taking the reins to defend the President in the impeachment inquiry amid mounting fears that the White House is not consistent nor organized enough to lead the President's defense. But their efforts come as the President publicly and privately is pushing congressional Republicans to toughen up their defense of him as the Democratic impeachment process marches forward.

[xrmusn]

I would ‘love’ to see PDJT announce his running for reelection as an I and invite his ‘followers’ to come with him.

Just tell the ‘Ds’ they are too ‘wacky’ for him and the ‘Rs’ that collectively they have no guts and appear to want him out of the party, so accommodate them (or at least appear to).

Then PUBLICLY ask who wants to ‘join him’ and let the likes of the RINOs either ‘$hiite or get off the pot’.

You are with me or against me, all holds barred.

Then the end of the ‘perfect dream’ would be PDJT and the majority of those that ran ‘with him’ put the Rs out of ‘business’.

[Liz]

U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Bill Taylor, a key witness for Democrats pursuing impeachment served for nine years as senior advisor to U.S.-Ukraine Business Council, which has co-hosted scores of events with the Atlantic Council. The Atlantic Council is funded by and works in partnership with Burisma, the natural gas company at the center of allegations regarding Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.

REFERENCE SOURCE atlantic-council-raked-funding-hunter-bidens-corruption-stained-ukrainian-employer

zerohedge.com/political/dcs-atlantic-council-raked-funding-hunter-bidens-corruption-stained-ukrainian-employer

With its relentless focus on corruption in Russia and Ukraine, the Atlantic Council has distinguished itself from other top-flight think tanks in Washington. Over the past several years, it has held innumerable conferences and panel discussions, issued a string of reports, and published literally hundreds of essays on Russia’s “kleptocracy” and the scourge of Kremlin disinformation.

At the same time, this institution has posed as a faithful partner to Ukraine’s imperiled democracy, organizing countless programs on the urgency of economic reforms to tamp down on corruption in the country. But behind the curtain, the Atlantic Council has initiated a lucrative relationship with a corruption-tainted Ukrainian gas company, the Burisma Group, that is worth as much as $250,000 a year. The partnership has paid for lavish conferences in Monaco and helped bring Burisma’s oligarchic founder out of the cold.

This alliance has remained stable even as official Washington goes to war over allegations by President Donald Trump and his allies that former Vice President Joseph Biden fired a Ukrainian prosecutor to defend his son’s handsomely compensated position on Burisma’s board.

As Biden parries Trump’s accusations, some of the former vice president’s most ardent defenders are emerging from the halls of the Atlantic Council, which featured Biden as a star speaker at its awards ceremonies over the years. These advocates include Michael Carpenter, Biden’s longtime foreign policy advisor and specialist on Ukraine, who has taken to the national media to support his embattled boss.

Even as Burisma’s trail of influence-buying finds its way into front page headlines, the Atlantic Council’s partnership with the company is scarcely mentioned. Homing in on the partisan theater of “Ukrainegate” and tuning out the wider landscape of corruption, the Beltway press routinely runs quotes from Atlantic Council experts on the scandal without acknowledging their employer’s relationship with Hunter Biden’s former employer.

This case of obvious cronyism has not been overlooked because the Atlantic Council is a big player, but because of its success in leveraging millions from foreign governments, the arms and energy industries, and Western-friendly oligarchs to bring its influence to bear in the nation’s capital.

NATO’s Think Tank in Washington---The Atlantic Council functions as the semi-official think tank of NATO in Washington. As such, it cultivates relationships with well-established policymakers who take a hard line against Russia and support the treaty organization’s perpetual expansion. Biden has been among the think tank’s most enthusiastic and well-placed allies.

In 2011, then-Vice President Biden delivered the keynote address at the Atlantic Council’s distinguished leadership awards. He returned to the think tank again in 2014 for another keynote at its “Toward A Europe Whole and Free” conference, which was dedicated to expanding NATO’s influence and countering “Russian aggression.” Throughout the event, speakers like Zbigniew Brzezinski, a former U.S. national security adviser, sniped at President Barack Obama for his insufficiently bellicose posture toward Russia, while former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright fretted over polls showing low public support for U.S. interventionism overseas.

In his own comments, Biden emphasized the need to power Europe with non-Russian sources of natural gas. This provided a prime opportunity to Ukrainian suppliers like Burisma and U.S. energy titans. Many of these energy companies, from Chevron to Noble Energy, also happen to be top donors to the Atlantic Council. “This would be a game-changer for Europe, in my view, and we’re ready to do everything in our power to help it happen,” Biden promised his audience.

In his address, Biden emphasized the need to power Europe with non-Russian sources of natural gas.
This provided a prime opportunity to Ukrainian suppliers like Burisma and U.S. energy titans.

VP Biden at AtlanticCouncil 2011 Leadership Award ceremony.

[kaehurowing]

What testimony are they talking about? You mean the phony witness statement that got destroyed in the actual hearing?

[Da Coyote]

Thanks for tagging the CNN source. It saves me time, since I will not read it, knowing full well that it’ll be proven incorrect by tomorrow.

[blueplum]

damaging testimony that crumbled under questioning? that testimony? of course, CNN won’t mention Shifty Schiff’s people met with Taylor’s people, kinda like they met with the whistleblower who got just about everything wrong.

but why does CNN know about any testimony if all this is ‘closed’ testimony?

‘closed’ so only the negative, unchallenged narrative is leaked? hasn’t that been the name of the game for the past 3 years?

[SendShaqtoIraq]

the testimony is only “damaging” because your idiot dem buddies are leaking it out of context

[PistolPaknMama]

Can somebody help me here? I buried my sister yesterday, so the past week or so I’ve been out of the loop. One of my two democrat facebook, old high school friends posted today “When your Republican friends say that Republicans are being “shut out” of the impeachment hearings, here is a handy list of the Republican members of the House who are on the committee, in the hearings, and participating in the questioning of the witnesses.” Then there is a picture of about 40 Republican names of these Republican participants. It apparently comes from the HuffPost. What is the real story here? I listened to part of Rush today, but can’t seem to catch up. :(

[alternatives?]

Where is the Senate hearings on the 2016 election, Kavanaugh, etc? Why not secret hearings on these with leaks. That is why Trump was elected. Are they stupid?

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

What damaging testimony . it’s all Secret

Clickbait.

Title: "damaging testimony"

Article: "damaging headlines," including the NYT piece.

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

Dems get to leak parts of the “secret” testimony they find most useful, If Rs do so they risk penalties.

[enumerated]

“ You deny this? -> “...many people still get their news from the MSM, including CNN.” “

I know they do! And shame on them - they listen to lies every night! They tune in to those dishonest fake news channels and allow that poison into their homes. But does that mean I gave to too?

I prefer the truth. That’s what attracted me to FR 20 years ago.

But now, FR has apparently become a forum for republishing leftist propaganda! Duh!

If I was looking for leftist propaganda from CNN, I would just watch CNN!

[kvanbrunt2]

there are transcipts. i’m not sure where they are from but i believe they are from the shift hearings.

[ding_dong_daddy_from_dumas]

Where? Tell us.

[july4thfreedomfoundation]

William Taylor admitted that his information was third and fourth hand. Adam Schitt admitted to meeting with this Taylor ahole in Ukraine.

Like you said, “What damaging Testimony?”

[goldstategop]

“Damaging testimony” consisting of innuendo, hearsay and leaks. Behind closed doors in a Star Chamber process lacking in transparency, fairness and legitimacy.

Why are Democrats afraid of open hearings? Because they would show up they have nothing they can convict Trump on?

Democrats haven’t even alleged a crime or other wrongdoing that would justify impeachment.

There’s no impeachable offense.

[kvanbrunt2]

I have downloaded them from simple searches for both taylor and sondland. links to my google drive
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1G5x8QzazD9e6LM_jEIsHuMl4Fywn6RLJ

https://drive.google.com/open?id=17xRHa9e10g-e0dxP5mSQV8lZ9pMnIfpt

[madison10]

Not good enough for the White House, not too for us.

[Truthoverpower]

Why does the commie news network (CNN) need FOUR writers to pen 🖊 this TRIPE ? Just like the SLIMES

[Flick Lives]

...because many people still get their news from the MSM, including CNN.

—

Nobody gets their news from CNN unless they’re in a hostage situation; stuck in an airport or the doctor’s office.

[timestax]