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L.A. Times Opinion: Day 1 of the Trump impeachment hearing was a lost day for Democrats
Los Angeles Times ^ | 11/13/2019 | Scott Jennings

Posted on 11/13/2019 5:19:14 PM PST by SeekAndFind

Day 1 of the public House impeachment hearings on President Trump is in the books, and nothing that happened will move public opinion in a meaningful way. The folks who have wanted to impeach Trump since he won the presidency still do, and the folks who don’t still don’t.

In other words, it’s a lost day for Democrats.

The burden of proof is on Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) to do more than secure impeachment, which is all but certain. Their job is to conduct these hearings in a way that moves public opinion to the point that the Senate will convict the president. That means giving Republican senators something that changes their impression of Trump’s conduct of Ukraine foreign policy. What’s alleged may make many members of the GOP uncomfortable, but it doesn’t come remotely close to requiring that the president be removed from office.

The opening-day witnesses — diplomatic officials Bill Taylor and George Kent — testified professionally and with honor, but they failed to deliver a made-for-TV gotcha. Rather, they simply reiterated that they had no firsthand knowledge of the president’s interactions and had not had conversations with the president directly.

“What I can do here for you today is tell you what I heard from people,” Taylor said at one point to the Democratic counsel, which is not exactly compelling evidence if you are trying to convince the American people that what happened is worthy of taking down a presidency. In Taylor’s defense, he said he did not appear as a witness for either side of this debate, but obviously Democrats were hoping people would view him as a witness helpful to their impeachment ambitions.

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Front Page News; Government; US: California
KEYWORDS: 2020election; adamschiff; botox; braking; california; democrats; dnctalkingpoint; dnctalkingpoints; election2020; impeachment; losangeles; losangelesslimes; losangelestimes; mediawingofthednc; nancypelosi; opinion; partisanmediashills; presstitutes; sanfrancisco; sanfrannan; scaredschiffless; schiffforbrains; sidebarabuse; smearmachine; trump; ukraine
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To: july4thfreedomfoundation

Schiff attended Monte Vista high school in Danville, CA (in the Bay Area). We were in the same year.

He was in student government, no doubt learning the skills that enable him to be so corrupt today.


61 posted on 11/14/2019 3:03:17 AM PST by exDemMom (Current visual of the hole the US continues to dig itself into: http://www.usdebtclock.org)
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To: SeekAndFind

Read later. Celebrate!


62 posted on 11/14/2019 3:45:12 AM PST by NetAddicted (Just looking)
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To: 11th_VA

“”””LA Times is more honest than Chris Wallace ?”””””

EVERYONE is more honest than Chris Wallace


63 posted on 11/14/2019 4:00:06 AM PST by shelterguy
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To: SeekAndFind
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank)

What do these two pos have in common. One is easy the other is real easy.

64 posted on 11/14/2019 4:44:19 AM PST by eartick (Stupidity is expecting the government that broke itself to go out and fix itself. Texan for TEXIT!)
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To: Bullish
Yeah my sister was listening to Faux news and this turn coat. She said it was pitiful the way he was carrying on.

I told her if you did not want to get your blood pressure up (as much) turn to Cspan3.

You can then make your own weighted decision.

No bull (except from the dems and witnesses) played out for a tv drama to muddle through

65 posted on 11/14/2019 4:47:19 AM PST by eartick (Stupidity is expecting the government that broke itself to go out and fix itself. Texan for TEXIT!)
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To: lodi90
While it is enjoyable to see Ratcliffe dunk on Schiff all day it won’t change the outcome in the House.

You are correct but it was sure sweet to watch.....

66 posted on 11/14/2019 4:48:14 AM PST by eartick (Stupidity is expecting the government that broke itself to go out and fix itself. Texan for TEXIT!)
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To: loveliberty2
That is exactly what Taylor came across as.

A gossiping ol woman sitting at a bridge table or quilting table.

No offense to ol women

67 posted on 11/14/2019 4:49:50 AM PST by eartick (Stupidity is expecting the government that broke itself to go out and fix itself. Texan for TEXIT!)
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To: CottonBall
Not according to demonrat Quigley. It was accepted more than real evidence....

What a putz.

Even the witnesses looked confused when he said it

68 posted on 11/14/2019 4:51:41 AM PST by eartick (Stupidity is expecting the government that broke itself to go out and fix itself. Texan for TEXIT!)
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To: oldenuff35
Madam secretary Clinton, why did your order your illegal unprotected server scrubbed after the congress requested that it be protected as evidence?

and why did you and Obama give the stand down orders that resulted in 4 Americans to be murdered by terrorists???????

69 posted on 11/14/2019 4:53:50 AM PST by eartick (Stupidity is expecting the government that broke itself to go out and fix itself. Texan for TEXIT!)
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To: david1292
-- It would look worse for them if they backed down after all this. --

Schiff has been careful to leave a way out. And assuming for arguments sake that he needs to save face and concludes with proposing Lawfare-drafted articles of impeachment to the House, it takes a majority of the House to impeach.

The public hasn't seen much in the way of defense from the Trump side yet. That's yet to come.

And if the House of Globalist Representatives passes articles of impeachment, Trump will come out the other end stronger, not weaker.

70 posted on 11/14/2019 4:57:30 AM PST by Cboldt
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To: exDemMom

Schiff attended Monte Vista high school in Danville, CA (in the Bay Area). We were in the same year.


Danville in the ‘70s was about as white bread suburban as you can get. Amusing to see a communist like Schiff emerge from such a nice place.


71 posted on 11/14/2019 5:04:21 AM PST by lodi90
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To: Bruce Campbells Chin
It's worth looking at the various purposes for the hearsay rule in the first place, and the context of a trial where opposing versions of fact are presented to the jury, so the jury can decide which version is more (or most) likely true.

The stakes at trial are "higher" for the defendant, than the stakes in everyday life - so getting it right is more important.

If evidence isn't limited somehow, trials would be overwhelmed with BS witnesses. Here, Congress can pick and choose witnesses by name, and as a general rule, Congress is NOT concerned with getting it right, rather just with obtaining power.

Hearsay is a generally an excellent way to limit evidence and get to the truth. I'm sure there are cases where all the direct witnesses are liars and a hearsay witness is honest, and more likely to result in the right outcome. All rules have exceptions.

The winner of the argument is the side that frames the issue, poses the question. The DEMs have so far been successful at posing the question as an assertion that Hunter Biden's involvement in Burisma has no element of corruption - that is a settled fact in the DEM framing.

Point being that the reliability of evidence isn't the only important aspect to getting a just outcome.

A final thought about hearsay. Should hearsay to the benefit of Trump be admitted?

72 posted on 11/14/2019 5:08:30 AM PST by Cboldt
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To: lodi90

Impeachment is preordained.

Facts and events and testimony are therefore irrelevant.

how ever........ there is talk if rank and file congressional democrats get cold feet it might not happen.


73 posted on 11/14/2019 5:16:11 AM PST by bert ( (KE. NP. N.C. +12) Progressives are existential American enemies)
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To: boatbums
-- Of course, they could decide after the hearings to NOT vote for impeachment because of lack of evidence and it's over. --

Yep. Not sure they are any good at strategizing this, but this can end in committee with a "sorry not enough evidence to advance articles of impeachment," or one of the members can force the issue to the House floor as a question of privilege.

Using recent history as a guide, whatever they advance will literally be nonsense. See, e.g., the fake subpoena letters, "Under our power to legislate, we order you to appear at an impeachment inquisition." <- scare quotes, not a literal quote of the fake subpoeana letters that went out BEFORE the whole House passed H.Res.660 invoking its power to investigate for purposes of impeachment.

74 posted on 11/14/2019 5:16:59 AM PST by Cboldt
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To: SeekAndFind

Day one is the only important day.

90% of the common-folk who tuned in AT ALL, won’t on any subsequent day.

The DemonCraps LOSE.


75 posted on 11/14/2019 5:20:47 AM PST by Lazamataz (We can be called a racist and we'll just smile. Because we don't care.)
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To: lewislynn

And don’t forget “Judge” Napolitano. . . .a guy that has clearly lost his mind.


76 posted on 11/14/2019 5:24:13 AM PST by Hulka
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To: SeekAndFind
Rather, they simply reiterated that they had no firsthand knowledge of the president’s interactions and had not had conversations with the president directly.

But they did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

77 posted on 11/14/2019 5:30:14 AM PST by GreenHornet
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To: newfreep
The Deep State Uniparty, with the help of Cocaine Mitch, will convict in the Senate, Trump removed and a return to business as usual - bribes, payoffs, open borders, no law, selling out America, etc...

Not even a 1% chance of that happening.

78 posted on 11/14/2019 5:31:37 AM PST by Lazamataz (We can be called a racist and we'll just smile. Because we don't care.)
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To: SeekAndFind
In other words, it’s a lost day for Democrats.

Which makes it a day won for America.

79 posted on 11/14/2019 5:33:38 AM PST by Texas Eagle (If it wasn't for double-standards, Liberals would be have no standards at all -- Texas Eagle)
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To: Bullish

Chris Wallace’s position on Trump has been obvious for a long time. He makes slight efforts to conceal his feelings now and then but more often than not his dislike of Trump comes out. His summary of yesterday’s hearing should be discarded as it shows his usual anti-Trump bias. I quit watching him a long time ago. Sometimes I think he is auditioning for a job at CNN or at the very least following Shep Smith into oblivion.


80 posted on 11/14/2019 5:40:34 AM PST by Old Retired Army Guy
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