Profile picture
Norman Ornstein
@NormOrnstein
, 4 tweets, 1 min read Read on Twitter
I was instantly suspicious of the unanimous vote in the Senate yesterday; any vote that includes Rand Paul, Lindsey Graham, John Kennedy, Tom Cotton cannot mean a sudden outbreak of honesty and concern for country over party. Now we will see the defense of Trump: no quid pro quo!
Democrats and any honest Republicans (Will Hurd? Any others?) must emphasize and reinforce that the phone call in and of itself is black letter high crimes and misdemeanors. Trump pressured Ukraine's president to investigate his political rival in advance of the 2020 election
Trump directly enlisted his private lawyer and consigliere to intervene. Trump in advance put a hold on aid to Ukraine. The message was clear, and fits Trump's longstanding modus operandi: withhold payment to contractors and employees, force them to do your bidding or else.
This is flat out wrong. And at the same time, lying about our allies providing aid to Ukraine and giving Putin a moment when the country was more vulnerable is another despicable element. This president is about his own interests, not about the national interest.
Missing some Tweet in this thread?
You can try to force a refresh.

Like this thread? Get email updates or save it to PDF!

Subscribe to Norman Ornstein
Profile picture

Get real-time email alerts when new unrolls are available from this author!

This content may be removed anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @NormOrnstein see all

Profile picture
Norman Ornstein
@NormOrnstein
The Ukraine issue alone warrants immediate impeachment. And alternative, as impeachment moves forward, hopefully more rapidly, is to do an immediate Censure motion in the House condemning the president for conspiring with and attempting to blackmail a foreign country’s leaders 1
To smear a political opponent and gain advantage for the 2020 election, while on the way benefiting Russia by weakening Ukraine. The advantages of a Censure motion: It does not stop impeachment, it can be done immediately, and it forces Republicans on the record. 2
Do you endorse or condemn behavior by a president that is clearly immoral, Un-American, against America’s national interest and meets fully the definition of high crimes and misdemeanors.
Read 3 tweets
Profile picture
Norman Ornstein
@NormOrnstein
I want you to consider just this past week:
1. A president who corrupted a rear admiral to justify his bizarre rants, lies and distortions about Alabama, and then, either directly or through his corrupt Commerce Secretary and/or corrupt Chief of Staff corrupted NOAA
An agency long noted for its expertise & honesty.
2. The discovery that the military had been corrupted, taken multiple out-of-the-way trips on missions to a foundering Trump property to funnel taxpayer money to him-- then stonewalled, with a SecDef enabling it by saying nothing
3. A president using the US imprimatur, power and resources to blackmail another country (Ukraine) to conspire with him to tilt the scales in favor of his reelection.
Read 7 tweets
Profile picture
Norman Ornstein
@NormOrnstein
No agency is more dysfunctional than the Federal Election Commission, despite the efforts of people like @EllenLWeintraub and former commissioner @AnnMRavel to make it work to enforce campaign laws. Now a resignation means it is entirely powerless. Blame Trump & #MoscowMitch
Corruption and kakistocracy combined; no nominees at all through the entire Trump presidency; the commissioners there are all past their terms and are acting. The Republicans on the FEC have all united to block enforcement of the laws. Now only 3 sit, w 4 needed to do anything
#MoscowMitch would like to keep it that way through 2020, so he can brazenly act in defiance of laws and regulations. Trump is delighted to comply. This is outrageous, unethical, immoral, shameless and totally corrupt.
Read 3 tweets

Related threads

Profile picture
ℝ𝕖𝕕ℙ𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕕ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖
@RedPilledNative
This will be our thread in honor of GEORGE - NOT JUST

POLITICS AS USUAL™️ and John F. Kennedy Jr. Founding

Editor

@POTUS

@jameco01
@JRG1023
@TheBadDadder
@TheWave0079
@LindaWarriorGal
@karoolatas
@blacktulip966
@mbees39
@jtec_jtec
@1Cracker4
@RedAce2020
@beldandolo
This is said to be John’s favorite song and when you heard it

around his home you knew he was there because it was blasting.

"You Can't Always Get What You Want"

I saw her today at the reception

A glass of wine in her hand
I knew she would meet her connection

At her feet was a footloose man

No, you can't always get what you want

You can't always get what you want

You can't always get what you want

But if you try sometime you find

You get what you need

- Rolling Stones “Let It Bleed” 1969
Read 113 tweets
Profile picture
Beth⭐️
@PersuasivePR
2015, people. Alerts were sent by our ally intel services in 2015!! “GCHQ first became aware in late 2015 of suspicious “interactions” between figures connected to Trump & known or suspected Russian agents.” gu.com/p/69exm/stw
"The European countries that passed on electronic intelligence – known as sigint – included Germany, Estonia and Poland. Australia, a member of the “Five Eyes” spying alliance that also includes the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand, also relayed material, one source said."
"They [the European agencies] were saying: ‘There are contacts going on between people close to Mr Trump and people we believe are Russian intelligence agents. You should be wary of this.’

“The message was: ‘Watch out. There’s something not right here.’

20-fricking-15.
Read 121 tweets
Profile picture
Michael Green
@andmichaelgreen
#VOTE like you remember family separation.

#Vote like you remember Kavanaugh.

#Vote like you remember “Fine people on both sides.”
#Vote like you remember Helsinki.

#Vote like you remember Khizr and Ghazala Khan.

#Vote like you remember the fake Blind Trust.

#Vote like you remember their vow to take away your health care.
#Vote like you remember “alternative Facts.”

#Vote like you remember his tax returns.

#Vote like you remember the dismantling of the EPA.

#Vote LIKE YOU REMEMBER EVERY MEMBER OF THE GOP CONGRESS WHO ALLOWED ALL OF THIS TO HAPPEN.
Read 33 tweets
Profile picture
Greg Olear
@gregolear
Today’s #MAGAbomber news was horrifying. The mood is somber, and rightly so: we are 13 days from the election, and a domestic terrorist on the loose is the last thing anyone wants.

But let’s put things in perspective.

[THREAD]
1/ The #MAGAbomber news does not change the fact that McConnell has explicitly stated his aims to gut Social Security and Medicare to pay for yet another tax cut for his rich donors.
latimes.com/business/hiltz…
2/ The #MAGAbomber news does not change the fact that Jared Kushner and Donald Trump are intimately involved in the cover-up (at the bare minimum) of the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
medium.com/s/story/two-pr…
Read 22 tweets
Profile picture
Greg Olear
@gregolear
Let’s clear up a few things about Trump, as we head into Labor Day weekend.

[THREAD]
1/ Trump is NOT going to fire Jeff Sessions. Nazi Keebler Elf remains popular with GOP, and Trump has said repeatedly he hates him b/c of the Russia recusal. Firing Sessions = egregious obstruction.
2/ If Trump fires Sessions anyway, well, please re-visit this thread on what happens if he moves against Mueller:

Read 19 tweets
Profile picture
Adam Rifkin 🐼
@ifindkarma
Robert Mueller understands what happens when law enforcement becomes a tool of oppression and cruelty.

Robert Mueller appreciates history.

Crimes President* Trump may have committed:

* Obstruction of Justice

* Witness Tampering

* Conspiracy to Defraud the United States

* Tax Evasion and Tax Fraud

* RICO

What else?

Republicans in Congress KNOW they have oversight obligations, and for almost 2 years they have abdicated those responsibilities.

They really don’t care. Do U?

Read 9 tweets

Trending hashtags

#Venezuela #Mustache #FactsMatter #Saranyahu #FailedState #AttorneyGeneralBarrIsARussianAsset #SemionMogilevich #GOPObstruction #GOPCultureOfCorruption #ReproductiveRights #NeverForget #POTUS #sciencematters #Bolton #ClimateChange #USA #bluecarbon #MAGA #StopKavanaugh #MSpol #DirtyRubles #Benghazi #Saudi #MichaelCohen #DianneFeinstein
Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!