Thread by @ElieNYC

It’s amazing how small @DevinNunes looks when he has to speak after @RepAdamSchiff.

I’m surprised Nunes doesn’t sue Schiff for “defamation” for setting the bar too high for him to reach :).

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff For those playing along at home: it appears that McGuire substituted his definition of "urgent" for the IG's definition (which he's not allowed to do). And then he's arguing that there was an exec priv issue, but @RepAdamSchiff just made him admit that the WH never asserted it.

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff Schiff is establishing that McGuire went to the white house first. Not the DOJ, and clearly not Congress.

After trying to avoid saying "we went to the White House, first," Schiff got him to say "we went to the white house first" by feigning confusion. Schiff is a clever clogs

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff McGuire now saying that he didn't follow procedure because he thought it was "unprecedented."

Well, yeah buddy, work for Trump, see some unprecedented criminal stuff yo.

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff It's kind of confusing but people have to keep both of McGuire's bad args their head at the same time.
1. McGuire overruled the IG on "urgent concern" which is how he justifies hiding it from Congress.
2. McGuire believes exec priv issue justified him asking Barr what to do.

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff To be clear, NOWHERE IN THE STATUTE does it ask Maguire to make a determination about executive privilege when he receives a credible, urgent complaint. HE DID THAT ON HIS OWN.
He keeps saying "prudent," what he means is that he was too scared of Barr/Trump to do the right thing

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff And now Maguire is saying that his conversations with the President ABOUT THIS COMPLAINT are privileged.

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff It's worth noting that conversations btw Maguire and Trump probably ARE privileged (should Trump choose to assert it). UNLIKE the whistle blower complaint, and UNLIKE any of the bullcrap you heard last week from Cory Lewandowski.

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff Conway (R-Tx) says Maguire was right to go with the "good legal advice" he got.

Left unsaid, that legal advice came from WILLIAM BARR... who was one of the SUBJECTS of the whistle blower complaint.
"Hey, lawyer, should I expose your wrongdoing?"
"No"
"Whelp, you're the lawyer"

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff I know we're all very busy right now with the whole "high crimes and misdemeanors" committed by President Trump.

But, like, SOMEBODY NEEDS TO IMPEACH BARR TOO. I can't emphasize enough how an AG who doesn't respect the rule of law means that we have no rule of law.

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff The complaint alleges that, in addition to the call, Giuliani -- a non-governmental official -- had an ongoing role, outlines potential witnesses to wrongdoing, and accused Trump of trying to cover up the records.
So, I don't know what the Republican jerk is talking about.

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff Maguire is saying that the whistle blower complaint was not ignored because... he sent it to Justice and the FBI.

Left unsaid: WILLIAM BARR'S justice department, which oversees the FBI.

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff I mean, I'm not a MAGA, so I don't know how these people think.

But is the Republican strategy of parsing "credible" really a thing? Like, is that an argument that works on MAGAs?

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff The Republican's argument is now that the President should be able to assert executive privilege over whistle blower complaints before anybody outside of the President's office sees such complaints.

Which... I'm sure that's what Republicans would like for REPUBLICAN Presidents.

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff It's taken to @RepSpeier but we've finally gotten to the part where the whistle blower says that the White House tried to cover up the phone call, and Maquire went first to the White House to figure out what to do.

This seems to me to be kind of a big deal.

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff @RepSpeier Maguire is now suggesting that anything that involves the President's lawyer should be referred to... the President.

Which seems like a bad strategy.

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff @RepSpeier If the Republican strategy is really "the whistle blower wasn't on the call first hand"... I mean... TRUMP RELEASED THE CALL, so there's that.

BUT ALSO, I can think of a Congressional committee or two who would LOVE to interview people with, uhh, FIRST HAND knowledge.

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff @RepSpeier Maguire doesn't seem to know, or care, about Giuliani's security clearance.

Let me phrase that for emphasis: the DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, does not KNOW OR CARE if a person without security clearance is internationally freelancing for Trump's political gain.

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff @RepSpeier Hurd: When does the OLC override laws?
Maguire: The OLC doesn't override laws, it issues legal opinions which are BINDING on the exec branch.

Translation: Maguire thinks the OLC overrides laws ALL THE TIME. He won't admit there IS a law that exists beyond what the OLC tells him.

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff @RepSpeier Maguire: Seems like I have a lot of work to do to "re-assure" that I support whistle blowers.

Lol. YA THINK?

The answer was a lo-key admission that he done fucked up.

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff @RepSpeier Lol. Ratcliffe "The United States is allowed to elicit help from a foreign government for an ongoing criminal investigation."

Wait, what? There's an ONGOING criminal investigation into Joe Biden? By who? No... no I don't think Ratcliffe has ANY IDEA WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff @RepSpeier Shorter Maguire: I'm not a hero, I'm just a coffee shop manager.

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff @RepSpeier That sound you hear is FBI Director Christopher Wray crossing Josephn Maquire off his Christmas Card list.

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff @RepSpeier Maloney: Was it *prudent* to give a veto power to the two people named in the complaint over whether Congress got to see the complaint.

Maguire: I have to work with what I have.

Well, Mr. Maguire, you also had your own judgement, which apparently failed you.

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff @RepSpeier So, only Ratcliffe actually defended @realDonaldTrump's behavior. The rest of the Republicans mostly stuck with defending Maquire's decision to try to cover it up.

I'm tagging Trump in this tweet b/c he is too stupid to understand the difference unless it's spelled out.

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff @RepSpeier @realDonaldTrump I am for real LOVING this new Republican strategy of saying "If you would like to impeach the President, DO IT!"

Like, it reminds me of Miss Saigon where the dude says "you don't know how to kill"... right before he gets shot.

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff @RepSpeier @realDonaldTrump I share @RepAdamSchiff's incredulity that the Director of the National Intelligence cannot say that we should investigate whether the President is engaged in election fraud.

This is today's example of why America's institutions have failed so miserably in the Trump era.

@DevinNunes @RepAdamSchiff @RepSpeier @realDonaldTrump Well, after those 3 and a half hours, I hope it's pretty clear to Republicans that if they think this is going to be "Mueller 2" they've got another thing freaking coming.

Dems, much more focused and on message today than at any time since they won the House.