Thread by @DavidPepper

THREAD

Because it has to be done.

In one interview, Portman lied and dodged his way through serious and legitimate questions by the @daytondailynews about the Ukraine scandal.

Following are all the lies and dodges he loosed in ONE interview.

1/

daytondailynews.com/news/national-…

@daytondailynews Lie #1

Portman "says the impeachment fight is making it harder to work on bipartisan legislation — it’s 'taking a lot of the oxygen out of the room' on issues w bipartisan support, such as expanding...background checks or a...red flag law..."

2/

@daytondailynews The truth: McConnell has stalled these reforms forever, including reforms already passed in the House, and Portman has not voted for ANY meaningful legislation on background checks or other serious reforms for his entire time as a Senator, despite tragedy after tragedy

3/

@daytondailynews Hypocrisy #1:

"Portman said he won’t ask [] Trump to resign like he did when Clinton faced impeachment in 1998.

...In 1998, the Cincinnati Republican served in the U.S. House and voted to impeach Clinton after asking him to resign..."

4/

@daytondailynews Now, Portman said that — “based on the evidence we have now” — he wouldn’t vote to remove Trump from office...."

The truth: The evidence is clear. And nothing troubled the Founders more than foreign interference in US politics. Impeaching then and not now makes no sense.

5/

@daytondailynews Disingenuity #1

"Portman also said he wouldn’t ask the president to resign because “I think it would be even worse” for the country.
“We’ll be voting in a year,” Portman said. “That’s where the decision ought to be made.”"

6/

@daytondailynews The facts: the crimes here involve part of a scheme to illegally INTERFERE in the 2020 election.

Saying that the next election should determine the outcome when the underlying crime is interfering in that same election is lunacy.

7/

@daytondailynews LIE #2:

"Portman said Clinton clearly broke the law by lying before a grand jury. In contrast, Portman believes Trump asking Ukraine’s president to investigate presidential candidate Joe Biden was “wrong,” but not illegal."

8/

@daytondailynews "“I don’t think you should be asking a foreign government, whether it’s Ukraine, China, or another foreign government, to investigate a political opponent in the middle of a presidential campaign,” Portman said."

“I don’t know that it’s illegal, but I just think it’s wrong.”

9/

@daytondailynews THE TRUTH

The DDN showed Portman that the conduct was illegal. FEC Chairwoman Ellen Weintraub "issued a statement earlier this year: It is illegal for any person to solicit, accept, or receive anything of value from a foreign national in connection with a U.S. election.”"

10/

@daytondailynews Which led to DODGE #1

“I don’t know that that happened,” Portman said in response.

But one minute before, he had literally said that it had happened: “I don’t think you should be asking a foreign government..." The illegality of which had just been explained.

11/

@daytondailynews LIE #3

Portman said this to the DDN:

“Recall that I was the person that spoke to the president the night before the money was released and in that conversation he talked about one thing and one thing only, and that was the Europeans not doing more.”

12/

@daytondailynews The truth:

Portman has been amplifying this lie for a week. And said he agreed with the President.

The Europeans have done more than the US for Ukraine.

13/

factcheck.org/2019/09/trump-…

@daytondailynews Lie #4

"The newspaper asked Portman if it was possible Trump intentionally didn’t mention the Biden investigation.
“Sure, sure. I don’t know what was on his mind,” Portman said. “I can’t speculate on what he was thinking.”"

14/

@daytondailynews The truth:

Portman is the chair of the Ukraine Caucus. He has been in conversations with all participants of the illicit conversation all year—the fired ambassador, the new Ukraine president, diplomats involved, Trump himself.

15/

ohiodems.org/the-portman-tr…

@daytondailynews Other Senators involved in the caucus and Ukraine, but not the chair, and who had similar trips and conversations, learned about what was happening.

Ron Johnson. Chris Murphy.

16/

wsj.com/articles/trump…

@daytondailynews Then of course there was this not so subtle editorial in the @washingtonpost on September 5.

17/

washingtonpost.com/opinions/globa…

@daytondailynews @washingtonpost But Portman claims that six days after, he had no idea what was happening? That he not only didn't know what other senators already knew, but also failed to even read the newspaper?

Truly a laughable claim.

18/

@daytondailynews @washingtonpost It's time to call the question, @senrobportman

What did you know, and when?

Why are you working so hard to convince Ohio you knew nothing when people with far less access understood perfectly well what was happening?

19/

@daytondailynews @washingtonpost @senrobportman And why would someone who chairs both the Ukraine Caucus as well as the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations not want a full investigation of how the money that YOU worked so hard to appropriate was used to shake down a foreign leader for illegal purposes?

END