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This was bribery! Not “attempted”! Under 18 USC 201(b)(2) an official commits bribery when he “corruptly demands, seeks, receives, accepts, or agrees to receive or accept anything of value personally . . . in return for being influenced in the performance of any official act.” 1/
Doesn’t matter under the statute whether the other party eventually comes to their senses. It’s still bribery! 2/ law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18…
Thus — with apologies to @thatbilloakley — the Republican defense of Trump is even stupider than the Sideshow Bob defense. 3/end. washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/1…
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Eric Columbus
@EricColumbus
There's been a lot of recent talk about 1970s pregnancy discrimination in light of it costing @ewarren a teaching job. Sadly pregnancy and caregiver discrimination remain widespread. It happened to my sister, @NikkiColumbus. I'd like to share her story. 1/
@ewarren @NikkiColumbus Nikki is in the art world. Over a period of several months in 2017, she was recruited to join MoMA PS1 as associate curator of performance.  2/
@ewarren @NikkiColumbus After @MoMAPS1 made her an offer, she mentioned that she had recently had a baby. They immediately demanded to know why she hadn’t said earlier that she was pregnant. Shortly thereafter, @MoMAPS1 rescinded the job offer.  3/
Read 9 tweets
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Eric Columbus
@EricColumbus
Wow — staunch Trump defender Sen. Johnson now says SONDLAND told him there was a Ukraine quid pro quo, right before Sondland denied it unconvincingly in his texts with Taylor. wsj.com/articles/trump…
Does he — does he realize what he’s saying?
Ron Johnson keeps going — he admits he wrote his 2016 letter seeking “urgent reforms to the [Ukrainian] Prosecutor General’s office” because “the whole world” felt Shokin — the guy Biden helped push out — wasn’t tough enough on corruption.
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Eric Columbus
@EricColumbus
Per this thread the team exiting the case includes a top POLITICAL APPOINTEE, Deputy Assistant Attorney General James Burnham. It's one thing -- terrible and rare! -- for a career lawyer to refuse to participate; it's far worse when even someone on POTUS's team won't play along.
James Burnham was in the White House Counsel’s Office from January 2017 to April 2019. If *he* won’t advance Trump’s new arguments, something is rotten. law.com/nationallawjou…
Why are Burnham and others refusing to contnue on the case? Probably two reasons. First, they're being asked to make wholly implausible arguments. This is extraordinary rare but it's happened before in this administration, in the Obamacare case currently before the Fifth Circuit.
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Randall Eliason
@RDEliason
This isn't complicated:

1) Trump corruptly demanded something of personal value in exchange for official action.
2) That's the legal definition of bribery.
3) The Constitution specifies bribery as grounds for impeachment.

To say there's no impeachable offense is just nonsense.
Bribery, 18 USC 201(b)(2): committed if a public official "directly or indirectly, corruptly demands, seeks, receives, accepts, or agrees to receive or accept anything of value . . . in return for being influenced in the performance of any official act."
Constitution, Art. II, Sec. 4: "The President . . . shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors."

Q.E.D.
Read 3 tweets
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Tim Hogan
@TimInHonolulu
.@Jim_Jordan is not a an attorney who can lie for criminal clients. He is not lying in committee or on the floor where he has immunity. He is engaged in advancing a criminal conspiracy like someone who falsely reports and he can be charged in 2021. @TheJusticeDept @FBIWFO
@Jim_Jordan @TheJusticeDept @FBIWFO 2. The failure of Trump to have competent attorneys as proxies will cost Trump both in impeachment but also in subsequent Trump criminal prosecutions. They are focusing on quid pro quo when all that is needed to indict Trump or impeach him was his demand passed on to Zelinskly.
3. "[B]eing a public official, former public official, or person selected to be a public official, otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duty, directly or indirectly demands, seeks, receives, accepts, or agrees to receive or accept anything
Read 4 tweets
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Anthony Rosamilia
@a_rosamilia
I keep hearing that it all comes down to whether or not President Trump is guilty of committing a “high crime or misdemeanor” as outlined in the Constitution. Since “high crimes and misdemeanors” are not defined in the Constitution this leaves room for Senators to acquit...
the president because they believe that what he did does not meet their criteria for a “high crime or misdemeanor” But let’s look at the actual words in the Constitution:

“President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States” shall be removed from office if...
convicted in an impeachment trial of “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

Notice that the Constitution list two specific examples of high crimes and misdemeanors: treason and bribery. In other words, if a president commits one of those two crimes, then ...
Read 14 tweets
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Yashar Ali 🐘
@yashar
The Chair of the Federal Election Commission has issued a statement in response to Trump's ABC News interview.

"It is illegal for any person to solicit, accept, or receive anything of value from a foreign national in connection with a US election. This is not a novel concept."
2. FEC Chair @EllenLWeintraub was appointed by George W. Bush in 2002.

She goes onto say in her statement:

"Any political campaign the receives an offer of a prohibited donation from a foreign source should report that offer to the Federal Bureau of Investigation."
3. Question for @markknoller @BeschlossDC @LarryNoble_DC, do you know if an FEC Chair has ever issued a statement like this in response to an interview with a US President?

I doubt it, but just want to be sure.
Read 5 tweets
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Karol 🌿
@karolcummins
⚖️Justice⚖️

Collusion is worse than a crime.
To debate whether Trump acted criminally is to miss the greater point: He’s a national security threat

“It’s a crime for a US presidential campaign knowingly to receive or even solicit anything of value from any foreign entity.”
⚖️Justice2⚖️

“It’s a crime for anyone, camp’n or not, to knowingly receive stolen data.”

“receiving stolen data triggers a complex nexus of crimes, both state & fed.”

DonJr, Kush, Manafort & other top 45 aides met with Veselnitskaya RIS spy offering damaging info re HRC.
⚖️Justice3⚖️

@counterchekist:

“CrossfireHurricane began with SIGINT supplied by NSA & allied intelligence services. This happened BEFORE any drunken boasting was tipped off to FBI. Some of this intelligence included suspicious money movements into US political campaigns...”
Read 94 tweets
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Luke Brussel
@LukeBrussel
Judge Rules Against Trump Motion to Dismiss in Emoluments Lawsuit by Maryland and DC - Ultimate outcome to turn on construction of Constitution. But, remember under the clause, Congress can approve any + all emoluments, thus... 👉 washingtonpost.com/amphtml/politi…
2/ the emoluments Lawsuit, even if successful may have no tangible effect on Trump profiting from the Presidency - and there would be no accountability for corruption, the clause and lawsuit merely address a conflict of interest. 👉
3/ The means to hold Trump accountable for corruptly profiting from the Presidency (for the same acts as under the Emoluments Suit) is prosecution under 18 USC 201 (b) and (c): the Federal Bribery Law. This law provides criminal penalties for accepting gifts for official acts 👉
Read 5 tweets

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