“Sometimes the person you’d take a bullet for is standing behind the trigger.”
By Glen Reaux
The impeachment avalanche is heading downhill, picking up speed and rumbling as it starts to strike terror in the hearts of Donald Trump and his minions Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham and a whole host of Republican lawmakers. The collateral damage from Trump’s self-proclaimed “Big Brain” can’t be calculated yet but when it’s all over, the Republican Party may need the better part of a decade to recover. Although Trump continues to call it “the greatest witch hunt in American history” along with he has done nothing wrong and everything is fine, on Saturday, Trump paid an unscheduled and unannounced visit to Walter Reed military hospital. The White House has released a statement claiming that the visit was a part of the President’s annual check-up. Trump has never before conducted a physical exam this fashion. Perhaps the realization that impeachment in the House followed by a conviction in the Senate will probably lead to Trump losing his fortune. And after years of lengthy and expensive court battles, he could die in jail. The very thought of that would cause most people to have an unscheduled and announced hospital visit. After all, Trump’s disloyalty and denials toward his known associates do not engender enough loyalty for any of them to want to take a bullet for him. This behavior seems to be creating a list of “Trump’s Loyal Men That Are Going to Send Him to Prison.”
In the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Trump was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the trial of Michael Cohen, Trump’s lawyer and fixer who was convicted for campaign finance law violation for paying off two women that have accused Trump of illicit extramarital affairs. In New York State, the Attorney General is investigating Trump and the Trump organization for fraud, tax fraud and possible money laundering. Add to that, Congressional investigations for 5 counts of obstruction of justice related to the Mueller Report, extortion and bribery and Donald J. Trump, if impeached and convicted in the Senate will be removed from office only to face law enforcement officials from several jurisdictions waiting for him at the exit doors of the Senate with handcuffs at the ready, not even allowing him time to pack his things and leave the White House.
Wow! That’s a mouthful. Is it possible, will Nancy Pelosi’s dream come true? Will Santa deliver Democrats the ultimate Christmas present? Will the Republican leadership be able to save Trump? While the answers to these questions are yet to be discovered, the Democrats can rest easy knowing that Christmas is safe. Their greatest ally will gift wrap their present, help Santa carry it down the chimney and gently place it under the tree. The Dems can’t possibly screw this up. It’s impossible. For as long as he is breathing, Trump and his self-proclaimed “Big Brain” as always, will come to the rescue. Merry Christmas Democrats and have a very, very happy new year!
While this may sound a bit premature, let’s look at the evidence provided in the circumstances surrounding the president. True, Senate Republicans have circled the wagons around Trump. But, without being able to defend against the overwhelming mountains of evidence discovered in the impeachment inquiry investigations, they have decided to argue that the process is unfair. That argument has not only grown old, it has proven to be very ineffective. But, more importantly, a crack has developed in Trump’s armor. His usual partner in his madcap, cartoonish, ‘Pinky and the Brain” schemes to conquer the world, William “Pinky” Barr has abandoned him out of the need for self-preservation. On two occasions, “Pinky” Barr has either distanced himself from the “Brain” or flat-out told the “Brain” no when help was requested. Shortly after Trump released to the press a highly edited and incomplete transcript memorandum of his phone conversation with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in which Trump named Barr as a conspirator and participant in his scheme of extortion and bribery, “Pinky” disavowed any knowledge of the plot or his participation. In the phone call, Trump told Zelenskyy to work with Barr at least two times. Barr’s response to the press, when asked about the incident, was to feign ignorance.
On November 6th, the Washington Post reported that Trump once again asked Barr to pull another rabbit out of his hat like the one he used with the Mueller Report where Barr, in a memo exonerated Trump of any wrongdoing. According to the report {1}, “The Brain” wanted “Pinky” to hold a press conference and declare that Trump had not broken any laws in his phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky in which Trump attempted to extort Zelenskyy in a plot to gather fake materials on former Vice President Biden and his son Hunter Biden. Although there was never public acknowledgement of the request by either ‘Pinky” or “The Brain,” the Post remains steadfast about the credibility of their report. Judging from Barr’s choice of self-preservation over loyalty to Trump, whatever whacky plan or conspiracy plot that “The Brain” comes up with next, Pinky will definitely not be a participant. Pinky will be covering his ass instead of standing in front of the gun while “The Brain” pulls the trigger.
The crack in Trump’s armor can be traced back to September and Barr’s response to the Ukraine scandal. Since then, other members of the president’s men have started to place their own survival over their loyalty to Trump. On September 27th, merely hours after the House Democrats were going to call him to testify, Trump’s Special Envoy to Ukraine and member of the new “three amigos” assigned to put the screws to the Ukrainian president, Kurt Volker resigned his position in the State Department. On October 3rd, Volker testified before Congress about his role in the scandal and provided documentation for his testimony in the form of text messages between himself, Gordon Sondland, Rudy Giuliani and Ukrainian officials. In his testimony, he detailed a number of contacts with Giuliani and actions taken by Giuliani in the scheme to extort the president of Ukraine. In his written statement, Volker explained that he did not knowingly take part in the “shadow diplomacy” which was instituted and managed by mastermind Rudy Giuliani. His opening statement is provided below.
03 Volker-Testimony-Long-Form
On October 17th, Trump appointed Ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland testified before Congress and claimed that the president on several occasions stated that there was no “quid pro quo” connected to the military aid for Ukraine. He also testified that he did not know any details about Giuliani’s “shadow diplomacy” nor had he played any role in Giuliani’s plans. He also claimed not to remember or have any recollection of other key details concerning Trump and Giuliani’s extortion plot. Sondland’s opening statement is provided below.
Gordon Sondland Opening Statement
Gordon Sondland is the founder and former chairman of Provenance Hotels and co-founder of the merchant bank, Aspen Capital. Sondland purchased and redeveloped four hotels in Seattle, Portland, and Denver including Seattle’s Alexis Hotel in partnership with Bill Kimpton. Also, Sondland is a principal in Seattle’s Paramount Hotel. In 2017, Sondland contributed one million dollars to Trump’s inauguration committee. Reportedly, Sondland has boasted about hotel deals that he is working on in Europe that may have only been made possible due to his position as Ambassador to the European Union.
Testimony from several witnesses that appeared before Congress after Sondland contradicted his testimony and left Sondland open to possible perjury charges for lying to Congress. On November 5th, Gordon Sondland revised his testimony bringing it more in line with the testimonies of Kurt Volker, George Kent and William Taylor all of whom disputed in great detail Sondland’s testimony. Since Sondland’s amended testimony, other facts have come to light that has prompted discussions from several Congressmen about filing criminal charges against Sondland for lying to Congress and other charges related to the Ukrainian scandal. In particular, an aid of Ambassador has testified before Congress that he overheard Trump’s voice during a cell phone conversation with Sondland in a public restaurant in Kiev.
Recently, Sondland has reported that his memory is getting much better and he is recalling more details about the Ukrainian scandal. Considering Sondland’s wealth, Trump’s blatant disloyalty to members of his inner circle and his propensity to “throw people under the bus” to save himself, Sondland may be realizing that taking a bullet for the president would bring about prison time, economic ruin and the destruction of his life’s work. In essence Sondland has declined to be the “Brain’s” new “Pinky.”
On November 6th, Trump’s former National Security Advisor, John Bolton, through his attorney, informed Congress that he had information to share with investigators about unknown meetings relating to the Ukrainian scandal. According to his attorney, Bolton would be willing to share it with Congress if subpoenaed and if a judges’ ruling overturned Trump’s refusal to let Bolton testify before Congress.
On September 19th, Bolton resigned his office reportedly over conflicts with the president about the administration’s Ukraine activities. Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, a member of Bolton’s staff that was on the infamous July 21st call between Trump and Zelenskyy testified before Congress on October 29th. In his opening statement, Vindman testified about a July 10th meeting with Ukrainian officials, Ambassador Sondland, Kurt Volker and Director Bolton:
“The meeting proceeded well until the Ukrainians broached the subject of a meeting between the two presidents. The Ukrainians saw this meeting as critically important in order to solidify the support of their most important international partner. Amb. Sondland started to speak about Ukraine delivering specific investigations in order to secure the meeting with the President, at which time Ambassador Bolton cut the meeting short.”
“Following this meeting, there was a scheduled debriefing during which Amb. Sondland emphasized the importance that Ukraine deliver the investigations into the 2016 election, the Bidens, and Burisma. I stated to Amb. Sondland that his statements were inappropriate, that the request to investigate Biden and his son had nothing to do with national security, and that such investigations were not something the NSC was going to get involved in or push. Dr. Hill then entered the room and asserted to Amb. Sondland that his statements were inappropriate.”
Another person that appears to hold the keys to a Trump prison cell is Giuliani associate and Florida businessman Lev Parnas. Parnas claimed executive privilege because he was working for the president through Rudy Giuliani. Parnas, who Trump claims not to know has been seen with Trump on several occasions. Parnas is seen together with Giuliani and Vice President Pence, Presidnet Trump and Igor Fruman, in the picture below.
On the evening of October 9th, Lev Parnas and fellow Giuliani associate Igor Fruman were arrested by the FBI at Dulles Airport. The two men had one-way tickets to Europe. The charges from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York allege that Parnas and Fruman made false disclosures related to hundreds of thousands of dollars in political contributions they made to Republican groups, including the pro-Trump super PAC “America First Action” in 2018. The indictment also states that they “sought to advance their personal financial interests and the political interests of at least one Ukrainian government official with whom they were working.”
It has also been reported that Parnas and Fruman were key principals in the Giuliani plan that smeared the reputation of former American Ambassador to Ukraine, Maria Yovanovitch who was removed by Trump and replaced by Ambassador Bill Taylor. Both Taylor and Yovanovitch have testified before Congress about Trump’s extortion of the Ukrainian President and of the illegal withholding of military aid by Trump that had been approved for Ukraine by Congress. Two days before their arrest, John Dowd a former attorney of Trump that represented him during the Mueller investigation issued the following statement to the Miami Herald:
“Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman will not respond to a Monday deadline for documents and do not plan to appear for depositions scheduled for Thursday and Friday”
In September, Parnas told the Miami Herald that Ukraine’s government has access to information on alleged wrongdoing by Joe Biden and his son Hunter and other overseas U.S. officials. Since the arrest, despite the fact that the Parnas and Fruman have been seen on numerous occasions with Trump, documented in several photographs and have made hundreds of thousands of dollars in political contributions to Republican groups, including the pro-Trump super PAC “America First Action” Trump denies knowing Parnas and Fruman.
On November 4th, perhaps realizing that his goose was cooked and that no pardon could be expected from Trump, Lev Parnas issued a statement through his new attorney, Joseph Bondy in which he has agreed to participate in the Impeachment inquiry:
“We will honor and not avoid the committee’s requests to the extent they are legally proper, while scrupulously protecting Mr. Parnas’ privileges, including that of the Fifth Amendment,”
The evidence to impeach Trump is overwhelming. Perhaps he will be impeached and brought to justice. Below is an October 10th detailed report from PBS that explains the complexity of the work being done By Parnas and Fruman on behalf of Trump and Giuliani. The report also ties together Giuliani’s plot to have Ukrainian officials investigate the Bidens. Also, Parnas and Fruman are mentioned in the whistleblower report.
The evidence for impeaching Trump is reaching critical mass and will soon go nuclear. Still, in the face of all of the testimonies and Trump’s confession, Republican lawmakers continue to try to obstruct the impeachment investigation. It is obvious from the numerous Trump confidants that are turning against him and cooperating with investigators to save themselves that the “end is nigh.” The list of “Trump’s Loyal Men That Are Going to Send Him to Prison” is growing. Once all of the evidence is presented to the American public in the form of televised impeachment proceedings, many of Trump’s most loyal supporters will understand the truth and demand a conviction in the Senate. After which to prevent this from ever happening again, the Republicans in Congress who are “ride or die” Trump minions must be voted out of office in 2020. It’s time for Republicans to learn a lesson from Attorney General Willaim”Pinky” Barr:
“Sometimes the person you are taking a bullet for is standing behind the trigger.”
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Linked Sources and Documentation
- Washington Post Article : https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-wanted-barr-to-hold-news-conference-saying-the-president-broke-no-laws-in-call-with-ukrainian-leader/2019/11/06/16d541ec-ff55-11e9-8bab-0fc209e065a8_story.html
Copyright © 2019, Glen Reaux, all rights reserved
