Selling the conclusion of the House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry, 79-year-old House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) exposed for all to see her extreme prejudice against 73-year-old President Donald Trump. Instead of letting the hearings play out, Pelosi feels inclined to sell her version of the outcome that Trump is guilty of bribery, treason, abuse-of-power, everything involved in high-crimes-and-misdemeanors. Pelosi keeps repeating the same refrain that Trump abused his office for personal gain, insisting he tried to extort 40-year-old Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for information about 76-year-old former Vice President Joe Biden and his 50-year son, Hunter. “The evidence is clear . . . that the president has used his office for his own personal gain and in doing so undermined the national security,” Pelosi said at her weekly press conference, leaving no doubt where she stands.
Instead of letting justice play out, Pelosi, fearing that she’s losing the impeachment case, must assert forcefully her desire for an unfavorable outcome for Trump. “He has violated his oath of office,” Pelosi said, repeating the Democrats’ impeachment talking points. But far from conclusive, her star witness, 62-year-old European Union [EU] Amb Gordon Sondland, came unglued under mild cross-examination by Republican Atty. Steve Castor. Sondland admitted Nov. 20 that he was speculating when he said that Trump withheld Ukrainian funding until Zelensky provided dirt on the Bidens. In fact, Sondland told Democratic Atty. Daniel Goldman that he didn’t know that the Biden’s were connected with Burisma Holdings, the Ukrainian natural gas company employing Hunter Biden on its board for $150,000 a month. Yet Pelosi sells the testimony as an open-and-shut case.
If there’s one thing that emerged from nearly five days of open testimony, it’s that the findings as expressed by Pelosi and House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) are subject to political bias. Democrats are convinced they have an open-and-shut case against Trump. Yet Sondland testified under oath yesterday he was aware Trump withheld funding for Ukraine as part of his due diligence—as with other countries—to assure that U.S. tax dollars are wisely spent. Pelosi and Schiff insist that Trump withheld Ukraine’s funding to get information on the Bidens. Sondland admitted under cross-examination that he didn’t know the reason, “presuming” that it was due to the Bidens, but not really knowing. It couldn’t be more ironic that, in fact, Joe Biden, while Obama’s VP, got Hunter the $150,000 a month job on Burisma Holdings board, something that Hunter admitted looked bad.
How ironic that Joe Biden was heading up former President Barack Obama’s anti-corruption taskforce when he landed Hunter the job on Burisma’s board. Hunter had no special expertise or experience in the energy sector before taking the cushy job. Zelensky has already stated for the record that Trump did not “push” him to investigate the Biden’s in exchange for Ukraine’s military aid. Pelosi talks about compromising U.S. national security, yet, under Obama, there was no lethal military aid for Ukraine. Trump approved lethal military aid to help Ukraine combat Russian military incursions into Southeastern Ukraine AKA the pro-Russian Donbass region. Trump “undermined national security,” Pelosi said, groping for any argument that meets the high-crimes-and-misdemeanors for impeachment. She accuses Trump of bribing Zelensky, when the Constitution expressly forbids the president from taking bribes.
If Pelosi or Schiff could prove Trump was paid money by Ukraine, they’d have a case for bribery and high-crimes-and-misdemeanors. Calling withholding funding pending an anti-corruption review is not bribery, it’s prudent due diligence. Joe Biden told the Council on Foreign Relations [CFR] Sept. 27 that he got former Ukrianian prosecutor Viktor Shokin fired when he told former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko that funding would be withheld if they investigated Burisma Holdings. Pelosi and Schiff completely ignore what Joe Biden did for Hunter, landing him the job on Burisma’s board. Pelosi and Shiff insist Trump withheld Ukraine’s funding until he got the information on Biden’s activity in 2014. “We are not finished yet. The day is not over and you never know what testimony of one person may lead to the need for testimony of another,” Pelosi said.
Pelosi sarcastically invited Trump to come to the Intelligence Committee to tell his story. “If you have any information that is exculpatory . . . because if seems as if the facts are uncontested to what happened. Now if you have contrary, if you have a reason to convince people that something was different, under oath, please let us know.” Trump’s attorneys would never let him testify before the Democrat-controlled Intelligence Committee. Pelosi says there’s “clear evidence” Trump committed impeachable offenses but won’t say whether or not the Intelligence Committee would recommend articles of impeachment. Republican members of the Intelligence Committee like Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), think Democrats rejected Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s 22-month, $30 million investigation, whose Final Report March 23 showed no conspiracy with Russia in the 2016 campaign.
