Jonathan Chait is pretty concise here:
Donald Trump is being impeached for using his office to pressure foreign countries to investigate his political rivals. It is not clear Trump understands that, because he simply continues committing this offense in broad daylight.
In remarks to reporters today, Trump was asked what he wants Ukraine to do about the Bidens. He replied, “If they were honest about it, they would start a major investigation into the Bidens.” While elaborating on his answer, he added that he would also suggest China launch an investigation of the Biden family.
I don’t really have anything to add except that it is obviously not a less of impeachable offense to commit crimes in broad daylight rather than in secret. The president may or may not have a defense strategy in mind here. I don’t know.
He’s really just making it unnecessary to hold any investigation at all. The House could vote to impeach him tomorrow morning based on solely on the statements he made today.
This isn’t what he needs to be impeached for. Connect the first dot: he is actively harming US interests for his own personal gain, utilizing self-inflicted leverage (aid to Ukraine, the trade war with China) to extract concessions in his own pockets (bribes, dirt on political opponents, manufactured investigations, loans for Jared, trademarks for Ivanka).
In other words, a conspiracy to defraud the United States.
Ok we can add your paragraph to the charge. This bitch needs to go.
Should we add another paragraph for Pence?
At this point the GOP senate will not impeach. Speaker Nancy knows and she has dragged the process out so the donald could use that rope she gave him. The more rope he uses the more he looks like Roy Moore. The candidate the GOP let run for office and the once reliable GOP voter stayed home and did not vote.
It should be an abuse of office impeachment, detailing coercion of foreign heads of state to aid Trumper’s reelection through harassment of domestic opponents; pervasive dehumanizing, racist rhetoric directed at elected Dem opposition; demonizing and de-legitimizing the free press; universal refusal to comply with reasonable Congressional oversight, including applicable laws such as the tax return law; and engaging in a pervasive culture of political lies and deception.
The next step is for Schiff to demand the actual transcript of the Zelensky call, as it appears that the summary was heavily edited. To be provided in 5 days, or else that will be added to the refusal to comply with oversight count. Applicable committees should have their reports on the impeachable offenses completed 10 days after Der Trumper has failed to comply with their information requests.
This is all pro forma, as the complete failure of the (white) electorate and the Repub party to take any of this even remotely seriously makes clear the “conservative” movement has reached its logical endpoint as a militarist authoritarian white nationalist (i.e. fascist) movement. By refusing even to contemplate the impeachment of Glorious Leader (and Anti-Prez) Trump, their ruination of the Constitution is complete. A Repub vote to acquit Der Trumper should be equated with “conservative” agreement that any future Dem prez may engage in precisely the same conduct without repercussion. This is the end of the Olde Tyme Republic, willfully destroyed by the “conservative” movement.
Tomorrow? Hmmm…works for me.
Now here Trump is throwing our allies in the Middle east, the Kurds, to the wolves. Probably as a result of, on the recent call with Erdogan, in a dictator fanboy move, showing off how powerful he is in doing so, not for any reason other than to have Erdogan “like” him. Who knows, maybe Erdogan sent him “beautiful letters.”
Here he is proving once again that our allies can’t trust us, and that any ally of the United States is at risk of being betrayed.
The risk here is, the longer this “president” remains in office, the chances of something devastating, like the Kurdish betrayal, are high. If not stopped this will certainly doom some Kurds to death, but how long before the actions of this corrupt, incompetent loon puts Americans at risk of death? The likelihood of a disaster on that level happening is such that, I can say, not if, but when that happens, who will find themselves saying, I wish I had acted sooner? I would not want to be them when the shit truly hits that fan.