The impeachment inquiry into Biden has begun. — NOS4A2

In other news, the government is about to shutdown due to House Republican shenanigans.

Who cares?

Who cares? — NOS4A2

Anybody who desires a functional government acting in good faith

Anybody who desires a functional government acting in good faith

The big, bloated, and corrupt institution could use some time off.

The incompetent wing of the GOP is trying to shut down the government and run an 'investigation' on impeaching Biden that will go nowhere. Their goal seems to be to cater to the radical base with the attitude of "If you impeach our guy, we'll impeach your guy!" Some of them have been calling for a Biden impeachment before Biden even took office. It's ridiculous. Their job is to govern, which they are failing at if they can't even keep the government open and functioning.

What's the evidence Biden committed an impeachable offense? I must have missed it.

The point is exactly what you mentioned: if they do it, we’ll do it too— regardless of evidence.

The point of the shutdown is, as usual, to create as much chaos as possible so that they can blame the democrats for being so dysfunctional. It’s worked before — but I’m not sure if it’ll work this time.

The incompetent wing of the GOP is trying to shut down the government and run an 'investigation' on impeaching Biden that will go nowhere — GRWelsh

It’s all being run by Trump’s stooges in Congress, in the mistaken hope that the shutdown will stop the legal system pursuing its cases against him, and also just for retribution, as he said he would do.

Highlights from Day One of the Sham Impeachment Hearing. Worth the listen!



Jasmine Crockett knocks it out of the park. And hey, look which network.

The point of the shutdown is, as usual, to create as much chaos as possible so that they can blame the democrats for being so dysfunctional. It’s worked before — but I’m not sure if it’ll work this time. — Mikie

I think it goes much deeper, to the heart of Republican distrust of government and democracy, and the task of dismantling government agencies.

A congresswoman’s job isn’t to govern, I’m afraid. Her job is to legislate, to oversee the executive branch, and to fund the federal government (or not). It looks to me like they are doing their jobs.

The witness Jonathan Turley laid out his claims as to why the impeachment inquiry was justified here:

The record currently contains witness and written evidence that the President (1) has lied about key facts in these foreign dealings, (2) was the focus of a multimillion-dollar influence peddling scheme, and (3) may have benefitted from this corruption through millions of dollars sent to his family as well as more direct possible benefits. The President may be able to disprove or rebut these points, but they raise legitimate concerns over his role based on the accounts of key figures in the matter. Consider just ten of the disclosures from the prior investigation:

• Hunter Biden and his associates were running a classic influence peddling operation using Joe Biden as what Devon Archer called “the Brand.”[1] While this was described as an “illusion of access,” millions were generated for the Bidens from some of the most corrupt figures in the world, including associates who were later accused of or convicted of public corruption.[2]
  
• Some of the Biden clients pushed for changes impacting United States foreign policy and relations, including help in dealing with Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin investigating corruption.[3]
  
• President Biden has made false claims about his knowledge of these dealings repeatedly in the past, including insisting that he had no knowledge of Hunter’s foreign dealings which Archer has declared “patently false.”[4] The Washington Post and other media outlets have also declared the President’s insistence that his family did not take money from China as false.[5]
  
• The President had been aware for years that Hunter Biden and his uncle James were accused of influence peddling, including an audiotape of the President acknowledging a New York Times investigation as a threat to Hunter.[6]
  
• President Biden was repeatedly called into meetings with these foreign clients and was put on speakerphone.[7] He also met these clients and foreign figures at dinners and meetings.[8]
  
• Emails and other communications show Hunter repeatedly invoking his father to secure payments from foreign sources and, in one such message, he threatens a Chinese figure that his father is sitting next to him to coerce a large transfer of money.[9]
  
• A trusted FBI source recounted a direct claim of a corrupt Ukrainian businessman that he paid a “bribe” to Joe Biden through intermediaries.[10]
  
• Hunter Biden reportedly claimed that he had to give half of his earnings to his father[11] and other emails state that intermingled accounts were used to pay bills for both men, including a possible credit account that Hunter used to allegedly pay prostitutes.[12]
  
• At least two transfers of funds to Hunter Biden in 2019 from a Chinese source listed the President’s home in Delaware where Hunter sometimes lived and conducted business.[13]
  
• Some of the deals negotiated by Hunter involved potential benefits for his father, including office space in Washington.[14] At least nine Biden family members reportedly received money from these foreign transfers, including grandchildren.[15] For Hunter Biden, this included not just significant money transfers but gifts like an expensive diamond and a luxury car.[16]

These are only some of the serious corruption allegations facing the President, but each could raise impeachable conduct if a nexus is established to the President.



https://jonathanturley.org/2023/09/30/ten-reasons-why-the-biden-impeachment-inquiry-is-justified/

It’s odd if you had missed this because it has been public record for quite some time, but then again it’s not odd because none of it is what you want to hear.

This is funny.

Democratic representative Jamaal Bowman pulled a fire alarm on Saturday in a Capitol office building before a House vote on a stopgap measure to avoid a government shutdown.

The alarm prompted the Cannon House office building to be evacuated and triggered outcry from Republicans including the House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, who compared the New York congressman’s actions with those of the January 6 rioters.

https:/theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/30/democrat-jamaal-bowman-fire-alarm-house

Obstructing an official proceeding is what Trump was indicted for, as were many of the J6 protesters. Since “no one is above the law”, and “people should held to account”, I guess we should expect Bowman’s indictment soon. Hilarious.

Insurrection versus accidentally pulling a fire alarm. It’s a wash.

The cultists sure are desperate these days.

accidentally pulling a fire alarm — Mikie

This doesn't look like an accident. Unless either he's an idiot or it doesn't say it's a fire alarm.

He claimed the doors were usually open. If that's true then looking to open fire/emergency exit doors on purpose is possible.

A lot has been written about the disgraceful shit-show which is the MAGA Caucus Circus but this particular OP from TheDailyBeast puts its finger on something vital - that when it all came down to passing the desparate, last-minute stop gap bill, the one thing the MAGA couldn't budge on, simply had to have, was suspension of aid to Ukraine.

At the critical moment at which they had one last chance to avert a government shutdown, when Republicans in the House were forced to abandon all of their legislative priorities but one, the one they chose to ditch was the vital U.S. aid to Ukraine. In so doing, they sent the world an unmistakable signal once again that the first and guiding loyalty of Donald Trump’s GOP is as it always has been to the Kremlin.

Or a big, sloppy kiss on Putin's lips, as another commentator has it.


https://apple.news/AOHknXYmMRkiQ1mKqbwaevQ

Biden's saying that this clusterf*ck is the last gasp of the MAGA insurrection. As always, malevolence and hypocrisy hamstrung by complete ineptitude. Let's all sincerely hope he's right.

Seems a ridiculous thing to do. But if he did so on purpose— fine. Prosecute.

It’s just hilarious that MAGA wants to scream about it. It’s just pure vengeance and hypocrisy, since they don’t care about the rule of law anyway.

I'm still not clear on what the impeachment inquiry is about. What is the impeachable offense Joe Biden is being investigated for? Is it bribery? If so, what is the accusation, exactly? For example, if it was that Joe Biden accepted a bribe from China in exchange for doing something that threatened US national security, I would understand that accusation and then ask for the evidence. I can't make sense of the mare's nest of links and articles online, and to me it looks like Republicans are all over the place on their accusations or what they want to impeach Biden for. I've seen everything from Mexico border security to how he handled the pull out of Afghanistan to conspiracies with Ukraine or China.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efforts_to_impeach_Joe_Biden

It's because it's politically motivated, which makes sense - it's conservative Revenge, in Trump's own words. Dems dared to hold Trump responsible for his crimes, so they have to get revenge, by any means.

It's (D)ifferent when we do it.

Who are you talking to since nobody here said that? Although there's tons of obvious things to say about the equivocation you're suggesting. A rather callous and cavalier attitude to the storming of a government building and the deaths that followed by suggesting they are the same.

Of course, if you're only wanting to make the inane point that crimes should be prosecuted irrespective of who committed them then this is so obvious you'll not find anyone here to disagree.

The crime is the same and just as stupid in both cases. It’s a witness tampering crime used to prosecute political opponents who inconvenience congress because the law is stupid.

You think the crime Trump is being charged with is Witness Tampering?

It appears to be so. Ridiculous, isn’t it?

No, I think you're misinterpreting a whole lot if you think that's the meat of Trump's alleged crimes.

That may be ONE of Trump's crimes, I guess, though I don't know that he's even been charged for it.

It’s the crime in his indictment. What am I misrepresenting?

You think the crime Trump is being charged with is Witness Tampering? — flannel jesus

It appears to be so. Ridiculous, isn’t it? — NOS4A2

Regarding the Jan 6 case, the charges are:

18 U.S. Code § 371 - Conspiracy to defraud the United States
18 U.S. Code § 1512(k) Conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding
18 U.S. Code § 1512(c)(2) Obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding
18 U.S. Code § 241 - Conspiracy against rights

Michael gave a nice answer. As far as I can tell, witness tampering isn't even one of the charges.

As far as you can tell isn’t very far, I suppose.

Do you have any resources to demonstrate why you think he's being charged with just witness tampering?

https://www.theguardian.com/global/2023/aug/02/donald-trump-indictment-what-are-charges-what-happens-next

The title of the statute, the reason the statute was brought into law, and the entire history of its use. But It wouldn’t hurt to look at the crimes themselves and come to your own conclusions.