Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA),
ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, articulated
his trepidation with the Democrats’ case for impeaching President Trump during
the first hearing not to be conducted behind closed doors.
“For years they accused
the Trump campaign of colluding with Russia when they themselves were colluding
with Russia by funding and spreading the Steele dossier, which relied on
Russian sources. And now they accuse President Trump of malfeasance in Ukraine
when they themselves are culpable. The Democrats cooperated in Ukrainian
election meddling, and they defend Hunter Biden’s securing of a lavishly paid
position with a corrupt Ukrainian company, all while his father served as Vice President.”
[SKIP]
“What we will witness
today is a televised theatrical performance staged by the Democrats. Ambassador
Taylor and Mr. Kent—I’d like to welcome you here and congratulate you for
passing the Democrats’ Star Chamber auditions held for the last six weeks in
the basement of the Capitol. It seems you agreed, wittingly or unwittingly, to
participate in a drama. But the main performance—the Russia hoax—has ended, and
you’ve been cast in the low-rent Ukrainian sequel.”
I’ll conclude by noting
the immense damage the politicized bureaucracy has done to Americans’ faith in
government. Though Executive Branch employees are charged with implementing the
policy set by our President, who is elected by and responsible to the American
people, elements of the civil service have decided that they, not the
President, are really in charge.”
[SKIP]
“Officials showed a
surprising lack of interest in the indications of Ukrainian election meddling
that deeply concerned the President at whose pleasure they serve. Despite all
their dissatisfaction with President Trump’s Ukraine policy, the President
approved the supply of weapons to Ukraine, unlike the previous administration,
which provided blankets as defense against invading Russians.”
”By undermining the
President who they are supposed to be serving, elements of the FBI, the
Department of Justice, and now the State Department, have lost the confidence
of millions of Americans who believe that their vote should count for
something. It will take years, if not decades, to restore faith in these
institutions.”
“This spectacle is
doing great damage to our country. It’s nothing more than an impeachment
process in search of a crime.”
Since taking office,
the Trump Administration has continued to pressure Russia over its involvement
in eastern Ukraine. In January 2018, the
U.S. imposed
new sanctions on 21 individuals and nine companies linked to the conflict
in March 2018, the State Department approved
the sale of Javelin anti-tank weapons to Ukraine, the first sale of lethal
weaponry since the conflict began in July 2018 the Department of Defense
announced an additional $200 million in defensive aid, bringing the total
amount of aid provided since 2014 to $1 billion.
In his opening
statement on October 22nd, behind closed doors, Acting Ambassador to Ukraine
William Taylor described a visit to the frontlines in northern Donbas over the
summer in vivid terms that underscored his views on the importance of U.S.
security assistance to Ukraine.
"I could see the
armed and hostile Russian-led forces on the other side of the damaged bridge
across the line of contact," Taylor said. "Over 13,000 Ukrainians had
been killed in the war, one or two a week. To this day, that continues. More
Ukrainians would undoubtedly die without US assistance."
The Ukraine conflict,
which began in 2014, has led to roughly 13,000 deaths and displaced
roughly 1.6
million people.
Rep. Wenstrup: after being denied lethal aid from Obama, Ukraine has “strong support” From Trumphttps://t.co/TJOzA7dpmi pic.twitter.com/h0EzJThvfW— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 13, 2019
The
Maidan uprising, which took place on the eve of the closing day of the
Sochi Winter Games, astonished and enraged Putin. He responded by ordering the takeover of
Crimea at dawn on the morning of February 23, 2014. The war of aggression,
occupation, and annexation that followed turned out to be the grim beginning of
a new era and what might be the start of a new cold war, or worse.
At its heart, however,
the conflicts within Ukraine and the fight Putin has picked with Ukraine, are about
post-Soviet kleptocracy and where and whether there is a popular will to resist
it.
The impeachment
spectacle we witnessed yesterday and will have to endure in the coming weeks,
perhaps even months, has been designed to turn a phone call into a crime.
It’s funny to watch people who shrugged when Obama refused to give the Ukrainians lethal aid for years now hyperventilate about a delay in the delivery of aid that Obama steadfastly refused to give in the first instance.— James Hasson (@JamesHasson20) November 14, 2019
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