Extortion

Donald Trump is guilty of extortion. He should be removed from office.

The proof is his pressure on Ukraine on that government to investigate Joe Biden and is son Hunter Biden in exchange for $400 million in aid. Once his attempt became public knowledge he released the aid.

The definition of extortion is Obtaining money or property by threat to a victim’s property or loved ones, intimidation, or false claim of a right (such as pretending to be an IRS agent). It is a felony in all states, except that a direct threat to harm the victim is usually treated as the crime of robbery. Blackmail is a form of extortion in which the threat is to expose embarrassing, damaging information to family, friends or the public.

Nixon’s ’68 and ‘72 running mate, Spiro Agnew, resigned in disgrace in 1973 after being accused of bribery, extortion, and tax evasion during his tenure as Maryland governor.

Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J. “Imagine your house is on fire and you call 911, and the dispatcher says to you, ‘Oh, my gosh. Your house is on fire. That’s terrible. We’d love to help. We need a favor, though,’” he said. “At every stage of our interaction with the government, there’s a quid pro quo, there’s a favor demanded in exchange for a service that’s supposed to be in the public interest.”

As to Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch the president’s words left her “shocked” and “devastated,” told lawmakers Friday that when she read how President Trump had talked about her to his Ukrainian counterpart in a July phone call — saying ominously that “she’s going to go through some things” — the color drained from her face. “It sounded like a threat,” she said.  Trump’s response to criticism of his attack on her, ‘I have freedom of speech.’

Sorry, Mr. President, the House is giving you far more due process than the Constitution requires

By Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law and a contributing writer to Opinion section of the Los Angeles Times

President Trump and his supporters continue to complain that the House of Representatives is denying him due process. But in fact, every part of the inquiry to date has been in line with constitutional mandates, and the impeachment procedures adopted by the House of Representatives on Thursday go well beyond what the Constitution requires.

The Constitution says very little about how impeachment proceedings are to be conducted. The document specifies that the president, as well as federal judges and other officers of the United States, can be impeached for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” and gives the House of Representatives sole power to impeach. If a majority of the House votes for impeachment, there is then a trial in the Senate, which is presided over by the Chief Justice of the United States. It takes a two-thirds vote of the Senate to remove the president from office.

That’s it; that’s all the Constitution tells us about the procedures that must be followed. So long as these few rules are followed, it cannot be said that Congress is violating the Constitution. Trump and White House Counsel Pat Cipollone have said that the Constitution required a House resolution to authorize an impeachment inquiry, but they’re wrong.

Even now that Congress has passed such a resolution, Trump still insists he is being denied due process. But there is no basis for that claim either. Due process applies only if a person is being deprived of life, liberty or property. House impeachment hearings certainly don’t deprive the president of any of those interests.

Even though there was no requirement that the House do so, the resolution it passed sets out procedures that meet the requirements for due process. The proceedings will be in public. Both Democrats and Republicans will ask questions of every witness. Both sides can call witnesses. The procedures to be followed are much like those used in the Clinton and Nixon impeachment proceedings, though there was less fact-finding in the Clinton impeachment because of the detailed report of Whitewater Special Counsel Kenneth Starr.

In many ways, the House of Representatives functions likes a grand jury in a criminal case, and an impeachment often has been likened to an indictment. As with the grand jury, the House decides whether there should be a trial. But the usual requirements of due process never have been found to apply at the grand jury stage precisely because there is no deprivation at that point. In fact, grand jury proceedings in many ways are the antithesis of due process: only the prosecution is present; the defendant is not allowed to call witnesses or present evidence; everything is done in secret.

In the Trump investigation, unlike the Nixon impeachment, there is much less uncertainty about what happened. The constant question in that inquiry was what did the president know and when did he know it. There was a clear answer only once the Supreme Court ordered the release of the White House tapes, which occurred after the House Judiciary Committee had voted articles of impeachment against Nixon.

With regard to President Trump there is little dispute over what occurred in at least one key instance. In a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about the United States giving Ukraine $400 million in military aid, Trump said, “I would like you to do us a favor though.” Although he later tried to back away from his statement, White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney publicly acknowledged that this was a quid pro quo, linking assistance for Ukraine to its willingness to investigate Joe Biden and his son.

Ultimately, this impeachment inquiry is not really about what happened, but rather whether such presidential conduct is a sufficient abuse of power to constitute “high crimes and misdemeanors.” With so little dispute about the underlying facts, the president and his supporters have taken to attacking the process.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic Ennis House sells for $18 million

A mausoleum like structure designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright is identified by the Los Angeles Times as iconic. It is really a Grotesque structure that makes a great movie set. Its exotic style has made it a destination filming location for films such as “Blade Runner,” “Rush Hour,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “The Karate Kid Part III.”  In its favor the house provides a terrific view of Los Angeles and plenty of room for fabulous costume parties.

Hypocrite on Display

Let’s start with Merriam-Webster definition of a hypocrite.
1 : a person who pretends to have virtues or qualities that he or she does not have
2 : a person whose actions contradict their stated beliefs or feelings

Article 1, Section 2 “The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other officers; and shall have the sole power of impeachment.”

While this posting is on Senator Lindsey Graham, it can be applied to other Republicans who are defending Donald Trump.

Graham can propose a resolution condemning an impeachment inquiry and members of the GOP can storm private hearings obtaining information that might lead to an impeachment, but the constitution gives the power to impeach to the House of Representatives without qualifications.

In his Thursday news conference, Graham couldn’t quite bring himself to exonerate Trump: “I don’t want to comment on substance,” he said. “I’m not here to tell you that Donald Trump has done nothing wrong.” He merely raged against procedures, arguing, “The process in the House today, I think, is a danger to the future of the presidency.”

ABC News’s Terry Moran reminded him that during Watergate, lawmakers took depositions behind closed doors before there was an impeachment resolution, just as the House is doing now.
Graham did not dispute this.

CNN’s Ted Barrett reminded him that during the Clinton impeachment, House Republicans took private depositions before public hearings. “Why was it okay then and not now?”

“The inquiry itself became very public,” Graham replied.

And so will this one — leaving Graham looking foolish once more.

Democratic Party Debate Number 4

I watched the whole three hour Democratic Party debate.  In my opinion both Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders did not appear to have the stamina, energy, and quick wittedness to be president. This is my opinion on what occurred.

While Senator Elizabeth Warren is tied in many polls she was the target for many of her opponents. She had the most time speaking at over 22 minutes. You may not agree with her views but she aptly defended herself. Her inability to explain who will pay for her medicare for all plan (higher taxes or high premiums) is the question that remained unanswered. She had an opinion on every topic discussed. All other candidates were silent on at least one issue.

Joe Biden spoke only just over 16 minutes. His lack of participation in most topics was obvious. He spoke over 3 minute on Middle East policy and that clearly made him the foreign policy expert but on other topics his participation was weak. His defense of his son, Hunter, “My son did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong,” sent the message that it is OK for the children of elected officials to profit from their parent’s high government positions.

Bernie Sanders spoke just a little more than 13 minutes and spoke more about party strategy than anything else (one minute and 54 seconds). Surprisingly he spoke just over a minute on income inequality and that has been his trademark campaign issue. He had no comment on gun control and women’s rights. His heart attack clearly has impacted him.

Tom Steyer spoke more about income inequality (1 minute and 28 seconds) than Sanders. He only spoke a little over 7 minutes in total. This is my number two issue.

Beto O’Rourke spoke almost 3 ½ minutes on Gun Control and his plan to deny ownership of AK-47 and AR-15 rifles for everyone. This is my number one issue.

 The data for this post was obtained from the New York Times website.

L’état c’est moi – I am the state

What happened to America first?

Louis XIV brought France to its peak of absolute power and his words ‘L’etat c’est moi’ (‘I am the state‘) express the spirit of a rule in which the king held all political authority. His absolutism brought him into conflict with the Huguenots and the papacy, with damaging repercussions.

This belief easily helps us to recall President Richard Nixon who said on camera in the David Frost – Nixon interviews “but when the President does it, that means it is not illegal…”

Donald Trump’s hunger for authoritarian power plays out in many ways but can be distilled into a generality: If he wants to do something, he cares not what the law, precedent or basic human decency might dictate. He just forges ahead and asks, who wants to try to stop me?

The answer is the American people through their elected representatives. The House of Representatives has the constitutional authority to investigate whether the president has committed “high crimes and misdemeanors” justifying impeachment. To resist legitimate inquiries related to that responsibility is obstruction.

At the heart of the impeachment case against President Donald Trump lies a potential dagger for his re-election campaign: He’s accused of putting himself first — and American interests second.

This Tweet Trump sent out last Tuesday supports that accusation. “As I learn more and more each day, I am coming to the conclusion that what is taking place is not an impeachment, it is a COUP, intended to take away the Power of the People, their VOTE, their Freedoms, their Second Amendment, Religion, Military, Border Wall, and their God-given rights as a Citizen of The United States of America!”

Too bad Trump has not read the constitution. If he had, he would know that impeachment is a process is included in the constitution just as the second amendment is part of that same basic law. 

Update: Columnist Doyle McManus in the Sunday October 6, 2019 Los Angeles Times wrote an article titled “Trump should read the Constitution.”