Ukraine President Zelensky: ‘No Blackmail’ in Phone Conversation With Trump

Legal Insurrection

Maybe, just maybe, Zelensky is telling the truth? Stop dragging him down because you suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome.

"The crux of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump keeps falling apart.

Once again, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that Trump did not blackmail or threaten to withhold aid from Ukraine if he did not investigate former Vice President Joe Biden.

"From the Associated Press:

Zelenskiy is trying to save his reputation and distance himself from the U.S. political drama. In an all-day “media marathon” held in a food court, he played down suggestions that Trump pressured him to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden in exchange for military aid to help Ukraine battle Russian-backed separatists.

Responding to questions from The Associated Press, Zelenskiy said he only learned after their July 25 phone call that the U.S. had blocked hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine.

“We didn’t speak about this” during the July call, Zelenskiy said.

“There was no blackmail.”

Trump asked Zelenskiy during the call to “look into” Biden and his son, according to a rough White House transcript. Congressional Democrats believe Trump was holding up the military aid to use as leverage to pressure Ukraine and advance his domestic political interests before next year’s U.S. presidential election.

. . . 

About that Fox News poll claiming 51% of voters want Trump out

Beware of polls this far from election day. Their purpose is not to reflect public opinion, but to influence it. Polls tend to be more accurate closer to election day, except perhaps for any CNN poll. TD

Tony Branco

Monica Showalter  "We all know there's such a thing as a push poll. We also know that a heckuva lot of pollsters get their results wrong.

"Nevertheless, here's an unwelcome Fox News poll result being reported as news and being flashed at least at first, in red letters at the center of the page on the Drudge Report:

Just over half of voters want President Trump impeached and removed from office, according to a Fox News Poll released Wednesday. . . .

 . . . "It's undoubtedly a lot of randomly selected registered voters, even if it's not 51%, and that's likely a reflection of the wall-to-wall negative media coverage President Trump has gotten over this impeachment whistleblower issue, which I've seen on television news broadcasts." . . .

. . . "All the same, what's Fox News's track record on polls? 

"Not good, actually. Here is their 2016 pre-election poll, which forecast Hillary Clinton soundly beating Donald Trump by four percentage points, which in electionworld, is a landslide:

"If you want to follow pollsters, the best one to follow is IBD/TIPP, which has a long record of calling election results right, even against the herd. They too are reporting troubles for Trump but not as strongly as this Fox poll.  There are others who swear by Rasmussen, so a look at what they've got is worth a click, too. 

"The bad thing with this is that it will embolden Democrats to keep pressing forward to remove President Trump from office, even on just obstruction grounds since they aren't doing any 'impeachment inquiry' honestly or fairly to all sides. They've gagged Republicans from asking questions and their refusal to hold a real impeachment inquiry is nothing more than a bid to keep subpoena powers from Republicans." . . .

THIS...is CNN!

CNN’s Analyst On Impeachment: ‘This Isn’t Benghazi…This is Serious’…  . . . "Here is a quick reminder of how CNN covered the attack and subsequent hearings at the time. In 2013, CNN’s legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin scoffed at Republicans seeking out more information, calling the terrorist attacks a “non-story” and non-”scandal” for the Obama administration.

"CNN’s David Gergen blamed Republicans for the media’s lack of interest in an investigation.

"In mid-2014 CNN President Jeff Zucker bragged the Benghazi hearings weren't worth Americans' or CNN's time: "We're not going to be shamed into it by others who have political beliefs that want to try to have temper tantrums to shame other news organizations into covering something."

"Two weeks ago, Avlon also attacked Republicans for their “situational ethics,” a problem cable news analysts seem to conveniently ignore when it comes to Democrats." . . .

Trump Shames NBA Coaches For ‘Pandering To China’

Daily Wire  "President Trump weighed in for the first time Wednesday on the ongoing NBA-China debacle by publicly shaming two high-profile coaches for “pandering to China.”
"Championship-winning coaches Steve Kerr and Gregg Popovich, said Trump, refuse to voice criticism of Communist China’s oppressive policies but seem to have no such hesitations about talking “very badly” about the U.S.
"The NBA’s China mess began when Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted in support of the pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong against China’s attempts to erode the autonomy of the region and the civil rights of citizens. In response, the Chinese government and the Chinese Basketball Association denounced the GM and threatened to cut ties with the Rockets. The NBA quickly took steps to appease the communist regime, apologizing for having “deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China,” while Morey deleted the tweet and apologized for expressing solidarity with pro-democracy protesters." 
"Asked about the controversy on Monday, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kurr, who hasn’t been shy in the past about expressing his political views, refused to offer an opinion, drawing widespread criticism."

Clay Travis

‏

Verified account 

@ClayTravis

Steve Kerr has no comment on NBA’s China issues. He comments on every Trump tweet and can’t support democracy in China? What a complete and total coward.

 Logan Murdock

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2:50 AM - 8 Oct 2019

. . . “ 'He didn’t know how to answer the question, and yet he’ll talk about the United States very badly,” Trump added. As for Popovich, Trump said, “sort of the same thing, but he didn’t look quite as scared actually.”

"Overall, he said, “they talk badly about the United States, but when [they talk] about China, they don’t want to say anything bad.' ” . . .

America's grifters should shame us all.

Timothy Bishop

Burisma paid Joe Biden $900,000 for lobbying – Ukrainian MP  "Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden received $900,000 for lobbying activities from Burisma Group, Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada member Andriy Derkach said citing investigation materials.
"Derkach publicized documents which, as he said, "describe the mechanism of getting money by Biden Sr." at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine's press center in Kyiv on Wednesday.
"This was the transfer of Burisma Group's funds for lobbying activities, as investigators believe, personally to Joe Biden through a lobbying company. Funds in the amount of $900,000 were transferred to the U.S.-based company Rosemont Seneca Partners, which according to open sources, in particular, the New York Times, is affiliated with Biden. The payment reference was payment for consultative services," Derkach said.
"He also publicized sums that were transferred to Burisma Group representatives, in particular Hunter Biden, a son of the former U.S. vice president." . . .
MP Derkach unveils facts of pressure of U.S. Embassy on Ukraine's law enforcement bodies, possible corrupt actions of the Bidens  Source: Interfax-Ukraine.

Biden Campaign Says Joe Will Not Answer Questions About Hunter’s Business Dealings…   "The media would cry bloody murder if Trump did this.""

Imagining Chelsea Clinton’s America  . . . "Along with the White House, if we’re to remain true to Chelsea’s fantasy, control of the Senate would pass to the Democrats, who would also extend their majority in the House of Representatives. With power to match their vigor, the Warren Administration would get to work. In every area, transformative legislation would pour out of Washington. A few highlights:" . . .

Company Co-Founded By Nancy Pelosi’s Son Charged With Fraud  . . . "Remember Solyndra? That one wasn’t a small hit to the U.S Treasury. From The Washington Times:  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged a company cofounded by Paul Pelosi Jr. with fraud on Wednesday after learning that two convicted criminals were running the business.Paul Pelosi Jr., the son of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), was the president and chief operating officer of Natural Blue Resources Inc., an investment company he cofounded that focuses on “environmentally-friendly” ventures.  . . .

 The New Mexico Office of the Secretary of State Business Service Division currently lists Natural Blue as a company "not in good standing," with Pelosi listed as its president.

There is No Middle Ground with Today’s Democrats or the Deep State

American Greatness  "Lose an election you thought you’d win? Well Democrats’ have a solution for that: “We shall impeach all da things!!” Don’t like a Supreme Court justice? Impeach him! Don’t like the president? Impeach away. And if you’re Congressman “President” Swalwell, I assume you nuke whatever is left.
"Of course there are no real grounds for impeachment—just failed lies and hoaxes. But who cares? Clearly the Christine Blasey Ford and Russian collusion hit jobs failed miserably, but damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!
"Like a child with a box of matches, deranged Democrats seem to think they have their hands on a good idea. Their thinking goes something like this: “If we can’t be in control, let’s burn it all down, destroy norms, throw an epic political tantrum, hold the American people hostage! That’ll show the irredeemable deplorables to question their betters!”
"The Democrats’ sycophant propagandists in the corporate leftist media are barking and clapping away like circus seals, cheering them on. Both sets of deranged people appear perplexed, however, that outside of their bubble within the Acela corridor people in real America, as Politico chronicled, think the idea of impeachment is absurd. The corporate leftist media’s reaction, from Chuck Todd’s meltdown over the weekend to the Politico piece, is one of shock and disgust that people are not listening to their enlightened masters on this matter." . . .

Luckily, Dems Never Have 'personal, Political' Motives

Apart from the blindingly obvious fact that you can't commit crimes and then escape justice simply by running for president, Democrats take official government action for "personal, political" reasons all the time. Frequently, they do so for the sole purpose of harming their political opponents.

Ann Coulter  "Today we will answer the question: May a president ask a foreign country to investigate corruption if it serves his "personal, political" interests?

"The "personal, political" angle is the last gasp of the impeachment hysterics. (I'm looking at you, Sens. Rob Portman (Ohio), Susan Collins (Maine), Mitt Romney (Utah) and Ben Sasse (Nebraska).)
"Yes, Donald Trump is, technically, "president," and, yes, former Vice President Joe Biden used his government position to withhold foreign aid until the president of Ukraine fired a prosecutor looking into a company paying Biden's drug addict son millions of dollars for mysterious reasons.
"But, the impeachment fanatics assert, by asking a foreign leader to assist in an otherwise legitimate corruption investigation, Trump has committed a monstrous crime -- because he was pursuing a "personal political interest." To wit: Trump was trying to harm his political opponent, Joe Biden.

"Apart from the blindingly obvious fact that you can't commit crimes and then escape justice simply by running for president, Democrats take official government action for "personal, political" reasons all the time. Frequently, they do so for the sole purpose of harming their political opponents.

"President Barack Obama's IRS investigated and harassed conservative groups for years, using the most fearsome arm of the government to punish political enemies -- for personal, political reasons. Then his Department of Justice refused to prosecute the corrupt officials, which, I believe, was again for -- yes, it was personal, political reasons.
"How about the Obama administration's endless investigations of Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson? As was obvious from the outset, Officer Wilson had done absolutely nothing wrong when he fatally shot Mike Brown -- something even Obama's corrupt, subpoena-defying attorney general, Eric Holder, had to concede after reviewing all the evidence.
"Those massive Department of Justice investigations were undertaken to gin up the Democratic base in order to help Hillary, who proceeded to honor Mike Brown's mother on stage at the Democratic National Convention.
"In the most perfect example of a president demanding investigations for no other purpose than serving a "personal, political" interest, in 1999, when Hillary was gearing up to run for the Senate from New York against Mayor Rudy Giuliani, President Bill Clinton (her husband) launched investigation after investigation into the crown jewel of the Giuliani administration, the NYPD.
"If President Clinton had actually cared about police brutality, there were dozens of police forces that should have been probed before he'd ever get to New York.
"Such as, for example, the city Bill and Hillary lived in.
"In 1999, as the NYPD was virtually eliminating crime in New York City, there were a grand total of 11 fatal shootings by police officers. That's 0.28 fatal shootings for every 1,000 officers.
"In Washington, D.C., that year, there were four times as many fatal police shootings -- 1.14 per 1,000 cops. In Houston, the number was 1.68. In San Diego, it was 4.36.
"In the end, Giuliani withdrew from the race to treat his prostate cancer, but when President Clinton was demanding these investigations, Rudy was crushing Hillary both in the polls and in political contributions." . . . Read the full article here.

Why can't Mitt Romney please just go away and take Hillary with him? Please.

http://www.terrellaftermath.com/

Mitt Romney, Mr. Unreliable  "Mitt Romney, commenting about the Trump pull-out of U.S. troops in northern Syria, says America is "an unreliable ally."

"Hey, Mitt: America demonstrated that she's an unreliable ally a long time ago in that one war over in southeast Asia that you missed out on.  Remember that war?  The one where our allies were doing just fine 'til Congress cut them off?  You might wanna compare notes with John Kerry; it's seared into his brain.

"Let's talk some more about unreliable allies.  When Mitt expressed interest in the SecState job, and in spite of Romney's unfriendliness, Donald Trump interviewed him for the position.  Even before the president decided on the pick, Mitt was over in Europe, bad-mouthing his own president.

"Then when Mitt was running for the Senate in Utah, and despite the above backstabbery, he sought and got an ally in Trump.  The president went to Utah and spoke up for Candidate Romney.  Soon after winning the election, the same Mitt Romney published a lengthy op-ed in the Washington Post assassinating the president's character.

"Talk about "an unreliable ally.' " . . .

Remember Romney's Anti-Trump WashPo Op-Ed  . . . "Where else other than the Washington Post (aka publishers of deep state propaganda and fake news), would Romney publish such a blistering op-ed of the President?

"Forever the globalist, Romney begins with the type of attack he did not deliver during his failed 2012 presidential run against Barack Obama’s massive purge of the U. S. Military."

Romney called A Well-Oiled Weather Vane

Breitbart's John Nolte has a lower opinion of Romney than that.  . . . "Let’s first dispel with the idea that Romney wrote this op-ed out of some pressing moral need to condemn Trump’s supposed indecency. Decent people don’t contribute to the far-left Washington Post, a news outlet that published a countless number of lies to sabotage Romney, that attacks the children of Republicans, that tells almost as many lies as CNN." . . .

Ben Garrison

Remember the Democrats and Kavanaugh

Stilton's Place

. . . "For all we know, and with memory of the Kavanaugh hearings still stuck in our craw, this new "whistleblower" may be claiming to have seen a youthful President Trump spiking punch bowls at parties, after which he steered helpless, drugged heads of state into a bedroom where he forced them to say dirty things about Joe Biden.

"And we...don't...care.
"The funny thing about credibility, as the Left has failed to notice, is that once it's gone you can't get it back. Which is why no number of Democrat-coached "whistleblowers" can impress us at this point... nor can they make us spend any more time blogging about it than we want to. Which ain't much." . . .

Chuck Todd and the Demise of True Journalism

Chuck Todd and the Demise of True Journalism

. . . "But far from being a laudable moment of press accountability, the “Meet the Press” interview was a disappointing turn for Todd and the show, once one of the media’s flagship brands. Indeed, the full interview illustrated how the media are increasingly obsessed with performative demonstrations of their political views, and less concerned with simply being informative." . . .

The bottom line is that if most of the people watching this exchange had someone – even a friend -- question their sincerity and call them a lackey, they wouldn’t put up with it. And it’s infinitely worse to have an ostensibly professional journalist question someone’s integrity this way on national TV.

Mark Levin: MSNBC’s Chuck Todd is “unhinged” and a “disgrace”

. . . "Todd interviewed Johnson on the Democrats’ impeachment efforts and the whistleblower complaint against President Trump’s phone call with Ukraine’s president. During the interview, Todd asked Johnson about a Wall Street Journal report quoting the senator saying he “winced” at the claim that Trump withheld military aid for Ukraine to leverage an investigation of Joe Biden’s potential corruption.

"When Johnson insisted that the president is being undermined by members of the intelligence community and said Todd is biased because he would not ask former CIA Director John Brennan about text messages between Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, Todd accused Johnson of pushing “Fox News conspiracy propaganda stuff.” Todd and Johnson went on to yell and interrupt each other as they debated." . . .

2018: NBC Meet the Press Host Chuck Todd & Dems Responsible for Alt-Left Domestic Terrorist Attack on Fox Affiliate (?)

"A violent brainwashed leftist criminal repeatedly rammed his truck into the FOX studios after Chuck Todd told his viewers to “start fighting back” against FOX News.". . . Democrats and the corrupt Fake News Media have been openly calling for their supporters to commit harassment and violence against all conservatives for quite some time, and now CNN, NBC and Chuck Todd appear to have driven one of their mindlessly unhinged viewers to act on their calls for violence.
"CNN, NBC, Chuck Todd and many other leftists were lucky that nobody was hurt or killed in their supporter’s domestic terrorist attack on FOX, but very soon these unhinged violent brainwashed leftist criminals will kill someone, and the Democrats and Fake News Media will have blood on their hands." . . .

Bongino: Chuck Todd should resign and apologize for contentious interview with Sen. Ron Johnson

Bongino, a Fox News contributor, said Johnson should have "walked off" the set and "no credible Republican should appear on that show again." He said Johnson is owed an apology from Todd.

This "truth-challenged" Democrat coup MUST fail

"He's right to keep away from it, because the revelations are now rolling out that this is a coup attempt from an embittered opposition. For the sake of preserving our democratic system, good for him for giving this farce the contempt it deserves."  Monica Showalter 

Photosnark by Rich Terrell

So who's the Democratic candidate the 'whistleblower' had a 'professional relationship' with?  "The Democrats' impeachment show just keeps getting less and less credible, and more and more disgusting.

"The latest is from Byron York at the Washington Examiner, who reports that the so-called 'whistleblower' had a "professional relationship" with an unnamed Democratic Party presidential candidate:

Under questioning from Republicans during last Friday's impeachment inquiry interview with [Michael] Atkinson, the [intelligence community's] inspector general revealed that the whistleblower's possible bias was not that he was simply a registered Democrat. It was that he had a significant tie to one of the Democratic presidential candidates currently vying to challenge President Trump in next year's election.  . . .

WHY SCHIFF?   Lindsey Graham on the Democrat impeachment effort   . . . "The Intelligence Committee is where the truth-challenged Chairman Adam Schiff is orchestrating the impeachment action." . . .

Byron York: Whistleblower had 'professional' tie to 2020 Democratic candidate  . . . "All three sources said Atkinson did not identify the Democratic candidate with whom the whistleblower had a connection. It is unclear what the working or professional relationship between the two was." . . .

President Trump: Now the Whistleblower Must Apologize to Me and Stop Ridiculous Impeachment  

South Park Gives the NBA a Lesson in How to Stand Up to China

So much for liberal virtue-signalling. If the NBA/ Rockets had attacked President Trump with some trashy halftime show they would have been on safe ground with the left and even praised as "courageous" by Hollywood. I like what "South Park" has done, but still wouldn't want my family to watch it in general. TD

National Review

Though it’s tough for any company to risk access to the Chinese market, assisting a totalitarian regime in attempting to silence critics is beyond the pale.

"Businesses operating in a globalized world must sometimes make compromises to accommodate autocratic regimes as they expand abroad, but it is essential that they don’t abandon their core values in the process. This has been brought into stark relief over the past few days, as the Chinese state has sought to punish the National Basketball Association and the television show South Park for separate criticisms of its totalitarian practices, and the former shamefully caved while the latter responded with defiance.

"After Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted a statement supportive of the ongoing protests in Hong Kong late last week, China quickly moved to punish the team: The Chinese Basketball Association suspended its cooperation with the Rockets and announced that the streaming service Tencent would not be airing Rockets games for this upcoming season. The Rockets’ owner, Tillman Fertita, no doubt feeling Chinese pressure, publicly rebuked Morey and clarified that the GM’s comments did not represent the view of the team or the NBA. The franchise’s star player, James Harden, publicly apologized to China, and Morey deleted the tweet and issued an apologetic statement of his own. The NBA sent out an incoherent press release affirming its support for individuals’ educating themselves, the Chinese version of which even labeled Morey’s tweet inappropriate. The message was clear: The league would prioritize its relationship with China over any commitment to democratic values.

"The league was roundly criticized for its cowardice. Politicians on both sides of the aisle spoke out against its willingness to immediately fold in the face of China’s anti-Morey campaign, and with good reason. After all, this is the same NBA that consistently touts its leadership on social-justice issues and was even quick to boycott a whole state a few years ago because of a law it didn’t like, and here it was pathetically groveling before a brutal totalitarian regime in a doomed attempt to preserve its standing in the massive Chinese market." . . .