Schiff Issues Subpoena for Whistleblower Complaint Being Unlawfully Withheld

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zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
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His job is not to investigate the truthfulness of the complaint, but to forward it directly to the necessary parties, as required by law.

The complaint is itself valid on its own merits, as we have for generations established the merits of any type of believable intelligence: multiple, corroborating, important sources. The report was already deemed credible to meet that status.

But of course the chuds won't care. They'll have to argue that all intelligence gathering since the beginning of human history, and all that we have learned and established, is all just wrong and fake because of some standard invented today, for no reason, that no one will ever meet. The GOP. The cancer of humanity. We might be better off with ISIS as a political party in the US.
 
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VRAMdemon

Diamond Member
Aug 16, 2012
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Nunes was ineffective and he knew it. It's a shame he didn't realize that before he ran for office.
 

dainthomas

Lifer
Dec 7, 2004
14,954
3,944
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According to Nunes the crime isn't the issue, us hearing about the crime is the issue.

I expect every republican on that committee to say basically the same thing.
 

VRAMdemon

Diamond Member
Aug 16, 2012
7,965
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The call was so perfect and non-criminal they they had to hide the record in a database intended for the nation’s most closely guarded secrets.

He keeps describing his phone call as "perfect". How can a phone call be perfect? Is there an objective standard of phone calls that it can be scored against? I suppose someone with a functional high-school level vocabulary could describe it as appropriate, normal, unremarkable, adhering-to-standards, or successful.

It's part of his religion, if one can really call it that. He's a former disciple of Norman Vincent Peale and The Power of Positive Thinking. Everything about himself and things he's promoting is always described in glowing superlatives. Everything he does is "perfect".

It dovetails with his current thing of the prosperity gospel (emphasis on the "prosperity"). Both are obviously appealing to someone with narcissistic personality disorder.
 

VRAMdemon

Diamond Member
Aug 16, 2012
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Schiff was questioning Maguire about what caused him to disregard the very clear "shall" language of the law that compels him to bring the whistleblower's complaint to the Intelligence Committee. Maguire responded that he saw issues of "executive privilege" that he wasn't authorized to waive, and so kicked it over to the White House OLC for a determination - basically permitting the wrongdoers to police themselves.

Of course what is not being said is that executive privilege asserted for a corrupt purpose is not a valid use of the privilege. Mr. Maguire surely knew that before rabbiting over to the White House OLC
 

SMOGZINN

Lifer
Jun 17, 2005
14,359
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There was likely never a word-for-word transcript, I don't think they literally record everything in/out of the WH/Trump's personal cell, I could be wrong about that though.

Page 3, Section II of the Whistleblower report: (bolding mine)

In the days following the phone call, I learned from multiple U.S. Officials that senior White House officials had intervened to "lock down" all records of the phone call, especially the official word-for-word transcript of the call that was produced - as is customary - by the White House Situation Room.

There is/was a word-for-word transcript of the phone call. The White House intervened to have it removed from the record.
 

HomerJS

Lifer
Feb 6, 2002
39,646
33,233
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Schiff was questioning Maguire about what caused him to disregard the very clear "shall" language of the law that compels him to bring the whistleblower's complaint to the Intelligence Committee. Maguire responded that he saw issues of "executive privilege" that he wasn't authorized to waive, and so kicked it over to the White House OLC for a determination - basically permitting the wrongdoers to police themselves.

Of course what is not being said is that executive privilege asserted for a corrupt purpose is not a valid use of the privilege. Mr. Maguire surely knew that before rabbiting over to the White House OLC
Apparently one of the reasons for keeping lawyers on staff is to find justification for ignoring clear cut law.

The law did not state turn over to Congress pending any sort of review.
 

kage69

Lifer
Jul 17, 2003
31,650
48,366
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Love how sleazy and corrupt Team Treason is coming across here, people like Nunes are doing the Dems a favor for 2020.

Trump is up the creek, and look how he's grabbing Pence's hand and dragging him along. No way evangelicals! You're not ditching me for Pence, either I stay or it's PoTUS Pelosi. Haha.
 

UNCjigga

Lifer
Dec 12, 2000
25,648
10,353
136
Trump 100% tried to get Maguire to bury the complaint.

Maguire has emphatically stated that neither the President, White House, nor DOJ ever asked him to bury the complaint or reveal the whistleblower’s identity. I’ll take him at his word for now.
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,947
31,483
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Love how sleazy and corrupt Team Treason is coming across here, people like Nunes are doing the Dems a favor for 2020.

Trump is up the creek, and look how he's grabbing Pence's hand and dragging him along. No way evangelicals! You're not ditching me for Pence, either I stay or it's PoTUS Pelosi. Haha.

In hypothetical land where Trump successfully drags Pence under with him, I think Nancy needs to do the right thing and step down--essentially "recuse herself" from the position, as she holds power over the action that would, by law, give her the presidency.

This way, the House can nominate the new, fresher Speaker of the House, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. :D

Hey, that would solve the post-Trump deplorable problem faster than you can say "Reconstruction!": the collective head explosions across Appalachia and the southern midwest would likely trigger a detectable earth tremor.
 
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Fenixgoon

Lifer
Jun 30, 2003
33,485
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Love how sleazy and corrupt Team Treason is coming across here, people like Nunes are doing the Dems a favor for 2020.

Trump is up the creek, and look how he's grabbing Pence's hand and dragging him along. No way evangelicals! You're not ditching me for Pence, either I stay or it's PoTUS Pelosi. Haha.

the conservatears would be so deliciously salty
 
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glenn1

Lifer
Sep 6, 2000
25,383
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In hypothetical land where Trump successfully drags Pence under with him, I think Nancy needs to do the right thing and step down--essentially "recuse herself" from the position, as she holds power over the action that would, by law, give her the presidency.

This way, the House can nominate the new, fresher Speaker of the House, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. :D

Hey, that would solve the post-Trump deplorable problem faster than you can say "Reconstruction!": the collective head explosions across Appalachia and the southern midwest would likely trigger a detectable earth tremor.

While I know you're trolling the idea of Pelosi recusing herself is sound. Let's find someone to run the country who wasn't a bartender this time last year however if both Trump and Pence get replaced. We've had enough of the amateur hour at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
 
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Sunburn74

Diamond Member
Oct 5, 2009
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Apparently one of the reasons for keeping lawyers on staff is to find justification for ignoring clear cut law.

The law did not state turn over to Congress pending any sort of review.
Nor did it state anything giving exception to executive privilege.

Essentially what that guy was arguing was that if a member of the IC and the president were collaborating in criminal activity that was reported through another whistleblower, he wouldn't have to report it because of executive privilege and he would first check with the president if it was ok to do so.
 

SMOGZINN

Lifer
Jun 17, 2005
14,359
4,640
136
This way, the House can nominate the new, fresher Speaker of the House, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

That would be a interesting Constitutional conundrum. AOC is not old enough to run for Presidency, but the Constitution only talks about an age restriction for Presidential Candidates, and does not actually list any requirements for holding the position. Heads across the US would indeed explode.
 

dank69

Lifer
Oct 6, 2009
37,536
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While I know you're trolling the idea of Pelosi recusing herself is sound. Let's find someone to run the country who wasn't a bartender this time last year however if both Trump and Pence get replaced. We've had enough of the amateur hour at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
It's going to be an extra dose of clusterfuck in the WH no matter what happens. Even if Trump were to get reelected in 2020 and make it to 2024, there is no chance that he would provide a competent transition team to his successor. If he loses in 2020, they'll all walk the fuck out the day after the election leaving it empty until the next Pres is sworn in, and that's assuming he doesn't fight the results in court. If he is removed before 2020, well, same thing. Then there is the matter of unwinding all the bullshit he put in place, rounding up all his sycophants and corrupt cronies and sending them on the first manned mission to Mars, and undoing executive orders for days/weeks/months. Then repairing our relationships with all our allies and attempting to put checks back on all the dictators can begin.
 

fleshconsumed

Diamond Member
Feb 21, 2002
6,486
2,363
136
I've read the whistle blower complaint just now.

We know that the call transcript has been moved to secure servers intended to keep classified secrets such as covert ops which is effectively obstruction of justice. What stood out to me reading the complaint is that this is not the first time presidential transcript has been locked away for apparently political purposes.

Direct quote: "According to White House officials I spoke with, this was "not the first time" under this Administration that a Presidential transcript was placed into this codeword-level system solely for the purpose of protecting politically sensitive - rather than national security sensitive - information"

1569510904941.png

This shit has been going on for a long long time. I'd like to read the other transcripts that we placed on the server.
 
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[DHT]Osiris

Lifer
Dec 15, 2015
17,466
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I've read the whistle blower complaint just now.

We know that the call transcript has been moved to secure servers intended to keep classified secrets such as covert ops which is effectively obstruction of justice. What stood out to me reading the complaint is that this is not the first time presidential transcript has been locked away for apparently political purposes.

Direct quote: "According to White House officials I spoke with, this was "not the first time" under this Administration that a Presidential transcript was placed into this codeword-level system solely for the purpose of protecting politically sensitive - rather than national security sensitive - information"

View attachment 11285

This shit has been going on for a long long time. I'd like to read the other transcripts that we placed on the server.
Yeah I'd love to know that too. That could be a very spicy meatball.
 

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
50,879
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Maguire has emphatically stated that neither the President, White House, nor DOJ ever asked him to bury the complaint or reveal the whistleblower’s identity. I’ll take him at his word for now.

My fallible instincts tell me that Maguire is credible but significantly erred in his decision. I will withhold judgment for the time being. On the plus side he is emphatically supporting the whistleblower's action and is not entertaining the idea of "spy" or wrongdoer in any way. This has set the Reps back on attacking the source of the complaint unless they are going to completely throw Maguire under the bus and I doubt that's going to be a theme today.
 

[DHT]Osiris

Lifer
Dec 15, 2015
17,466
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My fallible instincts tell me that Maguire is credible but significantly erred in his decision. I will withhold judgment for the time being. On the plus side he is emphatically supporting the whistleblower's action and is not entertaining the idea of "spy" or wrongdoer in any way. This has set the Reps back on attacking the source of the complaint unless they are going to completely throw Maguire under the bus and I doubt that's going to be a theme today.
Given their 'thank you for your honorable service yada yada nobody should be attacking you yada yada' garbage, they'd have a hard time turning a 180 and burning the messenger at this point.