House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

Dems Desperately Reach for the Impeachment Button

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has given in to the pressure from the leftwing of her party and formally backed an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. The Russia hoax has failed, and the Ukraine hoax has begun.

The supposed catalyst for this action is a whistleblower complaint alleging that President Trump abused his presidential power in a phone call with the new president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. The White House has released the declassified memorandum of that conversation. The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has released, in unclassified form, the whistleblower complaint and the letter of transmittal of that complaint sent from the Justice Department official who reviewed it, Inspector General of the Intelligence Community (IGIC) Michael K. Atkinson, to the acting director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire. 

Many of the mainstream media reports present only partial quotations or carefully edited portions of these documents, so do click through to see them for yourself.

Sean Davis, writing at The Federalist, likens the whistleblower complaint to the debunked Steele dossier:

Rather than provide direct evidence that was witnessed or obtained firsthand by the complainant, the document instead combines gossip from various anonymous individuals, public media reports, and blatant misstatements of fact and law in service of a narrative that is directly contradicted by underlying facts.

 

… The document itself is riddled not with evidence directly viewed by the complainant, but repeated references to what anonymous officials allegedly told the complainant… A review of the entire complaint shows it is not so much an example of whistleblowing, an act that can only be done by the individual holding the whistle, but an elaborate gossipy game of telephone between unnamed individuals whose motives and credibility are impossible to ascertain.

 

In fact, the Department of Justice (DOJ) found in its review of the complaint from the anonymous official that the intelligence community inspector general found “indicia of an arguable political bias on the part of the Complainant in favor of a rival political candidate.”

The Democratic establishment has still not recovered from Election Night 2016 and are seeking to overturn that election in any and every way possible. Now Democrats are pulling the American people into what is likely to be the long and painful process of an impeachment proceeding. All this will accomplish is to stymie the legitimate work of Congress on behalf of the American people and make us weaker and more vulnerable in the eyes of our foreign opponents.

Case in point: Russia. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, penned an op-ed in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, co-signed by 18 other GOP members of the committee, in which he argues that this impeachment process is exactly what Russia’s Vladimir Putin wants:

This Democrat-manufactured crisis has consumed Congress. But no one is more pleased than Vladimir Putin.

 

Intentional or not, Democrats are literally following the Russian president’s playbook. His goal, now and before the 2016 election, has been to pit Americans against one another and erode confidence in our democratic process. The world, which should focus on Mr. Putin’s illegitimate annexation of Crimea and continuing aggression elsewhere in Ukraine, instead is fixated on this partisan domestic theater.

 

… Our sincere hope is that Mrs. Pelosi won’t drag our committee further into a partisan squabble on the world stage. Doing so would damage our ability to conduct effective foreign-policy oversight. Instead, we should focus on fighting Mr. Putin’s malign influence around the world, on combating Russian interference in the 2020 U.S. elections, and on helping our partner Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression.

 

In addition to Mr. McCaul, this article is signed by Reps. Chris Smith (N.J.), Steve Chabot (Ohio), Joe Wilson (S.C.), Scott Perry (Pa.), Ted Yoho (Fla.), Lee Zeldin (N.Y.), Jim Sensenbrenner (Wis.), Ann Wagner (Mo.), Brian Mast (Fla.), Francis Rooney (Fla.), John Curtis (Utah), Ken Buck (Colo.), Ron Wright (Texas), Guy Reschenthaler (Pa.), Tim Burchett (Tenn.), Greg Pence (Ind.), Steve Watkins (Kan.) and Michael Guest (Miss.).

Trump Addresses UN General Assembly and Human Rights Event

President Donald Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly this week. His remarks covered a range of subjects, including Iran, China, trade, immigration, and defending American values. Video. Transcript. 

The President and Vice President Mike Pence convened a UN event on religious freedom, in which the US leaders specifically referenced the problem of anti-Semitism around the world and called for an end to the persecution of religious minorities including Jews, Christians, Yazidis, and others. Video of the full event.  Transcript of the President’s remarks.

The RJC applauded the President and Vice President for their remarks and for making the fight against anti-Semitism a central element of their remarks. RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks said: “We applaud President Trump and Vice President Pence for shining a bright light on the evil of anti-Semitism and all religious-based hate. They have once again proven that they are committed to the safety of American Jews and Jews around the world.”