task0778
Diamond Member
1. If you state a fact, provide a link to substantiate it. If you state an opinion and it's not yours, provide a link. If you do not provide a link then whatever you post is considered to be your opinion, which by the way is fine.
2. No one-line fly-bys. Rationales and reasoning for your opinions are required.
3. Disagreeing with someone's post is acceptable, even encouraged, but attacking someone's post is not. If you characterize someone's post as garbage, that's an attack. If you say 'I don't believe that' or 'I don't think that's right or true', that's disagreeing and you should state why.
Far as I can tell, there is none. Proof that is. I saw several people testify in the House inquiry and most of them said Trump was guilty of bribery or quid pro quo, but when pressed they had no proof. One after another they said it was a presumption, opinion, personal guess. I can understand the feeling that Trump was trying to get the Ukraine to investigate the Bidens and withheld military aid to them if they didn't comply, but you gotta have more than a feeling if you're going to impeach a president. So, first question: where's the proof?
There's nothing wrong with the president asking for an investigation; Joe Biden is a candidate for the democratic nomination, shouldn't we find out if he was engaged in or complicit in corruption? There was enough evidence to support at least an investigation by the Ukrainians, I don't see anything wrong with that. It could have been at least in part Trump's job to determine the facts.
We do know that the military aid was held-up for awhile but then delivered. But there is no evidence or proof for why. None of the inquiry witnesses could state that they knew the reason. But one witness did explain that aid was held-up to other countries, and is not uncommon:
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale confirmed Wednesday evening at the House Intelligence Committee that aid to Lebanon was held up at the same time, and in the same way, as aid to Ukraine. Hale testified during the sixth public hearing in the ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
Responding to questions from Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX), Hale agreed that President Trump had a general skepticism of foreign aid and wanted to overhaul the way it was handled, as part of his “America First” policy.
He also agreed that delays on aid are not uncommon, and confirmed his earlier testimony that aid to Lebanon had been held up by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the White House, as had aid to Pakistan and to the “Northern Triangle” countries (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) until it was later released. The Lebanon hold remains in effect.
The Pakistan aid was held up because of “unhappiness over the policies and behavior of the Pakistani government toward certain proxy groups that were involved in conflicts with the United States,” Hale said.
Hale also confirmed that when aid was withheld from Lebanon, there was no reason given — just as with Ukraine. Asked whether that was “not uncommon,” Hale said it is “not the normal way that we function,” but that “t does happen.”
David Hale: Aid Was Held up to Lebanon, Central America Alongside Ukraine
Therefore, it s not out of the question that Trump had other reasons for delaying that aid to Ukraine. Which means the Dems have no proof of "abuse of office".
2. No one-line fly-bys. Rationales and reasoning for your opinions are required.
3. Disagreeing with someone's post is acceptable, even encouraged, but attacking someone's post is not. If you characterize someone's post as garbage, that's an attack. If you say 'I don't believe that' or 'I don't think that's right or true', that's disagreeing and you should state why.
Far as I can tell, there is none. Proof that is. I saw several people testify in the House inquiry and most of them said Trump was guilty of bribery or quid pro quo, but when pressed they had no proof. One after another they said it was a presumption, opinion, personal guess. I can understand the feeling that Trump was trying to get the Ukraine to investigate the Bidens and withheld military aid to them if they didn't comply, but you gotta have more than a feeling if you're going to impeach a president. So, first question: where's the proof?
There's nothing wrong with the president asking for an investigation; Joe Biden is a candidate for the democratic nomination, shouldn't we find out if he was engaged in or complicit in corruption? There was enough evidence to support at least an investigation by the Ukrainians, I don't see anything wrong with that. It could have been at least in part Trump's job to determine the facts.
We do know that the military aid was held-up for awhile but then delivered. But there is no evidence or proof for why. None of the inquiry witnesses could state that they knew the reason. But one witness did explain that aid was held-up to other countries, and is not uncommon:
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale confirmed Wednesday evening at the House Intelligence Committee that aid to Lebanon was held up at the same time, and in the same way, as aid to Ukraine. Hale testified during the sixth public hearing in the ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
Responding to questions from Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX), Hale agreed that President Trump had a general skepticism of foreign aid and wanted to overhaul the way it was handled, as part of his “America First” policy.
He also agreed that delays on aid are not uncommon, and confirmed his earlier testimony that aid to Lebanon had been held up by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the White House, as had aid to Pakistan and to the “Northern Triangle” countries (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) until it was later released. The Lebanon hold remains in effect.
The Pakistan aid was held up because of “unhappiness over the policies and behavior of the Pakistani government toward certain proxy groups that were involved in conflicts with the United States,” Hale said.
Hale also confirmed that when aid was withheld from Lebanon, there was no reason given — just as with Ukraine. Asked whether that was “not uncommon,” Hale said it is “not the normal way that we function,” but that “t does happen.”
David Hale: Aid Was Held up to Lebanon, Central America Alongside Ukraine
Therefore, it s not out of the question that Trump had other reasons for delaying that aid to Ukraine. Which means the Dems have no proof of "abuse of office".