Showing posts with label U.S. political system. Show all posts
Showing posts with label U.S. political system. Show all posts

Monday, November 11, 2019

TRUMP - Impeachment Week 11/4 to 11/10

COMMENT:  What you need to remember is our Constitution gives the Congress (in this context, the House) the right to decide if any President has committed a "High Crime and Misdemeanor" which means, unlike statuary law they define the crime.  A President does NOT have to violate a statuary law to be impeached.  In the case of Trump the House is deciding that he has committed a 'high crime or misdemeanor:'
  • He attempted to coerce an investigation of a political rival for personal gain.
  • That Trump did this by using a foreign nation to interfere in our politics.

"Key insights from transcripts of depositions with Amb. Yovanovitch, Michael McKinley" PBS NewsHour 11/4/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Monday marked a milestone in the House impeachment inquiry, as almost 500 pages’ worth of transcripts from two of the investigation’s closed-door witness depositions were publicly released.  Lisa Desjardins, Nick Schifrin and Yamiche Alcindor join Amna Nawaz to discuss new details revealed by the testimonies of former Amb. Marie Yovanovitch and former State Department official Michael McKinley.




"What Gordon Sondland and Kurt Volker said about U.S. aid to Ukraine" PBS NewsHour 11/5/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Transcripts were released Tuesday of testimonies from two central figures in the impeachment inquiry: Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland and former Special Envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker.  Both men were on the July call between President Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelenskiy.  Meanwhile, more White House officials declined to appear for interviews.  Lisa Desjardins reports.




"Why William Taylor’s testimony is central to the impeachment inquiry" PBS NewsHour 11/6/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  House committees involved in the impeachment inquiry said Wednesday that the investigation will go public next week, with senior State Department officials scheduled for open hearings beginning November 13th.  Meanwhile, Amb. William Taylor's deposition transcript illuminates why U.S. military aid to Ukraine was withheld.  Nick Schifrin reports and talks to Yamiche Alcindor and Lisa Desjardins.




"What diplomat George Kent said about Rudy Giuliani — and Hunter Biden" PBS NewsHour 11/7/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  In his impeachment inquiry testimony, career State Department official George Kent alleged that Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s personal attorney, sought to manipulate U.S. policy on Ukraine and oust former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch.  Kent also said he had expressed concern over Hunter Biden's position on the board of a Ukrainian energy company in 2015.  Nick Schifrin talks to Judy Woodruff.




"How Mick Mulvaney plays into the Ukraine impeachment inquiry saga" PBS NewsHour 11/8/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  House committees involved in the impeachment inquiry have released nearly 2700 pages of closed-door deposition transcripts.  Many of the officials interviewed echoed the whistleblower’s concerns about President Trump's policy toward Ukraine.  Trump, meanwhile, renewed claims that the whistleblower was guilty of wrongdoing.  Lisa Desjardins reports and joins Nick Schifrin and Judy Woodruff to discuss.




"What to look for in this week’s impeachment inquiry" PBS NewsHour 11/10/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Three officials will testify this week as the impeachment inquiry enters a new phase with public hearings.  House Republicans on Saturday submitted their wishlist of witnesses which included Hunter Biden and the whistleblower — both names ruled out by the Democrats.  NewsHour’s Lisa Desjardin joins Megan Thompson to discuss the latest.



Monday, February 12, 2018

SOCIAL MEDIA - Effecting American Political System

"How Twitter bots are recycling Cold War techniques to sow political division" PBS NewsHour 2/5/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  In the days leading up to the release of the disputed Nunes memo, the hashtag #ReleaseTheMemo became hugely popular among conservatives and allies of President Trump.  But a series of reports suggest that some of those Twitter accounts were fake and linked to Russian interests.  William Brangham learns more from Thomas Rid of Johns Hopkins University.




"ProPublica tool finds misleading political ads on Facebook" PBS NewsHour 2/10/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Amid an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, Facebook came under fire for its opacity on how it targets political ads.  A few months ago, ProPublica released Political Ad Collector, a tool (browser extension) that crowdsources the job of monitoring ads -- including those that might not seem political at first.  ProPublica’s Julia Angwin shares the findings with Hari Sreenivasan.