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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49800181
(Note: emphasis in original.)
Why is this important?
Mr Trump's most ardent critics accuse him of using the powers of the presidency to bully Ukraine into digging up damaging information on a political rival, Democrat Joe Biden.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump and his supporters the former vice-president abused his power to pressure Ukraine to back away from a criminal investigation that could implicate his son, Hunter.
Mr Biden is the front-runner for the Democratic nomination to take on Mr Trump next year.
In other words, it is nothing less than the White House at stake.
[...] What happened to the whistleblower's complaint?
After receiving the [whistleblower] complaint, the inspector general informed Joseph Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence, and said the matter was "urgent". The intelligence community whistleblower law says the director has seven days to pass the complaint along to congressional intelligence committees.
That didn't happen.
Instead, Mr Maguire spoke to a lawyer who told him the issue was not "urgent", at least according to legal standards, according to [T]he New York Times.
As a result, Mr Maguire decided that the members of the congressional oversight committees did not need to see it.
On 9 September, the inspector general informed Congress about the complaint's existence, but not the details. Democrats in Congress have since clamoured for more information - including a transcript of Mr Trump's call - but the administration has refused to co-operate.
And that's where things currently stand.
[...] Did Mr Trump commit an impeachable offence?
The constitutional process for handling a president who committed illegal and-or unethical acts is impeachment by a majority of the House of Representatives and conviction and removal by a two-thirds majority of the US Senate.
The US constitution outlines the grounds for impeachment as "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors". When it comes down to it, an "impeachable offense" is whatever a majority of the House says it is.
Inspector General of the Intelligence Community Letters to Congressional Intelligence Committees
(Score: 3, Offtopic) by EJ on Tuesday September 24 2019, @07:42AM (3 children)
I don't read Twitter or Reddit. I just live in an area surrounded by three extremely liberal colleges. My county is bluer than the sky at noon on a clear day. You would not believe how hateful and hostile most of the people here are, even to other Democrats. They just seem to hate everyone who isn't them. It's crazy how hostile they are, driving, in grocery stores, and everywhere else. It boggles my mind. Maybe that's just tainted my views on Democrats, but media figures like Maddow help to reinforce that.
For all I know, there are Republican media figures who are just as bad as Maddow, but I wouldn't know because I don't watch any of it. I only get forwarded links of stupid crap Maddow said that annoyed my friends.
My original hometown was predominantly Republican Christians, and everyone was just so much more polite to each other. The schools I went to had no race issues. We were all friends. When we studied the Civil Rights movements, it was a little surreal to us because none of us could relate to that kind of thinking. In my current liberal city, you would think we're living in 1960 the way people talk.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 24 2019, @08:10AM
What's the difference? Your lily white hometown didn't have to deal with impoverished blacks like many big cities do. Out of sight, out of mind.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 24 2019, @08:23AM
To which I'll respond
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 24 2019, @04:06PM
What I find crazy is how you can tell party affiliation by someone's driving or just by looking at them in the grocery store or "everywhere else" for that matter. Well, I suppose you might be able to pick up on clues from the bumper stickers on the car, but still, I think your powers of perceiving political affiliation are vastly overestimated. Just sayin'.
Indeed.