Impeachment Take Two: Bribery, Not Quid Pro Quo
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You're unlikely to hear the words quid-pro-quo spoken by Democrats, at least not as often as before. That's because the phrase apparently isn't getting much traction for them in the impeachment hearings. so, they're re-phrasing it to make they're accusation simpler for people to understand. They're now saying President Trump is guilty of bribery.
"The bribe is to grant or withhold military assistance in return for a public statement of a, of a fake investigation into the elections. That's, that's bribery,"explained Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi and other Democrats believe the president witheld military assistance to Ukraine until that government-re-opened a bribery investigation of Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
Ukrainian President Zelensky says he didn't feel pressured to act and Ukraine Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said Thursday "I have never seen a direct link between investigations and security assistance. Yes, investigations were mentioned, you know, in a presidential conversation. But there was no clear connection between these events."
Former Ukraine amabassador Marie Yavanovich, who was fired by President Trump, testifies today. Trump calls her "bad news."
At a Keep America Great rally in Louisiana Thursday night, President Trump criticized the testimony of the first two witnesses to appear at the impeachment hearings. The president blasted the Democrats for leading what he calls a “deranged inpeachment witchhunt.”
“You know, we did nothing wrong and they're doing nothing. It's true. They haven't done a thing since Nancy Pelosi, is speaker. They haven't done a thing. But once again, their lies will be exposed, just like the last times,” Trump insisted.
Interviews by Reuters show the impeachment hearings may be unlikely to change the minds of voters in two key swing states: Michigan and Pennsylvania- states the president needs to win if he is to be re-elected.
And a Reuters poll in early November found that 75% of Democrats support impeachment, 79% of Republicans are opposed.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy says the Democrats are wasting time as the country faces more pressing matters.
"Name me one thing that those witnesses said yesterday that was impeachable. So why are we putting the country through this and why aren't we working on the things that the American public expects us to do?"
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