When you keep an eye on the media it’s obvious when the memo has gone out, either to Democrats or to journalists. Rep. Lee Zeldin has noticed that Democrats seem to have dropped mentions of “quid pro quo” and are now charging the president with “extortion.” “Bribery” is getting a few mentions as well.
Dems have a new word of the day: “extortion”. The shiny object of “quid pro quo” totally fell apart on them. Same problem though w/their new shiny object: Ukraine didn’t know there was a hold on aid until just before it was lifted. They didn’t have to do anything to get it lifted
— Lee Zeldin (@RepLeeZeldin) November 11, 2019
The memo did go out:
Democrats are crafting a story about Trump bribery and extortion as the focus of the impeachment hearings. pic.twitter.com/no9jzposSq
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) November 11, 2019
NEWS: @RepSwalwell tells @margbrennan that the House Intelligence Committee has evidence of an “extortion scheme.” WATCH –> pic.twitter.com/iEMScIJxkj
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) November 10, 2019
"It would be no different than if somebody intercepted my paycheck, that I earned, and said 'You don't get this until you do me a favor.'"@glennkirschner2 discusses Pres. Trump's phone call with Ukraine, describing it as both "bribery" and "extortion".https://t.co/c67KVcdgP1
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) November 11, 2019
The Washington Examiner’s Byron York thinks the Democrats will eventually land on “abuse of power” after trying out a few other charges and seeing how they resonate with the American public.
Ds have been testing various words in impeachment campaign. Some like 'extortion.' Some favor 'bribery' because it is specifically mentioned in Constitution. But both connote difficult-to-prove crimes. Ds might end up settling on 'abuse of power.' https://t.co/pCgHoS5QI4 https://t.co/kPDALji8z2
— Byron York (@ByronYork) November 11, 2019
Recommended
“In recent weeks, some Democrats have struggled to cite a crime committed by President Trump in the Ukraine affair,” York writes in the Washington Examiner:
Extortion is a real crime and a word that is familiar to most Americans. People have actually been convicted of extortion. Contrast that to the alleged campaign finance violation some had discussed in relation to the Ukraine affair, in which the information gained from a Ukrainian investigation into the Bidens, if given to Trump, would be a “thing of value” and thus an illegal foreign campaign contribution. It was, to say the least, a stretch, and one that few Americans would likely understand.
But extortion is different. “We have a crime — extortion,” said Swalwell.
“There was a concerted effort by this president and his White House to essentially extort the new president of Ukraine,” said Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly on CNN Wednesday.
“The president was attempting to extort the Ukrainian government,” said Democratic Rep. John Garamendi on CNN Sunday. “The result of that extortion is, the president will be impeached.”
So extortion and bribery it is, until it becomes something else.
They will keep poll testing until something sticks, and their online bots will continue to screech OrangeManBad.
— FundingRENJ (@FundingRENJ) November 11, 2019
Extortion pic.twitter.com/aWs7w1SVmA
— Devin Caster (@devincaster) November 11, 2019
Blackmail there too…
— #AmericaFirst ?? (@PghBlackGold) November 11, 2019
If what Trump did was “extortion” or “bribery,” its logically difficult to make the case that what Biden did, in forcing Shokin’s firing, was *not* extortion or bribery. So Dems either have to condemn Biden, or allow that extortion / bribery is sometimes okay…which helps Trump.
— Vin Sidious (@VinSidious) November 11, 2019
And of course, Biden was just doing Obama’s bidding. So really it was Obama who ordered Joe to extort Ukraine to fire Shokin. It can be argued that it was a justifiable extortion, of course, but that opens the door to Trump’s defense that his was, too. ??♂️
— Vin Sidious (@VinSidious) November 11, 2019
Their main problem is that the Constitution does not specifically enumerate negotiations with foreign governments as among their powers. It DOES enumerate it as belonging to @POTUS. He does not have to check in with them before every private phone call with a foreign leader.
— Bootsie (@AugustusBeau) November 11, 2019
Seems most lawyers think impeachment isn't a criminal proceeding, but it has to be packaged as such. The marketing of a political ouster…
— Bill Wynne (@BillWynne3rd) November 11, 2019
Alinsky tactics
— Fairfield Bain (@ftbain) November 11, 2019
Racketeering is warming up in the bull pen…
— Patriots In New England (@NEConservative4) November 11, 2019
I agree , it should be "abuse of power" …The Democrats in Congress should be charged with abuse of power and sedition.
— Louis Hecker (@lwhecker) November 11, 2019
Abuse of Power pic.twitter.com/XPioSMhbii
— Devin Caster (@devincaster) November 11, 2019
Hope the MSM got the MEMO!!!!!
— Linda (@lindahighlands) November 11, 2019
Oh, they did.
Ironically the "abuse of power" has been by democrats.
— Middle America (@319work) November 11, 2019
Kind of hard to argue impeachment when you can’t decide what actually happened.
— Dustin S. (@Dsimmer81) November 11, 2019
So they have to shop around for wording to try and sell this farce, I am not watching one minute of this. Signing out to all mention of impeachment. It's Democrats playing their typical dirty politics. My vote will be straight Republican in 2020.
— Lisa B (@Lisabcajunlady) November 11, 2019
Related:
Rep. Lee Zeldin shares portion of William Taylor’s Ukraine testimony transcript that takes hearsay to the next level https://t.co/CVQKNxdtgU
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) November 7, 2019
Join the conversation as a VIP Member