— Newshound (@NewsiesNeighbor) January 17, 2020
#BettyWhite is gonna be trending today…BUT DON’T PANIC. It’s her 98th birthday! HBD Betty! 🎂 #VodkaAndHotdogs pic.twitter.com/jKd74w81HY
— The Bert Show (@TheBertShow) January 17, 2020
For Betty White’s Birthday and Friday, the President has tweeted 9 times and retweeted 12 times so far.
The Whining about Impeachment by Quoting Fox News Tweets.
“The GOA got it exactly backwards. Here’s what they said. The law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities to those Congress has enacted into law. It’s exactly the opposite. The Constitution does not allow Congress to substitute its own priorities….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 17, 2020
….for the foreign policies of the President.” @AlanDersh Alan Dershowitz @seanhannity @FoxNews They do what the House asks. The Swamp!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 17, 2020
The above thread of 2 tweets is likely to be deleted as the Government Accountability Office is the GAO not the GOA.
“Years from now, when we look back at this day, nobody’s going to remember Nancy’s cheap theatrics, they will remember though how President Trump brought the Chinese to the bargaining table and delivered achievements few ever thought were possible.” @IngrahamAngle @FoxNews
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 17, 2020
“There is no crime here. Entertaining this Impeachment is a joke. This whole thing should be dismissed.” @IngrahamAngle @FoxNews
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 17, 2020
This above tweet is not a retweet but a shortened version of a quote from Laura Ingraham that President Trump tweeted on Thursday.
“There is no crime here. I just think this whole thing should be rejected out of hand. I wouldn’t waste a minute of taxpayer dollars or time on this. Entertaining this Impeachment is a joke.” Laura Ingraham @IngrahamAngle @FoxNews
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2020
The president, watching last night’s edition of The Ingraham Angle, tweets out her claim that “there is no crime here” moments after the GAO issues a report saying the Ukraine funds were withheld illegally.
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) January 16, 2020
Left, Fox’s The Ingraham Angle, 10:12 p.m.
Right, Trump, 10:04 a.m. pic.twitter.com/6bH5TVUBZz
On Thursday as the News Blender covered, here, here, and here, the GAO, a nonpartisan group that reports to Congress, released their findings that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) violated the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 when they at the direction of the President withheld $214 million worth of security assistance aid to the Ukraine.
According to the House Committee on the Budget website, the ICA was passed in 1974 as a response to “President Nixon’s executive overreach – his Administration refused to release Congressionally appropriated funds for certain programs he opposed. While the U.S. Constitution broadly grants Congress the power of the purse, the President – through the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and executive agencies – is responsible for the actual spending of funds.”
How does the ICA work?
“The ICA lays out procedures the President must follow to reduce, delay, or eliminate funding in an account. The Act divides impoundments into two categories: rescissions and deferrals.”
Rescissions:
But wait there’s more…
In 2018 responding to a request made by then-Ranking Member of the House Committee on Budget Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) the GAO offered a legal opinion regarding the ICA.
From pg. 8 of the legal opinion issued December 2018.
Deferrals:
It should be noted that in both Rescissions and Deferrals the President under the law is obligated to inform Congress of the intent to withhold Congressional approved funding under the ICA.
As we know the President did not inform Congress of the intent to delay the funds earmarked for Ukraine military aid. In fact during testimony we learned that the OMB’s decision at the direction of the President could offer very little information in regards to their decision to withhold the already cleared funding for Ukraine.
From the GAO report issued on January 16th, 2020.
It should be noted the GAO also points out that both OMB and the State Department have failed to provide the GAO with information needed in order for the GAO to fulfill it’s duties.
The Attacking “Political Rivals” Tweets.
Mini Mike Bloomberg doesn’t get on the Democrat Debate Stage because he doesn’t want to – he is a terrible debater and speaker. If he did, he would go down in the polls even more (if that is possible!).
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 17, 2020
Mini Mike Bloomberg ads are purposely wrong – A vanity project for him to get into the game. Nobody in many years has done for the USA what I have done for the USA, including the greatest economy in history, rebuilding our military, biggest ever tax & regulation cuts, & 2nd A!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 17, 2020
They are rigging the election again against Bernie Sanders, just like last time, only even more obviously. They are bringing him out of so important Iowa in order that, as a Senator, he sit through the Impeachment Hoax Trial. Crazy Nancy thereby gives the strong edge to Sleepy…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 17, 2020
….Joe Biden, and Bernie is shut out again. Very unfair, but that’s the way the Democrats play the game. Anyway, it’s a lot of fun to watch!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 17, 2020
This is the second time this week that President Trump has attacked from Mayor of New York Mike Bloomberg. You can view Bloombergs campaign ads via YouTube.com.
On Friday actor Sam Waterston, based known for his role on the crime drama “Law and Order,” endorsed Bloomberg.
I’m not entirely sure how anyone is “rigging” anything at this considering there hasn’t been one primary election so far. The first one happens on February 3rd in Iowa.
Also it should be noted that the Republican party leaders in states are refusing to hold primaries against the incumbent Impeachment President Trump.
The Other Tweet.
Getting ready to meet the LSU Tigers, the National Champions. Great Coach, great Team, great School. Very exciting!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 17, 2020
On Monday LSU beat Clemson to become National College Football Champions. The final score was LSU 42 Clemson 25.
In Other News.
Breaking News: President Trump’s impeachment defense team will include Ken Starr, who investigated President Bill Clinton, and the defense lawyer Alan Dershowitz https://t.co/jtqq0ctUtS
— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 17, 2020
Dershowitz tells me he’ll be speaking on the Senate floor to argue against Trump’s impeachment next week. Says POTUS asked him to do it. Says he will argue the case that abuse of power and obstruction of congress are not “high crimes and misdemeanors” that deserve impeachment.
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) January 17, 2020
Dershowitz says he has been coordinating with the president’s legal team in crafting his argument. “The president asked me to present my independent constitutional arguments in my books and articles to the Senate,” he said.
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) January 17, 2020
White House officials told me they were hoping Trump wouldn’t pick Alan Dershowitz to play a role in the Senate trial. They saw as unnecessary distraction given team was already strong and Dershowitz has controversial ties to Jeffrey Epstein. https://t.co/XgGWNxB6KN
— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) January 17, 2020
Axios is reporting that included with Dershowitz and Starr, also joining the legal team is Robert Ray. That’s in addition to White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, Jay Sekulow and Pam Bondi, the former Florida Attorney General.
Behind the scenes: Several White House officials told me they were hoping Trump wouldn’t pick Alan Dershowitz to play a role in the Senate trial.
Axios 01/17/2020.
They said it was an unforced error given the team was already strong and he has close, publicly documented ties to Jeffrey Epstein which could become a distraction.
But Trump thinks Dershowitz is magnificent on TV, a White House official told me.
Let it sink in America the President picked his lawyer because he was “magnificent on” Fox News.
Waiting for all the MAGAS to lose their damn minds over Dershowitz, one of Epstein’s cronies.
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) January 17, 2020
Oh. Wait.
this is definitely an “are you fucking kidding me?” kinda day.
— Monica Lewinsky (@MonicaLewinsky) January 17, 2020
This post will be updated within reason.
