This report reflects the evidence gathered thus far by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, in coordination with the Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Committee on Foreign Affairs, as part of the House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry into Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the United States. The report is the culmination of an investigation that began in September 2019 and intensified over the past three months as new revelations and evidence of the President’s misconduct towards Ukraine emerged. The Committees pursued the truth vigorously, but fairly, ensuring the full participation of both parties throughout the probe. Sustained by the tireless work of more than three dozen dedicated staff across the three Committees, they issued dozens of subpoenas for documents and testimony and took more than 100 hours of deposition from 17 witnesses. To provide the American people the opportunity to learn and evaluate the facts themselves, the Intelligence Committee held seven public hearings with 12 witnesses—including three requested by the Republican Minority—that totaled more than 30 hours. Each member of Congress will be faced with the choice of deciding which side of history they will be on. The fate of democracy in the United States and the course of our nation hangs in the balance. The Trump-Ukraine Impeachment Inquiry Report is a must read.
It has taken me a long time, but I’ve slogged through both the Impeachment Inquiry report and the Rebuttal report.
It is clear that... a.) Trump earned impeachment on both counts of Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Justice, b.) Trump should have been removed, but partisan politics on the side of Republicans went in favor of political expediency over maintaining the rule of law and justice, c.) The Trump Administration has, and will continue, to push the boundaries of law, the constitution, and representative democracy TOWARD authoritarian ends, d.) Democracy is on the ballot and we MUST vote Trump out of office.
As should surprise absolutely noone (at least noone who's been paying attention), this report lays out what should be an airtight case for impeaching Trump and meticulously refutes many of the blatantly mendacious and/or completely nonsensical statements made by Trump and his coterie of sycophants to refute the detailed evidence presented here and obstruct the inquiry in a variety of ways. Of course, we now live in a world where up is down, black is white, the concepts of "truth" and "lie" have become strangely malleable, and prominent Republican senators are already stating flat-out that they have no intention of even pretending to consider the matter in an impartial fashion, so it unfortunately also shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone if nothing comes of this whole thing.
Further proof of the continuos corrupt behavior of Donald Trump. Since his earliest days in real estate in NY amoral, narcissistic, misogynist behavior has been his trademark brand.
This extensive, detailed report lays out all the details of the Ukraine Scandal, Donald Trump’s misconduct, the Impeachment Inquiry and the open obstruction of it by the executive branch. It is well-structured and easy to follow for laypeople and professionals alike. There is a lot of additional information given even to someone who has seen the public hearings in November such as behind the scenes communication through letters (so many letters) or the phone records provided mostly through AT&T. The phone records especially truly enhance the facts and underline the coordinated efforts by the Trump Administration to get President Trump what he wanted. The report does repeat itself relatively frequently, which ranges from effective underlining to slightly annoying. This gets offset by how snarky and funny the report is written at times. Exposing the sheer craziness of some of the Administration’s defenses as well as Republican’s double standards by irony and extensive “receipts” offer desperately needed comic relief. The exposure of Ranking Member Nunes’ involvement in the Ukraine Scandal is particularly interesting and stunningly layed out through facts and phone records. Sometimes humor flows into that aspect as well, such as the note that Rep. Nunes cancelled a trip to Ukraine because he was concerned about Chairman Schiff finding out. Overall, an important and engaging read.
I listened to this on Audible at work instead of reading it, which I think elevated what could be tedious to a touch more entertaining. As a work of literature it isn’t much, but 5 stars for being a full and thorough indictment of behavior unbecoming the office of President. After *reading* the report in its entirety, the accusations of partisan hackery fade pretty quickly- this impeachment proceeding had to happen.
Good, if a bit repetitive after awhile. This report is an important read for everyone, even if the Senate voted not to have witnesses and documents (and will definitely vote for aquittal). The truth is important, even if no one cares about it.
No spoilers here. The evidence for impeachment is overwhelming and clearly documented in this book. As a committee report it is a bit dry of course, but damming.