Blogger Candidate Forum: The Public Phase Is Over

Hello Everyone:

Welcome to an impeach inquiry weekend edition of Blogger Candidate Forum. The good news, we are done, at least for now, with inquiry hearings until after the Thanksgiving holiday break.  The bad news, the bad news is, if you are the president, the most damaging testimony was delivered by women and immigrants. The women and immigrants former American Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and White House expert on Russia and Ukraine Dr. Fiona Hill, testified about the smear campaigns and shadow Ukrainian diplomacy.

If you remember last week, Ambassador Yovanovitch, a child immigrant from Ukraine, testified how shocked she was when she learned that the president considered her an obstacle to the White House’s pressure campaign to get the Ukrainian government  to investigate former VPOTUS Joe Biden and his son Hunter. This week, we had Lt. Col Alexander Vindman, also a child immigrant from Ukraine, testified what he heard on that infamous July phone call. Finally, British immigrant Dr. Hill testified how she came to realize there was an official and back channel diplomacy program from European Union Ambassador and son of Nazi refugees Gordon Sondland.  Dr. Hill pointedly told the House of Representatives Foreign Intelligence Committee members that it was Russia, not Ukraine, interfered with the 2016 elections and was preparing to do it again.  This aligns with information that the Intelligence  community has shared with the Senate Ambassador Sondland is the the problematic witness because he previously testified that he had no recollections of conversations and events surrounding an April phone call with the president.  If you noticed, The Candidate Forum deliberately pointed out the immigrant ancestry of the star witnesses. Immigrants and women are two of the groups that have been demonized by the president.  This struck The Candidate Forum as very interesting and makes The Forum want to see what happens next.

Speaking of what happens next, an associate of Mr. Giuliani signaled that he is prepared to tell investigators that the ranking member of the House of Representative Foreign Intelligence Committee Devin Nunes (R-CA). Representative Nunes distinguished himself during the hearings as one of the president’s staunchest defenders.  Really what comes next is a report summarizing the testimony for the public. Make sure you check out “The Latest,” a great podcast from The New York Times. Like Congress, the Blogger Candidate Forum will be off for the Thanksgiving Day holiday unless current events say otherwise.