The Morning Dispatch: The Fight Over Impeachment Witnesses Goes On

Plus, some hateful fringe figures are turning up in places they shouldn’t.

By The Dispatch Staff

Jan 23, 2020

Happy Thursday! We thought our introduction to the political journalism scene was going pretty well, but then we watched Zion Williamson’s NBA debut for the Pelicans last night: 22 points, seven rebounds, 4-for-4 from three? Good Lord. (Editor’s note: You’re not going to mention that 17 of those points came in a crazy three-minute run in the fourth quarter?)

Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories

With the death toll of the mysterious coronavirus rising to at least 17, Wuhan—the city in China at the center of the outbreak (population: 11 million)—is being locked down. All outbound planes and trains have been halted, and the city’s public transportation system shuttered.
President Trump announced he will be speaking at the annual March for Life on Friday, the first president ever to do so in person.
Joe Biden remains the favorite, but Bernie Sanders’ odds to win the Democratic nomination are inching upward after a series of polls showed the Vermont senator steadily climbing.

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Bill Nelson 3 years ago

The part about how republicans seem to cozy up to suspect individuals is disturbing with some larger truths. What ever happened to the Tea Party? It was done in, partly by dishonest PACs who enriched themselves with no real political result, and by elected republican politicians who claimed the mantle yet did nothing to address the issues raised by the Tea Party. I suppose that the democrats have similar problems, such as the cozy relations with Farrakhan, but I don't care about them.
I do believe that the party partisans on either side drink the KoolAid far too easily, but then I am now judging how others arrive at their positions without really knowing.

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Theirn Scott 3 years ago

I'm curious. How is it that "The Dispatch" has time to watch sports and WRITE while I eschew watching sports in order to just READ all of your content? OK, there are more of you and I'm not a particularly fast reader but damn. OK, I think I have the answer, stop watching cable news shows.

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Paul Montagu 3 years ago

I wish I could watch Zion and other NBA action, but not until I get my Supersonics back. It's why I'll never vote for Howard Schultz for anything. He's a traitor to Seattle.
As for witnesses, Joe Biden is handling it all wrong. He needs to take one for the team and testify if that'll get Bolton on the stand. Biden doesn't realize that this could be a major boon for his campaign. Millions of viewers will see him front and center, where he'll be telling America under oath about Ukraine and what he really thinks about this president, and it won't cost him a penny in advertising.

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Theirn Scott 3 years ago

I don’t think the Republicans will even go for that deal. In their hearts they know there’s no there, there.

All they want is to “refute” selective parts of the prosecution argument, move to the vote for no witnesses and then to the vote for acquittal. Now, the only thing that will throw a wrench in the works is if 4 Republicans vote with the Democrats. I’m hoping some of these alleged Christian politicians will listen to their conscience.

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Pat Riot 3 years ago

It's a trade-off for Democrats. Obviously the Republicans want to turn the Senate into a circus, and the less serious they look, the better for Trump. The Democrats are resisting that because they want proceedings to be taken seriously.

While I couldn't know for sure which path is the right one, the counter-argument for the Democrats is that the impeachment trial isn't changing any minds as it is, and probably won't. More Americans would tune in to a circus, and the argument would be that more people tuning in might sway a few more votes in their direction in November.

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Paul Montagu 3 years ago

I don't doubt that Trump's impeachment team will want to turn Biden's appearance into a political spectacle, but he will have the benefit of cross-examination, and I don't believe that Biden's pushing back against partisan Republicans is going to hurt him.
But I'm biased in this. I want the trial to go on as long as possible, so the more witnesses the better, even the tangential witnesses.

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Randy 3 years ago

Dennis Rodman has to have the wildest professional sports legacy of all time. He was a key contributor to 5 NBA championships, multi-year All Star and redefined aggressive defense, but also a classic misfit, playboy and rebel rouser. Rodman is a walking, talking contradiction.

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Declan Garvey 3 years ago Staff

And apparently a friend of Kim Jong Un! https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2018/06/12/a-brief-guide-to-dennis-rodmans-long-weird-history-with-north-korea/

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Earl King 3 years ago

I simply continue to shack my head at the writers. The lack of "curiosity" they talk about is odd. We know all there is to know. 1) This is a purely partisan Impeachment starting Nov. 2016. 2) Trump paused the aid for 6 weeks. 3) His reasons are three fold. Ukrainian corruption and a new administration and Anti-Corruption Legislation. Concern Europe wasn't contributing enough. A sincere belief that Ukraine had some involvement in the conspiracy against him committed by the American IC, Hillary, FBI all we now know to be true. Finally, the curious timing of Joe Bidens firing of a Prosecutor by withhold money. A Ukraine a company that Hunter was clearly hired for influence was being investigated by that prosecutor. Trump has consistently stated the above over and over. These facts are stipulated. Did Trump have corrupt intent and is it Impeachment worthy. It's a very simply case. This is about damaging a President for his re-election.

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Pat Riot 3 years ago

Trump only released the aid after he was caught. That Trump was actually interested in Ukrainian corruption is laughable and absurd. Also, us Americans follow the *American* Constitution, not that of other countries. We don't try our criminals in foreign courts when the ones here won't "work" to get the result we want.

Also, remember, the evidence is clear that Trump only wanted an *announcement* of an investigation, not an investigation itself, the latter being a potential disaster for Trump when Biden's would inevitably be cleared before the election.

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Hank Robinson 3 years ago

But when Eli got hot, you didn't want to be on the other side of the ball.

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Declan Garvey 3 years ago Staff

As all my Patriots fan friends know all too well :)

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Kevin Durant? 3 years ago

“Who are some other athletes who leave behind as impressively erratic a legacy?”
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With 14 career wins featuring the likes of the Sammy Davis Jr Open and the Independent Insurance Agent Open, Curtis Strange then went on to win the US Open back to back in his last two seasons on tour. Previously, only Ben Hogan had won back to back US Opens.

I’m also thinking of Mike Fiers whose career features 69 wins (nice) a 4.02 lifetime ERA, the attempted murder of Giancarlo Stanton, Astros jailhouse snitch, and somehow, magically, TWO no-hitters

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Declan Garvey 3 years ago Staff

Wow, Mike Fiers might be the perfect answer.

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Kevin Durant? 3 years ago

It was either Fiers or Pablo Sandoval. He of the 3 HR game in a World Series MVP performance for the “why are they good again?” SF Giants

Followed closely by his 12 hits 6 runs .429 World Series vs. the Royals and the Red Sox signing him to the worst contract in world history 😬😬

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Kevin Durant? 3 years ago

“We won’t get ahead of the facts, but it seems unlikely that Schiff would ask to introduce—and ask senators to look at—a nothingburger. Even if the document doesn’t live up to the inevitable hype it receives over the next 24 to 48 hours, you can be sure its contents will fuel a thousand cable news food fights.”
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Deciding to give Adam Schiff the benefit of the doubt at this point is a unique choice. This is virtually guaranteed to be a nothingburger. You said it in your next sentence. The whole point is to just get the smears and speculation on TV. By the time people figure out what is going on, the damage will be done and #MikePenceLoganAct will be a hashtag

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John D. Wright 3 years ago

Your national review link goes to the atlantic.

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Declan Garvey 3 years ago Staff

Thanks for the catch -- should be fixed now!

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Greg Fournier 3 years ago

Yeah it does - here is the link to the actual one:
https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/01/impeachment-doesnt-require-a-crime/

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CynthiaW 3 years ago

"One of our main goals here at The Dispatch is to respect our readers’ time ..."

I suggest that sports reporting could go in a separate, opt-in, feature, rather than being incorporate in each daily newsletter. I'd rather have "All Jonah's dogs all the time" than the sportball stuff.

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RandyMc 3 years ago

I like Jonah's dogs and sportsball stuff.

I have even grown to really like Gracie, which I thought was a preposterous notion before.

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CynthiaW 3 years ago

Cats don't try to make the general public like them the way dogs do.

I accept that many readers probably enjoy sports commentary and video. However, since the editors have asked for subscriber feedback, there's mine. Maybe the writers could draw straws for whose turn it is to write the sports column.

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RandyMc 3 years ago

I just wish David wasn't such an SEC shill but some rocks just have to be rolled forever.

I'm hoping his Grizzlies fandom is the unprotected exhaust pipe we can blow up to make him a Tigers fan (but the "we" may only be "me" in this context.

I'm sensitive to your concerns about sportball but dogs will always be our best friends.

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CynthiaW 3 years ago

I like dogs, too, especially other people's cute dogs. The dogs were just an example of something that's not news.

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