It's happening. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D–Calif.) has started impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump. The president has promised to release an unredacted transcript of his call with the Ukrainian president that triggered this impeachment inquiry. The White House has also promised to release to Congress the whistleblower complaint that first sparked interest in that call. The former should be out today and the latter by the end of the week.
Nancy Pelosi on whether Trump's decision to release the Ukrainian call transcript will cause Democrats to shift away from calls for impeachment: "No. This is about the constitution of the United States. We have many other candidates for impeachable offenses." — Matt Viser (@mviser) September 24, 2019
The usual curmudgeonly crowd (for whom I have much fondness) has been pointing out that of all the potential things to launch impeachment proceedings over, this business hardly stands out. Then again, a bipartisan consensus props up most of the serious rights violations and abuses of power carried out by this president (and those that came before).
Pelosi in 2006 on whether to impeach Bush over the Iraq War pic.twitter.com/izEytNba3q — Michael Tracey (@mtracey) September 25, 2019
The most serious misstep Trump allegedly made this time was attempting to withhold military money for Ukraine. The Trump administration says it was simply trying to figure out if the new Ukrainian president could be trusted before forking over the funds. But Democrats say Trump deliberately timed this move to imply to Ukraine's leaders that funding was contingent on whether they took up Trump's demand to investigate the Bidens.
"If Trump did indeed try to use the aid funds as leverage, he not only engaged in improper self-dealing but also usurped Congress' power of the purse. That's an important constitutional issue that goes beyond Trump's many personal flaws," writes Ilya Somin at The Volokh Conspiracy (which is hosted at Reason).
But that's still a big if. And even supposing it turns out true, an implication is mighty hard to prove. Especially when White House transparency here might not be all it's cracked up to be…
Worth remembering tomorrow: "Not only would any so-called transcript be based on notes, but it would also likely be incomplete because the note-takers usually do not include issues that could be controversial if they became public." https://t.co/CbqUq4bQGe — Dustin Volz (@dnvolz) September 25, 2019
Trump has been working to frame this whole business as a Russiagate redux, calling it "a total Witch Hunt." Rep. Justin Amash (I–Mich.) fired back:
It's not about the transcript of a call. Don't let President Trump or Republican officials distract you with a straw man. It's about his continuing abuse of the office of the presidency. https://t.co/j044TpHFvr — Justin Amash (@justinamash) September 24, 2019
Meanwhile, the Trump 2020 campaign is already using this for fundraising. An email from the campaign calls on "American Patriots" to join and help fund the "Official Impeachment Defense Task Force."
New Trump 2020 campaign fundraising email reiterates promise to release a transcript of POTUS' call with Ukraine President Zelensky & invites donors to give money to join the Official Impeachment Defense Task Force: "I'VE DONE NOTHING WRONG. TRUST ME, YOU'LL SEE THE TRANSCRIPT." pic.twitter.com/8BBqH4zMm5 — Anna Massoglia (@annalecta) September 24, 2019
One reason Trump may seem so forthcoming about the call and transcript is that any real dirty work was carried out by Rudy Giuliani. That's been a big point of speculation.
"Rudy—he did all of this," one U.S. official told The Washington Post. "This s---show that we're in—it's him injecting himself into the process."
I hadn't seen this full Giuliani quote from May. It's pretty wild. He just states the whole thing out loud. https://t.co/s2rvhkwjNc pic.twitter.com/ic9buHVa6r — Dan Amira (@DanAmira) September 25, 2019
"Over the course of the past year," reports The Daily Beast, "Giuliani pressed the Ukrainian government to investigate so far unfounded allegations of corruption in the country involving" Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Giuliani insists that this has all been on the up-and-up and his overtures were part of sanctioned State Department work.
Indeed, two U.S. diplomats (Kurt Volker, special representative to Ukraine, and Gordon Sondland, ambassador to the European Union) were briefed by Giuliani on the situation. But the State Department has yet to officially confirm if and how extensively it was involved.
The existence of an official State Department inquiry into Biden/Ukraine things could be good for Trump and Giuliani, suggesting that there was nothing untoward about their own efforts. But it could also be very bad if evidence comes out that team Trump pressured State Department officials to get involved for the president's own personal political gain.
FREE MINDS
California's "war on freelancers." In the name of workers' rights, the state has made it much harder to make a living as a freelance journalist. Columbia Journalism Review explains:
California Assembly Bill 5, in its original language, seemed as though it could end freelance journalism in the state. The bill, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law September 18, codifies and expands on a 2018 California Supreme Court decision that made it harder for companies to classify workers as freelancers rather than employees. As employees, workers are covered by state laws on the minimum wage, worker's compensation coverage, workplace discrimination and other protections. As freelancers, they are not.
When that court decision was first handed down, in March, "some publishers responded…by cutting ties with freelancers based in California," reports CJR. Under Assembly Bill 5, the state has clarified that freelance writers, editors, photographers, and editorial cartoonists can be hired for up to 35 "content submissions" per year without being labeled employees. But this is little comfort for those whose livelihood depends on high-volume freelancing for multiple outlets.
"It's not hard to find freelancers who say they will run into that limit," notes CJR. Steve Falk, CEO of Sonoma Media Investments, told the magazine that his publications depend on freelancers to write weekly columns on things like local restaurants and events:
They write 52 weeks a year, and that becomes a problem now. We will have to pick the 35 most important weeks for them to write. [It] just seems so arbitrary.
Freelance writer and editor Zac Estrada, who is based in Los Angeles, told CJR that in his experience, "it's been really easy to go over 35 bylines in less than a month." Already, one site he edited content for has stopped providing him with work. Estrada said:
I'm glad the state of California is looking out for workplace issues and benefit, but I don't see a way this bill helps me. A lot of people I know love freelancing and wouldn't take a full-time job even if it offered them more money.
Now, thanks to anti-gig economy crusaders, Californians can no longer make that choice for themselves.
FREE MARKETS
More vaping panic, this time in Massachusetts:
.@MassGovernor declares a public health emergency for vaping. Orders 4 month temporary ban on all sales of vaping related products & devices effective immediately #Mapoli pic.twitter.com/I6Iw6t0plj — Lizzy Guyton (@lizzyguyton) September 24, 2019
See also the latest from Reason's Jacob Sullum: "Why Is the CDC Still Fostering Potentially Deadly Confusion About Vaping and Lung Disease?"
ELECTION 2020
Tulsi Gabbard (D–Hawaii) has qualified to participate in the next Democratic presidential debate:
MONMOUTH pol of NH (trend from May) Warren: 27% (+19) Biden: 25% (-9) Sanders: 12% (-6) Buttigieg: 10% (+1) Harris: 3% (-3) Booker: 2% (-) Gabbard: 2% (+2) Klobuchar: 2% (-) Steyer: 2% (+2) Yang: 2% (+1) O'Rourke: 1% (-1) Williamson: 1% (+1) Gabbard makes the October debate. — Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) September 24, 2019
Gabbard yesterday expressed concern about Trump impeachment proceedings.
QUICK HITS
NEW: Philly judge tosses drug conviction after testifying officer appeared in 2011 Facebook post joking about cops lying in court May be the first case thrown out over the #plainviewproject, a database of cops' offensive Facebook posts that rocked the PPD https://t.co/TXeBblbizx — Ryan W Briggs (@rw_briggs) September 24, 2019
A judge is poised to reject a lawsuit filed by 90 "Jane Does" who claim the tech company Salesforce is responsible for them being sex trafficked. The case marks a first test for the new federal law FOSTA, and provides a good reminder of the importance of the now-controversial internet law known as Section 230.
"The libertarians on the anti-Krugman cruise just want to be left alone."
Vox Media, the company behind Vox, just bought New York magazine.
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