Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 11-22-19

Political News
Joe Biden Doesn't Think Marijuana Should Be
Trump Says Public Impeachment Hearings Are A Disgrace
Legalized On A Federal Level
While some 2020 presiden- tial candidates (namely Sens. Corey Booker, Eliz- abeth Warren and Bernie Sanders) have firmly stood behind legalizing marijuana on the federal level, former Vice President Joe Biden thinks it should be left up to states.
According to Business In- sider, while speaking at a Las Vegas town hall, Biden de- fended his stance on the fed- eral legalization of marijuana insisting that “there’s not nearly been enough evidence” to confirm “whether or not” marijuana is a gateway drug.
“The truth of the matter is, there’s not nearly been enough evidence that has been acquired as to whether or not it is a gateway drug,” Biden said, according to the report. “It’s a debate, and I want a lot more before I le-
In theory, the makeup of Tuesday’s House Intelligence impeachment hearings could have led to a balanced day, with some good news for De- mocrats and some for Repub- licans.
The first part of the hearing featured testimony from two witnesses called by the De- mocrats: Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a National Secu- rity Council official who lis- tened in on President Trump’s call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Ze- lensky, and Jennifer Williams, a foreign policy adviser to Vice President Mike Pence. The second part was devoted to two witnesses called by the Republicans: for- mer US ambassador to Ukraine Kurt Volker and former Trump foreign policy adviser Tim Morrison.
But Tuesday’s testimony was, from practically top to bottom, a disaster for the pres- ident and his Republican al- lies.
Lt. Col. Alexander Vind- man, director of European af- fairs at the National Security Council, leaves after testifying before the House Intelligence Committee on November 19, 2019.
All four of the witnesses confirmed key parts of the overall case against the presi- dent — that he twisted US for-
JOE BIDEN
galize it nationally. I want to make sure we know a lot more about the science be- hind it.”
That being said, Biden did acknowledge his support for medical marijuana and added that possession “should not be a crime” regardless.
And while he does not sup- port federal law, he believes that “states should be able to make a judgment to legalize marijuana.”
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, director of European affairs at the National Security Council, leaves after testifying before the House Intelligence Com- mittee on November 19, 2019.
eign policy into a tool of his re- election campaign by using military aid in an effort to force Ukraine into opening an investigation into the Biden family. In one particularly striking example, Volker — one of the GOP witnesses — amended his earlier closed- door deposition to clarify that the administration’s behavior was shadier than he had previ- ously thought.
Meanwhile, the Republi- cans on the intelligence com- mittee, from ranking member Devin Nunes on down, did not present a consistent and compelling counternarrative. They did little to contest the facts, preferring instead to at- tack the media, the whistle- blower whose complaint kicked off this saga, or the wit- nesses themselves.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U. S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday called the public congressional im- peachment hearings “a dis- grace” and an “embarrassment” to the na- tion, but said it was up to Americans to make their own judgment about the witness testimony.
Trump, who has previ- ously tweeted attacks on sev- eral U. S. civil servants testifying in the probe, said he did not know one of the key witnesses testifying on Tuesday whom he had previ- ously called a “Never Trumper.”
Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vind- man, the White House Na-
Before his testimony even concluded Wednesday, U. S. Ambassador to the EU Gor- don Sondland was in a rush to leave Washington.
“Ambassador Sond- land had intended to fly back to Brussels to resume his du- ties at the end of the day, so it would be a great convenience to ... try and wrap up in time that he might be able to make his flight,” asked his lawyer, during a break in the pro- ceedings three hours into the hearing.
The request was ignored.
Sondland’s testimony in front of House impeachment investigators began to ruffle feathers within the first hour of his public hearing. It took just ten minutes for him to tie President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the presi- dent’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani and three different government agencies to his efforts to convince Ukraine to open specific investigations in exchange for a White House visit for President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The ambassador to the EU
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP
tional Security Council’s top Ukraine expert, and Jen- nifer Williams, an aide to U. S. Vice President Mike Pence, were among four wit- nesses testifying before law-
makers on Tuesday in the on- going impeachment inquiry led by House Democrats.
“What’s going on is a dis- grace, and it’s an embarrass- ment to our nation,” Trump told reporters at the White House at a meeting of his Cabinet. “It’s a big scam”
“I never saw the man, I understand now he wears his uniform when he goes in. No, I don’t know Vindman at all,” Trump said, adding that he had watched part of his testimony.
“I’m going to let people make their own determina- tion,” Trump said, adding: “I never heard of any of these people other than I have seen one or two a couple of times — they’re ambassadors.”
Sondland Scorches Trumpland: ‘Easy Come, Easy Go’
Impeachment Hearings A Disaster For Republicans
was arguably one of the most important witnesses in the House impeachment probe because of his direct commu- nications with Trump, in- cluding a now infamous July 26 phone call from a restau- rant in Kyiv where the presi- dent asked if Zelensky would commit to launching “the investigations.” Sond- land replied “he’ll do it,” ac- cording to David Holmes, a State Department staffer in Kyiv, who is slated to testify Thursday. His testimony Wednesday pushed top ad- ministration officials, includ-
ing Trump, into the spot- light when he said that his bosses were aware of his work with Giuliani on Ukraine
It wasn’t long before mem- bers of the administration wanted to get as far away from him as possible.
President Trump—who Sondland said he spoke with more than twenty times—held an impromptu press conference with re- porters to try and distance himself from the ambassa- dor, saying he didn’t know Sondland “that well.”
GORDON SONDLAND
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