from Richard Viguerie’s ConservativeHQ
[Copyright © 2019 ConservativeHQ.com, Inc.]
The establishment media skipped most of this and few Americans saw it.
Given that few Americans, even stalwart conservative CHQ readers, watched the Trump defense team’s opening presentation, we think pulling out the nine key points made by White House deputy counsel Michael Purpura will help readers understand exactly where President Trump’s defense team is headed:
HOUSE DEMOCRATS DIDN’T TELL YOU: Witnesses testified that the sale of Javelin missiles discussed on the call was unrelated to the paused security assistance.
PURPURA: “The House Managers didn’t tell you about Ambassador Yovanovitch’s and Tim Morrison’s testimony. Why not? They couldn’t take two minutes out of their 24 hours to make sure you understood that the Javelin sales and the paused security assistance are unrelated. I want to be very clear about this: When House Democrats claim that the Javelin sales discussed on the July 25 call are part of the paused security assistance, it is misleading. They are trying to confuse you.”
HOUSE DEMOCRATS DIDN’T TELL YOU: Lt. Col. Vindman admitted that his concerns about the call were just his opinion.
PURPURA: “Ultimately, Lt. Col. Vindman admitted that his opinion that the President made any sort of ‘demand’ of the Ukrainians on the July 25 call was only ‘in [his] mind’ and ‘[it wa]s just the way it seemed to [him].’ The House Managers didn’t tell you that, did they? Why not?”
HOUSE DEMOCRATS DIDN’T TELL YOU: Jennifer Williams didn’t raise concerns about the call until after impeachment was announced.
PURURA: “Ms. Williams didn’t raise any concerns about the call when it took place. Not with Lt. Gen. Kellogg, not with counsel, not with anyone.”
PURURA: “Ms. Williams waited to announce her concerns until Speaker Pelosi publicly announced her impeachment inquiry. The House Managers didn’t tell you that. Why not?”
HOUSE DEMOCRATS DIDN’T TELL YOU: Tim Morrison saw nothing wrong on the call and testified that he only brought the call to the attention of NSC lawyers because he was concerned the call would be leaked.
PURURA: “Tim Morrison, who was Lt. Col. Vindman’s boss, was also on the call. One of the House Managers said that he ‘reported the call to National Security Council lawyers.’ That’s incredibly misleading. The House Managers didn’t tell you why Mr. Morrison went to see the NSC lawyers. Mr. Morrison brought the call to the attention of NSC lawyers because he was concerned about leaks and, in his words, ‘how it would play out in Washington’s polarized environment.’”
PURPURA: “’I want to be clear,’ Mr. Morrison testified, ‘I was not concerned that anything illegal was discussed.’ The House Managers stopped before they told you that part of the testimony. Why didn’t they tell you that?”
PURPURA: “Mr. Morrison further testified that there was ‘nothing improper’ and ‘[n]othing illegal’ about anything that was said on the call. Again, they didn’t tell you that. Why not?”
HOUSE DEMOCRATS DIDN’T TELL YOU: Ukrainians did not know about the hold on aid.
PURPURA: “There can’t be a threat without the person knowing he’s being threatened. There can’t be a quid pro quo without the quo. … Ambassador Volker testified that the Ukrainians did not know about the hold until reading about it in Politico. … Ambassador Taylor and Tim Morrison both agreed. … Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent testified that no Ukrainian official contacted him about the paused security assistance until ‘that first intense week in September.’ … The House Managers didn’t mention this testimony, from any of the four witnesses? Why not?”
PURPURA: “Also, again, I want you to notice that the House Managers didn’t show you Mr. Yermak’s text message, and they didn’t tell you about the statements he and President Zelensky made about the call and their lack of knowledge of the pause on security assistance. Why not?”
HOUSE DEMOCRATS DIDN’T TELL YOU: The House’s impeachment managers borrowed heavily from Laura Cooper, but didn’t mention that she herself cast doubt on her claims about when Ukraine learned of the hold.
PURPURA: “The Managers told you that Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper presented two emails that people on her staff received from people at the State Department regarding conversations with people in the Ukraine Embassy that could have been about U.S. security assistance to Ukraine. What they did not tell you is that Ms. Cooper testified that she could not say for certain whether the emails were about the pause on security assistance. She couldn’t say one way or the other. She also testified that she ‘didn’t want to speculate’ about the meaning of the words in the emails.”
PURPURA: “The House Managers also didn’t tell you Ms. Cooper testified that ‘I . . . reviewed my calendar and the only meeting where I can recall a Ukrainian official raising the issue [of security assistance] with me is on September 5th at the Ukrainian Independence Day celebration.’”
HOUSE DEMOCRATS DIDN’T TELL YOU: Sondland’s concerns about linkage were based on his own guesses and presumptions.
PURPURA: “They didn’t show you any of these clips, not once during their 24 hour presentation. 24 hours. And they couldn’t give you context to evaluate Ambassador Sondland. All the Democrats have to support their alleged link between security assistance and investigations is Ambassador Sondland’s assumptions and presumptions.”
PURPURA: “The President was unequivocal. Ambassador Sondland stated that this was the ‘final word that [he] heard from the President of the United States.’ And once he learned this, he text messaged Ambassadors Taylor and Volker: ‘The President has been crystal clear, no quid pro quos of any kind.’ If you are skeptical of Ambassador Sondland’s testimony, it was corroborated by the statement of one of your colleagues, Senator Johnson.”
HOUSE DEMOCRATS DIDN’T TELL YOU: Senator Johnson’s testimony showed that President Trump never wanted a quid pro quo.
PURPURA: “Again, President Trump’s answer was crystal clear: ‘No way. I would never do that. Who told you that?’ As Senator Johnson wrote, ‘I have accurately characterized his reaction as adamant, vehement and angry.’ They didn’t tell you about Senator Johnson’s letter, did they? Why not?”
HOUSE DEMOCRATS DIDN’T TELL YOU: Multiple witnesses testified that there was no connection between security assistance and investigations.
PURPURA: “Under Secretary of State David Hale, George Kent, and Ambassador Volker all testified that there was no connection whatsoever between security assistance and investigations. … The House Managers never told you this. Why not?”
And that was just the beginning.
When asked by Fox News host Neil Cavuto what he thought of the arguments laid out by the president’s defense team, Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott said it looked like Rep. Adam Schiff got “kneecapped.”
“I think Adam Schiff got kneecapped,” Scott said. “I think the White House counsel showed there was no due process in the House. Just a fabrication [by Schiff].”