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Hillary Clinton claimed Republicans would affirm that President Trump is above the law if they do not vote to impeach.

Clinton chastised Republicans and questioned if they would use their power to check Trumps impeachable offenses and remove him from office. She took to Twitter to claim the only question remaining regarding impeachment is whether Republicans will protect Trump, not whether he committed acts deemed impeachable by the Constitution.

The question is not whether Trump has committed impeachable crimes. He has, Clinton tweeted. The question is whether Republicans in Congress will affirm that an American president is not above the law.

She also took an impeachment victory lap by retweeting a post that said, Do yall ever sit back and think about how much [Hillary Clinton] was actually right about? She added the caption, Occasionally.

Although Clinton may believe there is no question on impeachment, most Republicans disagree. Republican Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, who has been a Trump critic, called Trumps actions misguided but not impeachable.

"An impeachable offense should be compelling, overwhelmingly clear, and unambiguous, and its not something to be rushed or taken lightly," Hurd explained during Thursdays hearing. "I have not heard evidence proving the president committed bribery or extortion."

Clinton, 72, was accused of being above the law herself because she used a private email server, putting classified State Department documents at risk. The decision haunted her presidential campaign. In July 2016, then-FBI Director James Comey announced that he would not recommend charging anyone in relation to Clinton's email server, despite calling her private email use "extremely careless."

Comey's last-minute decision to reopen the investigation into the server was highly criticized after Clinton's defeat in 2016. She lost the election by 77 electoral votes. Many believe her failure to campaign in swing states such as Michigan and Wisconsin cost her the election.

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Clinton says Republicans will 'affirm' Trump is 'above the law' if they vote against impeachment - Washington Examiner

Former chief White House strategist Steve Bannon touched on several topics during a recent Fox Business interview, including the 2020 race, which he says is Donald Trumps to lose and that Michael Bloombergs candidacy will open the door for Hillary Clinton to save the Democratic Party.

Bannon said the Democrats voting base will soon throw former Vice President Joe Biden away (though, you keep hearing this a lot as he continues to lead in pretty much every major poll), opening the door for Bloomberg and the return of Clinton.

Theyll throw Biden away to get to Trump and hope Elizabeth Warren or I even think Hillary Clinton or Bloomberg or some centrist comes in here, he said. All these other people that could have been the centrist candidate for whatever reason havent materialized. And that leaves a huge opportunity for two people, I believe: Michael Bloomberg and Hillary Clinton.

Its quite evident that, look, the ratings and President Trump follows this; like the ratings for the impeachment started to drop off. The ratings for the Democratic primaries are dropping off. Theres a lack of interest. Theres no star power. And more importantly, there doesnt seem like a fighter that can take on Trump.

Bannon then discussed what Bloomberg brings to the table, particularly capital. Bloomberg, of course, is worth north of $50 billion, far more than even Trump, so he has more than enough money to throw around. Bloomberg has said hell spend up to $100 million on his campaign, and has already doled out $20 million on an anti-Trump voting registration drive in five swing states.

Hes very smart in applying his capital to politics. Remember, one of the reasons we have this impeachment going on is because Nancy Pelosi took the House on the shoulders of Mike Michael Bloomberg Bloombergs money, Bannon said. It was $100 million of Bloombergs capital that went in. I think they focused on 25 House races and won 23 of them. So to a large extent, Nancy Pelosi owes her job to Michael Bloomberg. Hes been hes been moving these chess pieces around for a while. He hopes to use his capital to blow a hole because he sees Mayor Pete (Buttigieg), Biden, Cory Booker, the other centrists are just not getting traction.

And I believe he thinks the Wall Street faction of the Democratic Party is not going to have a coronation for Elizabeth Warren. So hes going to come in, I think is going to totally disrupt the race. And I believe Hillary Clinton is going to look and say, Im going to step in to save the Democratic Party. And so dont count Im only 2-for-2 on this. I think Hillary Clinton is taking a hard look and seeing what Bloomberg is doing and seeing how Bloomberg is trying to position himself. I think the Democratic race is wide open.

Ultimately, Bannon said, no one can beat Trump other than Trump himself in the 2020 election.

The only person who can beat Donald Trump is Donald Trump. Nobody Michael is not going to beat theres nobody out there that can beat him. I think, look, if you see where the economys going, if you see how hes sorting out the national security situation. If you see how people are now focused on prosperity and they get around the Thanksgiving table at the end of the year, University of Michigans consumer report came out. I think its the 30th month in the row. Its been over ninety five. And we havent had optimism like this from the consumer since the 1990s and the Internet and when the Internet stocks were on fire.

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Steve Bannon: Bloomberg Will Open Door for Hillary to Save Dem Party - Money and Markets

Former British spy Christopher Steele described FBI Director James Comeys October 2016 letter to Congress about Hillary Clinton's emails as "unconscionable. Treasonous, really, according to a new book.

At the time, Steele, 55, a former MI6 officer, was working for opposition research company Fusion GPS to investigate connections between Donald Trump, then the 2016 GOP presidential nominee. At the same time, he was a confidential informant for the FBI. His fury over Comey's intervention, which he believed damaged Clinton while concealing what the FBI knew about Trump, prompted him to push for what became known as the "Steele dossier" in the public domain.

Fusion GPS co-founders Glenn Simpson and Peter Fritsch recount in their new book Crime in Progress: Inside the Steele Dossier and the Fusion GPS Investigation of Donald Trump that they and Steele, founder of the Orbis Business Intelligence company, were livid that Comey wasnt making public pronouncements about ithe FBI's Trump-Russia investigation.

Steele responded to Comeys October letter by publicizing his Trump-Russia allegations, speaking to left-wing journalist David Corn days before the Nov. 8, 2016 election for an article that was headlined: "A Veteran Spy Has Given the FBI Information Alleging a Russian Operation to Cultivate Donald Trump."

The article led the FBI to jettison Steele as an informant. The Fusion GPS authors say Steele told his FBI contact that any misstep by Orbis or Fusion pales in comparison to what Comey did in disclosing the Hillary investigation.

Comey announced the FBI wasnt recommending criminal charges related to former Secretary of State Hillary Clintons private email server in July 2016, but criticized Clinton for extremely careless handling of classified information. The FBI investigation was reopened when, in late September 2016, thousands of emails belonging to Clinton aide Huma Abedin were found on the laptop belonging to her husband, disgraced former New York Rep. Anthony Weiner. Comey sent a letter to Congress on Oct. 28, 2016, saying the FBI uncovered emails possibly pertinent to the Clinton investigation.

According to the book: "Unconscionable,' Steele said. 'Treasonous, really.' He was so fed up he didnt bother to call [his FBI handler] in Rome to ask him what was going on."

On Nov. 6, two days before the election, Comey told Congress that the FBI had not changed its decision not to charge Clinton.

The authors state that Comey was guilty of having done "nothing to warn the American public of the FBIs deep concerns regarding possible illicit dealings between the government of the Russian Federation and the campaign of the Republican nominee for president of the United States, adding: In fact, the FBI went out of its way to do the opposite.

Simpson and Fritsch conclude: It really did feel like a conspiracy, with a hidden hand guiding Trump into the presidency.

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Ex-spy Christopher Steele accused Comey of 'treasonous' intervention in 2016 election - Washington Examiner

No matter how bad your Thanksgiving is, mine will be worse, and Ill tell you why. My sister thinks Jim Jordan is hot. Well, she didnt say hot exactly, but the words admire, forceful and fighter have been thrown around. And then theres Kevin. It has been a crazy year, even by Trump standards. So I asked my brother to tell us, in his annual Thanksgiving column, if he has any regrets.

ROCKVILLE, Md. Over the last three years, Maureen has frequently sent me reader emails demanding to know how I can still support Donald Trump. My short answer is always the same: Have you looked at the alternative?

The liberals still sneer at religious conservatives. I wouldnt let them come with me to the Knights of Columbus bar. In August, the D.N.C. passed a resolution saying religiously unaffiliated Americans are the largest religious group in the party and overwhelmingly share Democrats values. And certain House chairmen are waiving the words So help me God from swearing-ins.

God help me.

I support the president for his economy, his jobless rate and the record numbers of the stock market that his deregulation fueled. I applaud his unconditional support of the police at a time when I worry were returning to a 60s-style police are pigs mind-set. (Michael Bloomberg should stop apologizing for reducing violent crime in New York City.)

I feel safe in my bed with the way the president is handling Iran and North Korea. Most of all, I support him for saving the Supreme Court from Hillary Clinton.

Trump came from the roughest job training in the world: the New York construction trade. His manners are sometimes missing. He can be coarse and a bully. But Ive been pleasantly surprised that he has done exactly what he promised despite a hostile press.

The impeachment inquiry is a farce. Ukraine didnt do the investigation and the aid was released. I think that all aid is quid pro quo. The election is in a year. If Trump is as bad as Democrats say, let the voters impeach him. Adam Schiff has pursued the president with the obsessive zeal of Inspector Javert in Les Misrables, but his results have looked more like Inspector Clouseaus.

His hearings produced a long line of career bureaucrats, disturbed and upset with Trump and brimming with second and thirdhand information. I grew up in Washington with these bureaucrats. It is good to remind them occasionally that the president makes policy and the agencies should carry it out without comment. The mainstream media and Democrats have tried to valorize the bureaucrats as patriots, but if these people were that conflicted, they should have quit.

The hearings ended with a thud and, according to a new Quinnipiac poll, public opinion has even slightly shifted in the presidents favor. There will not be one Republican vote to impeach.

Schiff now finds himself in the uncomfortable position of Elizabeth Taylors sixth or seventh husband, who, legend has it, cried, I know what is expected of me on the wedding night, but how can I possibly make it more interesting?

Hopefully, the coming I.G. report will be worse than weve been led to believe, causing night sweats for Comey, McCabe, Brennan, Clapper and the lovers.

The Democrats have never recovered from the 2016 election when they nominated the worst candidate in political history and lost to a political novice. Their horror at Trump conjures Lady Macbeth crying in agony, Out, damned spot.

All of the Democratic candidates support Medicaid coverage of abortion and nominating only judges who endorse abortion rights.

As for the best and the brightest the Dems have to offer:

Warren/Sanders: If you combine the support of the two billionaire-bashing socialists, they lead the field. You might consider vacationing in Venezuela before committing to them or they could run together as the End of Days ticket.

Biden/Bloomberg: Like Bloomberg, Biden has been forced to grovel and renounce all past career accomplishments on crime prevention.

Harris/Booker: Theyre having trouble lighting the spark, even with some black voters.

Klobuchar/Buttigieg: They are the two least crazy people in the field, which means they have absolutely no chance.

The Martin OMalley Award to Beto ORourke for thinking a vague resemblance to the Kennedys, an Annie Leibovitz Vanity Fair cover and a 214,000-vote loss to Ted Cruz could carry him to the nomination.

The mainstream media has reached a new low. It is not even pretending to be objective as it relentlessly batters the president daily (putting Trump just ahead of Harvey Weinstein and trailing only Satan). Reporters write opinion columns packed with innuendo and anonymous sources not to mention what Anonymous is cooking up.

Newspapers that once had the most stringent editing rules on sources now appear to have no editors at all. The Washington Post reached a new journalistic low when it described the worlds No. 1 terrorist as an austere religious scholar, after our forces cornered him and he blew himself up.

Somewhere, Abe Rosenthal weeps.

The irony is that Trump drives news circulation. Without him, subscription rates would be cut in half.

Finally, one recent HuffPost piece turkey-shamed us all, suggesting that, for this beloved holiday, we consider curbing the carbon footprint of our turkeys and travel. These Democrats are a lot of fun.

Happy Thanksgiving.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com.

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Kevin Talks Turkey - The New York Times

Key impeachment witness Fiona Hill told Congress the Russians targeted both President Trump and Hillary Clinton in 2016 to ensure whoever won the presidency would be damaged when taking office.

Hill, the Trump administration's former Russia expert on the National Security Council, said Thursday the Russians targeted both presidential candidates in 2016 "to delegitimize our entire presidency.

The goal of the Russians was really to put whoever became the president, by trying to tip their hands on one side of the scale, under a cloud, she said.

And the political conflict that has resulted was just what Russia wanted.

They seed misinformation, they seed doubt, they have everybody questioning the legitimacy of a presidential candidate, be it President Trump or potentially President [Hillary] Clinton, that they would pit one side of our electorate against the other, that they would pit one party against the other, she said.

The Russians essentially bet on both sides, hoping whoever won the presidential election in 2016 would also experience some discomfort, that they would be beholden to them in some way, that they would create just the kind of chaos that we've seen in our politics. And she warned against giving the Russians more fodder that they can use against us in 2020. Hill said continued efforts to paint Trump's 2016 win as illegitimate played into Russian President Vladimir Putin's hands.

The U.S. intelligence community concluded in 2017 that Russian military intelligence was responsible for hacking thousands of Democratic emails and providing those stolen records to WikiLeaks to harm Clinton, a claim bolstered by special counsel Robert Muellers investigation. Independent investigations by the House and Senate also concluded the Kremlin interfered in 2016.

Hill testified behind closed doors last month that British ex-spy Christopher Steeles controversial dossier was a rabbit hole that very likely contained Russian disinformation and Steele could have been played by the Russians. Republicans raised her prior testimony only briefly during Thursday's hearing.

Steele's salacious and unverified dossier was used extensively by the FBI to obtain surveillance warrants to monitor Trump campaign associate Carter Page beginning in October 2016. Those warrants are now part of the investigation by Michael Horowitz, Justice Department inspector general, into allegations of abuse of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Attorney General William Barr told the Senate in May that he was concerned about possible Russian disinformation in Steeles dossier, and former CIA Moscow station chief Daniel Hoffman told the Washington Examiner the Steele dossier was likely disinformation from FSB, the successor agency to the KGB.

Hill said Thursday she'd been shown a copy of Steele's dossier by Strobe Talbott of the Brookings Institution, where she'd worked, a day before BuzzFeed published it in January 2017.

I almost fell over when I discovered that he was doing this report, Hill said in October of Steele, who she worked with when he led MI6's Russia desk a decade ago.

Hill said she met with Steele in 2016 and said Steele was clearly very interested in building up a client base," which she said made him a target for Russia.

"Hes obviously out there soliciting information, Hill said. What a great opportunity to, basically, you know, present him with information that hes looking for that can be couched in some truth and some disinformation.

The Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee hired the opposition research firm Fusion GPS for $50,000 per month through the Perkins Coie law firm. Fusion GPS then hired Steele, who was paid roughly $168,000. But watchdog groups allege the Clinton campaign purposely concealed the hiring of Fusion GPS and Steele. Perkins Coie was paid more than $12 million between 2016 and 2017 for its work representing Clinton and the DNC.

Steeles Democratic funding, his strong desire for Trump to lose, and possible flaws with his dossier were not revealed to the FISA court.

I don't believe it's appropriate for him to have been hired to do this, Hill said in October. And, again, I think I already expressed my shock and surprise when I learned that he had been involved in this.

On Thursday, Hill also condemned what she saw as the "fictional narrative" advocated by some Republicans that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in 2016. Republican Rep. Devin Nunes pushed back by pointing to the March 2018 "Report on Russian Active Measures" put together by himself and the Republicans who led the House Intelligence Committee at the time, and said it was possible Russia and Ukraine both meddled, pointing in particular to the release of the so-called "Black Ledger," which purported to show millions of dollars of payments connecting Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort to pro-Kremlin former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

Hill followed up Thursday afternoon about Ukrainian government officials who made disparaging comments about then-candidate Trump in 2016, noting they'd likely guessed wrong about who would win, but attempted to distinguish that from what Mueller called Russia's "sweeping and systematic" interference efforts.

During a July 25 phone call, which sparked a whistleblower complaint and impeachment proceedings, Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "to do us a favor by looking into a CrowdStrike conspiracy theory. Trump then urged Zelensky to investigate the other thing, referring to allegations of corruption in Ukraine related to Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.

Hill testified Thursday there was no basis for the CrowdStrike conspiracy theory and said it was likely Trump believed it because he was listening to his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, instead of his senior advisers.

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Impeachment witness Fiona Hill: Russia tried to damage both Trump and Clinton - Washington Examiner