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For Immediate Release
December, 02 2019, 11:00pm EDT
Contact:
David Vance, (202) 736-5712, dvance@commoncause.org
Trump & GOP Can't Both Obstruct Impeachment Inquiry and Call it a "Witch Trial"
Statement of Karen Hobert Flynn, President of Common Cause
WASHINGTON
President Trump and his GOP apologists don't get to have their cake and eat it too. After months of doing everything in their power to obstruct any investigation of presidential misconduct - particularly related to President Trump's efforts to coerce and bribe the President of Ukraine to launch an investigation of his Democratic rival Joe Biden and his son - it is laughable that they are now trying to dismiss the process as a 'witch hunt.'
Americans deserve to know the full truth about President Trump's withholding hundreds of millions of dollars appropriated by Congress to help the Ukraine defend itself from further Russian aggression in the wake of the annexation of the Crimea. A string of high-ranking government officials have testified that the Trump administration was withholding the money to force an official investigation of baseless accusations against Joe and Hunter Biden. That testimony has also implicated numerous senior Trump administration officials as well as President Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. The White House has refused to let them testify. The court challenges are ongoing. But Congress and the American people need to hear testimony from Vice President Mike Pence, Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former national security advisor John Bolton, and other senior officials. If the President Trump's claims of innocence are true then the testimony of senior officials is imperative to make his case against a mountain of evidence and testimony pointing to his guilt.
The blind defense of President Trump by too many Republican members of Congress is disgraceful. They have chosen to side with their political party instead of the nation they swore an oath to protect and defend. They condone impeachable conduct and ignore the facts and the disturbing pattern of abuse of power by the President and members of his administration. They also repeat wild conspiracy theories including those pushed by Vladimir Putin and refuted by U.S. intelligence agencies. This reprehensible and unpatriotic behavior must cease. These Members of Congress are doing the dirty work of the Kremlin and furthering Russian efforts to again attack our elections. History will not look kindly on these Senators and Representatives.
Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.
(202) 833-1200LATEST NEWS
'We Were Locked and Loaded': Hegseth Says Trump War Crime Threats Were No Bluff
"Anyone who orders, carries out, or is otherwise complicit in, President Trump’s abhorrent threats must be held accountable," said a coalition of advocacy organizations.
Apr 08, 2026
Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that President Donald Trump's genocidal threats against Iran were not a bluff, telling reporters in the wake of a two-week ceasefire deal that US forces were fully prepared to unleash an illegal and devastating assault on Iranian infrastructure.
"Had Iran refused our terms, the next targets would have been their power plants, their bridges, and oil and energy infrastructure—targets they could not defend and could not realistically rebuild," Hegseth told reporters during a characteristically belligerent press briefing. "We were locked and loaded... President Trump had the power to cripple Iran's entire economy in minutes."
Hegseth: If Iran refused our terms, the next targets would have been their power plants, their bridges and oil and energy infrastructure—we were locked and loaded. They couldn't defend against it. President Trump chose mercy because Iran accepted the ceasefire under overwhelming… pic.twitter.com/QMklWNM8PH
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 8, 2026
Hegseth—who, like Trump, is facing articles of impeachment in the US House—went on to say that American forces aren't "going anywhere" and are "prepared to restart" the bombing of Iran "at a moment's notice," echoing the president and underscoring the fragility of the newly announced ceasefire.
"The United States military has the ability to strike [Iran] with impunity," the Pentagon secretary declared, asserting that the president's threats forced Iran to the negotiating table—a narrative that Iranian leaders rejected in their statement on the ceasefire deal.
"The enemy, in its cowardly, illegal, and criminal war against the Iranian nation, has suffered an undeniable, historical, and crushing defeat," Iran's Supreme National Security Council said in a statement. "We congratulate all the people of Iran on this victory and emphasize that until the details of this victory are finalized, there remains a need for the steadfastness and prudence of officials and the maintenance of unity and solidarity among the Iranian people."
The Trump administration's past and continued threats to attack Iran's infrastructure—even if they aren't ultimately carried out—are violations of international law, Yale Law School professor Oona Hathaway said Wednesday, pointing to the Geneva Conventions.
"Threats of use of force also violate the United Nations Charter," said Hathaway, a former special counsel at the Pentagon. "Moreover, the threat to commit mass war crimes raises questions as to whether the US is fighting the war consistent with its legal obligations. It gives insight into intent that may be relevant to war crimes investigations."
In a statement issued shortly before the two-week ceasefire was announced, a broad coalition of more than 200 organizations and experts reminded "those engaged in military operations of their obligation to refuse any patently unlawful orders."
"Anyone who orders, carries out, or is otherwise complicit in, President Trump’s abhorrent threats must be held accountable," the groups said.
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Liberals on the Wisconsin Supreme Court strengthened their majority on Tuesday when Democratic-backed candidate Chris Taylor romped to victory over her conservative opponent by more than 20 percentage points.
With the win, liberals hold a 5-2 majority on what's been described as "one of the most important courts in America" and are guaranteed control through at least 2030.
As reported by the Associated Press, Taylor centered her campaign on protecting reproductive freedoms, which have come under threat across the country after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
In her victory speech, Taylor also spoke out against billionaires using their vast wealth to buy influence in politics.
“Once again, Wisconsin showed the entire nation that we believe that the people should be at the center of government and the priority of our judiciary," said Taylor, "not the billionaires, not the most powerful and privileged, but the people."
In addition to protecting access to reproductive care, Taylor's win also gives liberals a bulwark to stand against any efforts by President Donald Trump and his allies to suppress voting in future elections.
As Bolts staffer writer Alex Burness explained in a post-election analysis, the Wisconsin Supreme Court "may soon be asked to weigh in on congressional redistricting... and could see any number of lawsuits during the coming midterms and 2028 presidential election, as it did in 2020."
Burness pointed to an interview Taylor gave to Bolts in February in which she emphasized her determination to protect voting rights, saying that "we cannot be fatigued when it comes to democracy... it's just something we have to keep working on."
Progressive research and communications organization A Better Wisconsin celebrated Taylor's win as "a major victory for democracy, reproductive freedom, and the constitutional rights of all Wisconsinites."
Melinda Brennan, executive director of ACLU Wisconsin, said Taylor's win showed "resounding support for protecting abortion access and defending voting rights in our state."
Ben Wikler, former chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, said Taylor's victory was a tribute to Wisconsin progressives who have not stopped fighting after Trump's 2024 victory.
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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Wednesday welcomed news of a two-week ceasefire in Iran as a step back from the brink of catastrophe, but said the war's aggressors—the US and Israel—deserved no praise for the temporary reprieve.
"Ceasefires are always good news. Especially if they lead to a just and lasting peace," Sánchez wrote on social media. "But this momentary relief cannot make us forget the chaos, the destruction, and the lives lost. The government of Spain will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket."
"What’s needed now: diplomacy, international legality, and PEACE," the prime minister added.
Drawing US President Donald Trump's ire, Spain's government has opposed the US-Israeli war on Iran from the start, calling it a "cruel, absurd, and illegal" assault and closing off Spain's military bases and airspace to American forces involved in the attack.
"Remaining silent in the face of an unjust war is an act of cowardice and complicity," Sánchez said last month.
Spain's foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, said Wednesday that the government supports "the crucial work of the mediators," including Pakistan, in preventing further escalation of the conflict that the US and Israel launched in late February.
"Diplomacy, negotiation, and international law are the only path to the lasting peace that the citizens of the Middle East deserve," said Albares. "All parties must show responsibility and commitment to ceasing attacks and de-escalating, which Spain will continue to support."
The foreign minister went on to stress that the ceasefire "must extend to Lebanon," which Israel has invaded and bombed relentlessly in recent weeks, displacing 20% of the country's population, devastating its healthcare system, and killing more than 1,500 people. On Wednesday, the Israeli's unleashed a massive bombing blitz of Beirut, the nation's capital and largest city.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said following Trump's announcement of the two-week ceasefire deal with Iran that the agreement "does not include Lebanon."
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