Freshly declassified information released this week by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has further exposed Democrats’ first impeachment effort against President Donald Trump in 2019 as totally bunk – and vindicated his claims that the inquiry was politically motivated from the start.
To understand just how outrageous the entire impeachment scam was, it helps to rewind the clock seven years and remember what Democrats were alleging.
In September 2019 – with Trump fresh off several high-profile policy victories and gearing up for a re-election bid – House Democrats formally launched an impeachment inquiry following reports about a July 25, 2019, phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
At the center of the controversy was a whistleblower complaint alleging that Trump had urged Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, while the administration was withholding nearly $400 million in congressionally approved military aid. Democrats argued that this sequence of events suggested Trump was using the power of his office and U.S. foreign policy tools to solicit foreign interference in the upcoming 2020 election.
The first great irony, of course, is that even if Trump did tell Zelenskyy to investigate the Bidens, he would have been completely justified in doing so. Hunter Biden was paid millions of dollars per year by a notoriously corrupt Ukrainian oil and gas company Burisma despite have no experience in the industry.
Smoking-gun emails also revealed how Hunter introduced Ukrainian businessmen to his father while he was vice president in an apparent influence-peddling scheme. Perhaps most shockingly of all, during a Council on Foreign Relations event in 2018, Joe Biden openly bragged on camera about forcing the Ukrainian government to fire the prosecutor who was investigating Burisma and his son.
Nonetheless, in December 2019, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives approved two articles of impeachment against Trump – abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The case then moved to the Senate, where he was ultimately acquitted in February 2020.
Democrats’ entire case rested on the reliability of the whistleblower who alleged the impropriety. But as Gabbard revealed this week, the whistleblower wasn’t reliable at all.
According to the newly declassified materials, the Intelligence Community Inspector General at the time, Michael Atkinson, built his “investigation” almost entirely on second-hand information. The whistleblower himself (who has never been identified) admitted he had no direct knowledge of the Trump-Zelensky call. He was not on the call, did not hear it firsthand, and instead relied on what others told him and his own interpretations.
That alone should have been disqualifying. Instead, it became the foundation for an impeachment.
It gets worse. Atkinson reportedly interviewed just four individuals – the whistleblower, a key associate who helped shape the complaint, and two people who had no firsthand knowledge of the call. One of those key sources admitted that their conclusions about any supposed wrongdoing came only “in hindsight,” required “reading between the lines,” and were not based on anything explicit in the call itself.
In other words, this was not evidence – it was speculation layered on top of hearsay.
Even more damning, the documents show that one of the central figures feeding information into the complaint was involved in crafting the now-discredited 2017 intelligence assessment that fueled the totally debunked Russia collusion hoax. That same individual had professional ties to former FBI agent Peter Strzok and openly acknowledged being frustrated with Trump’s policies.
So, the supposedly “neutral” process that launched an impeachment was, in reality, built on the input of politically biased actors with a track record of weaponizing their positions of public trust to hurt Trump.
The whistleblower himself later admitted to the Inspector General that he had communicated with Democrat congressional staff before filing his complaint – a fact he initially concealed. He also acknowledged being a registered Democrat and having worked closely with Joe Biden on Ukraine policy, raising obvious questions about bias and motive that were conveniently ignored at the time.
Meanwhile, Atkinson appears to have disregarded standard procedures. Despite knowing a transcript of the call existed, he never sought to review it during his preliminary inquiry. The Department of Justice concluded there was no basis for criminal action and that the complaint did not even meet the statutory definition of an “urgent concern.” Atkinson ignored that guidance and pushed the complaint forward anyway, ensuring it reached Congress and, soon after, the media.
From there, the political machine took over. Then-House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and Speaker Nancy Pelosi seized on the narrative, amplifying it through sympathetic media coverage and using it as the basis to launch an impeachment circus.
But wait – wasn’t there another witness? There was. It was Deep State bureaucrat Alexander Vindman, who was actually on the infamous call. Vindman corroborated the whistleblower’s claims. But like the whistleblower, he’s hardly a neutral figure. He is now running for Senate in Florida as a Democrat on an explicitly anti-Trump platform, while his brother, Eugene Vindman, is a Democrat congressman in Virginia. That’s hardly the profile of an unbiased observer.
Taken together, these revelations paint a picture that is even more troubling than many conservative critics suspected at the time. This was not a careful, fact-driven inquiry into serious allegations. It was a rushed, politically charged effort built on second-hand claims, partisan actors, and a willingness to ignore basic investigative standards.
And for what?
Impeachment is one of the most serious constitutional powers Congress possesses. It is supposed to be reserved for clear, demonstrable misconduct that threatens the integrity of the republic. Instead, Democrats turned it into a political weapon.
The irony is impossible to ignore. Democrats claimed Trump was trying to influence the 2020 election. Yet their impeachment crusade functioned as a full-scale attempt to do exactly that by dominating headlines, shaping public perception, and weakening Trump politically heading into an election year.
Even worse, the episode deepened divisions in the country, eroded trust in key institutions, and set a dangerous precedent for using impeachment as a partisan cudgel. It also elevated the profiles of many of the figures involved – from Schiff, who is now a U.S. senator, to the Vindman brothers, who parlayed their roles into political careers.
What was sold to the American people as a solemn defense of democracy now looks even more like a cynical power play built on a flimsy and compromised foundation.
The more we learn, the clearer it becomes that this impeachment was never about protecting the Constitution. It was about politics. And with each new revelation, Trump’s claim right from the start that it was a sham looks more and more justified.
Shane Harris is the Editor-in-Chief of AMAC Newsline. You can follow him on X @shaneharris513.
Thanks, Mr. Harris for this detailed account of the horror of the second impeachment, the first one just as horrorific. But what I crave to read, is the cancelling of all pensions, and the salaries of ALL the ones involved in this costly venture.I am so weary of hearing how these dishonest so called servants, tried to remove a president we all voted for. Jail is too good for them, take their money and any power they still have.
I would love to know if many agree with me.
Anyone who was involved and/or pushed that agenda should be charged!
Nothing new here. Most intelligent people knew that these impeachments during President Trump’s first term were bogus and only motivated because he was not a participating member of the DC political club. During this second term, the Democrats are not hiding what they plan to do if they are able to get the majority in both House and Senate — IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP BASED ON FALSE ACCUSATIONS AND INFORMATION. The nation is seeing the Democrats going after President Trump’s administrators. Right now, impeachment paperwork is being introduced against the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, for various articles of violations, being introduced by a Democrat, Rep Yassamin Ansari (AZ), who by the way, is from an IRANIAN background. Go figure.
What’s the point of another investigation with no one being prosecuted on the left again?!!
Should I hold my breath waiting for indictments and prosecutions?
Both impeachments, all the indictments and cases, plus the illegal spying on GOP congressmen and supporters, were BOGUS. Not a legal leg to stand on! ZERO!
DIMMS always accuse others of what they are doing. Example: Claim Republicans oppose women while they commit rape against women and allow criminal aliens to rape and murder women.
When will the republicans get a back bone and push this narrative outside of their own constituents. Preaching to the choir isn’t getting this done.
We knew they made up the allegations then let the media run with demanding impeachment! There’s really corrupt politicians fighting to move us away from our freedoms and constitution.
And yet all the perps are still … sitting in Congress, living free on their government pensions, getting rich off books and speaking engagements, and/or now working for the communist left wing media.
Think about it. These impeachments were contrived politic coups to take down a duly elected president of the united states. And for some reason, there are no consequences.
None of this will stop until there is SEVERE accountability.
They suffer TDS
There was never any doubt about that. All you had to do was ask Captain obvious! Anyone that has that much blind hatred for one individual has no business with any power. I wouldn’t even trust them to pick up dog poop unless they were picking it up to eat it. Sorry don’t make a picture. That information about the bogus charges will never hit the mainstream media they will never let that be known because they hate Trump just as much as a Democrats do as a matter of fact they’re one and the same
ALL actions were Bogus:
Trump Coup
Mara Lago Raid
Court hearings
etc
So millions of taxpayer dollars spent on another hoax! How can any American vote Democrat when they consistently show NO concern for the American citizens? All that money spent should be paid back to the Treasury from the DNC!
Get ready for Round 3 if the Dems win the midterms, only this time if they get the Senate too, he will be impeached, not just charged. We need the DOJ to arrest somebody here to put a stop to future nonsense like this. The Dems want to talk about Democracy is at risk, this kind of utter dishonesty is a true risk to Democracy and the survival of this country….
We knew it was a farse from the beginning. When is someone going to jail or have to pay for the legal fees? Charge anyone involved and make them pay! Enough with the lawlessness!
What is despicable about all of this is the fact that Bribery Joe admitted ON TAPE that he bribed the Ukranians to fire the prosecutor who was investigating his corrupt son.
His exact words… “Well, S.O.B, they Fired the Prosecutor, Haa Haa..”.
He liked to cuss a lot too.
Anyone who was paying attention and had a working brain knew that the Russia Hoax and any other dreamed-up scheme against Trump had no truth behind it. The ones who believed it were the radical liberals who hated Trump even before his announcing his run for the President. These are the people who are allergic to the TRUTH and grab into whatever the fake news media is putting out. Obviously, these are the same people who are experiencing TDS and want to see him defeated no matter what. They are on the side of the evil radicals who want Communism in the U.S.
We all recognize the truth—there’s nothing new to uncover here. What I want to highlight is that our struggle is far more significant than what appears on the surface, and that’s where our attention should lie. Every day, too many of us get caught up in the negativity that surrounds us, yet it’s the unseen aspirations we nurture in our minds that truly shape our reality. This isn’t just an individual’s battle; it’s a collective mindset centered on our shared goals. Trump is making impactful strides that extend beyond our awareness. Now is the time to consciously embrace the belief that his actions can reflect our wishes, as we channel our energy toward what is achievable. He needs all of us to understand that anything is possible if we unite in purpose.
Symptoms of TDS abound.
Proves the Dems are deranged brought on by hate.
It wasn’t just “bogus” it was a political coup, or to use a term the democrats used to throw around for Biden’s whole term: an Insurrection. Just calling it bogus doesn’t change the fact that we need to see indictments, prosecution, and convictions, followed by multi decade prison terms without pardon, or parole at the minimum. Real damage was done not just to President Trump and his associates but to American taxpayers, and our national security was compromised, in some cases beyond repair. This was followed up with the Biden administration’s autopen polit bureau central committee running this country with a cognitively incompetent sock puppet figurehead serving as a cover for the fact that we no longer had a President at the helm. All of this cannot go unpunished, especially in light of what the democrats perpetrated against the J6ers.
The American people are so sick of the lies of the democrat politicians; just cowards and sneaks. Democrat politicians are disgusting, but what about the people that vote for them. Troubling…
What does America have to do to get rid of these Demo-Gogs??? VOTE THEM OUT, CHANGE YOUR PARTY AFFILIATION TO “AMERICAN FOR AMERICA” AND VOTE THEM OUT WHILE WE CAN STILL VOTE!!!!!
With all the complaining that the fake news the congress and senate and all of the has beens in our country, my question to all of is COULD ANY OF YOU WITH STOOD ALL THE MUD SLINING? COULD ANY OF YOU HAVE WITHSTOOD DEBANKING? AND THE LIES? MY OTHER QUESTION IS THIS WHEN IS OBAMA,Hillary,Biden PELOSI,SCHUMER AND THE REST OF THE CRIMINALS FROM THE 2010-2024 GOVERNMENT GOING TO BE INDICTED?????JACK SMITH IS A DOG! HE ABOVE ALL SHOULD BE LOCKED UP WITH TISH JAMES AND ALVIN BRAGG!!!!! I PRAY EVERYDAY FOR MY PRESIDENT DJT! HE IS NOT PERFECT! NO MAN IS! BUT HE IS ON A MISSION TO DO AS MUCH FOR OUR COUNTRY AS HE CAN TO SAVE IT FROM THOSE WHO DO NOT APPRECIATE THE GOOD WE HAVE!! I DO NOT KNOW ABOUT ANYONE ELSE’S BELIEFS BUT I WISH NOT TO BE GOVERNED BY THE LIKES OF BERNIE SANDERS !!OR ZOHRAN!!OR GAVIN!ANYWAY MAGA MAGA MAGA USA.USA USA
More stinky like the bilary russian collusion HOAX, peepee HOAX,and many other attempts at saying 45/47 was A TRAITOR—instead the treasonous dems/lib/commies/socialists/fake news arse holies are still out there FREE TO SPREAD THE soros BS…..
The various pieces of what was, when objectively viewed together, clearly represent nothing less than a fraudulent, self-serving, unlawful, and unethical scheme which constitutes NOTHING SHORT OF A CONSPIRACY to commit Treason for the purpose of furthering a self-serving, unrealistic, and misleading political agenda; AND to extinguish the expression of opposing views. Treason was a hanging offense. It should remain a hanging offense. When truth and honest debate of political issues (openly, in the public eye) morphs into an attempt, not to use and enforce our laws, but to knowingly, willfully, fraudulently, surreptitiously weaponize them against political opponents for the actors’ personal, political, and economic gain — especially when it is so clear-cut as in the instant case . . . . . then SOME-DAMN-BODY . . . . indeed, the instigators and participants of such scheme, should be indicted, stand trial, and if found guilty . . . . should be publicly hanged. Why?? Not to effect “vengeance,” but to ensure justice and preservation of our Constitutional republic; and, what it is intended to be and to represent — by removing from our society those who would, by such treachery, rather than honest debate in the public forum, seek so selfishly to destroy all we’ve built, achieved, dreamed of, and inspired. If this conduct is allowed to persist and survive, without consequences under the rule of law; then the alternative outcome is too awful to contemplate.
This is something that any American with at least two working brain cells already knew.
What’s even far more tragic is that not one of these satanic bastards will be held accountable, from the Communist Fake News medias, the slithering SCUM in CONgress, the FBI, CIA, Deep State, to the African Muslim Divider-in-Chief Obama.
TIME WILL SHOW THAT ALL OF THESE EVIL TREASONOUS DEMONS ARE IN FACT, ABOVE THE LAW.
Of course we could see ALL of these cess pool turds brought to justice, serving LONG prison sentences. But then again that would PROVE that pigs can fly, Hell froze over, men can have babies, and that a Democrat can define what a woman is.
The fact that the right started impeachment inquiries BEFORE he was even inaugurated in 2017 should tell you all you need to know.
Not just Democrats. Several republicans voted for impeachment also including Bill Cassidy who is up for reelection now in Louisiana.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Show me just one prosecution, just one. No one in Washington ever pays for anything.
It’s not even a question. The whole world knew that both impeachments were a scam. They tried everything to get Trump for who knows what reason other than hate. And of course they all get away with it. Nobody cares.
We have strict laws about influencing votes. The perps need to go to jail and have all government pensions and benefits removed. We need enforcement and justice, or else it is going to happen again.
Well, we all knew this, but now that there is documentary proof, when can we expect indictments, arrests, and prosecutions? Should I hold my breath?
I knew it was a hoax, from the beginning. Any one with half a brain should have been able to put 2 and 2 together to come up with the answer this was political. Come on people. Did you actually think the Dems would play fair or nice?? They won’t and they keep getting worse every day. So glad I left that party!!!!!
Wecannot have members if Congress who do such things! And this is far from the only thing they’ve done. What does it take?
So why is nobody in jail?
.Again
Reading these comments, it is obvious the majority opinion here is to prosecute, imprison, hang, etc., any democrat involved in the many schemes to take down Trump. But history shows that it will never happen and we will all have to live with frustration and anger while watching the guilty players get rewarded for their parts as their raunchy schemes continue for the next 3 years. But why is this so? Point the finger at the media companies. While hiding behind “freedom of the press”, these liberal influencers have the power of the written word in their court. I don’t know the actual data, but it seems evident that the liberal media outlets outnumber conservative media at least 10 to 1. They filter the news every day to only highlight the stories that put Trump in a bad light. They only interview other liberals to push the impression that most Americans are against him too. They ignore and/or spin any good work that Trump is doing to ensure he gets no credit. They interpret words out of context and use canned images to skew the narrative they need to feed to the gullible and impressionable among us. Who runs these companies? Someone has an agenda and Trump is a fly in the ointment to them. The democrats are merely their minions, doing as they are told to help along their plans to take down our duly elected leader, and leave the country vulnerable to the dark powers-that-be. If there are to be investigations, do not leave out the media companies and their pundits from the part they play every minute of every day. But getting out the truth may be near impossible because it is evident that our major news outlets have lost all integrity.
Of course it was Bogus. Everything the Left does is Bogus!
From the beginning, everyone knew it was a sham–especially the Democrats who perpetrated it.
imo
The FIRST impeachment was/is bad, but the SECOND one was/is ridiculous. And IF the Dumba$$ocrat$ win this next election, we can just stand TF by for more of the same.
IMHO, that is….
Duh…
Joseph McCarthy is alive. He is on the left now and he resides in the little hearts of every dem senator and representative that gins up these calumnies and slanders designed to bog down administrations and causes their low information acolytes to have endless doubt and dissatisfaction in our form of government. The dems certainly know how to herd a ugly mob.
You can’t hate the Dems enough!
Adam “shifty”Schiff is another candidate along with Schumer,”Danang Dick and Sanders etc who should be deported to Israel.
And the consequences are, anyone being held accountable, is msm up in arms? Ithink not. JMO
They should all be in jail….