January 23, 2020

How Many Impeachment Lies Can You Find in This Trump Tweet?

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After setting a personal record for most tweets in a single day, President Donald Trump was back on his favorite social media platform Thursday morning, tearing into Democrats, the impeachment trial, and billionaire presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg. 

But one tweet stood out, because it was packed with so many brazen lies:

Let’s break these down one-by-one.

  1. Trump lie: Democrats are now demanding “witnesses that the House never sought.” Earlier this week, Senate Democrats attempted to subpoena four Trump administration officials, including former national security adviser John Bolton and White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. Senate Republicans blocked those efforts on party-line votes. House Democrats had requested testimony from all four of those officials during last year’s impeachment hearings, and all four refused to comply after the White House ordered them not to cooperate.
  2. Trump lie: House Democrats wouldn’t give us witnesses. The House called four witnesses that Republicans lawmakers—who were working in close coordination with the White House—requested: Kurt Volker, Tim Morrison, David Hale, and Jonathan Turley. 
  3. Trump lie: House Democrats “would not give us lawyers.” In fact, the House Judiciary Committee invited both Trump and his legal defense team to participate in the proceedings but, surprise, they rejected the offer. “House Democrats have wasted enough of America’s time with this charade. You should end this inquiry now and not waste even more time with additional hearings,” White House counsel Pat Cipollone wrote in a December letter declining the invitation.

Trump’s Thursday morning tweet isn’t exactly a surprise. After all, his lawyers rattled off a host of lies during their appearances on the first day of the Senate impeachment trial. But it demonstrates the misinformation echo chamber both Trump and his allies are relying on to help them survive this historic trial.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

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