Why is Speaker of the House Paul Ryan not impeaching President Trump in the wake of the evidence on lying alone? Is it because he too is conflicted?
According to Politifact, Donald Trump lies about 33% of the time. He espoused "mostly false" information about 20%. He mixes truth and falsehoods about 14% of the time. He only tells the truth about 16% of the time. With that and the details, the prosecution could rest the case that Donald Trump violates Federal Law and should be prosecuted and impeached. He is not one who can be trusted, and honesty is on trial here.
Donald Trump broke this law:
8 U.S. Code § 1001 - Statements or entries generally
Current through Pub. L. 114-38. (See Public Laws for the current Congress.)
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully—
(1) falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact;
(2) makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or
(3) makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry;
shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years or, if the offense involves international or domestic terrorism (as defined in section 2331), imprisoned not more than 8 years, or both. If the matter relates to an offense under chapter 109A, 109B, 110, or 117, or section 1591, then the term of imprisonment imposed under this section shall be not more than 8 years.
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to a party to a judicial proceeding, or that party’s counsel, for statements, representations, writings or documents submitted by such party or counsel to a judge or magistrate in that proceeding.
(c) With respect to any matter within the jurisdiction of the legislative branch, subsection (a) shall apply only to—
(1) administrative matters, including a claim for payment, a matter related to the procurement of property or services, personnel or employment practices, or support services, or a document required by law, rule, or regulation to be submitted to the Congress or any office or officer within the legislative branch; or
(2) any investigation or review, conducted pursuant to the authority of any committee, subcommittee, commission or office of the Congress, consistent with applicable rules of the House or Senate.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 749; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(L), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147; Pub. L. 104–292, § 2, Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3459; Pub. L. 108–458, title VI, § 6703(a), Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3766; Pub. L. 109–248, title I, § 141(c), July 27, 2006, 120 Stat. 603.)"
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1001
List of Donald Trump lies and false behavior
There are many channels keeping track of Trump lies.
The Huffington Post is one:
"POLITICS 02/26/2017 09:44 am ET | Updated Feb 28, 2017
The First 100 Lies: The Trump Team’s Flurry Of Falsehoods
The president and his aides succeeded in reaching the mark in just 36 days.
By Igor Bobic"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-administration-lies-100_us_58ac7a0fe4b02a1e7dac3ca6
"The complete list of all 129 false things Donald Trump has said as president
The Star’s running tally of the bald-faced lies, exaggerations, and deceptions the president of the United States of America has said, so far.
U.S. President Donald Trump said 12 false things this week.
By DANIEL DALE Washington Bureau
U.S. President Donald Trump makes frequent false claims about matters big and small. The Star is planning to track them all.
The Star brings up to date:
"Last updated: Mar. 17, 2017
129.Mar. 15, 2017 — Interview with Fox News’s Tucker Carlson
The repeated claim about the F-35: “On the airplanes, I saved $725 million, probably took me a half an hour if you added up all of the times.”
In fact: Trump was not responsible for these savings: Lockheed Martin had been moving to cut the price well before Trump was elected, multiple aviation and defence experts say. Just a week after Trump’s election, the head of the F-35 program announced a reduction of 6 to 7 per cent — in the $600 million to $700 million range.
“Trump’s claimed $600 million cut is right in the ballpark of what the price reduction was going to be all along,” wrote Popular Mechanics. “Bottom line: Trump appears to be taking credit for years of work by the Pentagon and Lockheed,” Aviation Week reported, per the Washington Post.
128. Mar. 15, 2017 — Interview with Fox News’s Tucker Carlson
The claim about his source for his allegation that President Barack Obama had wiretapped his phones at Trump Tower: “Well, I’ve been reading about things. I read in, I think it was January 20, a New York Times article where they were talking about wiretapping. There was an article, I think they used that exact term.” Added: “Well, because The New York Times wrote about it.”
In fact: This claim contains a kernel of truth, but it is so misleading that it is largely false. The Times article did use the word “wiretapped,” but it did not mention Obama, and it did not mention Trump Tower. Rather, it said only that U.S. authorities were examining intercepted communications related to Trump associates’ possible ties with Russian officials; it suggested that there had been wiretaps of foreign officials, not Americans.
127. Mar. 15, 2017 — Interview with Fox News’s Tucker Carlson
The claim: “And don’t forget, when I say wiretapping, those words were in quotes. That really covers, because wiretapping is pretty old-fashioned stuff. But that really covers surveillance and many other things. And nobody ever talks about the fact that it was in quotes, but that’s a very important thing.”
In fact: Trump did use quotation marks in two of his four tweets accusing Barack Obama of improperly surveilling him. However, in the other two, he made the same accusation without quotation marks. “How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process,” he wrote in one; “I’d bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to Election!” he wrote in the other.
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my "wires tapped" in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!
6:35 AM - 4 Mar 2017
50,990 50,990 Retweets 144,953 144,953 likes
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Is it legal for a sitting President to be "wire tapping" a race for president prior to an election? Turned down by court earlier. A NEW LOW!
6:49 AM - 4 Mar 2017
36,803 36,803 Retweets 124,878 124,878 likes
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
I'd bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to Election!
6:52 AM - 4 Mar 2017
37,633 37,633 Retweets 133,194 133,194 likes
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!
7:02 AM - 4 Mar 2017
53,379 53,379 Retweets 164,177 164,177 likes
126. Mar. 15, 2017 — Campaign rally in Nashville
The claim: “I’ve already authorized the construction of the long-stalled and delayed Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines. “
In fact: Trump’s executive order merely invited TransCanada Corp. to apply again to get the Keystone pipeline approved. He has not granted final approval.
125. Mar. 15, 2017 — Campaign rally in Nashville
The claim: “I’ve already authorized the construction of the long-stalled and delayed Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines. A lot of jobs. I’ve also directed that new pipelines must be constructed with American steel. They want to build them here, they use our steel.”
In fact: His executive order is significantly more ambiguous: it says the government should develop a plan to make pipelines use American steel “to the maximum extent possible and to the extent permitted by law.” That’s not a “must” — and the Keystone pipeline has already been granted an exemption by the administration, Politico reports, because it is not “new.”
124. Mar. 15, 2017 — Campaign rally in Nashville
The claim: “Our budget calls for one of the single largest increases in defence spending history in this country.”
In fact: Trump’s proposed increase in defence spending, of about 10 per cent, is not one of the biggest ever. “In just the past 40 years, there have been eight years with larger increases in percentage terms than the one he’s now proposing”; The Associated Press reported; “there have been 27 years since 1940 in which the military spending was as high or higher than the proposed increase,” the New York Times reported.
123. Mar. 15, 2017 — Speech at the American Center for Mobility in Detroit
The claim: “Today, that number (of automotive jobs in Michigan) is roughly 165,000 — and would have been heading down big league if I didn’t get elected, I will tell you that right now. That I can tell you. Plenty of things were stopped in their tracks. They were stopped in their tracks. A lot of bad things were going to happen. A lot of places were going to get built that aren’t going to get built right now in other locations.”
In fact: There is no evidence that Trump’s election, or Trump’s efforts, have stopped numerous auto plants from being built outside America. Ford cancelled a major plant in Mexico, but its chief executive said the decision would have been made whether or not Trump was president. There are no other public examples of significant cancellations, and “auto industry experts we spoke to were hard-pressed to name any overseas plants that have been scrapped due to Trump’s influence,” FactCheck.org reported.
122. Mar. 15, 2017 — Speech at the American Center for Mobility in Detroit
The claim: “Our trade deficit last year reached nearly $800 billion. Who’s making these deals?”
In fact: The 2016 trade deficit was $502 billion. Trump would have been correct enough if he had specified he was talking specifically about the deficit in trade of manufactured goods —$750 billion in 2016 — but he did not.
121. Mar. 15, 2017 — Twitter
The claim: “Does anybody really believe that a reporter, who nobody ever heard of, ‘went to his mailbox’ and found my tax returns? @NBCNews FAKE NEWS!”
In fact: There was nothing fake about this report. The Trump administration issued a statement that confirmed the authenticity of the documents, and the reporter, David Cay Johnston, showed other reporters the plain envelope in which they had arrived in the mail; there is no indication whatsoever that he is lying, and another Trump tax return was simply mailed to the Times last year. Finally, though Johnston is not a household name, Trump overstates his obscurity. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 2001, he wrote the bestselling book The Making of Donald Trump, and Trump has known him for decades.
120. Mar. 13, 2017 — Remarks at first Cabinet meeting
The repeated claim: “We have four empty seats, which is a terrible thing, because the Senate Democrats are continuing to obstruct the confirmation of our nominees for the Department of Labor, the Department of Agriculture, the Director of National Intelligence, and the United States Trade Representative, somebody I want very badly. We’re in the midst of getting going, Wilbur, and they won’t approve somebody who is highly qualified, and everybody understands that. The main victim of this very partisan obstruction is the American public.”
In fact: Democratic obstruction was not the reason for the holdup in confirming Trump’s final nominees. Trump’s first choice for labour secretary withdrew under criticism, and Republicans scheduled a hearing on his replacement for later in March. Trump was slow in selecting someone for agriculture secretary, and the process has been bogged down in background checks and ethics paperwork. Republicans did not schedule a hearing on the trade representative until Mar. 14, the day after this cabinet meeting.
119. Mar. 13, 2017 — Remarks at White House “listening session” on health care
The repeated claim about Obamacare: “First of all, it covers very few people.”
In fact: By no objective measure does Obamacare cover “very few” people. Twenty million people have gained coverage under the law. One study estimated that 2.6 million people initially received notices that their coverage was being cancelled; the number that actually did was likely far lower. Even if it wasn’t, the coverage gains would far exceed the coverage losses.
118. Mar. 13, 2017 — Remarks at White House “listening session” on health care
The claim about the Republican health reform plan: “We’ll get that out — without penalties too, by the way. People don’t mention all of the facts.”
In fact: The Republican plan does get rid of Obamacare’s penalties for failing to obtain health insurance. But it introduces a different kind of penalty: a surcharge, of 30 per cent, on people who have a break of two months or more in insurance coverage. So it is a punishment that is applied when the person gets insurance again, not when they are actually uninsured, but it is a punishment nonetheless.
117. Mar. 7, 2017 — Twitter
The claim: “122 vicious prisoners, released by the Obama Administration from Gitmo, have returned to the battlefield. Just another terrible decision!”
In fact: According to a report from the U.S. government’s Directorate of National Intelligence, 113 of these 122 “re-engagers” were released from the Guantanamo Bay prison by the administration of George W. Bush, only nine by the Obama administration.
116. Mar. 6, 2017 — Facebook
The claim: “I’m very pleased to announce the great company ExxonMobil is going to be investing $20 billion in the Gulf Coast and the Gulf Coast region. It’ll be 45,000 jobs, and they’re great jobs; $100,000 average. And this is something that was done to a large extent because of our policies and the policies of this new administration having to do with regulation and so many other things.”
In fact: Trump’s policies may have had some impact on Exxon’s decisions, but he is taking far too much credit for this particular investment: even the official White House statement acknowledges that it “began in 2013.”
115. Mar. 3, 2017 — Twitter
The claim: “It is so pathetic that the Dems have still not approved my full Cabinet.”
In fact: The Democrats are not responsible for the holdup here: Trump is. At the time, he had two open cabinet slots: labour secretary and agriculture secretary. One delay was the result of his controversial choice for labour secretary, Andrew Puzder, withdrawing from consideration. The other delay, in confirming Sonny Perdue as secretary of agriculture, was the result of the administration not actually submitting the Perdue nomination to the Senate.
114. Mar. 2, 2017 — Speech on the USS Gerald R. Ford
The repeated claim: “I am sending the Congress a budget that rebuilds the military, eliminates the defense sequester, and calls for one of the largest increases in national defense spending in American history.”
In fact: His proposed increase, of about 10 percent, is not one of the largest in history, experts say. “Trump’s historical increase is actually quite average,” Laicie Heeley, a defense budget analyst at the Stimson Center think tank, told Politifact."
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/2017/02/24/daniel-dales-donald-trump-fact-check-updates.htmlAnother source:
"Feb. 16, 2017: Lied about winning the most Electoral College votes since Ronald Reagan.
Feb. 12, 2017: Falsely claimed that Bernie Sanders was cut off from CNN for using the phrase “fake news.”
Feb. 10, 2017: Claimed without evidence that “thousands” of people were bused across state lines to vote.
Feb. 9, 2017: Lied about Chris Cuomo not asking Sen. Blumenthal about him falsifying his service in Vietnam
Feb. 7, 2017: Claimed he was facing a historic delay to get all of his cabinet nominees confirmed
Feb. 7, 2017: Lied that the murder rate was the highest in 45 years
Feb. 6, 2017: Claimed that terrorist attacks across Europe are “not even being reported”
Feb. 2, 2017: Lied that Kuwait had issued a visa ban on several Muslim-majority countries after his immigration order
Jan. 30, 2017: Lied that Delta, protesters, and Sen. Chuck Schumer’s tears were to be blamed for the problems over his travel ban
Jan. 27, 2017: Lied about being in Scotland the day before the “Brexit” vote
Jan. 26, 2017: Lied that the murder rate is rising in Philly
Jan. 26, 2017: Lied about Mexico’s president “agreeing to cancel” a meeting
Jan. 25, 2017: Lied about two people being shot and killed during Obama’s farewell speech
Jan. 25, 2017: Lied about voter fraud on ABC News
Jan. 23, 2017: Lied about voter fraud at a reception with congressional leaders
Jan. 25, 2017: Lied about size of the inauguration crowd on ABC News
Jan. 21, 2017: Lied about inauguration crowd size to the CIA"
https://www.buzzfeed.com/maryanngeorgantopoulos/president-trump-lie-list?utm_term=.aeDWz2Vj8Z#.yeV9dM7VaN
Huffington Post Graphic
I am not a lawyer, just a citizen who obeys the law. I rest my case.
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