Continuing Russian Probe in Election From 2015 to 2020-Trump and Elections Report Card

Nadene Goldfoot                                         
                                                                       

President Donald Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner

Donald Trump took office on January 20, 1917.  

His business was that of a hotel owner, owning international hotels in Chicago, Honolulu, New York City, Vancouver, Las Vegas and Washington D.C.  He has always been a businessman, not a politician.                             
                                             

Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC. 

         He was not alone in business.  He was part of the Trump Organizaion.  The Trump Organization is a group of about 500 business entities of which Donald Trump is the sole or principal owner. About 250 of these entities use the Trump name. The organization was founded in 1923 by Donald Trump's grandmother, Elizabeth Christ Trump, and father, Fred Trump, as E. Trump & Son.  Donald was one of the heirs of his father's finances.  
We can't forget that Trump had his own TV shows, like The Apprentice-"You're fired!"  That's carried over in firing Democrats.                               

When a young Trump went to Russia

In 1987, Trump visited Russia to investigate developing a hotel, invited by Ambassador Yuri Dubinin whom he had met in New York the year before. British journalist Luke Harding alleged in 2017 that this trip likely began a long-term cultivation operation typical of the KGB's Political Intelligence Department, under written directives initiated by First Chief Directorate head Vladimir Kryuchkov, to recruit politically ambitious Westerners susceptible to flattery, egotism and greed. 

"In 2004, prominent New York real estate developer Donald Trump proposed a $200 million luxury hotel-condominium development at 26th Street and Camelback Road in the highly upscale Camelback Corridor (near the Arizona Biltmore Hotel and the Biltmore Fashion Park shopping center) of Phoenix."

"As of December 21, 2005, the project was cancelled and Trump withdrew his association with the project when the City Council succumbed to intense neighborhood opposition and a looming referendum fight (over 19,000 local residents signed the petition against increasing the height limit, many citing fears of the area developing too rapidly). Other developers such as shopping center owner Westcor were forced to radically change similar proposals as a result."  Such was the life of real estate developer and hotel owner, Donald Trump.  

He had owned hotels through the Trump Organization in other countries, such as:  

• Trump Tower at City Center, White Plains, New York
• Trump Towers, Sunny Isles Beach, Florida
• Trump Tower Kolkata, Kolkata, India
• Trump Tower Manila (Philippines)
• Trump Towers Istanbul, Turkey
• Trump Towers Pune, India

In 2015 he had signed on for buying a luxury hotel in Russia.  When he became president he had to turn over his assets to his family members of the Trump Organization.  

"Trump signed a nonbinding "letter of intent" dated October 13, 2015, to proceed with the project. The letter, also signed by Russian investor Andrei Rozov, was forwarded to Cohen by Russian-American real estate developer Felix Sater, who had worked with The Trump Organization on prior deals, including Trump SoHo and Trump International Hotel & Residence." 

"The Trump Organization pursued a luxury hotel and condominium project in Moscow—dubbed the Trump Tower Moscow—during the Trump presidential campaign. This project was facilitated by Michael Cohen, then an attorney for the Trump Organization, and from January 2017 to May 2018 became Trump's personal attorney."
                                                                             
"As early as spring 2015, American intelligence agencies started overhearing conversations in which Russian government officials, some within the Kremlin, discussed associates of Trump, then a presidential candidate."  Our government was thus taping;  wire tapping   conversations from Russians in Russia or outside,  about people working for Trump.  This is "NSA warrantless surveillance which refers to the surveillance of persons within the United States, including United States citizens, during the collection of nationally foreign intelligence by the National Security Agency as part of the Terrorist Surveillance Program

"From the beginning of his presidency Trump had requested assurances that he was not personally under investigation. FBI Director Comey told him so privately on three occasions but refused to make a public comment to that effect. In his letter dismissing Comey, Trump thanked Comey for "informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation". Comey later confirmed that this was true."  So Comey lied to Trump.  

"The Steele dossier asserted that Trump attorney Michael Cohen in August 2016 had a clandestine meeting with Kremlin representatives in Prague. Cohen has stated he has never been to Prague, inviting investigators to examine his passport. McClatchy reported on April 13, 2018, that Mueller's investigators have evidence that in August or early September 2016 Cohen traveled to Prague by way of Germany. Such a trip would not have required a passport as Germany and the Czech Republic are in the Schengen Area which has abolished passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. On April 14, 2018, Cohen again denied he had ever been to Prague, although weeks after the 2016 election he had told journalist David Corn he had been in Prague fourteen years earlier. McClatchy reported in December 2018 that a mobile phone traced to Cohen had "pinged" cellphone towers around Prague in late summer 2016. McClatchy also reported that during that time an eastern European intelligence agency had intercepted communications between Russians, one of whom mentioned that Cohen was in Prague. The Mueller Report did not conclude Cohen had been in Prague, citing his testimony to investigators."

The Steele Dossier was compiled by Christopher Steele who was hired and paid by The DNC (Democratic National Committee),  and the Hillary Clinton campaign.  He authored a dossier that claims Russia collected a file of compromising information on U.S. President Donald Trump)."

They paid Steele over $160,000 through the law firm, Perkins Cole and a research firm, Fusion GPS.  (Fusion GPS is a commercial research and strategic intelligence firm based in Washington, D.C. The company conducts open-source investigations and provides research and strategic advice for businesses, law firms and investors, as well as for political inquiries, such as opposition research.   The "GPS" initialism is derived from "global research, political analysis, strategic insight.)   Steele was to dig for dirt on Donald Trump and to find Trump's ties to Russia.  The FISA application left out the facts about Fusion GPS and Glenn Simpson of the law firm Perkins Cole and their connections with the DNC and the Clinton campaign.  The FBI had also authorized payment to Steele for this same information.  He was double-dipping!  

They mislead the readers of the FISA application by including Michael Isikoff's article in the Yahoo News article about Page's July 2016 trip to Moscow.  The facts of the article had been given by  Christopher Steele himself to Yahoo News and evidently Michael Isikoff quoted it without revealing his resource.  This was a real planting of false evidence!
                                                 

State Delegation Votes 2016 for Republicans

"The Special Counsel investigation was an investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, alleged links between associates of Donald Trump and Russian officials and possible obstruction of justice by Trump, conducted by special prosecutor Robert Mueller from May 2017 to March 2019. It was also called the Russia investigation, the Mueller probe, and the Mueller investigation. Prior to the appointment of the Special Counsel, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been, starting in July 2016, covertly investigating activities by Russian operatives and by members of the Trump presidential campaign, under the code name "Crossfire Hurricane".The investigation culminated with the Mueller Report which concluded that — though the Trump campaign welcomed Russian interference and expected to benefit from it — there was insufficient evidence to bring any conspiracy charges against Trump or his associates. The Report did not reach a conclusion about possible obstruction of justice, citing a Justice Department guideline that prohibits the federal indictment of a sitting president."

"In February 2019, McCabe, since fired from the FBI, confirmed he launched the obstruction of justice investigation for those reasons, and gave additional reasons such as 
1. Trump's multiple depictions of the investigation into Trump associates and Russia as a "witch hunt", as well as 
2. Trump allegedly telling Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to mention the Russia probe in Rosenstein's memo to recommend firing Comey, and 
3. Trump's comments to the Russian ambassador and NBC relating Comey's firing to the Russia probe."

Impeachment by the Democrats came about on September 24, 2019.  September 24, 2019: After Nancy Pelosi formally announced an impeachment inquiry into Trump,  several opinion polls reflected an increase in support for an impeachment inquiry. According to a Morning Consult poll, 43% of Americans support impeachment proceedings, a 7-point increase, tying with Americans who do not support such proceedings. Additionally, an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll showed support for an impeachment inquiry into Trump at 49%, while 46% opposed.    " It was chiefly a transactional approach to policies in Ukraine that gave the Democrats in Congress the fuel to impeach Trump.

Trump is not a politician.  He has made errors; errors in speech as well in decisions.  What one must do is list all the things he has done and those he has messed up and weigh them.  Each person seems to have their preferable list of accomplishments or failures from this man.  We know his failngs and his special qualities.  We are not sure of Biden's.  Biden is a politician.   

• People have come and gone in his administration.  "Fired” may be a little strong, but in 2018, top national security officials handling pandemics left abruptly and were not replaced by the Trump administration.  May 18 saw Rear Admiral Timothy Ziemer leave his post on health from National Security Council who had been under Obama. John Bolton reorganized this global health team with Tom Bossert wanting strong defenses against biological warfare, who was pushed out by Bolton in 2018.  There was no replacement of Tom Bossert, and no COVID 19 appearing at this time.  
   
• As for funding, there’s no question that the Trump administration sought to cut key CDC budget categories. But thanks to Congress, that funding was restored and even increased in bills that Trump ultimately signed." By November 19, a mixed group of lawmakers, Dem. and Rep., wanted it restored, so a letter was sent requesting a new appointment to NSC. Evidently, it couldn't be done.  "The fact that they explicitly dismantled the office in the White House that was tasked with preparing for exactly this kind of a risk is hugely concerning," Jeremy Konyndyk, who ran foreign disaster assistance in the Obama administration, told the Guardian. "Both the structure and all the institutional memory is gone now."

Instead, Trump has looked within his administration to fill roles for the coronavirus response. In January, Trump appointed his Health and Human Services Secretary, Alex Azar, to chair a coronavirus task force. On Feb. 26, he announced that Vice President Mike Pence would be taking charge of the U.S. response to the coronavirus. And the following day, Pence announced he was appointing Ambassador Debbie Birx to assist the effort as "White House coronavirus response coordinator." Birx is a physician and global health expert who is currently responsible for coordinating the State Department's HIV/AIDS task force. The White House said she will be supported by NSC staff in her role.

Because of the animosity involved between Democrats and Republicans these days, evidently Trump feels he cannot trust any former Democrat in any role that can be turned against him.  The animosity has gone on during all 4 years of his position.  It's been a hateful climate.  He's a man who needs to be liked.  One can see that in how he's acted with the Russians and the Chinese and the Arabs.     

                                                              

Picture from June 2008 in Scotland,
Their mother was Scottish.  

It has happened to his family.  He has a sister, Maryanne Trump Barry,  who assailed him for lying, phoniness and cruelty as well as having no principals.  What is all this about?  Dollars to donuts, there was a fight over money due to her.  Barry, who retired from her role as a federal judge last year, has never spoken negatively about her brother in public. "The change of stories. The lack of preparation. The lying. Holy s---. But he's appealing to the base. What they're doing to the kids at the border, I mean," Barry told Mary Trump in one taped conversation in 2018. Trump just lost a brother that he felt very close to.  

Trump has been acting out on many occasions from feeling that many are against him; appearing to have a persecution complex to many. In fact, the climate has been such that people were acting like a Civil War was brewing between the 2 parties.   After 4 years of having actual things happen to him, the results of listening in on conversations about him to pin him to the Russian and collusion, the Steele Dossier, and then the final Impeachment process; it's like the old-time joke, of a man saying to a doctor:  Doc, they're out to get me; everywhere I go they're hiding behind bushes and will jump out at me.  

Doc:  Man, they are out to get you-it's not a persecution complex you have, it's real!  

Our 50 states have 24 Democratic governors and 26 Republican governors.  How we will all vote this time around is something I wouldn't take a bet on.   

What president served 4 years only?  John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, John Tyler, James Polk, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Rutherford B. Hayes, Chester Arthur, Stephen Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William Howard Taft, Herbert Hoover, Gerald Ford, and Jimmie Carter.

                                                       

Trump was the opposition to Hillary.  He was able to accomplish much for Israel, more than any other previous president. He had the guidance of Jared Kushner.   These steps were very important to Israelis.  

1.  The “recognition of Israel’s capital, Jerusalem.

2. Opening the American Embassy in Jerusalem

3.  Recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.” These were key decisions made between December 2017 and March 2019.

4. Changed US policy on Israeli communities in the West Bank,  

5. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has given Israel clear support for operations against Iran’s presence in Syria and elsewhere.

6. Numerous high-level military visits have taken place to Israel in recent months, including the visit of Centcom chief Gen. Kenneth McKenzie as well as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley and Air Force commander Gen. David Goldfein, who all came in November. And the Deputy Chief of the IDF General Staff Maj.-Gen. Eyal Zamir visited the US in mid-December. 

7. He also appears to see Israel as one of America’s key and reliable allies, having not mentioned many other countries positively in the letter.

8. Unprecedentedly pro-Israel policy moves, such as quitting the Iran nuclear deal                                                       
9.  U.S. decision effectively backing Israel’s building of settlements in the occupied West Bank, long awaited.   Labourers work in a construction site in the Israeli settlement of Ramat Givat Zeev in Judea-Samaria November 19, 2019. It is five kilometers northwest of Jerusalem. The town was founded in 1977 on the site of the abandoned Jordanian military camp, adjacent to the site of ancient Gibeon.  Israel won this land after war of 67 so had to wait 50 years to avoid condemnation to build needed apartments.  
10.  His peace treaty is bearing fruit with the leadership of son-in-law Jared Kushner in making peace with United Arab Emirates who may be followed up with their associates.  This comes from Trump's making friends with Saudi Arabia.                                                                                                                                Mistakes with Israel

1. Decision to stand aside as Turkey sends troops into Syria and fights Kurds allied with Washington has some Israelis wondering whether they too might eventually pay a price for his impatience with Middle East engagements. Kurds were helping to fight against ISIS.  They were friends of Israel; and our closest match of DNA.  This was a shock. 

2. Israel has had to put off annexation plans of area C, their part since the Oslo Accords, of Judea-Samaria, from pressure in Washington, etc.  "Israeli settlers in the West Bank, many of whom live in areas that Israel hopes to annex as part of the deal devised by Washington."  Between Covid 19 and the new peace arrangement with UAE, it is on the table but no one is serving it.   The pair "do not have Israel's security and settlement interests in mind. All they care about in this outline is promoting their own interests ahead of the upcoming election,” he added, appearing to refer to the U.S. presidential election, say some people needing Israel's protection there that would be provided through the annexation.   
3. Any plans involving Jerusalem's status of today; Israel's undivided capital.  This is sacrosanct to Israelis.  Never again shall it be divided or out of Israel's hands.  (G-d willing).  This would be a terrible mistake.  

None of us are perfect.  Weigh what is important to you, somebody that promises a lot and is a slick speaker or someone who is a doer, a work horse, a workaholic who gets things accomplished.  Netanyahu had to do just this; to cede territory so precious as area C , Jewish towns in Judea-Samaria or not mess with peace with Arabs. He of course chose peace.  Saving a life always comes first.   Trump has many faults; constant messaging; sending of tweets; ignorance of science; preference of votes over knowledge; Whatever your yardstick for measurement is, look at all sides.  This is going to be a hard election for both the candidates and the voters.  

Resource: 165:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Counsel_investigation_(2017%E2%80%932019)

  Harris, Shane (July 12, 2017). "Russian Officials Overheard Discussing Trump Associates Before Campaign Began". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on July 12, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2017.

166   Rosenberg, Matthew; Goldman, Adam; Schmidt, Michael S.(March 2, 2017). "Obama Administration Rushed to Preserve Intelligence of Russian Election Hacking". The New York Times. 
 Bump, Philip (June 7, 2017). "Here's why James Comey wouldn't tell the world that Trump wasn't under investigation". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
 Trump, Donald (May 9, 2017). "Comey Firing Letter" (PDF). DocumentCloud. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 26, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
 "Trump v Comey: Who said what". BBC News. June 22, 2017. Archived from the original on May 7, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_things_named_after_Donald_Trump
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/us/politics/michael-flynn-appeals-court.html
https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/feb/28/michael-bloomberg/did-donald-trump-fire-pandemic-officials-defund-cd/
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trumps-sister-assailed-him-for-lying-phoniness-cruelty-and-having-no-principles-secretly-recorded-audio-reveals/ar-BB18gDmf?ocid=se
https://www.jpost.com/international/trump-touts-12-foreign-policy-achievements-amid-impeachment-611436
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-israel-kurds/israel-uneasy-over-trumps-refusal-to-stand-by-kurds-idUSKBN1WP2KP
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-israel-kurds/israel-uneasy-over-trumps-refusal-to-stand-by-kurds-idUSKBN1WP2KP
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-israel-palestinians-usa-evangelicals/trump-shift-on-israeli-settlements-fulfills-wish-list-of-evangelical-base-idUSKBN1XT2UT
https://newrepublic.com/article/150646/young-trump-went-russia

TIMELINE Investigating Trump Turns Into A Witch Hunt Since 2015:With Robert Mueller, FBI and Democrats

Nadene Goldfoot                                             

President Donald Trump

"May 17, 2017: The Justice Department appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel. Mueller led the investigation of Trump into possible ties or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials, as well as other matters that "may arise directly from the investigation."  Anyone who ever worked for Trump has fallen through the Mueller Investigations.  I cite just a few of them.  
                                                                     

Robert Mueller

"Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation has resulted in five former Trump aides agreeing to work with Mueller’s team under plea deals. Numerous Trump associates had contacts with Russian government officials or business people during the campaign and presidential transition.  A Kremlin based Internet Research Agency, devised a strategy to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Its goal was to spread distrust toward candidates and the American political system."  It was successful as the spying on Trump doesn't seem to stop.

June 16, 2015: Donald Trump announced candidacy for president, and Russia's social media showed preference for Trump over Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton's wife.  Democrats were very strongly expecting support for Hillary.  Trump was an outsider even to the Republican Party.  He had been a Democrat.  

Oct. 28, 2015: Trump signed a letter of intent to negotiate the construction of a Trump Tower in Russia, as first reported by CNN. 

January 2016: Michael Cohen, Trump’s longtime lawyer, emailed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov about plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.  Discussions about the project lasted as late as June 2016. Trump had been carrying on his duties as owner of hotels.   He was a friend of Hillary.  They ran in the same social circles.  

March 19, 2016: The chairman of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, John Podesta, fell victim to an email phishing scam. It is believed this is how a group of Russian hackers gained access to his email account.

Early March 2016: George Papadopoulos joined the Trump campaign as an adviser.

March 24, 2016: Papadopoulos met in London with the professor who introduced him to a female Russian national who Papadopoulos believed to be a relative of Putin with links to other senior Russian officials.  Papadopoulos came to hope to arrange a meeting  between Putin and Trump.  Papadopoulos heard of thousands of e-mails of Hillary Clinton's and the dirt he would have on her.  

April 2016: Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak attended Trump’s foreign policy speech in Washington, where he met Trump’s son-in-law and campaign adviser Jared Kushner.

July 2016: The FBI opened a counterintelligence investigation into links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee later confirmed that information from Papadopoulos triggered the investigation.

July 27, 2016: During a press conference, Trump said of Clinton’s emails: "Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you can find the 33,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press." This most likely was said with tongue in cheek, for attention.  It received much negative attention, as if it were the Biblical scripture.  

Oct. 21, 2016: The FBI and Justice Department obtained a warrant to monitor Carter Page based on probable cause that Page is Russian agent. Page stepped down from the Trump campaign the previous month.
It had been in early July 2016  when Trump campaign adviser Carter Page traveled to Moscow, where he met with Russia’s deputy prime minister and a high-ranking Russian oil official. Page emailed campaign staffers that the deputy prime minister had "expressed strong support for Mr. Trump," and that he had gleaned "incredible insights and outreach" in Russia.  Page later was found colluding with a female staffer with both being against Trump.  

Nov. 8, 2016: Trump was elected president. Democrats have been shocked, and impeachment talks started right away.  

Jan. 10, 2017: A dossier compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele became public. Steele wrote the dossier on behalf of Fusion GPS, a research firm whose work had been funded in part by the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. The document suggested the Kremlin possesses compromising material against Trump and raises the possibility Trump is vulnerable to blackmail.

Jan. 20, 2017: Trump was inaugurated as president.

February 2017 The Impeach Trump Leadership PAC was started by California Democratic Party congressional candidate Boyd Roberts

May 9, 2017: Trump fired FBI Director James Comey.

May 12, 2017 As the backlash to President Donald Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey escalates, Democratic lawmakers are increasingly raising the prospect of impeachment.

On June 7, 2017, Congressman Al Green announced that Congressman Brad Sherman would join with him in drafting articles of impeachment against President Trump.

On July 12, 2017 Congressman Sherman formally introduced in the House of Representatives an Article of Impeachment (H.Res. 438), accusing the president of obstructing and impeding the investigation of justice, regarding the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

On August 17 to November, 2017 Representative Steve Cohen announced he would introduce articles of impeachment because Trump had "failed the presidential test of moral leadership".

Oct. 5, 2017: Papadopoulos pled guilty to lying to the FBI about his efforts to put the Trump campaign in contact with Moscow. He entered a plea agreement with Mueller.

Oct. 30, 2017: Manafort and Trump campaign associate Rick Gates surrendered to the FBI after being charged with a dozen felonies each, including failing to disclose lobbying activities on behalf of foreign entities, financial crimes and making false statements. They pled not guilty to all charges.

Nov. 30, 2017:   Lieutenant General Michael Flynn and former National Security Advisor to Trump in 2017  pled guilty to lying to the FBI about his discussions with the Russian ambassador during the presidential transition, and entered a plea agreement with Mueller.

On December 6,2017, a second privileged resolution on articles of impeachment, H.Res. 646, was brought on the floor by Representative Al Green, Democrat of Texas. The resolution listed two articles, i.e. proposed reasons for impeachment: "Associating the Presidency with White Nationalism, Neo-Nazism and Hatred" and "Inciting Hatred and Hostility". House majority leader Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California, moved for the resolution to be defeated ("tabled"), which was agreed to by a 364–58 vote with four members voting present.

April 9, 2018: The FBI raided the offices of Trump’s longtime lawyer and aide Michael Cohen. The case was referred to the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York.

April 27, 2018: Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee released a final report on the committee’s Russia investigation over Democratic objections. The committee's Republican members found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow, but concluded that Russia conducted cyberattacks on U.S. political institutions during the 2016 campaign.

The committee’s top Democrat, Adam Schiff of California, criticized GOP members for closing the investigation prematurely, and called their findings superficial and politically motivated. Statements made by Michael Cohen, Trump's long-time lawyer and aide,  about Trump Tower Moscow, which Cohen later admitted were lies, go largely unchallenged in the report.  His offices had been raided by FBI on April 9th.  

May 1, 2018: Trump reacted angrily to a New York Times report containing a list of questions Mueller is said to have sent Trump as part of the special counsel investigation, calling it a "witch hunt."  He had only been president for 1 year 3 months and 11 days.  

Aug. 1, 2018: Trump called on his attorney general to end the Mueller probe, tweeting: "This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further."

November 29, 2018:  Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said Sater’s comment about Cohen interested in offering a $50 million penthouse in Trump Tower Moscow to Putin because they believed , if true, shows House investigations should continue to probe "what, if any, financial leverage the Russians may hold over President Trump and the Trump Organization."

On March 11, 2019, Nancy Pelosi said, "I'm not for impeachment, Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there's something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don't think we should go down that path, because it divides the country. And he's just not worth it. No. I don't think he is. I mean, ethically unfit. Intellectually unfit. Curiosity wise unfit. No, I don't think he's fit to be president of the United States." She then scolded herself for "coming across too negatively".

With the Democrats in control of the House, and with a direct impeachment inquiry deemed somewhat toxic, the work of investigations into Trump's possible crimes were divided into several committees while waiting for some outside force, such as the Mueller probe or the Southern District to force the Democratic leadership's hands.

March 22, 2019: Mueller concluded his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and related matters. Mueller submitted a confidential report to Attorney General William Barr explaining his "prosecution and declination decisions." Barr told lawmakers who lead congressional judiciary committees in a letter that he would advise them the special counsel's principal conclusions, perhaps as soon as this weekend.
                                                           

Zelensky, comedian turn TV actor of a president
Becoming Ukraine's President
Ukrainian presidents are frequently asked by individual citizens for help in solving their personal problems (sometimes successfully); in 2012, (then) president Yanukovych received about 10,000 to 12,000 letters from people every month.  By-passing local governments is an ages-old practice in Ukraine.

May 20, 2019: KIEV, Ukraine — Volodymyr Zelensky, a television comedian turned populist firebrand, took office as Ukraine’s president on Monday and immediately began to battle the political establishment.

May 29, 2019: Mueller brought the investigation to a formal close in his first public statement about the Russia probe. Mueller recapped Russia’s attempts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and explained why he could not have brought charges against the president even if he found they were substantiated.
               
Start of formal impeachment proceedings

THE BOMBSHELL DISCLOSED 1/31/2020 This is when John Bolton's book is reported to reveal that a meeting took place with heads of his committee that Trump denies taking place.  Bolton is saying that he was asked to pressure Ukraine earlier than has been brought out.  Note that the book has not been published yet, and is said to have included information that Washington says is not passing the muster of being allowable.  

July 26, 2019:  The start of official proceedings was first revealed to the public in a court filing.

September 17, 2019: The first hearings against a president in 21 years took place , and featured the testimony of former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski. Lewandowski exhibited a letter from President Trump stating that he was forbidden to answer questions due to executive privilege, even though he had never worked in the White House and was not entitled to it. Several Republican members of the committee attempted to use a number of procedural laws but were ignored by democrats^{[clarification ? )} to continue the proceedings. Lewandowski, however, did admit to doing the things he was stated as doing in the Mueller Report.

September 24, 2019: After Nancy Pelosi formally announced an impeachment inquiry into Trump,  several opinion polls reflected an increase in support for an impeachment inquiry. According to a Morning Consult poll, 43% of Americans support impeachment proceedings, a 7-point increase, tying with Americans who do not support such proceedings. Additionally, an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll showed support for an impeachment inquiry into Trump at 49%, while 46% opposed.

An analysis of polls showed that through mid-December, Americans remained sharply divided on whether Trump should be removed from office. According to a CNN poll taken on December 12–15, 45% of Americans support the impeachment and removal of Trump from office, while 47% oppose impeachment.

                                                    

Patrick Philbin, Republican Defender
Questions at Senate Impeachment probe center on
Trump's motives on Ukraine probe
If Trump's motives are not pure, can the president be impeached?
It's down to the nitty gritty; motivation.    Patrick Philbin, one of the president’s lawyers, said even if President Trump had some personal interest in asking Ukraine to investigate a political opponent, as long as there was some public reason, the impeachment case falls apart.

January 30, 2020:  We have been watching the impeachment trial during the last few days.  The question and answer period had gone on yesterday.  Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler, Democrats, answered many questions which helped their side.  Patrick Philbin, Republican, answered many questions for the Republican side and certainly impressed me.  Alan Dershowitz, a criminal lawyer of great repute, as I have many of his books in my library, made surprising  comments in defense of Trump.  He was added to the group recently for this rare occasion.  

If I had to live with the tumult around me about impeachment since the day I was inaugurated, some talk of it even before taking office, I would have had a nervous breakdown.  How about you?  I have come to the opinion that the job of President is harder than any other position, and one must be a rare bird to withstand the pressure and as wise as Solomon, who certainly had his problems, even with a brilliant mind. 
                                                       

 Trump started showing the affects when he realized he was the subject of a witch hunt, and about as popular with the Democrats as the wicked witch of the West.  However, he has continued with his duties with all the zeal since he began.  
                                                         

Meeting on January 27, 2020 in Israel 
Trump's plan defines the future of Israeli settlements, how Palestinians might conditionally form a state, and America’s view of Israel’s myriad security concerns but it's being met with poor reviews.  The Palestinians rejected it
completely without hearing it out because they were not a part of it. True
to form, they've been doing this for the past 70 years.
Netanyahu is under the gun, as well with another election coming
up in March.  

"The Constitution charges the House of Representatives with the “sole power” to investigate, and if necessary, impeach a president by charging them with committing “Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Once the House of Representatives votes and passes Articles of Impeachment against the president, the president is then entitled to a trial. Once impeached, the accused president is tried by the full Senate, which is presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. If convicted by a 2/3 majority, the president is then removed from office.

While the Founders ultimately agreed to invest the president with broad executive powers, they again clashed over what should constitute an impeachable offense, and how impeachment (and then removal) should be carried out. What would happen if a president purposefully violated the Constitution or otherwise was deficient in discharging their duties? How could the other branches of the federal government rein them in?

The Constitution states that presidents may be impeached for “Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.” They chose the words for very specific reasons. “High Crimes and Misdemeanors” is ambiguous enough for Congress to define its precise contours on a case-by-case basis, while also being rooted in British and early American history via past impeachments of public officials. " " Harvard Law Review says that  "The majority view is that a president can legally be impeached for 'intentional, evil deeds' that 'drastically subvert the Constitution and involve an unforgivable abuse of the presidency' — even if those deeds didn’t violate any criminal laws."

President Donald Trump was acquitted on Wednesday, February 5, 2020 at 4:30pm EST.of the two charges of reason for impeachment.  It was the night before that he made an hour and a half State of the Union  speech before Congress.   Both his speech and his acquittal showed us that the country is quite divided and has taken either Democrat or Republican sides almost equally.   

Edited: 1/31/2020;   Resource:  https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2018/jul/16/russia-investigation-donald-trump-timeline-updated/
https://jewishbubba.blogspot.com/2020/01/2017-scene-of-wanting-trump-impeached.html
https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/12/politics/kfile-democrats-impeach-trump/index.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efforts_to_impeach_Donald_Trump
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jan/29/first-question-senate-impeachment-trial-focuses-tr/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/he-once-played-ukraines-president-on-tv-now-he-just-took-office-as-the-real-one/2019/05/20/594c6322-77e5-11e9-a7bf-c8a43b84ee31_story.html
https://pacificlegal.org/impeachment-explained-a-constitutional-primer-and-history/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA4NTxBRDxARIsAHyp6gD5TY1Cy_W5iB60es1uoHoud_-NHAx1S2Gk4MqjQ0dKd6HGVR1VQE4aAkHWEALw_wcB