State Department rattled by impeachment inquiry revelations

By BEN FOX, MATTHEW LEE and LOLITA C. BALDOR 44 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department has been deeply shaken by the rapidly escalating impeachment inquiry, as revelations that President Donald Trump enlisted diplomats to dig up dirt on a political rival threaten to tarnish its reputation as a nonpartisan arm of U.S. foreign policy, former senior officials say.

A department where morale was already low under a president who, at times, has seemed hostile to its mission is now reeling from days of disclosures that place it at the center of an escalating political scandal, according to former diplomats who fear that the turmoil will damage American foreign policy objectives around the world.

“This has just been a devastating three years for the Department of State,” said Heather Conley, a senior policy adviser at the State Department under President George W. Bush. “You can just feel there is a sense of disbelief. They don’t know who will be subpoenaed next.”

The first blow was the release of a rough transcript of the July 25 call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in which Trump pressed for an investigation of the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, a Democratic rival.

https://www.apnews.com/9b56a230ab59499f878963a0fa8370ef

Hear a guy admitting his BS and then asking and intimidating a fellow employee, by basically brow beating them, that whatever he is doing is correct...............right, right, right, and putting the moderator on the spot.............right, right, right...........