The fact that Yovanovich is still alive is telling.

An ambassador can be appointed during a recess, but he or she can only serve as ambassador until the end of the next session of Congress unless subsequently confirmed. Ambassadors serve "at the pleasure of the President", meaning they can be dismissed at any time.

DeStefano is the one who wrote the letter to Sally Yates informing her that the President was relieving her of her duties.

My take on this: DeStefano ignored Trump, figuring that he'd move on to something else. And apparently he did, since it was over a year before Yavonovitch was fired. And the day she was fired was the day that DeStefano tendered his resignation, which may suggest Trump wanted him out for not following his instructions a year earlier.

Fuck them, they have never given the benefit of the doubt.

And again, FUCK THEM!

Edit to add: Based on a response up thread, I am even more convinced.

Counseling caution on our part for the accusation.

Al Gore invented the internet
John Kerry was a phony war hero who shot a man in the back
Barack Obama was a militant hate filled Christian
Barack Obama was born in Kenya
BENGHAZI!!!!
The Clinton foundation was a scam organization.
Hillary was running a pedophile ring out of a Pizza Parlor.

Want me to list more about Senators off the top of my head?

Once Republican provide one, AND I MEAN ONE FUCKING SINGLE APOLOGY, I will cut them some slack.

Until then, they are the enemy of Democracy and should be treated as such.

Fuck this high road caution path. That has led us to this point.

Agree 110%

So they could deliver the message that she was fired?



And why were the thugs so concerned about the level of security she had?

The IMPOTUS told his thugs, who have ZERO power with regard to hiring/firing, to "take her out."

Trump is scared shitless of firing people cuz he's a weak bully.

Plus 1

He is the president, it's in his power to fire an ambassador.

The coward couldn't face her himself so he thought he'd do his best Sopranos imitation. Even if he didn't mean "take her out" as hit order, given who he was saying to to, it could have been taken that way.

The GOP will be on this like stink on shit oof we say it too loudly. They are EXPERT on weaponizing this sort of thing.

I honestly believe he had no clue that he had that authority. I really think he is that stupid and ignorant.

And, supposedly, on his reality show he was always told who to fire. He probably thought firing ambassadors works the same way.

He wanted to fire her because she was in the way of his scheme.

I do believe he wanted to scare her.

because she didn't hang his portrait photo in the embassy.

I think it is trump wanting to sound like a mobster and powerful.

Trump is not powerless. People act on his orders.

As they say, with great power comes great responsibility. The responsibility is solely on him.

Why?
Why was he afraid to just fire her.

But I agree it might not be an order ,just an angry rant.

It is likely he was not actually calling for a hit,but others have gotten in serious trouble just for saying such a thing.

in Ukraine very well. She was a corruption fighter. Once Trump put his plan in motion, she woukd see through it very well. She would talk to oeople about it.

Or, maybe it was the corrupt Ukrainians who wanted her "taken.out" and Trump was willing to accommodate them.

Am gonna have to catch the rebroadcast of it. Oh, maybe there’s more right now.

Ooooo, he’s given the tape to the House impeachment team.

...is no way to go through this life.

Just leaving his evil and stupid all over the place.

... I want to know what intel the State Department had to prompt their 1 am call to Ambassador Yovanovitch, warning her to get on the next flight back to the US, and why are they defying a congressional subpoena to provide this information?

and is up to his ears in the 'scheme'

As someone pointed out, they weren’t part of the administration, or part of the State Department.

Where Hyde claims people are tracking her and tells Parnas people can "help" for a price.

That also sounds like mob hit.

Regardless, it does seem to be a pattern.

you raise a number of good points. The one thing that I would warn against is calling these guys "pure kooks." They are "pure crooks," and are not to be underestimated. I remember watching shows where he and his partner's mug shots were laughed at, and compared to the "thugs" on the movie "Home Alone." I would contrast that with other reports about his having put a gun to a guy's head while threatening that he could make him disappear.

I would suggest that it is much better to recognize these are serious people who have posed a serious threat to our society. We might find some of the things they did as stupid in the long run. But they were actually well organized, and almost got away with their corrupt actions -- as they have gotten away with crime for many years.

That is how I view all of their actions, including the bit about firing the ambassador. That does not prevent me, of course, from recognizing and appreciating your position here. Likewise, I agree with those who say it is very possible that the thugs could have interpreted Trump's rant differently, and viewed it as license to spy on her, etc.

Interesting OP/thread.

Plus her being tailed and her security being monitored. And the people warning her to get out of Ukraine quickly.

Does not sound like a simple firing. Sounds like a plan for her to have "an accident." or to be kidnapped and disappeared, the unfortunate victim of a mugging or of a "street gang."

Ordered by Don Soprano.

Trump fancies himself a Putin-like thug. Tough blustery bullshit talk is part of his fantasy world.

How is someone with zero US government position supposed to fire a US Ambassador? Pompeo didn't protect Yovanovitch when she was threatened and hasn't started an investigation... Because the threat was coming directly from the trump administration goons.

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.

Kinda blows the bottom out of your Dixie Cup.

Those with the power were in the room and it is thought/averred/suggested they were His Lardship's audience.

people head on, as in not liking to directly fire people. But he does not hesitate to have others do his dirty work for him. He has run with a nasty crowd for many years.

I believe that it is a mistake and a bit naive to think that he just puffs hot air. Like most bullies, he can back down when people push back. But he seethes over it and gets revenge. He is capable of having terrible things csrried out so long as he has someone to do it for him. We have seen this in his sadistic cruelty toward asylum seekers and refugees at the southern border. Anyone who can do to children and babies what he has ordered is capable of other atrocities as well.

I have no great love for Comey after 2016, but the way Trump fired him in public without his knowledge was vindictive cruelty for not pledging loyalty to Trump. His public attacks on others are myriad. He is a hate-filled, power-obsessed sadist. He should not be underestimated in what he is capable of doing.

that it does not sound like a hit order. It sounds more like he wants her fired but also wants it set up to look like there is a good reason. Given what we know now about his maneuvering in Ukraine, Yovanovich could not be counted on to play along. She was known to be competent at helping to clear up corruption.

To avoid having people look too closely at what he was doing in Ukraine and why he would replace an ambassador with a good reputation, it would help to set her up in some way to discredit her. In that context, Trump telling people to "get her out of there" and to "take her out" sounds like an order to make her look bad to justify replacing her without being asked why he would fire a good, effecrive ambassador.

He's probably said that about a staffer who put generic stuff in the bathroom instead or Purell.

... should have happened a long time ago."

Did Soleimani get fired?

Sorry.

It was reputation burnishing. Very little was analogous to this tape's discussion's likely intent.

While a mistake, in my view, Solemani was, in fact, a legitimate target.

If I were Marie Yovanovich and I heard Trump say that to the criminals he said it to, I'd fear for my life.

He could have fired her himself. Who was he directing these words to? People that could fire her? Or people known for shady dealings?

This tape opens up question of why he would adamantly let his shady henchmen outside of the government know that he wanted her taken out and removed. She was considered an obstacle to their plans for corrupt money deals in Ukraine and to also smear Biden with false allegations. Did he hope that these guys would arrange a hit on her that would silence her completely rather than merely officially fire her from her position?

telling her to get on the next plane.

What was the exact timeline between those two instances? I think they were close.

And both Furman and Parnas are supposed to be present. It's tangible proof of a significant Trump lie. And it will make people say, "Hmmmm" regarding all those other times he's denied knowing a person.

Even if his words aren't demanding a hit on Amb. Y, it illustrates just what a scumbag Trump has been. In the recording he himself proves his bad reputation. The timing right now is priceless because November is coming.

Named were Johnny DiStefano (Trump advisor with influence) and staff. Parnas's lawyer implied that's who Trump was talking to.

was part of a murder plot. I'm glad to finally hear him speak though, as his demeanor during the last Maddow interview with Lev struck me as a little... weird. When sitting silently, he looks like a body guard or hit man himself.

That being said... your arguments were convincing, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt this time. lol

It's been going around.

He wanted her humiliated, her career destroyed and broken. That's his style, and I do not doubt for a second that's what he truly and deeply wanted and expected to be done. If anyone else took it another way is always possible. Very possible. That's the risks you take when you act like a mob boss around a bunch of shady, savant mobster wannabes.

"You can get anything done here, for the right price"

Doesn't take any imagination to connect the dots.

they have nothing to do with firing anyone.

GMTA.

Facts is pesky thangs!

but instead did nothing to have her formally fired while later Giuliani and Don Jr. and other right wingers ramped up a smear campaign that mysteriously ended in perceived threats so threatening that she was told to leave on next plane and then Trump told Zelensky that she would be going through some things?

He wouldn't have been the first Trump staffer to ignore a command figuring that Trump would move on to other things. And the fact that he resigned the same day that Yovonovitch finally was fired is more than a little interesting.

...is that she wasn't killed.

need to hear full tape for context. What was the nature of the discussion leading up to Dump's tantrum?

This is just typical of how Trump talks. That's what he's used to doing when he ran his own company, being the big boss and giving orders.

With that said, I think trump is guilty, and should be removed, for everything in the Impeachment. And he’s guilty of much worse.

I think the timing of discussing Ukraine,and her firing have significance in other ways. Maybe some more dots to connect.

Trump fires people by tweet. He could have opened his phone and tweeted a thing or two. She seems to have been more than the pesky priest. I wonder if any of her actions worked against Manafort or Gates at some point? Or, had she been so effective was in Putin's peripheral vision?

At the time, I found her testimony to be reverting. Every time I hear the shrill..."They serve at the pleasure of the president" I want to grab them and ask what sort of pleasure was there with the middle of the night warning to be on the next flight out of town.

The person that made THAT phone call is the person I want under oath.

Lev has to down play this stuff because it sure the hell sounds incriminating for him. However, I think they hurt his feelings and he is going to show them even if it sinks him.

There is just too much there here to be anything but not good.

has think tanks 4 this.hannity,jones,and rush would b screaming. They would be on it like stink in his depends.
I’m not saying bring it into the impeachment trial. Just put it out there as a possibility. Remember they project.Self dealing and money laundering seem to be family values. His base still thinks Hillary made a deal with Russia in 2016!

Why is he giving these orders to people who are in no position to fire her? He's talking to common thugs, not Human Resources people.

But it's doubtful he'd give a "hit order" in front of so many people. So I guess I agree with you. He just thinks he's starring in a remake of "Casino" and is talking like a tough guy.

It's damning in any case, because Fruman and Parnas are sitting right there.

Johnny DiStafano, for one. There were a lot of people there. No reason to think this was directed at Parnas. He was simply close enough to Trump to capture clearly what he said. That is not proof he was the audience.

From the transcript of Rachel Maddow's interview with Parnas:

"And at that time, he turned around to John DeStefano, who was his aide at

the time, and said, “fire her”. And we all – there was a silence in the

room. He responded to him, said Mr. President, we can`t do that right now

because Pompeo hasn`t been confirmed yet. That Pompeo is not confirmed yet

and we don`t have – this is when Tillerson was gone, but Pompeo was

confirmed, so they go, wait until (INAUDIBLE)".

Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest? Gee, is that a hit order? It was interpreted as such (at least as it's been attributed).
Cohen has said Trump speaks in "code" - the words "Take her out" aren't nebulous in mob speak. There's always plausible
deniability.

That's the bottom line to me.

Maybe and maybe not.

The "Mob" doesn't give orders like "Shoot her through the heart" or "Cut off her pinky." It's always in code or understated language.

Trump's saying anything between "Fire her" and "Get her out of her office no matter how you do it."

to remove her, by any means that aren't nefarious anyway.🤔

I do agree on the Parnas tape stand alone argument - not beyond a reasonable doubt.

But as several here mentioned the way 'mobsters talk', especially when they may be wiretapped or quoted, the tape becomes much more convincing. All sorts of 'circumstantial evidence' can be brought in to support a 'hit order'.

[I've been struck by traitortrump's absolute delight and bragging about how he personally ordered the kill on the Iran General . . .].

Narcissistic lashing out

Trump is a guy who thinks he can shoot someone on Fifth Avenue without consequences, which appears to be true. That was a puzzling but chilling enough comment of his that appears to be changing a bit in retrospect. It isn't so startling as to what he can do, just where he can do it. He's a dictator, and all dictators kill people.

There's no way to spin this last comment into something palatable. He is pissed that the Ambassador is still obstructing his ambition. He wants her out, and he all but says directly that he doesn't care how they do it. He is giving them permission to assassinate her. That's why she had to flee Ukraine.

The thing that gets me is why no one seems to care about this. Also, why doesn't anyone care that tRump has threatened the Senate with destruction if they vote for his removal? Why hasn't someone brought this up to C
J Roberts?

I hope this is immortalized. *Fair trial?* What utter crap.