IMPEACHMENT WATCH: Bannon Says Hale's Testimony Will Show Turf War Over Foreign Policy
Stephen K. Bannon told his co-hosts to look at the surprise impeachment testimony by State Department official, David Hale, as a turf war over foreign policy agenda proponents hoping to displace President Donald J. Trump’s America First policy agenda.
Bannon, Chairman of Citizens of the American Republic, addressed the unexpected appearance of David Hale, the US undersecretary of State for political affairs, on Wednesday.
Hale’s appearance on Wednesday surprised the hosts of the War Room Podcast because there is a directive from the administration to not participate in what Trump calls a “sham process”.
“This is not something we were expecting,” co-host Jason Miller said. “[Hale] is a career ambassador, a career diplomat at the State Department, and he broke with the administration. This really drives the point we are making that this [Impeachment] is fundamentally about unelected bureaucrats believing they have the power to have their own agenda and trying to undermine President Trump,” Miller said.
Hale arrived on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning to testify before the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight committees in closed session, breaking the string of no shows from the administration, of others who refused in protest to participate.
“This is very important. This is a very Senior Diplomat, a member of the Foggy Bottom bureaucracy. Hale is considered Obama’s and Kerry’s chief components of the Iran deal and was controversial on Hezbollah and in the Middle East. I am not a David Hale fan. People who support Israel are not David Hale fans,” Bannon said.
Bannon went on to say that Hale is was “worse than a Never Trumper” and that his appearance is shocking because it “popped out of nowhere”, not giving them time to prepare in the War Room to deconstruct Hale’s motives in testifying.
“This is how the game is rigged here, they disagree with Trump’s America First policies,” Bannon said. As an example, Bannon said “Freedom fighters in Lebanon were first to approach me on Hale being a disaster,” Bannon said. Hale was an ambassador for Lebanon at one time.
“America voted for America’s interest first. Hale was in on Iran with John Kerry and Hillary Clinton and he is willing to testify. That says a lot right there,” Bannon said.
Hale testified for 6 hours, according to a CNN reporter.
Meanwhile: David Hale deposition is over and he's left the hill after roughly six hours behind closed doors
— Jeremy Herb (@jeremyherb) November 6, 2019
Democrat Media, HuffingtonPost reported, “Hale will also say that the State Department worried about the reaction from Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, also one of the strongest advocates for removing the ambassador.
The officials are not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity,” they reported.
Hale was expected to finger the top State Department officials who are supportive of Trump.
David Hale, the State Department’s third-ranking official, is expected to tell Congress that political considerations were behind the agency’s refusal to deliver a robust defense of the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. https://t.co/h2IebSLnVd
— HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) November 6, 2019
Democrat Rep. Eleanor Holmes from District of Columbia, a fevered anti-Trumper, posted Wednesday that Hale’s testimony Wednesday was “Collaborating”
Top State Dept. official David Hale’s closed-door corroborating testimony today reinforces my view that we’re well past time to move to the next step on impeachment. Year’s work in passing vital bills is being swallowed as if Dems have done nothing since capturing the majority.
— Eleanor #DCStatehood Holmes Norton (@EleanorNorton) November 6, 2019
While Rep Mark Meadows a supporter of Trump’s said otherwise. Calling the testimony collaborating with Trump’s defense, there was no Quid Pro Quo.
Just finished with Ambassador David Hale's testimony, the number 3 at the State Department and a distinguished public servant.
He made a compelling case that there was absolutely no linkage between suspension of military aid and political investigations.
— Mark Meadows (@MarkMeadows) November 6, 2019
Looks like Bannon was right.
The War Room: Impeachment podcast is a daily podcast on iTunes, and on Facebook with host Stephen K. Bannon and co-host Raheem Kassam and Jason Miller. Updates can be found at www.warroom.org
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