web1_salavantis.jpeg

Luzerne County DA critical of Griffith’s email

web1_TTL121719ToyGiveaway_3.jpg

St. Vincent de Paul Kitchen distributes toys, food for Christmas

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Supporters and opponents of the effort to impeach President Donald Trump rallied Monday in downtown Wilkes-Barre, shouting at each other and carrying signs to make their points.</p><p>With horns blaring at the busy intersection of East Market Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, the two sides squared off &#8212; one group extolling the virtues of the 45th president of the U.S., the other favoring his removal from office.</p><p>The site for the protest was chosen by the Trump supporters because U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Moosic, has a district office in the building at 20 North Pennsylvania Ave.</p><p>Pro-Trump signs said &#8220;Vote no to impeachment,&#8221; &#8220;Do the right thing Cartwright,&#8221; &#8220;Trump 2020 &#8212; keep America great&#8221; and &#8220;Drain the swamp.&#8221;</p><p>Across the street, the other side&#8217;s signs read: &#8220;Vote to impeach,&#8221; and &#8220;No one is above the law.&#8221;</p><p>Protesters also exchanged insults, some vulgar, in a battle that likely won&#8217;t be won until November 2020.</p><p>Leading the charge for the pro-Trump camp were Luzerne County Councilman-elect Walter Griffith, Lackawanna County businessman Bob Bolus and Teddy Daniels, one of three Republican candidates seeking the GOP nomination to run against Cartwright.</p><p>Bolus parked two of his pro-Trump tractor-trailers at the intersection, each emblazoned with incendiary comments aimed at Democrats.</p><p>Heading the pro-impeachment group was Alisha Mae Hoffman-Mirilovich, representing the Pennsylvania Democratic and Luzerne County Democratic committees.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re here to show support for Donald Trump,&#8221; Griffith said. &#8220;He has done a great job over the last three years &#8212; the economy is moving, the stock market is up and that helps our county pension funds.&#8221;</p><p>Griffith said he has listened to the impeachment hearings, stating he saw no solid evidence against the president.</p><p>&#8220;The Democrats have turned the impeachment process into a frivolous process against somebody they don&#8217;t like,&#8221; Griffith said. &#8220;The reality is the economy is great and people are working.&#8221;</p><p>Daniels, of West Wyoming, said the impeachment process has been &#8220;a sham.&#8221; He said Trump&#8217;s popularity with the American people remains strong.</p><p>&#8220;Cartwright will vote the party line,&#8221; Daniels said. &#8220;He won&#8217;t listen to the people.&#8221;</p><p>Cartwright&#8217;s regional chief of staff, Bob Morgan, addressed the Trump group, informing them that Cartwright would be in his Wilkes-Barre office around 3 p.m. if two representatives would like to meet with him. Bolus told Morgan that Cartwright should come out and meet with the entire group. The protest, which began at 9:30 a.m., had dissipated by noon.</p><p>Melissa Leboutllier. of Scranton&#8217;s Women for Trump. said she showed up to try to convince Cartwright to not vote for impeachment.</p><p>&#8220;If he does vote to impeach, he&#8217;s out of here,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Hoffman-Mirilovich said she and the pro-impeachment group wanted to show Cartwright that they support him and they wanted to send a clear message that no one, even the president, is above the law.</p><p>&#8220;Congressman Cartwright knows we support him,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We meet with him regularly and we have been making phone calls on his behalf.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Cartwright comments</strong></p><p>In an Op-Ed published in the Times Leader on Monday, Cartwright outlined the reasoning that led to his decision to support impeachment, noting that he was &#8220;one of the loudest Democratic voices urging restraint.&#8221; Cartwright said he voted against articles of impeachment multiple times over the past three years.</p><p>&#8220;Then, a government employee blew the whistle on a July 25 phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky,&#8221; Cartwright said. &#8220;The whistleblower disclosed that President Trump pressured the Ukrainian president to launch an investigation of a political rival by withholding military aid that by law was supposed to go to Ukraine immediately. Only after the whistle was blown was the aid released. This obviously called for a robust investigation.&#8221;</p><p>Cartwright said he had hoped that the committee would hear President Trump&#8217;s side of the story, but Trump declined.</p><p>&#8221;I was glad when the House Judiciary Committee invited the president to come or send his lawyers and representatives,&#8221; Cartwright said. &#8220;Yet, the president has refused to participate in the House investigation and has barred the members of his team to come testify and explain their actions.&#8221;</p><p>Cartwright said the evidence, and lack of any rebuttal, point clearly to President Trump&#8217;s attempt to use taxpayer funds to bribe a foreign leader for the sole purpose of boosting his own political prospects. In the process, Cartwright said Trump threatened national security, jeopardized the integrity of democracy, and since then has obstructed justice by refusing to obey properly issued subpoenas.</p><p>&#8220;I believe there is sufficient evidence of these things to warrant further proceedings,&#8221; Cartwright said. &#8220;So I will vote to send this matter to the Senate, where at long last we may well hear an innocent explanation for all of it. Despite every indication that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has prejudged the outcome, I hope he will join us in a serious endeavor to find the truth.&#8221;</p><p>Cartwright said Congress and the American people, need to head from the president.</p><p>&#8220;So far he has blown them off,&#8221; Cartwright said. &#8220;My hope is that we will hear the innocent side of this in the Senate hearings.&#8221;</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_TTL121719TrumpRallies_1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Republican congressional candidate Teddy Daniels, left, joins dozens of others in a pro-Trump/ anti-impeachment rally outside U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright&#8217;s office on North Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilkes-Barre on Monday morning. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_TTL121719TrumpRallies_1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Republican congressional candidate Teddy Daniels, left, joins dozens of others in a pro-Trump/ anti-impeachment rally outside U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright&#8217;s office on North Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilkes-Barre on Monday morning. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_TTL121719TrumpRallies_2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Trump supporter Bob Bolus leads a rally against impeachment outside U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright&#8217;s office in Wilkes-Barre on Monday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_TTL121719TrumpRallies_2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Trump supporter Bob Bolus leads a rally against impeachment outside U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright&#8217;s office in Wilkes-Barre on Monday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_TTL121719TrumpRallies_3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Melissa Leboutillier, of Scranton, shows her support for President Trump during an anti-impeachment rally in Wilkes-Barre on Monday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_TTL121719TrumpRallies_3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Melissa Leboutillier, of Scranton, shows her support for President Trump during an anti-impeachment rally in Wilkes-Barre on Monday. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_TTL121719TrumpRallies_4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Rhonda Fallk, of Clarks Summit, rallies in favor of impeachment as Trump supporters shout &#8216;four more years&#8217; across East Market Street in Wilkes-Barre on Monday morning. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_TTL121719TrumpRallies_4.jpg</photo3><caption3>Rhonda Fallk, of Clarks Summit, rallies in favor of impeachment as Trump supporters shout &#8216;four more years&#8217; across East Market Street in Wilkes-Barre on Monday morning. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_TTL121719TrumpRallies_5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Patrick Joyce, of Avoca, holds a pro-impeachment sign as he laughs at Trump supporters across East Market Streret in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_TTL121719TrumpRallies_5.jpg</photo4><caption4>Patrick Joyce, of Avoca, holds a pro-impeachment sign as he laughs at Trump supporters across East Market Streret in Wilkes-Barre. </caption4><photoCredit4>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_TTL121719TrumpRallies_6.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Democrats in favor of impeachment, background, and Republicans against impeachment, foreground, hold competing rallies across East Market Street at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilkes-Barre on Monday.	 </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/web1_TTL121719TrumpRallies_6.jpg</photo5><caption5>Democrats in favor of impeachment, background, and Republicans against impeachment, foreground, hold competing rallies across East Market Street at the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilkes-Barre on Monday.	 </caption5><photoCredit5>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit5></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>National debate plays out at competing WB rallies</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

To impeach or not to impeach?