George Kent reaffirmed Trump’s 2016 obsession and his 2020 objectives in his testimony. Trump still believes in debunked CTs, and the GOP witness list reflects that level of disinformation.
One of the central defenses of President Trump’s actions regarding Ukraine is that he’s really just interested in rooting out corruption. Ukraine is a corrupt country, the argument goes, so why shouldn’t U.S. aid and other things be conditioned on that?That argument, of course, ignores how seldom Trump has shown concerns about global corruption in the past. It also ignores the self-serving nature of the two specific investigations he has sought.And on Thursday, the argument was undermined again.In newly released testimony, George Kent, a deputy assistant secretary of state, said that not only did Trump want investigations of Burisma Holdings (the company that employed former vice president Joe Biden’s son Hunter) and potential Ukrainian interference in the 2016 U.S. election; he also specifically wanted Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to link the latter to the word “Clinton.”
Newly released transcripts of key witnesses detail that the White House's pressure campaign on Ukraine was "explicit" and "blatant" and orchestrated by Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney. @AliVelshi discusses with @HarleyRouda, @NatashaBertrand and @neeratanden. https://t.co/x8kaLOCjxu pic.twitter.com/Y5VDQImqBP
— The Last Word (@TheLastWord) November 9, 2019
Three witnesses rather than amigos have supported Trump’s own confession.
A White House official who was on President Trump‘s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Congress there was “no doubt” that Trump had invoked a quid pro quo, according to transcripts released Friday as part of Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a Ukraine specialist on the National Security Council (NSC) who was on the July 25 phone call, told House lawmakers the message from Trump was clear.
“The demand was, in order to get the White House meeting, they had to deliver an investigation,” Vindman testified.
That assessment was backed by Fiona Hill, formerly Trump’s top Russia analyst at the NSC, who told lawmakers it was widely understood that investigating Burisma — the Ukrainian energy giant that had employed former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden — was code for investigating the Bidens.
Vindman said Trump mentioned Burisma by name on the July 25 call.
“This is very much repeating things that Rudy Giuliani was saying in public on television,” Hill said.
Both Vindman and Hill told House investigators last month that Giuliani, the president’s personal attorney, was a liability to diplomats managing U.S. foreign policy in Kiev — and should therefore be avoided.
Key impeachment witness testified there was "no doubt" Trump pushed quid pro quo https://t.co/8Sy9RoKAcS pic.twitter.com/qhMzMBj7O6
— The Hill (@thehill) November 9, 2019
EXCLUSIVE: Republicans call Hunter Biden, the #whistleblower, his/her sources, Alexandra Chalupa, Nellie Ohr, Devon Archer, Kurt Volker, David Hale, Tim Morrison as witnesses in the #impeachmentinquiryhttps://t.co/zZ5XGL8imO
— Brooke Singman (@BrookeSingman) November 9, 2019
How red is this herring
Kash Patel, a senior National Security Council official accused of running a secret backchannel to Trump on Ukraine matters, categorically denies to @jonathanvswan ever having discussed Ukraine with the president.
— Zach Basu (@zacharybasu) November 9, 2019
Jim Jordan’s entire career has been based on ignorin’ criminal behavior. https://t.co/GXseAcYQnO
— Tea Pain (@TeaPainUSA) November 9, 2019
During opening statements at Roger Stone's trial, the prosecution stopped short of accusing Trump of a crime, but alleged he was in direct contact with Roger Stone as Stone sought information about the release of hacked emails. https://t.co/EAZJbfGHmo
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 6, 2019
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