Another, less remarkable stunt last night at the SOTU was the celebrity acknowledgement of Juan Guaido as the “leader in exile” of Venezuela. The prize he received was something Ukraine president Zelensky has yet to receive, the credibility of a WH visit. Will the dog-wag for the post-acquittal impeached Trump be another try at a…
Tag: ukraine
NYT: Bolton book says Trump tied Ukraine aid to Biden investigations
Whoa, wow. Well, thanks for testifying, John. The New York Times: President Trump told his national security adviser in August that he wanted to continue freezing $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine until officials there helped with investigations into Democrats including the Bidens, according to an unpublished manuscript by the former adviser, John R….
Russian GRU hackers return for Trump's Ukraine conspiracy theory, interfering in 2020 election
The disinformation persists as Trump’s “perfect” shake down conversation with Ukraine president Zelensky only appears to be unrelated to the actual Russian hacking campaigns that helped elect him. They might also be on the path of “exonerating” him. We’ve returned to 2016, as the same Russian military intelligence GRU continues its campaign to help Trump in…
Russian GRU hackers return for Trump's Ukraine conspiracy theory, interfering in 2020 election
The disinformation persists as Trump’s “perfect” shake down conversation with Ukraine president Zelensky only appears to be unrelated to the actual Russian hacking campaigns that helped elect him. They might also be on the path of “exonerating” him. We’ve returned to 2016, as the same Russian military intelligence GRU continues its campaign to help Trump in…
The AP explains the persistence of the 2016 Ukraine hacking lie: remember it's still about Russia
The AP in a new article narrates the path of the disinformation campaign related to the lie that Ukraine is the villain of the 2016 election interference in the US. Getting past it as a lingering media frame remains as the GOP keeps propping it up. The problem remains that the AP, as an agent…
Who would do it for as much as the withheld Ukraine aid? George Lopez does Ted Nugent no favors
Apparently, Trumpist-bots are trying to be angry about an online message that resembles a stock line in comedian George Lopez’s stage routine about performing a task for less compensation because he’s Latinx. The backdrop for this is the 30-round AR-15 magazine emblazoned with an imprisoned Hillary flaunted by Donald Trump Junior. The online trends went to…
GOP senators know Trump is guilty after new revelations about what he knew and did to Ukraine
Trump did hold the aid to ensure a personal benefit including the ordering of various agencies and staff to rationalize the hold in order to force a Ukraine investigation announcement. Trump may still be emboldened to force such a statement from Ukraine president Zelensky after that expected acquittal. “If Republicans bear the brunt of media pressure…
Russian support for Rudy's “investigations” in Ukraine also included disinformation
A new Washington Post article describes the mechanics of disinformation underlying portions of the smear campaign to which Rudy Giuliani claimed credit as a private citizen working for Trump. Colludy or Conspiry? 'I needed #Yovanovitch out of the way' so malign actors in Arms for Dirt created fake lists The story that appeared on The Hill website…
Rudy tells Trump 'I got more than you can imagine' in Ukraine
Inspector Clouseau is back from his farce-finding trip to Ukraine, and he tells Donald Trump that he found more than Trump “can imagine.” I don’t think he fully comprehends the depth and breadth of Trump’s imagination, but whatever. Donald Trump will believe anything, so long as he wants to believe it. You could tell him Joe…
Trump says Rudy got 'a lot of good information' in Ukraine. Okay, then
Oh, hey, Rudy Giuliani is about to break the wackadoodle Ukraine conspiracy story wide open! This intel comes from none other than Donald Trump — the guy who thinks exercise is bad for you, vaccines cause autism, climate change is a Chinese hoax, Ted Cruz’s dad may have been involved in JFK’s assassination, Trump Tower was…
One America News Network promotes Rudy Colludy's propaganda work in Ukraine
Disinformation in plain sight now includes a series of stunts, supported by OAN and apparently pro-Russian Ukrainian politicians as Rudy Giuliani tries to spin more mischief for Trump. Coincidentally a Sinclair reporter asked Speaker Pelosi the “hate” question today. Giuliani’s trips were organized around filming of a multipart television series produced/aired by conservative One America…
Tucker Carlson says he's rooting for Russia against Ukraine
When did the GOP become a pro-Russia cult? Seriously, when? These people are so mesmerized by Donald Trump’s surpassing charms they can’t resist upending decades of conservative orthodoxy for the chance to kiss the hand that grabs the pussies? Really? x Tucker: “Why do I care what is going on in the conflict between Ukraine…
Emails show Trump administration tried to justify withholding Ukraine aid after the fact
Wait, you mean Donald Trump’s decision to withhold vital aid from Ukraine wasn’t based on any sort of meticulous review? And so they had to create an ad hoc justification for … whatever the fuck he was doing? According to The Washington Post, a review of Trump’s decision to withhold aid from Ukraine unearthed documents revealing “an…
Is Trump trying to block the Nord Stream 2 pipeline so his Ukraine cronies can cash in?
After this week’s testimony in the impeachment hearings, the contours of President Donald Trump’s abuse of power for personal advantage have become crystal clear. Trump violated U.S. law when he solicited the interference of a foreign power in an American election. Looking ahead to 2020, Trump demanded the new Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announce an…
So, Denial is Really a River in Ukraine?
In June of 2008, Barack Obama used a rhetorical flourish that belies his character; “If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun,” said the future President. At the time, the then-candidate was on a fundraising junket that I attended (full disclosure) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The phrase was a piece of dialogue…
John Solomon and The Hill's Ukraine reporting debacle: What it tells us about the D.C. media
Closing the barn door two years too late, the editor of The Hill this week announced that the publication is going to review all the dubious Ukraine conspiracy reporting John Solomon did while he worked there as an executive vice president. We “are reviewing, updating, annotating with any denials of witnesses, and when appropriate, correcting any…
45 and counting … Ukraine lies by POTUS*
Daniel Dale totals the lies so far by the one-eyed Mango King. Note that the GOP members of the House Intel committee repeated the meme of #41 during its hearings. It’s been hard to communicate just how comprehensively Trump has been lying about his Ukraine scandal. So I made a list. Here are 45 separate…
Ukraine floodgates open and Fox News tries to discredit everyone—but it won't work
Will playing whac-a-mole help save the Trump presidency? That's what Fox News and Donald Trump defenders have been reduced to in recent weeks as the White House and its media allies scramble to try to find a coherent defense for his admitted campaign collusion with a foreign power. (This time, it's attempted collusion with Ukraine.)…
Did the held-up Ukraine military aid consist of any actual “dollars” going to Ukraine?
All of the reporting on Ukraine-gate deliberately discusses the held up military aid in terms of dollars, specifically $391 million – and reports the story in terms of holding up “funds” for Ukraine (or in one misleading example that I read: Ukraine was left “checking to see if the money had hit their bank account”). Umm,…
Ukraine was so corrupt, Trump wanted to build two resorts there
Kiev and Yalta, in the latter case at least Trump’s golf resort would be in the Russian zone. “The Trumps were looking to erect luxury resorts across the former Soviet republics, and Ukraine seemed like a promising location. House and Senate committees appear to be unaware of the Trump Organization’s prior Ukraine connections.” NEW: Trump…
