Tag: Ukraine

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The Latest In Donald Trump / Ukraine Debacle

Trump walks past reporters with no comment

The latest news regarding the newly-announced official impeachment inquiry investigating allegations that Donald Trump used the presidency to encourage Ukraine to help dig up dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden: • The whistle-blower’s complaint has been released to the public. You can, and should, read the full document here. The whistle-blower states that he had “received information from multiple U.S. Government officials that the President of the United States is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election.” The complaint also asserts that several in the White House were “deeply disturbed by what happened on that phone call” and there was an attempt to cover it up. • The New York Times also reports the whistle-blower who filed the initial complaint is a C.I.A. agent who was detailed to work at the White House for a period of time. According to the Times, the complaint seems to suggest “he was an analyst by training and made clear he was steeped in details of American foreign policy toward Europe, demonstrating a sophisticated understanding of Ukrainian politics and at least some knowledge of the law.” • Law & Crime shares that Trump spoke about the unnamed whistle-blower today to a group of staffers from the United States Mission to the United Nations. A recording of Trump’s remarks show he wanted to know who the Ukraine whistleblower’s source or sources were “because that’s close to a spy.” The Donald also said in the “old days when we were smart” spies and traitors were treated “a little differently.” Many interpreted those words as a threat which could be seen as witness tampering and/or obstruction of justice.

• A new Morning Consult poll conducted over the last two days shows Americans split over whether they want to see Congress begin impeachment proceedings to remove Donald Trump from office. According to the survey of over 1,600 registered voters, 43 percent support impeachment, and 43 percent oppose it. What’s noteworthy here is that constitutes a 13 point net swing in favor of impeachment from another poll conducted over the weekend. The figure for support rose 7 points, while opposition dropped 6 points. (image via Flickr/White House – public domain)

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Whistleblower Complaint: Trump Used Presidency For Personal Gain, White House Tried To Cover It Up

Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire

Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire From the Washington Post:

The whistleblower complaint at the heart of the burgeoning controversy over President Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president claims not only that Trump misused his office for personal gain and endangered national security but that unidentified White House officials tried to hide that conduct.

“In the course of my official duties, I have received information from multiple U.S. government officials that the President of the United States is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election,” the whistleblower wrote in the complaint dated Aug. 12.

The House Intelligence Committee released the seven-page document, which was directed to the heads of the House and Senate intelligence committees, Thursday morning. It also released a two-page appendix that was once classified and portions of which remain redacted.

“This interference includes, among other things, pressuring a foreign country to investigate one of the President’s main domestic political rivals. The President’s personal lawyer, Mr. Rudolph W. Giuliani, is a central figure in this effort. Attorney General [William P.] Barr appears to be involved as well,” the whistleblower wrote.

Part of what concerned the whistleblower was that the record of the Ukraine phone call was removed from the computer system where such records are normally stored. More from NBC News:

The whistleblower says White House officials told them the conversation on July 25 between Trump and Zelenskiy was removed from the computer system that is typically used for such records of calls with foreign leaders.

Instead, the whistleblower writes, the transcript was loaded into a separate electronic system that is used only for information that is of an “especially sensitive nature.” One White House official described that as an abuse of the secure system because there was nothing “remotely sensitive” on the phone call from a national security perspective, the whistleblower said.

In his testimony today, Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire told the House Intelligence Committee the whistleblower alleging President Trump abused the power of the presidency has “acted in good faith throughout” and that “I have every reason to believe” both the whistleblower and the inspector general “have done everything by the book and followed the law.”  

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Trump Asked Pelosi If They “Could Work Something Out”

According to CNN, Donald Trump apparently asked Nancy Pelosi if “we could work something out” regarding the ongoing whistleblower scandal.

President Donald Trump was incredulous Tuesday as he sat in Trump Tower and watched House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announce she was launching a formal impeachment inquiry against him, sources familiar with the moment say. Sitting in the same building where he launched his long shot presidential campaign four years ago, Trump said he couldn’t believe it, he later told people. He had felt confident after phoning Pelosi earlier that morning. The drive for impeachment in her caucus had ramped up amid reports he pushed the Ukrainian President to investigate Joe Biden, and Trump was hoping to head off a clash. He figured he could de-escalate tensions by speaking with her directly.

NBC News correspondent Heidi Przybyla shared on MSNBC that she was briefed by Pelosi on a phone call she received from Trump where the president attempted to diffuse the situation through negotiations. “The president actually said to Nancy Pelosi, ‘Hey, can we do something about this whistleblower complaint? Can we work something out?’” “And [Pelosi] said, ‘Yes, you can tell your people to obey the law.'”

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Senate Unanimously Calls For Release Of Whistleblower Complaint

The US Senate has unanimously approved a non-binding resolution calling for the release of whistleblower complaint

The US Senate has unanimously approved a non-binding resolution calling for the release of whistleblower complaint Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell allowed (both pictured above), a voice vote in the U.S. Senate calling for the release of the whistleblower complaint received on August 12 that began the current Ukraine/Trump scandal. The non-binding resolution was approved unanimously.

Meanwhile, Trump tweeted that he’s already ordered the release of the “complete, fully declassified and unredacted transcript” of his phone call with the Ukrainian president.

‘Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives…’

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Trump Admits He Froze $400 Million In Promised Aid To Ukraine

NBC News reports Donald Trump has admitted to freezing nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine.

And in doing so, has come up with a new rationale for pressing the country to investigate Joe Biden and his son.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday confirmed reports that his administration froze nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine. But he gave a new reason for doing so: He said he wanted European countries to contribute money, too, and did not want the U.S. to do so alone.

The freeze came before a July phone call in which he reportedly pressured the Eastern European nation’s leader to investigate the family of political rival Joe Biden.

“As far as withholding funds, those funds were paid,” Trump said. “They were fully paid. But my complaint has always been — and I’d withhold again, and I’ll continue to withhold until such time as Europe and other nations contribute to Ukraine because they’re not doing it.”

“Very important, I want other countries to put up money,” he added. “I think it’s unfair that we put up the money. Then other people call me. They said, ‘Oh, let it go.’ And I let it go. But we paid the money, the money was paid.”

Trump was responding to reporting by the Washington Post that Trump instructed his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, to withhold nearly $400 million in promised military aid a week before the Donald spoke to the Ukrainian president.

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GOP Challenger: Trump Committed Treason – Pure And Simple

Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld says Donald Trump's pressure on Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden constitutes treason.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld says Donald Trump's pressure on Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden constitutes treason. Former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld, one of the few Republicans who have announced they will try and challenge Donald Trump in a GOP primary, told MSNBC’s Morning Joe that Trump’s efforts to press the Ukrainian government into investigating former Vice President Joe Biden and his son amounts to “treason pure and simple.” “Talk about pressuring a foreign country to interfere and control a U.S. election,” said Weld. “It couldn’t be clearer. That’s not just undermining Democratic institutions. That is treason. It’s treason pure and simple.” Noting that the penalty for treason in the U.S. is death, Weld said being removed from office would be “a pretty good alternative” for the Donald.

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Trump On Call With Ukraine: ‘It Was A Perfect Conversation’

Donald Trump has called his conversation with the president of Ukraine wherein he pressed the foreign leader to investigate Joe Biden, a 'perfect' conversation.

Donald Trump has called his conversation with the president of Ukraine, wherein he pressed the foreign leader to investigate Joe Biden, a 'perfect' conversation. Surrogates for Donald Trump were out this morning defending the Donald’s phone call with the president of Ukraine which the Wall Street Journal asserts Trump pressed his Ukrainian counterpart 8 times to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden. Via Reuters:

Joe Biden has called on Trump to disclose the transcript of his conversation with Zelensky so “the American people can judge for themselves.”

When asked about releasing the transcript, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told ABC News that “those are private conversations between world leaders and it wouldn’t be appropriate to do so except in the most extreme circumstances.”

The intelligence community inspector general has described the whistleblower’s August 12 complaint as “serious” and “urgent,” conditions that would normally require him to forward the complaint to Congress. Trump has characterized the complaint as “just another political hack job.”

From Politico:

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said on Sunday that allegations that President Trump elicited dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden, a 2020 White House hopeful, during a phone call with Ukraine’s leader are merely speculation.

“I think things are being implied that just don’t exist,” Mnuchin said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Tapper on Sunday pressed Mnuchin on why the White House is withholding information.

“Conversations with foreign leaders are supposed to be confidential,” he said, adding that it would be a “terrible” precedent to release the details. No evidence has emerged to suggest Biden acted with his son’s interests in mind in regards to his dealings with Ukraine.

Trump told reporters today that his conversation with the president of Ukraine was, of course, ‘perfect:’

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Trump Whines About ‘Ukraine Witch Hunt’ To Protect ‘Sleepy Joe’

More details have come to light about Donald Trump’s unusual phone call wherein he reportedly pressed the president of Ukraine 8 time to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden or Trump would withhold previously promised military aid. From the Washington Post:

When President Trump spoke on the telephone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in late July, the Ukrainians had a lot at stake. They were waiting on millions in stalled military aid from the United States, and Zelensky was seeking a high-priority White House meeting with Trump.

Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart that his country could improve its image if it completed corruption cases that have “inhibited the interaction between Ukraine and the USA,” according to a readout of the call released by Kiev.

What neither government said publicly at the time was that Trump went even further — specifically pressing Ukraine’s president to reopen a corruption investigation involving former vice president Joe Biden’s son, according to two people familiar with the call, which is now the subject of an explosive whistleblower complaint.

Trump, of course, took to Twitter to denounce what he now calls the ‘Ukraine Witch Hunt.’

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WSJ: Trump Pressed Ukraine President 8 Times To Investigate Biden’s Son

The Wall Street Journal (backed by ultra-conservative and Donald Trump ally Rupert Murdoch) is reporting that in a July phone call Trump “repeatedly pressured the president of Ukraine to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son, urging Volodymyr Zelensky about eight times to work with Rudy Giuliani, his personal lawyer, on a probe, according to people familiar with the matter.” Giuliani had been pressing the Ukraine government to look into any overlap with Mr. Biden’s diplomatic dealings with Ukraine, as well as Hunter Biden’s involvement in a gas company there. “He told him he should work with him [Giuliani] on Biden and that people in Washington wanted to know” whether the allegations were true or not, one of the people told the Journal. It’s stunning that, after being investigated for over two years regarding his campaign encouraging Russia to aid in his 2016 election, Trump would openly press another foreign country to become involved in smearing his possible 2020 political opponent. Last night, during an appearance on CNN, Giuliani denied – then 10 second later admitted – asking the government of Ukraine to look into Joe Biden and his son. Hillary Clinton tweeted the clip adding, “The president asked a foreign power to help him win an election. Again.”

In a Q&A in the Oval Office today, Trump told reporters “it doesn’t matter” what he discussed with the president of Ukraine. Since the story by the WSJ is behind a paywall, check out the report on the new details from CNN:

In Iowa, Biden blasted Trump’s assertion that hi

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Repeat Offenders: Giuliani Heading to Ukraine To Dig Dirt On Biden For Trump

Rudy Giuliani

The New York Times is reporting that Donald Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has announced plans to travel to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, in order to dig up dirt against former Vice President Joe Biden.

Yes, that would be encouraging and accepting help from a foreign nation for a U.S. election.

This sounds familiar…

Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Trump’s personal lawyer, is encouraging Ukraine to wade further into sensitive political issues in the United States, seeking to push the incoming government in Kiev to press ahead with investigations that he hopes will benefit Mr. Trump.

Mr. Giuliani said he plans to travel to Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, in the coming days and wants to meet with the nation’s president-elect to urge him to pursue inquiries that allies of the White House contend could yield new information about two matters of intense interest to Mr. Trump.

One is the origin of the special counsel’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. The other is the involvement of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s son in a gas company owned by a Ukrainian oligarch.