This has been a disastrous week for Donald Trump. With the emergence of a White House whistleblower disclosing that Trump illegally extorted the President Of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, the prospects for his impeachment have escalated exponentially. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi just announced that Congress is now “moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry.” And Trump’s deteriorating demeanor is showing the intensity of his fear and panic.
Trump is so desperate that he has caved into demands that he release the transcript of his July phone call with Zelensky, that he previously refused to do, saying that it would set a bad precedent. While that’s a good start, it is not nearly sufficient to clear up this controversy. For one thing, Trump is still refusing to release the whistleblower’s report that his own National Intelligence Inspector General said contained “serious” and “urgent” allegations that impact national security. Without that report we don’t know what the whistleblower was referring to, or even if it involved this phone call.
As for the question of a “quid pro quo,” there isn’t any requirement that an explicit demand be attached to Trump’s threat in order to constitute a breach of law and/or ethics. The Mafia had a way of insuring that their victims knew what was expected of them without saying so directly. “Nice little country you have here,” Trump might say, “Sure would hate to see something happen to it.” And Trump has plenty of experience with that mobster mentality as a Manhattan real estate developer. In his announcement that he would be releasing the Ukraine phone call transcript he tweeted:
….You will see it was a very friendly and totally appropriate call. No pressure and, unlike Joe Biden and his son, NO quid pro quo! This is nothing more than a continuation of the Greatest and most Destructive Witch Hunt of all time!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019
It remains to be seen if any transcript made public by Trump is actually unedited. As a documented pathological liar, nothing he says can be taken at face value. This is especially true on the day that he made remarks about the charges against him wherein he managed to contradict himself within a single sentence (video below). “There was no pressure put on [Ukraine] whatsoever,” Trump began. Then he continued, “but there was pressure put on with respect to Joe Biden.” Well, that’s crystal clear. There was no pressure except that there was pressure of a blatantly political nature.
Trump went on to say that “What Joe Biden did for his son, that’s something they should be looking at.” So even now he is still making improper demands on Ukraine that can still be regarded as ultimatums associated with future foreign aid. What’s more, the accusations aimed at Biden, that Trump is using to deflect from his his own crimes, have all been investigated and there was zero evidence of any wrongdoing. Biden was delivering a message to dismiss a corrupt prosecutor. It was the official policy of the U.S. government, not a personal matter involving Biden or his family. And it was also aligned with the policies of the Ukraine parliament, the European Union, the World Bank and other international institutions.
Trump also made the familiar and tiresome claim that he is the victim of a “Witch Hunt.” He said that Democrats are fixed on impeaching him because he’s leading in the polls and they can’t beat him any other way. That would be an interesting argument if it weren’t for the fact that most polls show him losing to every Democratic opponent, even the polls from Fox News. That’s the sort of “real” news that is driving Trump insane. And it’s another reason why he needs to be impeached as soon as humanly possible.
How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 24, 2019
I wonder what polls the unstable clown thinks he’s leading in.
Even IF the transcript of Trump’s phone call with Zelenskyy was to be a true & complete printed version of the entire conversation ~ which I sincerely doubt it will be ~ it isn’t like we’d hear the words, “quid pro quo” be spoken. Even Trump isn’t THAT stupid! When thugs threaten blackmail, or demand extortion money, you won’t hear, “I’m going to extort $500 cash every week from you, if you want to protect your business from burning down late at night.” Or, “if you don’t pay me blackmail money, I’ll mail the naked photos of you & the boss’ wife to your boss.” The threat is more subtle & not given over the phone. Yet both parties understand exactly what the deal is & what’s at stake.
Trump withheld much needed US military aid, telling Mulvaney to cover for him if asked about it. Trump then kept telling Zelenkyy that he “needed to listen to/work with” Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Gulliani ~ who had been going to Ukraine, talking to him about digging up some “dirt” on Biden, but was getting nowhere with it. Trump was more direct, insistent about what he wanted from the new Ukraine president & to work with Gulliani. Never mind that it was already investigated (1 or 2x) & there was NO wrongdoing by Biden found.
Any doubt that Trump was offering a “quid pro quo”?
In addition to the more obvious crimes – like initiating illegal sabotage of 2020 elections & having foreign country assist in fraudulent attacks on his opponent.
Trump also was abusing his power as President of USA, by withholding military aid to Ukraine that was authorized by Congress. Using authority of our country & our money, to carry out his illegal acts!
Trump is a pathological liar with NO morals, or boundaries & has surrounded himself with loyal enablers of the same ilk. We cannot believe anything that comes from these people, without independent proof! If they’re not lying, then proof shouldn’t be a problem. If they ARE lying, they’ll throw a fit over us wanting more than just their lying word as proof. Too bad! That’s the consequence of being such a liar — loss of honor & trust. It’s Trump’s fault, not ours, that he’s been shown repeatedly to be lying. There is only 1 way to deal with habitual liars ~ 2 words: “Prove it.” Everytime. Truth can be proven. Not so, lies.
In this case, they’ve had plenty if time to falsify things! The transcripts of phone call are just too EZ. Ukraine should have recording of phone calls. ( There was also 1 on July 18th from Pence, then Trump’s on 25th.) We need verifiable proof that the transcripts match actual phone records. Period. From now on, we will need proof of all important things. It’s sad that our president & his henchmen have put us all in this situation, but they have, & we have to deal with it wisely.
The WB’s Report was not given to Congress within 7 days, as law requires. It was instead, given to Mr. Barr & the White House, where many read it & Congress was not told, or given a copy. The report has been in WH hands for about 2 months, where it never should’ve been! That is more than enuff time to have recreated a new document, changing damaging details. Would they? Oh yes, they would! Late news tonite said that WB wants to testify before Congress about her report. That’s great! He/She is the independent proof of the truthful facts in document. That should prevent WH from giving doctored version to Congress, since he/she’d easily know it. A copy & testimony from the WB would be proof of truth. I hope it happens, w/o any WH interference!
We need to get to the bottom of all this, especially sine Trump was acting in official capacity as U.S. President.
Who knows if the “transcript” is a true and complete transcription of the phone call or not.If the call was recorded, let’s hear the call.
Also, in my opinion, any member of the congress who now votes to support Trump in this should be indicted for being an accessory after the fact. Either the REpublicans must vote to impeach and to convict, or they themsoeves must be held guilty of abetting Trump’s crimes…