Counterpoint: None of this is complex and they ought to be able to explain it to the American people with a whiteboard from Kinko’s. Like, we’re all fucked if they need spreadsheets to make their case.
Here’s a good excerpt from Bill Taylor’s deposition about Volker on page 110. The GOP lawyer was trying to establish that Volker is Mr. Amazing Man of Integrity, and here’s how it went:
Castor: How long have you known Ambassador Volker for?
Taylor: So probably 20 years. A long time.
Castor: And is he a man of integrity?
Taylor: He is a man of integrity.
Castor: And he is somebody that’s always, to the best of your knowledge, acted in the best interests of the United States?
Taylor: He – when he got involved with Mr. Giuliani, I think that that pulled him away from or it diverted him from being focused on what I thought needed to be focused on, that is – yeah. So, in general, yes, but the Giuliani factor I think affected Ambassador Volker.
Castor: But as a man of integrity, if he genuinely believed it was in the best interests of the United States to engage with Giuliani, do agree that that’s – he was acting in the best interests of the United States when he did that?
Taylor: I think he thought he was.
Burn.
Fyp. There is no bombshell big enough that can penetrate the right-wing media bunker.
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That’s kind of more of a 
than a 
.
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The Trump-Ukraine Scandal: An Impeachable Tale Of Bribery And Extortion
Donald Trump pushed Ukraine to interfere in our 2020 election. He withheld U.S. military aid and a White House meeting to pressure Ukraine to launch a sham investigation into a 2020 political rival in order to hurt his candidacy.
That’s bribery and extortion.
Here’s a rundown of the evidence:
MAY-JUNE: THE BEGINNINGS OF A PRESSURE CAMPAIGN
In May 2019, Giuliani associate Lev Parnas pressured Ukraine officials to launch an investigation into the Bidens. Otherwise, Vice President Mike Pence would not be allowed to attend the swearing-in of the new president and the United States would freeze military aid.
On May 7, Ukraine President Zelensky met with his advisors to discuss how to navigate the pressure from Trump and Giuliani to investigate the Bidens .
On May 9, Giuliani said that he would travel to Ukraine to push for investigations related to the Bidens and the 2016 election “because that information will be very, very helpful to my client, and may turn out to be helpful to my government.”
On May 11, Giuliani canceled his trip to Ukraine following a backlash.
On May 13, Trump instructed Vice President Mike Pence not to attend the swearing-in of President Zelensky, just like Lev Parnas warned back in early May.
On May 20, Zelensky was inaugurated as president of Ukraine.
On May 23, Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney held a meeting with Perry , Sondland , and Volker in which he put them in charge of a back-channel diplomacy effort in Ukraine, according to the later t estimony of George Kent.
On June 13, Trump said his campaign would accept information on electoral opponents from foreign sources.
On June 21, Rudy Giuliani publicly pressed Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden via Twitter.
On June 27, EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland told Bill Taylor that Zelensky needed to make clear to President Trump that he would not stand in the way of investigating the Bidens.
THE JULY 10 MEETING AND A DIRECT EXTORTION DEMAND
On July 10, Sondland told Yermak and Danylyuk during a meeting that Zelensky could only meet with Trump if he announced an investigation into Burisma [the Bidens]. He said that White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney signed off on the agreement.
Lt. Col. Vindman was present at this meeting, confirmed both Sondland’s extortion demand and that Mulvaney signed off on it in his testimony and reported his concerns to the NSC counsel.
Fiona Hill was present at this meeting, confirmed both Sondland’s extortion demand and that Mulvaney signed off on it in her testimony testified that Ambassador John Bolton said he didn’t want any part of this “drug deal” and for her to inform the NSC counsel.
JULY 18: TRUMP PUTS MILITARY AID ON HOLD
On July 18—one week before his July 25 call— Donald Trump personally ordered White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney to put a hold on $391 million in military aid to Ukraine that had been appropriated by a bipartisan majority in congress. This is backed up by the testimony of Catherine Croft , George Kent , and Bill Taylor .
THE JULY 25TH CALL: THE LEAD UP AND THE FOLLOW THROUGH
On July 19, text messages show Ambassador Volker told Sondland that Giuliani wanted Zelensky to tell Trump he’d launch investigations.
On July 20, Sondland told Taylor he spoke with Zelensky about how to talk with Trump about investigating the Bidens.
On July 20, according to his testimony , Taylor spoke with senior Ukraine official Oleksandr Danylyuk who said that Zelensky was concerned about being made a pawn in U.S. elections. Taylor told Sondland and Volker the next day.
On July 25, Volker texted senior Ukraine official Andriy Yermak that a visit to the White House was contingent on Zelensky convincing Trump that he’d launch an investigation.
On July 25, Trump had a phone call with Zelensky. Trump responded to Zelensky’s request for military assistance by asking for “a favor though” to investigate the Bidens . He said he’d have Giuliani follow up.
- Lt. Col. Vindman was on the call and was so concerned that he reported it to NSC counsel John Eisenberg , who instructed him a few days later not talk to anyone about it.
- National Security Council official Tim Morrison was on the call and found it so concerning he reported it to NSC counsel John Eisenberg
On August 2, Giuliani followed up on the call by traveling to Madrid to meet with senior Ukraine official Andriy Yermak to discuss investigating the Bidens .
EARLY AUGUST: UKRAINE FINDS OUT MILITARY AID HAS BEEN PUT ON HOLD
In early August, high-level Ukraine officials found out that their military aid was being put on hold, according to the New York Times and Laura Cooper’s testimony .
AUGUST 9-17: SONDLAND, VOLKER, GIULIANI AND YERMAK NEGOTIATE THE DRAFT STATEMENT ANNOUNCING THE BIDEN INVESTIGATION; TRUMP TEAM DELIVERS MORE EXTORTION DEMANDS
On August 9, Sondland texted Volker to say that they’d only schedule a time for a Ukraine White House visit when they get the “deliverable”—a press conference—from Zelensky . They suggest asking for a draft statement from Yermak on what Zelensky should say during said press conference.
On August 9, Sondland , Giuliani, and Volker texted to coordinate a time to discuss what Zelensky needed to say in his draft statement announcing the investigations.
On August 10, Yermak tells Volker that once a White House meeting was scheduled they would call for a “press briefing” to announce an investigation into “Burisma” [the Bidens].
On August 13, Volker texted Sondland about including a pledge to investigate Burisma [the Bidens] in a draft statement to be issued by the Ukrainians.
On August 16, Giuliani insisted that a draft statement submitted by Yermak was not good enough because it did not include a specific reference to investigating Burisma [the Bidens], according to Volker’s testimony .
On August 17, Sondland confirmed via text to Volker that they wanted Zelensky to include an investigation into Burisma [the Bidens] in a draft statement.
LATE AUGUST/EARLY SEPTEMBER: TRUMP TURNS THE SCREWS USING MILITARY AID AS LEVERAGE
On August 22, NSC aide Tim Morrison told Taylor it “remains to be seen” whether U.S. policy toward Ukraine has changed, and said the “president doesn’t want to provide any assistance at all.”
On August 28, Politico reported that the Trump Administration was holding up the military aid.
On August 30, Sondland told Senator Ron Johnson that the military aid was contingent on the Ukrainians launching an investigation.
On August 31, Senator Ron Johnson spoke with Trump . He asked whether he could assure the Ukrainians that the military aid was coming. Trump refused to grant him that authority.
SEPTEMBER 1: TRUMP DELIVERS ANOTHER EXTORTION DEMAND
On September 1, Sondland traveled to Warsaw to meet with senior Ukraine official Andriy Yermak . He delivered the message: “I said that resumption of the U.S. aid would likely not occur until Ukraine provided the public anticorruption statement that we had been discussing for many weeks.” This is confirmed by both Ambassador Bill Taylor and NSC official Tim Morrison in their testimony.
On September 1, Vice President Mike Pence traveled to Warsaw to meet with President Zelensky . He said that military aid was being held up and urged them to address “corruption”, which is code for an investigation into the Bidens.
On September 1, Ambassador Taylor texted Sondland to ask: “Are we now saying that security assistance and WH meeting are conditioned on investigations?"
Ambassador Taylor testified that Sondland said that Trump required the Ukrainians to publicly announce an investigation into the Bidens or there would be a “stalemate” regarding the release of the military aid. Further, he said Sondland said that Trump wanted “everything”—military aid and a White House meeting—contingent on Zelensky putting himself in a “public box” by announcing the investigations.
UKRAINIANS BEGIN TO PANIC
On September 2, Ukraine official Oleksandr Danylyuk expressed concern about the hold up of military aid, according to NSC official Tim Morrison and Ambassador Bill Taylor’s testimony.
On September 5, Senator Chris Murphy traveled to Ukraine to meet with officials. He said “they worried the aid that was being cut off to Ukraine by the president was a consequence of their unwillingness at the time to investigate the Bidens.”
SEPTEMBER 7: TRUMP DIRECTLY IMPLICATED AGAIN
On September 7, Trump told Sondland that military aid was tied to President Zelensky announcing investigations into the Bidens.
Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent testified : “POTUS wanted nothing less than President Zelensky to go to microphone and say investigations, Biden, and Clinton.”
NSC official Tim Morrison testified that Taylor was accurate that he heard from Sondland that Trump wanted an announcement of an investigation into Biden. He said he had a “sinking feeling.”
On September 9, Ambassador Bill Taylor texted Ambassador Gordon Sondland that it’s “crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.”
THE BRIBERY/EXTORTION PLOT IS EXPOSED
On September 9, the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community notified intelligence committees of the existence of a whistleblower report.
On September 10, Trump tweeted that he fired National Security Advisor John Bolton , a vocal opponent of the bribery/extortion scheme, which he called a “drug deal”. Bloomberg is reporting that he secretly authorized the release of the State Department portion of the military aid ($141 million) right before having his position terminated.
On September 11, the full military aid was released to Ukraine, one day after Bolton is fired and two days after the whistleblower report is sent to Congress.
On September 25, The White House released a rough transcript of Trump’s July 25 call with Zelensky .
On September 27, Volker abruptly resigned .
On October 17, White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney admitted that military aid was withheld to pressure them to launch investigations beneficial to Trump’s re-election.
Trump And His Team Replaced Those He Considered Obstacles To The Ukraine Extortion/Bribery Scheme With Toadies
Trump worked to replace Ukraine experts perceived as obstacles to his bribery/extortion scheme: George Kent and Marie Yovanovitch.
White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney “sidelined” Deputy Assistant Secretary George Kent , who oversaw Ukraine policy. Kent testified he was told to “lay low” on Ukraine.
Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch testified she was removed from her post following a White House smear campaign led by Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani .
- Rudy Giuliani sent a memo to Secretary Mike Pompeo smearing Yovanovitch
- Catherine Croft, a foreign service officer, testified that former Congressman Bob Livingston lobbied for Yovanovitch’s removal
- Joe DiGenova, Rudy Giuliani, and Donald Trump Jr. publicly praised Yovanovitch’s removal
- Michael McKinley , senior adviser to Pompeo , testified he was unable to get State Department officials to protect Yovanovitch from the smear campaign
- John Sullivan , Deputy Secretary of State, said that Giuliani was behind the smear campaign against Yovanovitch
In their place, Trump elevated his supporters.
It is reported that Yovanovitch has been recalled by the State Department, two months before her scheduled departure date.
Later, Trump tasked Rudy Giuliani , EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland, former special representative to Ukraine Kurt Volker, and Energy Secretary Rick Perry with executing the bribery/extortion scheme.
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Who wrote this?
Did Nunes just say something about people trying to get Trump nudes?
I thought I’d been through enough mental distress from this presidency, but alas, I was wrong.
Nunes is a piece of shit. That is all.
We are here today to talk about the Ukraine scandal. Nunes, we are here to talk about conspiracy theories.
Only 5 minutes for the projection to start.
We’ll see if the media does a good job ignoring the total bullshit coming from Nunes and Jordan this week.
Narrator: The media did not do a good job.
What I don’t understand about this whole “Repbulicans weren’t allowed to call witnesses on the Hunter Biden thing” is that congress is in charge of controlling the government. There is no government that Joe Biden is involved in for the Republicans to control.
If Joe Biden committed any crimes he can be investigated by the executive just like any other potential criminal.
Don’t try to make sense of it. The GOP is a total joke and they are just trying to craft any/every narrative to make the Dems look bad by throwing a bunch of bullshit at the wall. Chaos and confusion is their only play here, but it has a legit shot of working thanks to the prevalence of right wing media here and their base’s total reliance on the right wing media as their sole source of news.
Whenever you see them spouting total BS that makes no sense, just remember that it’ll be parroted by the Sean Hannity’s of the world with zero skepticism, and they know it. They say it in the hearings and he plays it at night and talks about it with a great deal of anger toward Democrats, and their viewers eat it up.
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I think it‘s just the wrong answer.
„That is the president‘s and the administration‘s job. If the administration isn’t doing an investigation they seem to be okay with the Biden’s. What you are trying to do is undermining the president’s constitutional authority.“
Make some heads explode and provoke Trump to climb a few steps on the „Publicly showing how much he would like to be a dictator„ scale.
I’m terrified of Trump climbing a few more rings on the dictator ladder because we may just find that nothing stops him from continuing to climb that ladder until he reaches the top.
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