https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5O_vhpzOxI&t=16m44s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXdrh6Nkl1U&t=4m33s
wait for it to 8:22
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...b239b0-cffa-11e9-8c1c-7c8ee785b855_story.html
Trump tries to force Ukraine to meddle in the 2020 election
September 5
UKRAINE’S NEOPHYTE president, Volodymyr Zelensky, took a big step this week toward proving that he will be, as he promised, the most pro-reform president in Ukraine’s history. On Monday, he laid out a breathtakingly ambitious five-year plan including virtually every measure the International Monetary Fund and Western governments have urged on Ukraine in recent years, from land reform to the privatization of state companies to a cleansing of the judiciary.
That ought to be cause for celebration in Washington, where successive Democratic and Republican administrations have tried to draw Ukraine away from Vladi♥mir Putin’s Russia and into the ranks of Western democracies, only to be frustrated by the fecklessness and corruption of the country’s political leaders. Yet Mr. Zelensky has so far failed to win the backing of President Trump. Not only has Mr. Trump refused to grant the Ukrainian leader a White House visit, but also he has suspended the delivery of $250 million in U.S. military aid to a country still fighting Russian aggression in its eastern provinces.
Some suspect Mr. Trump is once again catering to Mr. Putin, who is dedicated to undermining Ukrainian democracy and independence. But we’re reliably told that the president has a second and more venal agenda: He is attempting to force Mr. Zelensky to intervene in the 2020 U.S. presidential election by launching an investigation of the leading Democratic candidate, Joe Biden. Mr. Trump is not just soliciting Ukraine’s help with his presidential campaign; he is using U.S. military aid the country desperately needs in an attempt to extort it.
The strong-arming of Mr. Zelensky was openly reported to the New York Times last month by Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, who said he had met in Madrid with a close associate of the Ukrainian leader and urged that the new government restart an investigation of Mr. Biden and his son. Hunter Biden served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company, while Joe Biden, as vice president, urged the dismissal of Ukraine’s top prosecutor, who investigated the firm.
Mr. Giuliani also wants a probe of claims that revelations of payments by a Ukrainian political party to Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, were part of a plot to wreck Mr. Trump’s candidacy. In other words, Trump associates want the Ukrainian government to prove that Ukraine improperly acted against Mr. Trump in the 2016 election; but they also want it to meddle in his favor for 2020.
Mr. Zelensky is incapable of delivering on either demand. The revelations about Mr. Manafort came from a Ukrainian legislator who was fighting for domestic reform, not Hillary Clinton. And the Biden case, which has already been investigated by Ukrainian authorities, is bogus on its face. The former vice president was one of a host of senior Western officials who pressed for the dismissal of the prosecutor, who was accused of blocking anti-corruption measures.
The White House claims Mr. Trump suspended Ukraine’s military aid in order for it be reviewed. But, as CNN reported, the Pentagon has already completed the study and recommended that the hold be lifted. Yet Mr. Trump has not yet acted. If his recalcitrance has a rationale, other than seeking to compel a foreign government to aid his reelection, the president has yet to reveal it.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...ion-to-ukraine-dealings-investigated-by-house
‘I did what I did on my own’: Giuliani insists no Trump connection to Ukraine dealings investigated by House
Rudy Giuliani said he has "no idea" what President Trump told the new Ukrainian president in a phone call that could be the subject of a damning Intelligence Community whistleblower complaint.
Trump's personal attorney also claimed he acted independently in pressing the Ukrainian government to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, the front-runner in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, and matters related to Paul Manafort.
Giuliani made an appearance Thursday evening on CNN, clashing with host Chris Cuomo about a Washington Post report that said Trump communicated with a foreign leader about Ukraine in which he made a "promise" that was troubling enough to trigger a whistleblower complaint.
"I have no idea. I never asked him that. I don't know if he did and I wouldn't care if he did. He had every right to do it as the president of the United States," Giuliani said of Trump's call at the root of the controversy.
Three Democrat-led House Committees were already investigating a call Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky less than three weeks before the complaint was submitted in August as part of an inquiry into Trump's and Giuliani's role in "two politically-motivated investigations under the guise of anti-corruption activity."
These involve a possible attempt to improperly pressure the Ukrainian government to assist the president's reelection campaign by investigating the ties of Biden's son Hunter Biden to an energy company owned by a Ukrainian oligarch. They are also looking into whether Trump and Giuliani sought the "prosecution of Ukrainians who provided key evidence against Mr. Trump’s convicted campaign manager Paul Manafort," who is in prison for illegal lobbying on behalf of Ukrainian interests and financial fraud.
Arguing that "we have two outstanding allegations of massive corruption," Giuliani told Cuomo, "I did what I did on my own."
Giuliani, who began representing Trump during special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, also said he only told Trump about his effort after the fact.
"Three months after I found out about it," Giuliani said, was about when he informed Trump. "And then I found out it was true by getting signed sworn statements from five people in the Ukraine who said, 'We were brought into the White House, the Obama White House, and we were told go dig up dirt on Trump and Manafort in January of 2016.'"
Between insults, Cuomo repeatedly pressed Giuliani to show him the affidavits. "I'm not going to give you the affidavits. I want to give them in court," Giuliani said.
Trump has also dismissed the reporting about the whistleblower complaint.
“Virtually anytime I speak on the phone to a foreign leader, I understand that there may be many people listening from various U.S. agencies, not to mention those from the other country itself," Trump tweeted earlier on Thursday. "Knowing all of this, is anybody dumb enough to believe that I would say something inappropriate with a foreign leader while on such a potentially ‘heavily populated’ call."
As part of his investigation, Schiff has sought the transcript and the list of participants on the call with Zelensky, an actor who took office in May. Schiff is also leading the charge in pursuing information about the complaint deemed to be of "urgent concern" by Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson.
Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire has so far resisted Schiff's demands to hand over the whistleblower complaint and the inspector general's analysis, arguing its content is beyond his jurisdiction. Maguire is expected to testify before the House and Senate intelligence panels next week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXdrh6Nkl1U&t=4m33s
wait for it to 8:22
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...b239b0-cffa-11e9-8c1c-7c8ee785b855_story.html
Trump tries to force Ukraine to meddle in the 2020 election
September 5
UKRAINE’S NEOPHYTE president, Volodymyr Zelensky, took a big step this week toward proving that he will be, as he promised, the most pro-reform president in Ukraine’s history. On Monday, he laid out a breathtakingly ambitious five-year plan including virtually every measure the International Monetary Fund and Western governments have urged on Ukraine in recent years, from land reform to the privatization of state companies to a cleansing of the judiciary.
That ought to be cause for celebration in Washington, where successive Democratic and Republican administrations have tried to draw Ukraine away from Vladi♥mir Putin’s Russia and into the ranks of Western democracies, only to be frustrated by the fecklessness and corruption of the country’s political leaders. Yet Mr. Zelensky has so far failed to win the backing of President Trump. Not only has Mr. Trump refused to grant the Ukrainian leader a White House visit, but also he has suspended the delivery of $250 million in U.S. military aid to a country still fighting Russian aggression in its eastern provinces.
Some suspect Mr. Trump is once again catering to Mr. Putin, who is dedicated to undermining Ukrainian democracy and independence. But we’re reliably told that the president has a second and more venal agenda: He is attempting to force Mr. Zelensky to intervene in the 2020 U.S. presidential election by launching an investigation of the leading Democratic candidate, Joe Biden. Mr. Trump is not just soliciting Ukraine’s help with his presidential campaign; he is using U.S. military aid the country desperately needs in an attempt to extort it.
The strong-arming of Mr. Zelensky was openly reported to the New York Times last month by Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, who said he had met in Madrid with a close associate of the Ukrainian leader and urged that the new government restart an investigation of Mr. Biden and his son. Hunter Biden served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company, while Joe Biden, as vice president, urged the dismissal of Ukraine’s top prosecutor, who investigated the firm.
Mr. Giuliani also wants a probe of claims that revelations of payments by a Ukrainian political party to Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, were part of a plot to wreck Mr. Trump’s candidacy. In other words, Trump associates want the Ukrainian government to prove that Ukraine improperly acted against Mr. Trump in the 2016 election; but they also want it to meddle in his favor for 2020.
Mr. Zelensky is incapable of delivering on either demand. The revelations about Mr. Manafort came from a Ukrainian legislator who was fighting for domestic reform, not Hillary Clinton. And the Biden case, which has already been investigated by Ukrainian authorities, is bogus on its face. The former vice president was one of a host of senior Western officials who pressed for the dismissal of the prosecutor, who was accused of blocking anti-corruption measures.
The White House claims Mr. Trump suspended Ukraine’s military aid in order for it be reviewed. But, as CNN reported, the Pentagon has already completed the study and recommended that the hold be lifted. Yet Mr. Trump has not yet acted. If his recalcitrance has a rationale, other than seeking to compel a foreign government to aid his reelection, the president has yet to reveal it.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...ion-to-ukraine-dealings-investigated-by-house
‘I did what I did on my own’: Giuliani insists no Trump connection to Ukraine dealings investigated by House
Rudy Giuliani said he has "no idea" what President Trump told the new Ukrainian president in a phone call that could be the subject of a damning Intelligence Community whistleblower complaint.
Trump's personal attorney also claimed he acted independently in pressing the Ukrainian government to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, the front-runner in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, and matters related to Paul Manafort.
Giuliani made an appearance Thursday evening on CNN, clashing with host Chris Cuomo about a Washington Post report that said Trump communicated with a foreign leader about Ukraine in which he made a "promise" that was troubling enough to trigger a whistleblower complaint.
"I have no idea. I never asked him that. I don't know if he did and I wouldn't care if he did. He had every right to do it as the president of the United States," Giuliani said of Trump's call at the root of the controversy.
Three Democrat-led House Committees were already investigating a call Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky less than three weeks before the complaint was submitted in August as part of an inquiry into Trump's and Giuliani's role in "two politically-motivated investigations under the guise of anti-corruption activity."
These involve a possible attempt to improperly pressure the Ukrainian government to assist the president's reelection campaign by investigating the ties of Biden's son Hunter Biden to an energy company owned by a Ukrainian oligarch. They are also looking into whether Trump and Giuliani sought the "prosecution of Ukrainians who provided key evidence against Mr. Trump’s convicted campaign manager Paul Manafort," who is in prison for illegal lobbying on behalf of Ukrainian interests and financial fraud.
Arguing that "we have two outstanding allegations of massive corruption," Giuliani told Cuomo, "I did what I did on my own."
Giuliani, who began representing Trump during special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, also said he only told Trump about his effort after the fact.
"Three months after I found out about it," Giuliani said, was about when he informed Trump. "And then I found out it was true by getting signed sworn statements from five people in the Ukraine who said, 'We were brought into the White House, the Obama White House, and we were told go dig up dirt on Trump and Manafort in January of 2016.'"
Between insults, Cuomo repeatedly pressed Giuliani to show him the affidavits. "I'm not going to give you the affidavits. I want to give them in court," Giuliani said.
Trump has also dismissed the reporting about the whistleblower complaint.
“Virtually anytime I speak on the phone to a foreign leader, I understand that there may be many people listening from various U.S. agencies, not to mention those from the other country itself," Trump tweeted earlier on Thursday. "Knowing all of this, is anybody dumb enough to believe that I would say something inappropriate with a foreign leader while on such a potentially ‘heavily populated’ call."
As part of his investigation, Schiff has sought the transcript and the list of participants on the call with Zelensky, an actor who took office in May. Schiff is also leading the charge in pursuing information about the complaint deemed to be of "urgent concern" by Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson.
Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire has so far resisted Schiff's demands to hand over the whistleblower complaint and the inspector general's analysis, arguing its content is beyond his jurisdiction. Maguire is expected to testify before the House and Senate intelligence panels next week.
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