Seeking favours, Trump asked Ukraine president to investigate Biden

[webfact]

Seeking favours, Trump asked Ukraine president to investigate Biden

By Andy Sullivan and Patricia Zengerle

 

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City, New York, U.S., September 25, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump pressed Ukraine's president to investigate a political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, in coordination with the U.S. attorney general and Trump's personal lawyer, according to a summary of a momentous telephone call released by the Trump administration on Wednesday.

 

The official account of the half-hour July call laid bare an astonishing exchange of requests, pledges and ingratiation, including some unrelated to Biden, such as when Trump asked President Volodymyr Zelenskiy "to do us a favour" involving a controversy arising from the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.

 

The summary was released a day after House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the Democratic-led chamber was launching an official impeachment inquiry, setting up a dramatic political showdown that threatens Trump's presidency as he campaigns for re-election in 2020.

 

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he thinks it would be a tremendous thing if Ukraine could work things out with Russia. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says that only with true support and together with the U.S. and Europe can the war with Russia be stopped. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

 

The details of the July 25 call drew furious reactions from Democrats, who accused Trump of soliciting Ukraine's help to smear Biden, the front-runner among Democratic candidates seeking to challenge the Republican president next year.

 

The call occurred after Trump had ordered a freeze of nearly $400 million in American aid to Ukraine, which the administration only later released.

 

"What those notes reflect is a classic Mafia-like shakedown of a foreign leader," said Democrat Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

 

In a statement, Biden said Congress must hold Trump to account for "his abuse of power," adding, "It is a tragedy for this country that our president put personal politics above his sacred oath."

 

Trump and Zelenskiy appeared side-by-side in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly and denied impropriety in their call, with Ukraine's president telling reporters "nobody pushed me."

 

Trump also lashed out at Pelosi as having bowed to "radicals" in her party. "As I'm concerned, unfortunately, she's no longer the speaker of the House," Trump said.

 

The controversy arose after a whistleblower from within the U.S. intelligence community brought a complaint relating to Trump's conversation with Zelenskiy.

 

Even though federal law calls for such complaints to be disclosed to Congress, the Trump administration has not done so. But congressional officials said House and Senate intelligence committees will be allowed to see the complaint later on Wednesday.

 

'A LOT OF TALK'

According to the summary, Trump told Zelenskiy that Attorney General William Barr, the top U.S. law enforcement official, and Trump personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani would speak to him about re-opening a Ukrainian investigation into a Ukrainian gas company for which Biden's son Hunter had served as director.

 

"The other thing, there's a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that, so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great," Trump said, referring to Barr.

 

In the summary, Trump never explicitly told Zelenskiy that U.S. aid was contingent upon him investigating Biden, but Trump emphasised the importance of American support before pressing him for action on Biden.

 

"I will say that we do a lot for Ukraine," Trump said. Trump then said German Chancellor Angela Merkel "doesn't do anything" for Ukraine but that "the United States has been very, very good to Ukraine."

 

According to the summary, Zelenskiy responds that Trump is "1,000%" right, thanks Trump for "your great support in the area of defence" and said he planned to buy more Javelins, anti-tank missiles developed by the U.S. military that are now produced by Raytheon Co <RTN.N> and Lockheed Martin Corp <LMT.N>.

 

In raising the Biden issue, Trump told Zelenskiy that "I heard you had a prosecutor who was very good and he was shut down and that's really unfair." Trump said he would have Giuliani - a political ally with no formal role in the U.S. government - and Barr call him.

 

"Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it. It sounds horrible to me," Trump said.

 

Zelenskiy assured Trump that his next prosecutor general "will be 100% my person" and "will look into the situation."

 

Zelenskiy, a former comedian, then volunteered that the last time he visited the United States, "I stayed at the Trump Tower," one of the president's businesses.

 

"I also want to ensure you that we will be very serious about the case and will work on the investigation," Zelenskiy added.

 

After Zelenskiy's promise, Trump invites him to visit the White House, saying, "Whenever you would like to come to the White House, feel free to call."

 

BARR'S ROLE

Trump never actually asked Barr to contact Ukraine, Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said, and Barr has not communicated with Ukraine about a possible investigation or any other subject. Barr, a Trump appointee, first found out about the conversation several weeks after it took place, Kupec said.

 

The House inquiry could lead to articles of impeachment in the House that could trigger a trial in the Senate on whether to remove Trump from office.

 

Pelosi said the notes of the call confirm that Trump engaged in behaviour that undermines the integrity of U.S. elections, the dignity of presidency and American national security.

 

"The president has tried to make lawlessness a virtue in America and now is exporting it abroad," Pelosi said.

Trump has repeatedly suggested wrongdoing by Biden and his son but has offered no evidence to back up the assertion.

 

The administration added a note of caution regarding the summary, saying it "is not a verbatim transcript of a conversation" and merely records the "notes and recollections" of White House staff assigned to memorialise the talk. The summary was developed with assistance from voice recognition software along with note takers and experts listening, a senior White House official said.

 

REPEATED SCANDALS

Trump has withstood repeated scandals since taking office in 2017. House Democrats had considered, but never moved ahead with, pursuing articles of impeachment over Trump's actions relating to Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election aimed at boosting his candidacy.

 

Under the U.S. Constitution, the House has the power to impeach a president for "high crimes and misdemeanours." No president has ever been removed from office through impeachment. Democrats currently control the House and Trump's fellow Republicans control the Senate.

 

Justice Department officials concluded last week that Trump's conduct on the call did not amount to a criminal violation of campaign finance law because what he was asking for - an investigation of a political rival - was not a quantifiable "thing of value," said a senior Justice Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

 

Trump has defended his actions in the Ukraine matter as appropriate. Trump denounced the impeachment move on Wednesday as "the single greatest witch hunt in American history."

 

There has been no evidence that Biden, who served as U.S. vice president from 2009 to 2017, used his position as vice president to help his son in the Ukraine matter.

 

The United States, European countries and others had pushed for the ouster of the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the energy company because he was not pursuing it aggressively enough. The prosecutor who replaced him, Yuriy Lutsenko, told Reuters on Friday that no wrongdoing was found on the part of Biden's son in his relationship with the energy firm.

 

Ukrainian officials have not said publicly that they would open any investigation of Biden or his son.

 

Many Republicans came to Trump's defence and said the absence of a quid pro quo - a Latin phrase meaning a favour for a favour - in the call showed that the concerns of Democrats were overblown. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell denounced what he called the Democratic "impeachment obsession."

 

Republican Senator Pat Toomey said Trump's conversation about Biden was inappropriate but not an impeachable offence. But Republican Senator Mitt Romney said he had read the memo and "it remains troubling in the extreme."

 

Pelosi would not commit to an impeachment timetable but Judiciary Committee Democrat David Cicilline said articles of impeachment could move to the House floor in a matter of weeks, if the allegations against Trump prove true.

 

An investigation of the Bidens was not the only request Trump made to the Ukrainian president. Even before he brings up the Bidens, Trump tells him, "I would like you to do us a favour though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it."

 

Trump then mentions CrowdStrike, a California-based cybersecurity company that investigated the hacking of the Democratic National Committee and helped lead U.S. intelligence officials to conclude that Russian intelligence had hacked Democratic emails as part of Moscow's election interference to boost Trump's presidential bid. It is not a Ukrainian company and its co-founders are not Ukrainians.

 

Trump also said, without providing evidence, that emails deleted by his 2016 Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton, who used a private computer server when she was U.S. secretary of state, may be in Ukraine.

 

AID TO UKRAINE

The United States has been giving military aid to Ukraine since Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. The $391.5 million in aid at issue in the current controversy was approved by the U.S. Congress to help Ukraine deal with an insurgency by Russian-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country.

 

The whistleblower was concerned that Trump was pressuring a foreign leader to take an official action that would help his 2020 re-election, according to a legal memo released by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel.

 

The Inspector General's office found "some indication of an arguable political bias" by the whistleblower in favour of a rival political candidate," but determined that the allegation appeared credible, according to the office.

 

The Justice Department concluded that the whistleblower complaint did not need to be shared with Congress because the relevant law only covers conduct by intelligence officials, not the president, according to a legal analysis released by the department's Office of Legal Counsel.

 

The Justice Department said Barr will not recuse himself from Ukraine-related investigations despite Democratic demands.

 

(Reporting by Andy Sullivan and Patricia Zengerle; Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton, Heather Timmons, David Morgan, Richard Cowan, Jeff Mason, Susan Cornwell, Lisa Lambert, Susan Heavey in Washington, Jeff Mason in New York, and Matthias Williams in Kiev; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Will Dunham)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-09-26

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

[Somtamnication]

If the republicans don't get off their rear end and do something, America is not any better than a banana republic. What a sad day for the 'Merkins.

[TopDeadSenter]

36 minutes ago, webfact said:

Seeking favours, Trump asked Ukraine president to investigate Biden

My understanding of this latest smear and muck-fling against Trump might be limited, but from what I can gather. Biden's son is gifted a plummy job working for a Ukrainian company paying an insanely high salary. The company he works for gets investigated for dodgy activities. Biden sr as US vice President threatens witholding a 1 Billion dollar loan guarantee to the Ukraine until the prosecutor in the case is removed. And now we are somehow bashing Trump for this!?! 

 

 This is just another spectacular own goal, unless I am really missing something?

[Tug]

Donald thinks he is a don not a president lol extortion plane and simple espically when you factor in the timing of the calls hopefully we will learn what the whistle blower has to say 

[Samui Bodoh]

57 minutes ago, webfact said:

President Donald Trump pressed Ukraine's president to investigate a political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, in coordination with the U.S. attorney general and Trump's personal lawyer, according to a summary of a momentous telephone call released by the Trump administration on Wednesday.

Unbelievable!

 

Trump goes through 2 years of Mueller regarding foreign intervention in US elections, then turns around and tries to do the exact same thing again.

 

I get that there are Americans who like Trump's policies (or who could not have voted for Hillary); that is a perfectly reasonable thing. However, I find it very hard to believe that Americans in general approve of a grievance-spewing, hate-fueled, unethical, amoral type of person to be their face and representative.

 

I have said it before and will say it again

 

Donald trump is an ever-expanding cloud of toxic waste that defiles everything it touches.

 

Please my American friends; get rid of this swamp thing and return to making the planet a better place. You are so much better than this!

 

 

 

[beechguy]

3 minutes ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Unbelievable!

 

Trump goes through 2 years of Mueller regarding foreign intervention in US elections, then turns around and tries to do the exact same thing again.

 

I get that there are Americans who like Trump's policies; that is a perfectly reasonable thing. However, I find it very hard to believe that Americans in general approve of a grievance-spewing, hate-fueled, unethical, amoral type of person to be their face.

 

I have said it before and will say it again

 

Donald trump is an ever-expanding cloud of toxic waste that defiles everything it touches.

 

God Help us all.

 

 

The problem is the same as when the 2016 election took place, the toxic waste put forward by the DNC, it is just as bad now, as it was then.

 

Does anybody really believe Biden is going to the 2020 candidate? I don't think it's going to happen, they will screw him over like they did Bernie, and if he does make it, it won't be long before the focus on health issues increases.

[stevenl]

IMO not much in the transcript, far from enough for an impeachment.

 

But still wondering about the IG complaint deemed 'credible and urgent' and the WH stonewalling, so I have the feeling there is more to it than has been released at the moment.

[webfact]

For Ukraine's leader, Trump memo on their call is a diplomatic car crash

By Pavel Polityuk and Andrew Osborn

 

FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy delivers a speech during a parliamentary session in Kiev, Ukraine August 29, 2019. Picture taken August 29, 2019. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File Photo

 

KIEV/MOSCOW (Reuters) - For U.S. President Donald Trump, White House publication on Wednesday of a memo summarising his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy fuelled a domestic political crisis.

 

For Zelenskiy, it was a far-reaching diplomatic disaster.

 

Zelenskiy's comments to the Republican Trump, disclosed in the summary, will likely irk U.S. Democrats, risking the bipartisan U.S. support Kiev requires while irritating France and Germany whom Zelenskiy criticised in the same exchange.

 

Locked in a geopolitical standoff with neighbouring Russia after Moscow annexed the Crimea region and backed pro-Russian separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine in 2014, Ukraine needs all the international friends it can get.

 

It relies heavily on Washington for aid and diplomatic help, and European countries like France and Germany are trying to help bring about talks aimed at breathing life into a stalled peace process over eastern Ukraine.

 

"Unfortunately the main consequence of this is that Ukraine could become toxic," said Alyona Getmanchuk, director of the New Europe Centre in Ukraine.

 

"Maybe not as toxic as Russia became during the Mueller investigation, but toxic," she said, referring to a two-year U.S. investigation into contacts between Trump's successful 2016 election campaign and Russia.

 

The timing of the latest scandal is awkward for Zelenskiy, who is keen to reinvigorate parts of a stalled peace deal over eastern Ukraine, something for which he needs European and U.S. diplomatic muscle.

 

The White House memo summarising the call shows Zelenskiy promised to reopen an investigation into a company that employed former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's son and voiced frustration about what he said was a lack of support from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron when it came to enforcing sanctions on Russia.

 

It also showed Zelenskiy had agreed with Trump that the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine - Marie Yovanovitch - was "a bad ambassador."

 

'EAGER TO INGRATIATE'

"Zelenskiy does not come out looking good from this - giving the ex-U.S. ambassador a kicking, Merkel and the Europeans a kicking, and then agreeing to do Trump's dirty work on Biden," said Timothy Ash, a senior emerging markets strategist at Bluebay Asset Management.

 

"(He) seems very eager to ingratiate himself with Trump."

 

International investors have been hoping that Zelenskiy will make good on pledges to refashion Ukraine into a fully fledged transparent graft-free democracy. Ash's comments reflect growing scepticism on that score in some quarters.

 

The French foreign ministry declined to comment and the Elysee was not immediately available for comment. But French officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Macron had gone out of his way to meet Zelenskiy before he was elected, something that was uncommon in normal protocol.

 

There was no immediate comment from German officials.

 

Zelenskiy, who held talks with Trump in New York on Wednesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, had resisted calls for Ukraine to release details of the July 25 call with Trump during which the U.S. president asked him to investigate the son of Biden, the front-runner in the Democratic Party race for the November 2020 election.

 

Zelenskiy told reporters on Wednesday he had thought that only Trump's side of the call would be published and that he believed that details of such calls "between presidents of independent countries" should sometimes not be published.

 

He said he did not know the details of the investigation into Biden's son, saying it was one of many cases he discussed with world leaders if asked and that he wanted his new general prosecutor to investigate all cases without interference.

 

Zelenskiy also tried to smooth over things with Merkel and Macron, saying he was grateful for their help and that he had made his comments about them during "a difficult period."

 

"I don't want to say anything bad about anyone," Zelenskiy said after meeting Trump. "We thank everyone who helps us."

 

DAMAGE DONE?

But some at home said the damage had already been done.

"Of course the background to relations with European leaders and especially Merkel will worsen," said Volodymyr Fesenko of the Penta think tank.

 

"There's no direct criticism (in the call summary) but the context and tonality is such that Zelenskiy sounds like he's complaining about Merkel to Trump."

 

Some Ukrainians fear that the damage the Trump scandal could inflict on U.S.-Ukraine ties could also play into Russia's hands as it might imperil future U.S. military aid among other things.

 

"For Ukraine there's a huge danger that it could find itself alone with its enemy the Russian Federation ... as the United States is a strategic partner in the military sphere and when it comes to pushing ahead with reforms," said Maria Ionova, a lawmaker from former president Petro Poroshenko's faction.

 

"The Russian Federation will definitely use this chance."

 

The Kremlin has said the matter is one for the United States and Ukraine and that it is merely observing.

 

"(The) facts are that Trump in effect asks Zelenskiy to dig dirt up on Biden, and Zelenskiy seemingly agreed," Ash said.

 

"After everything Biden did for the reform story in Ukraine, Zelenskiy stabs him in the back - along with the former U.S. ambassador, Merkel, et al.

 

"The winner - Putin!"

 

(Additional reporting by Sergiy Karazy and Matthias Williams in Kiev and John Irish in Paris; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Howard Goller)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-09-26

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

[mtls2005]

I honestly didn't see this Ukraine shakedown causing the president any issues; I just assumed the transcript would be protected by executive privilege, and the AG would bury the Whistleblower complaint.

 

After reading the transcript, which sounds like it came from an FBI van outside Umberto's Clam House with mobsters discussing how to shakedown the local dry-cleaners, there seems to be spot of bother....

 

Rudy meet bus, whomp, whomp

AG has got some 'splainin to do - he'll have to recuse and/or resign

the president should stop talking and tweeting - he is only, perhaps owing to mental impairment, making his case worse.

and even the vp appears to complicit

 

Can we get an acting President?

 

 

 

 

   

[LomSak27]

50 minutes ago, beechguy said:

Does anybody really believe Biden is going to the 2020 candidate? I don't think it's going to happen, they will screw him over like they did Bernie, and if he does make it, it won't be long before the focus on health issues increases.

 

That is NOT the issue is it?! 

 

Trump does so many quasi legal/illegal things that it was always a matter of time with him. If Nancy Pelosi says go ... that means they have something substantial.

 

Need to stock up on the Microwave popcorn. This excrement show should last months. 

[PremiumLane]

1 hour ago, TopDeadSenter said:

My understanding of this latest smear and muck-fling against Trump might be limited, but from what I can gather. Biden's son is gifted a plummy job working for a Ukrainian company paying an insanely high salary. The company he works for gets investigated for dodgy activities. Biden sr as US vice President threatens witholding a 1 Billion dollar loan guarantee to the Ukraine until the prosecutor in the case is removed. And now we are somehow bashing Trump for this!?! 

 

 This is just another spectacular own goal, unless I am really missing something?

Trump supporters sound like cultist. Even with evidence of his wrongdoing right in front of you, you deny it.

[nobodysfriend]

Trump definitely tried to make sure that he will be re-elected , but the way he handled this might just have the opposite effect ...

Good luck with the impeachment process to the democrats , I hope it will be enough ...

[canuckamuck]

It is certainly going to change the way foreign leaders talk to American politicians. Knowing full well that the private conversation could easily become front page news. Can politics even be possible without a few private conversations? It's hard to run a business without being able to have some private information. I am sure it is the same for the political world.

[Jingthing]

1 minute ago, PremiumLane said:

Trump supporters sound like cultist. Even with evidence of his wrongdoing right in front of you, you deny it.

That's exactly what they are. They're true believers. "trump" himself sensed that and voiced that long ago when he said he could go out on the street and randomly murder someone and he wouldn't lose any support. This is SICK. It's a disease that has infected the politics of the USA. It's a complete waste of time to try to have a rational debate with a hard core "trump" fan. What percentage are so infected? I think the consensus is about 35 percent. Some of the people that voted for him and may again aren't in the hard core category. 35 percent of your population being that irrationally deluded doesn't bode well for the future of a country. 

[Skallywag]

6 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

 35 percent of your population being that irrationally deluded doesn't bode well for the future of a country. 

The main problem is in the Senate,  Republicans have a 53% majority who are all "followers" of POTUS. 

So impeachment is a waste of time, the Senate will never ratify impeachment against their "leader"

[mamypoko]

All I wanted was an Obama Nobel and I'll I got was a Clinton impeachment 

[legend49]

1 hour ago, TopDeadSenter said:

My understanding of this latest smear and muck-fling against Trump might be limited, but from what I can gather. Biden's son is gifted a plummy job working for a Ukrainian company paying an insanely high salary. The company he works for gets investigated for dodgy activities. Biden sr as US vice President threatens witholding a 1 Billion dollar loan guarantee to the Ukraine until the prosecutor in the case is removed. And now we are somehow bashing Trump for this!?! 

 

 This is just another spectacular own goal, unless I am really missing something?

The Titanic or Trump? They both sink.

[Sujo]

2 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

My understanding of this latest smear and muck-fling against Trump might be limited, but from what I can gather. Biden's son is gifted a plummy job working for a Ukrainian company paying an insanely high salary. The company he works for gets investigated for dodgy activities. Biden sr as US vice President threatens witholding a 1 Billion dollar loan guarantee to the Ukraine until the prosecutor in the case is removed. And now we are somehow bashing Trump for this!?! 

 

 This is just another spectacular own goal, unless I am really missing something?

Your understanding is wrong, as usual.

 

there was no investigation at the time biden told them to get rid of the prosecutor.

 

btw, this is about what trump did, not what biden did.

[mtls2005]

23 minutes ago, PremiumLane said:

Trump supporters sound like cultist. Even with evidence of his wrongdoing right in front of you, you deny it.

 

The "Silent Majority" supported Nixon right up until ~ 2 weeks before he resigned. Nixon, at that time, enjoyed significantly higher poll numbers than the current president.

 

The president needs to stop doing his Col. Jessup/Capt. Queeg impressions ASAP. He keeps implicating himself with each statement and tweet; no clue if this is "strategic" (not likely), or just due to his declining mental capabilities. He needs a good lawyer.

 

His "speech" at the UNGA was striking; he appeared close to a stroke/aneurysm, or someone is adjusting his meds.

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

Let's not forget: Trump is only a problem because 62 million Americans voted for him. And it seems many still support him.

And there are obviously all those spineless Republicans.

In civilized countries people don't vote for serial liars.

 

[TopDeadSenter]

14 minutes ago, Sujo said:

there was no investigation at the time biden told them to get rid of the prosecutor.

I'm no lawyer, but if as you say there was "no investigation", then pray tell why there was a prosecutor at all(for Biden to use his power and influence to have removed!)? 

[IAMHERE]

If Biden used his previous public office to get his son the plump high paid do nothing job, shouldn't the American public be allowed to know this? Trump wants to use a chip to get that info is okay with me. Should get something for that money other than derision from the Ukrainians you meet at the airport, condo, hotels, etc... 

Trump is the bad guy because Biden used his position to get his son a job, heck if Biden did the same to get his son into a good University he'd be doing two weeks in jail.

Oh, and if Trump wanted to he could of the info from Putin is my guess.

[CaptRon2]

7 minutes ago, legend49 said:

The Titanic or Trump? They both sink.

Haha,  looks to me like the only news here is the Democrats just threw Biden under the bus and reassured Presidents Trumps re-election. In my opinion  Biden will be lucky to get out of this without jail time. Maybe with a little luck he can share a cell with his drug addict son.

Do you really think Warren has a chance against President Trump? Many thanks to Nancy for caving to AOC and once against launching another witch hunt, another week, another nothing burger from the left. Bye Bye Joe!

[mlmcleod]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

The administration added a note of caution regarding the summary, saying it "is not a verbatim transcript of a conversation" and merely records the "notes and recollections" of White House staff assigned to memorialise the talk. The summary was developed with assistance from voice recognition software along with note takers and experts listening, a senior White House official said.

This is deja vu.  I remember President Nixon standing on stage presenting his redacted transcripts to the country.  I guess Republicans never do learn!

[Sujo]

21 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

I'm no lawyer, but if as you say there was "no investigation", then pray tell why there was a prosecutor at all(for Biden to use his power and influence to have removed!)? 

All countries have a prosecutor. The US has the AG which is really the same thing.

 

so its like him asking for the removal of the AG because of corruption.

 

The US govt, UN EU all wanted him out. The Ukraine govt even asked for help to get him out and eventually the Ukraine govt voted him out.

[Silurian]

25 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

I'm no lawyer, but if as you say there was "no investigation", then pray tell why there was a prosecutor at all(for Biden to use his power and influence to have removed!)? 

 

Not only the US but the EU and the IMF were trying to get rid of Shokin. The reason they wanted Shokin gone is that he was corrupt and appeared to be hindering corruption investigations.

 

Fact check: What Trump has been getting wrong on Biden and Ukraine

 

Quote

Shokin was widely faulted for declining to bring prosecutions of elites' corruption, and he was even accused of hindering corruption investigations. His deputy, Vitaliy Kasko, resigned in February 2016, alleging that Shokin's office was itself corrupt.

 

 

[BobBKK]

What's the problem?  Bidens son got $3m for his Ukraine-unrelated company and Daddy got the prosecutor fired. Why wouldn't Trump ask the question?

[BobBKK]

29 minutes ago, CaptRon2 said:

Haha,  looks to me like the only news here is the Democrats just threw Biden under the bus and reassured Presidents Trumps re-election. In my opinion  Biden will be lucky to get out of this without jail time. Maybe with a little luck he can share a cell with his drug addict son.

Do you really think Warren has a chance against President Trump? Many thanks to Nancy for caving to AOC and once against launching another witch hunt, another week, another nothing burger from the left. Bye Bye Joe!

Very stupidly Dems walk straight into the trap.

[spidermike007]

There is no doubt that Trump feels he is above the law. This is not a witch hunt. This is an integrity hunt. Does the man possess any? I do not think so. It is clear he attempted to interfere with an election, once again. He is incapable of learning, and clearly feel that he is "untouchable". We shall see. I believe he is going down and will suffer a massive drubbing in the next election. 

[mtls2005]

As released by the DoJ...

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uyWKAGgHIqDEORgjOyo0uq7JOXzhxOQf/preview

 

No clue why they released this transcript? Maybe they knew it would leak anyway, but still this looks bad for the president, ag barr and rudy g.

 

 

 

 

Excerpts

 

The· President: I would like you to do us a favor though
because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a
lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with
this whole si????uation with Ukraine, they say Crowdstrike. .. I guess
you have one of your weal thy people... The server, they say
Ukraine has.it???? There- are a lot. of things that went on, the·
:whole situation .. I think you 1 re surrounding yourse·lf with some
of the same people. I .would like to have the Attorney General
call you or your people and I would like you t???? ·get to the
bottom of it????. As you sa???? yest????rday, that whole nonsetise ended
with a very poor performance by a man named Robert Mue????ler, an
incompetent performance -, _but they. say a lot of it started with
Ukraine. Whatever you can do, ·it's very important that· you. do it
if that's possible.

 

 

The Pre·sident: Good because I· heard you had a prosecutor
who· was very·good and he was shut down and that's really unfair.
·A lot of people are talking about that, the way they shut your
????ery good prosecutor down and you had some ????ery bad people
involved. Mr. Giuliani is a highly respected man. He was the_
mayor bf New York Ci:ty, a great mayor, and I would like him to

call you. I will ask him to call yoti along with the Attorney·_
· General.· :Rudy very much knows what's happening and he is a very
capable guy. If you could _speak to him that would be great. The
former ambassador from the United $tates,· the woman., was bad
news ????nd th???? people she was dealing with in .the Ukraine .were bad
news so I jtist wan???? to_let you know that???? The ot????er thing,
There's a lot 6f. talk about Biden's son,. that Eiden stopped the
prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so
whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great.
Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if
you ·can look into it ... It sounds horrible to me.

 

The President: Well, ·she' s going tO go through some
things. I will. have Mr. Giuliani.give you a call and I _ am. also
going to have.Attorney General Barr call and we will get to· the
bottom of it. I'm sure you will figure it o????t. I heard the
prosecutor was treated very badly and he was a very fa????r
prosecutor so good luck with everything. Your. economy is going-·
to get better and bett.er I pre.diet. You have a lot· of a,ssets.
It's a great country. I have many Ukrainian friends, their
incredible ·people.

 

The President: Good. Well., thank you very much and I
appreciate that. I will tell Rudy and Attorney General Barr to.·
call. Thank you. Whenever you would like -to come to the White
House,. feel ·fr????e to call. ·Give us a date and we'll work that.
out. I ·1ook forward to seeing you.

 

 

 

 

President Z????lenskyy: I would like to tell you that I also
have.quite a few·Ukrain1an friends that live iri the United·
States. ·Actually last time I traveled to the Unit'ed States, I
stayed in New York n????ar Central Park and I stayed at the Trump_

Tower. I will t · alk to thetn and I hope to see them· again in the
future.