PeterS

Trump's biggest trouble, and why impeachment is guaranteed, is that there exists Americans who love this country more than they love Donald J Trump. Ambassador William Taylor is one of them.

If Republican Senator's are reading the Fox News article below than Trump's days in Congress are going to be short and very few...

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bill-taylor-testifies-trump-used-ukraine-aid-white-house-meeting-as-leverage-to-get-investigations

Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor testified unequivocally Tuesday that President Trump pushed Ukraine to investigate both e******n i**********e and a company linked to former Vice President Joe Biden's son -- and was willing to hold up military aid and a White House meeting to get a public announcement from the country that the probes were underway.

In his opening remarks to House lawmakers obtained by Fox News, Taylor voiced his apparent frustration that the Trump administration was undercutting his personal policy preference for providing robust aid to Ukraine.

Among Taylor's colorful claims were that then-national security adviser John Bolton furiously warned that a Trump phone call with Ukraine's leader would be a "disaster," and that Taylor nearly didn't take the job leading Ukraine's embassy out of concerns the U.S. wouldn't be sufficiently helpful to Ukraine.

Republicans, however, have countered that military aid to Ukraine was released in September, and that there has been no evidence Ukrainians were aware that the aid was being withheld as part of an implicit quid pro quo. Ukrainian officials have denied that there was any undue pressure from the White House.

But Taylor went on to describe the existence of an "irregular" communications channel with Ukraine led by Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, and a "weird combination of encouraging, confusing, and ultimately alarming circumstances" once he arrived in Kiev. The statement confirmed the previous reporting of Taylor's remarks by Fox News.

Sources: Amb. William Taylor tells congressional investigators of 'two channels' for policymaking on

"During this same phone call I had with [National Security Council aide Tim] Morrison, he went on to describe a conversation [United States E.U.] Ambassador [Gordon] Sondland had with Mr. Yermak at Warsaw," Taylor testified, referring to a July 28 conversation. "Ambassador Sondland told [top Ukraine aide Andriy] Yermak that security assistance money would not come until President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy committed to pursue the Burisma investigation."

Burisma Holdings is the Ukrainian natural gas company where Biden’s son H****r was employed in a lucrative role despite no relevant expertise.

Taylor continued: "I was alarmed by what Mr. Morrison told me about the Sondland-Yermak conversation. This was the first time I had heard that the security assistance not just the White House meeting — was conditioned on the investigations."

That same day, Taylor said, he sent Sondland a text message asking if security assistance and a White House meeting "are conditioned on investigations," prompting Sondland to request Taylor call him. Although those texts have previously been released, the contents of Taylor's call have been unclear.

"During that phone call, Ambassador Sondland told me that President Trump had told him that he wants President Zelenskyy to state publicly that Ukrain will investigate Burisma and alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 U.S. e******n," Taylor testified.

"Once I arrived in Kiev, I discovered a weird combination of encouraging, confusing, and ultimately alarming circumstances."

— Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor
“By mid-July it was becoming clear to me that the meeting President Zelenskyy wanted was conditioned on the investigations of Burisma and alleged Ukrainian interference in the 2016 U.S. e******ns,” Taylor testified.

Also in his opening statement, Taylor described his commitment to providing support to Ukraine as so strong that he nearly threatened not to accept Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's offer for him to lead the U.S. Embassy in Kiev. Taylor, a retired diplomat, had been chosen to run the embassy after the administration abruptly ousted Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch.

Taylor had served as U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine from 2006 to 2009, but because he was not yet reconfirmed by the Senate, his official title was to be Chargé d 'Affaires ad interim. A former Army officer, Taylor had been serving as executive vice president at the U.S. Institute of Peace — which has described itself as a nonpartisan think tank founded by Congress — when he was appointed to run the embassy.

"I could be effective only if the U.S. policy of strong support for Ukraine, strong diplomatic support along with robust security, economic, and technical assistance — were to continue and if I had the backing of the secretary of state to implement that policy," Taylor said.

"During my meeting with Secretary Pompeo on May 28, I made clear to him and the others present that if U.S. policy toward Ukraine changed, he would not want me posted there and I could not stay," Taylor continued. "He assured me that the policy of strong support for Ukraine would continue and that he would support me in defending that policy."

The White House, meanwhile, fired back Tuesday over Taylor's testimony: "President Trump has done nothing wrong — this is a coordinated smear campaign from far-left lawmakers and radical unelected bureaucrats waging war on the Constitution. There was no quid pro quo," White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said.

Only Taylor's opening statement has been released at this point. However, lawmakers emerging after hours of the private deposition said Taylor relayed a "disturbing" account, including establishing a "direct line" to the quid pro quo at the center of Democrats' impeachment inquiry.

Lawmakers said Taylor recalled events that filled in gaps from the testimony of other witnesses, particularly Sondland, who testified last week and whose statements now are being called into question by Taylor's account. They said Taylor kept records of conversations and documents.

President Trump draws fire for calling impeachment inquiry 'a lynching'Video
"The testimony is very disturbing," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., used the same word. Asked why, he said, "Because it's becoming more distinct."

Taylor's appearance was among the most-watched because of a text message, released by House investigators earlier in the probe, in which he called Trump's attempt to hold back military aid to Ukraine "crazy."

The account called into question the testimony from Sondland, a wealthy businessman who donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration, who told Congress last week he did not fully remember some details of the events. Sondland may be asked to return to Congress after he testified that, among other things, he was initially unaware that the gas company was tied to the Bidens.

Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., said Taylor, a career civil servant, had a better recall of details than Sondland.

Fox News has learned that House investigators have started to winnow the list of witnesses coming in for closed-door interviews or depositions and that the parade of witnesses expected for interviews could start to slow next week or the week after.

That’s because the "universe" of witnesses knowledgable about a possible quid pro quo was limited. Democrats also wanted to narrow their probe to Ukraine and not let it stray too far afield, Fox News learned.

Acting Assistant Secretary of European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker is scheduled for a closed-door interview Saturday morning. That has been delayed due to funeral services for the late Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md. Fox News is told the odds of Reeker showing up are "50-50."

There also have been questions as to whether there will be more than a smattering of members coming to the Saturday meeting because of other commitments. Fox News is told members believed staff should be able to handle Reeker’s deposition because he's not a primary witness.

"There's a hierarchy," one source close to the interviews said. "Reeker's like the sprinkles on the cake."

When asked about the importance of Reeker, another source told Fox News, "There’s a reason [he's] scheduled for Saturday."

Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall

Glad that I can't watch his testimony for myself... I might have drawn different conclusions

Nope... This way is much better... Release a few snippets of summaries and assure folk that it is totally non-partisan...

Enjoyed the part where they restated that Ukraine was unaware of the delay and never felt any pressure... After this felka's testimony (or at least the snippets we've heard) I'm sure the Ukraine is feeling pretty red in the face...

woodguru

What "part" said they weren't aware, the part where Trump was asking them to say? The whole thing has to be listened to, the idea, or belief that a realistic opinion could be formed by the snippets one side wants to high grade isn't very bright. It is so clear that Trump and Giuliani and Sondland were running an agendo off the record and not through official channels because what they were doing was not okay.

Take it from the house and senate authorizing $400 million in urgently military aid, aid that the Ukraine was supposed to get as soon as possible (ASAP in military parlance), and the president of the Ukraine didn't have to do a single thing to get that, and Trump was illegally withholding it for reasons that don't make a bit of difference because they were not in the best interest of the country, at least the patriots of this country that put country first.

Trump is toast.

woodguru

Snippets, works for lazy ignorant low information v**ers...oops wait, that's right wingers

Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall

I think my point about snippets went right over your head

Radiance3

=================
Bull... !Taylor is disgruntled, leaned to the left. The most important testimony is the president of Ukraine who've stated that there was NO pressure and NO QUID-PRO-QUO concerning the president's conversation with him.
Why manufacture other people who've had no direct conversation with the president. The only credible source was Lezensky, president of Ukraine. That finalized the subject matter. No quid-pro-quo.

And if there was a question about Biden. That related to the 2016 corruption activities during the Obama administration where there were several to be investigated. It is the duty of the president to clean up the Swamp left over by Barrack Obama in 2016 There are tons of filth that clouded all over the segments worldwide with various countries.

Smedley_buzkill

There is a little matter of a treaty signed in 1998 by Bill Clinton.
https://www.congress.gov/treaty-document/106th-congress/16/document-text
You will probably need someone to explain the big words for you.

Smedley_buzkill

You used too many big words. From Brianna Lyman...



Nancy Pelosi, acting under pressure from her colleagues, announced a formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump last week.

You could hear cheers of praise erupt for Pelosi across the country, and suddenly the t***h was silent. The whistle-blower complaint, which alleged that President Trump threatened to withhold a military aid package to Ukraine unless the Ukrainian president carried out an investigation into Joe Biden’s son, H****r B***n, swept the nation in what some called “the new Watergate.”

Now Democrats are inquiring into whether the president can be impeached for apparently attempting to coerce Ukraine to investigate a political foe, a move they call “unconstitutional.”

Clearly people are jumping to conclusions. The White House released the transcript in question. While the mainstream media said Trump offered quid pro quo military aid in exchange for an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, the transcript shows otherwise. President Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky:

“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 wh**ever 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.”

Trump made a request — not a bribe and certainly not a demand.

In 2014, Biden spearheaded American efforts to support the Ukrainian government amid Russian aggression and corruption charges. So, when H****r B***n joined Ukrainian gas company Burisma, bringing in nearly $50 thousand a month, things became a bit suspicious. The situation turned heads when Biden pressured the Ukrainian government to fire top prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who was leading an investigation into Burisma’s owner. Shokin was fired almost immediately.

In a recent press conference, President Trump brought up a letter sent to Ukraine’s prosecutor general by three Democrats in 2018, in which they urged the Ukrainian government to comply with the U.S. during the Mueller investigation.

CNN reported on the story. In the article, CNN breaks down the President’s claims. First, they wrote “A request, not a threat,” followed by a sub-headline reading “The 2018 letter from Sens. Patrick Leahy, Dick Durbin and Bob Menendez did not include any threat at all, about U.S. assistance to Ukraine or anything else; it did not even mention U.S. assistance.”

Yet, when CNN reported on Trump’s conversation with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, Trump’s request turned into a threat to withhold military aid despite no explicit threat in the transcript (again, nowhere to be found in the transcript).

CNN ran with this storyline, which was echoed by Democrats across the nation, that suddenly the President’s mere request to investigate a situation in which a former Vice President quite clearly abused his political privileges to get someone fired (who also just happened to be investigation his son) was an impeachable defense because of the suggestion that Trump withheld military aid unless Ukraine complied.

The whole situation is a mess. Democrats were vying to bring impeachment charges. When the whistle-blower complaint sounded, Democrats jumped on it, claiming this was clear evidence Trump violated the Constitution by threatening to withhold aid in exchange for a foreign government to spy on a political foe. When the transcript was released their claim flew out the door as there is no evidence Trump threatened to withhold aid.

According to the Constitution, a president can be impeached for cases of “treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”

So, can Trump still be impeached on the grounds of bribery or treason?

No, Trump asking the Ukrainian president to investigate Biden’s son was not bribery or treason, according to the recorded conversation.

In what seems to be most damaging to the Democrats’ desperate attempt to paint this scenario as a clearly impeachable offense, Trump did not threaten to withhold foreign aid to Ukraine if they did not investigate Biden, so he did not engage in bribery according to Constitutional definitions.

If you want to question the ethics surrounding the President’s request, by all means, knock yourself out. But to turn a question of ethics – if even that – into a definitive impeachable offense is absurd.
Let us not forget the 1999 treaty signed by none other than Billy Boy Clinton.

Radiance3

==============
A snippet. The investigation of Biden has something to do with the 2016 corruptions left by the Obama administration. Ukraine and the US had so many quid-pro-quo activities. Ukraine was also corrupt, and the US baited billions of US taxpayers money. In return, million of campaign donations to democrat senators, and the hiring of sons/families of the democrats paid large sums of money via a Burizma corrupt holding company. How H****r B***n was kept was thru the bribes of Joe the father VP with $1.5 billion of taxpayers money.

These were some of the Swamps left by Obama. And as a Commander-in-Chief, it is the duty of president Trump to cleaning them up the mess that rotted the Federal Government.

crazylibertarian Loc: Florida by way of New York & Rhode Island

All other sources deny this but, of course, PeterS will only believe this one.

Tug484

Willing to hold aid, but did not threaten them with it.
You lefties sure make a mountain out of a mole hill.

Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall

Didn't know about the letter from the Democrats

waltmoreno

PeterS and woodie are today the tag team of Tweedle dum and Tweedle dee in breathlessly announcing that today's development will bring down Trump! Finally, they tell us!
Both suffer from severe cases of TDS.
I, for one, refuse to go into the weeds where they love to wallow.
The Dims, ably represented by these two shady characters know full well that they have no chance of beating Trump where it counts - at the b****t box. So their playbook calls for bringing him down in the only other way they can conceive - impeachment. Death by a thousand cuts. We're getting pretty close to a thousand now, you guys, and 2020 isn't that far away.
Hey PeterS and woodie. Pull yer heads outta yer a**es, come over to the light, enjoy life and get a life. Hating and resisting Trump hasn't succeeded yet. You've been outmatched and outfoxed -again. I h**e to see you guys miserable until the end of 2024. Lighten up. I hear another Trump is gonna run in 2024 anyway.

4430 Loc: Little Egypt ** Southern Illinory

Walt you certainly nailed it !

The Demo's have no feet left as they keep shooting themselves in the foot !

They lost an e******n they r****d Lost an investigation they r****d they accuse Trump without any proof of things they have been doing all along !

Of course Pete and Woody see nothing wrong with the Democrats ploy !

Destroying e-mails and cellphones with hammers cleaning computer with cyber bleach !

VP's son got millions for job he had no experience

Hey no problem they are just Democrats pure and white as the driven snow they claim !

jSmitty45 Loc: Fl born, lived in Texas 30 yrs, now Louisiana

Yep, 👍👍👍👍