Thread by @EpochTimes

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New evidence suggests #Ukraine played a key role in creating Trump-#RussianCollusion narrative at the behest of @BarackObama officials
theepochtimes.com/joe-biden-obam…

As #Ukraine underwent dramatic changes in 2014, then-VP @JoeBiden played a critical role in the @BarackObama admin’s involvement in the revolution that ousted #Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych.

Following the revolution, Biden would use his influence to help force the…

… creation of the troubled National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU). Notably, during the 2016 elections information leaked from NABU on Trump’s campaign manager #PaulManafort that helped to create the false #RussianCollusion narrative.

.@JoeBiden would also use the threat of withholding a billion dollars in US loan guarantees to pressure #Ukrainian President #Poroshenko to fire the prosecutor general.

At the time the prosecutor had been investigating #Burisma, a Ukrainian #NaturalGas giant that…

… @JoeBiden’s son, Hunter, was a board member on.

President Trump’s personal lawyer, @RudyGiuliani, recently said “keep your eye on Ukraine.”

On or shortly before Feb. 4, 2014, Victoria Nuland, the assistant secretary for #European and #Eurasian affairs in the #Obama @StateDept, had a conversation with US Ambassador to #Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, which was intercepted and leaked.

In the call, Nuland and Pyatt appear…

… to be discussing the ouster of #Ukrainian President Yanukovych and the installation of opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk as #PrimeMinister.

Towards the end of the conversation, then-VP @JoeBiden was discussed as being willing to help cement the changeover in #Ukraine:

Pyatt: “We want to try to get somebody with an international personality to come out here and help to midwife this thing…”

Nuland: “So on that piece Geoff, when I wrote the note [Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan]…So Biden’s willing.” (full quotes in article)

Events then moved swiftly.

Yanukovych was removed as President of #Ukraine and fled to #Russia. On Feb. 27 2014, Yatsenyuk was installed as #PrimeMinister of Ukraine. Klitschko was left out. Notably, Yatsenyuk would later resign in April 2016 amidst #Corruption accusations.

Biden's involvement in Ukraine:
In April, @JoeBiden would get personally involved, as would his son, Hunter.

On April 18, 2014, Hunter #Biden was appointed to the Board of Directors for #Burisma–one of the largest #NaturalGas companies in #Ukraine.

4 days later, VP Biden…

… traveled to #Ukraine, offering political support and $50 million in aid for Yatsenyuk’s shaky new government.

Petro #Poroshenko, a billionaire politician, was elected as president of Ukraine on May 25, 2014.

.@JoeBiden became close to both men and helped #Ukraine to obtain a 4-year $17.5 billion IMF package in March 2015.

In October 2016, @ForeignPolicy wrote a lengthy article, 'What Will Ukraine Do Without Uncle Joe,' which described @JoeBiden’s role in the removal of #Ukraine’s general prosecutor, Victor Shokin.

Shokin, the choice of Ukrainian president #Poroshenko, was portrayed as fumbling…

… a major #Corruption case and “hindering an investigation into two high-ranking state prosecutors arrested on corruption charges.”

The US pushed for Shokin’s removal and @JoeBiden led the effort by personally threatening to withhold $1 billion in loan guarantees. In an…

…interview with @TheAtlantic, @JoeBiden recalled telling #Poroshenko, “Petro, you’re not getting your billion dollars. It’s OK, you can keep the [prosecutor] general. Just understand—we’re not paying if you do.” Shokin was removed by Poroshenko shortly thereafter, in early 2016.

But according to reporting by @thehill, Shokin had been investigating #Burisma, the company that @JoeBiden’s son Hunter was a board member of, at the time of his firing.

In Jan 2016, top #Ukrainian #Corruption prosecutors and officials from @BarackObama’s #NationalSecurity Council (@WHNSC), @FBI, @StateDept and @TheJusticeDept, would meet in #Washington.

The meeting, which was reportedly billed as “training,” apparently also touched on two…

… other matters—the revival of a closed investigation into payments to US figures from #Ukraine’s #Russia-backed Party of Regions and the closure of an ongoing #Ukrainian investigation into #Burisma Holdings.

A Jan. 22 NABU press release confirmed that NABU Director Artem Sytnyk was in #WashingtonDC from Jan. 19-21 for a working visit.

At the same time as the NABU meeting with @BarackObama officials, VP @JoeBiden also met with senior #Ukrainian officials. On Jan. 21, 2016, #Biden…

… met with President #Poroshenko. According to the @WhiteHouse, they agreed “to continue to move forward on Ukraine’s anti-corruption agenda.”

6 days earlier, Biden met with the #Ukrainian #PrimeMinister, promising to commit $220 million in new assistance to #Ukraine.

Notably, several months later, Sytnyk and Ukrainian Member of Parliament Leshchenko would publicly disclose the contents of the #Ukrainian “black ledger” to the media, which implicated Trump’s campaign manager #PaulManafort. The revelation would force #Manafort from the campaign.

As we previously reported, on May 30, 2016, #FusionGPS contractor #NellieOhr sent an email to her husband, high ranking DOJ official #BruceOhr and 3 other #DOJ officials, alerting them of the discovery of…
theepochtimes.com/ties-to-ukrain…

… the “Reported Trove of Documents on Ukrainian Party of Regions’ ‘Black Cashbox.’” It was this discovery that led to #PaulManafort’s resignation from the Trump campaign in August 2016.

Following the successful overthrow of #Ukrainian President Yanukovych, @JoeBiden had a direct hand in the formation of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau or NABU as he personally “pushed for the creation of an independent anti-corruption bureau to combat graft.”

#NABU was formally established Oct 2014 in response to pressure from not only the @StateDept and @JoeBiden, but also the International Monetary Fund and #European Commission.

Despite the international push, the anti-corruption unit took over a year to become a functioning unit.

During this time, NABU officials began establishing a relationship with the @FBI.

In early 2016, NABU director Artem Sytnyk announced his bureau was very close to signing a Memorandum of cooperation with the #FBI and the FBI had a permanent representative onsite at NABU offices.

#Sytnyk, along with #Ukrainian parliamentarian Serhiy #Leshchenko became the subject of an investigation in #Ukraine and in December 2018, a Kyiv court ruled that both men “acted illegally when they revealed that Manafort’s surname and signature were found in the so-called…

… ‘black ledger’ of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych’s Party of Regions.”

The court noted the material was part of a pre-trial investigation and its release “led to interference in the electoral processes of the [US] in 2016 and harmed the interests of Ukraine as a state.”

#Leshchenko publicly adopted a strong anti-Trump stance, saying “a Trump presidency would change the pro-Ukrainian agenda in American foreign policy” and that it was “important to show not only the corruption aspect, but that he is [a] pro-Russian candidate who can break…

… the geopolitical balance in the world.” #Leschenko noted that the majority of Ukrainian politicians were “on Hillary Clinton’s side.”

Victor #Pinchuk’s Ties to #Leshchenko, #ClintonFoundation:
On April 11, 2019, #GregCraig, @BarackObama’s former White House counsel and a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, was indicted for lying about and concealing his work in #Ukraine.

#GregCraig, who reportedly worked closely with #Manafort, was paid over $4 million to produce an “independent” report justifying #Ukraine’s trial and conviction of the former #PrimeMinister, Tymoshenko.

Notably, #Craig’s name was not included in the “Black Ledger” leak.

In a recent YouTube video, #GregCraig publicly stated that “it was Doug Schoen who brought this project to me, and he told me he was acting on behalf of Victor Pinchuk, who was a pro-western, Ukrainian businessman who helped to fund the project.”

Pinchuk has been accused of profiting immensely from the purchase of state-owned assets at severely below-market prices through political favoritism.

#Pinchuk put out a statement on Jan. 21, denying any financial involvement:

FARA documents filed by lobbyist Doug Schoen showed he was paid $40,000 a month by Victor #Pinchuk–in part to arrange these meetings.

Schoen attempted to arrange another 72 meetings with congressmen and media. It is unknown how many of these meetings, if any, took place.

Schoen also helped #Pinchuk establish ties with the #ClintonFoundation.

@WSJ reported how Schoen connected Pinchuk with senior Clinton @StateDept staffers in order to pressure former #Ukrainian President Yanukovych to release Yulia Tymoshenko from jail.

The relationship continued:

“Clinton and her husband Bill, the 42nd U.S. president, have been paid speakers at the annual YES and other Pinchuk events. They describe themselves as friends of Pinchuk, who is known internationally as a businessman and philanthropist.”
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