As Trump enablers try to muddy the waters on Ukraine, let's reflect on the Trump admin's sustained lawlessness on just this issue.
On February 14, 2019, Congress overwhelmingly (House 300-128, Senate 83-16) passed Public Law 116-6. Trump signed it the next day.
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On February 14, 2019, Congress overwhelmingly (House 300-128, Senate 83-16) passed Public Law 116-6. Trump signed it the next day.
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P.L. 116-6 is the Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2019. It specifically provides not less than $445M to Ukraine. The conference report outlines how the funding is allocated.
Act: congress.gov/bill/116th-con…
Conference report: congress.gov/congressional-…
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Act: congress.gov/bill/116th-con…
Conference report: congress.gov/congressional-…
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Ukraine aid was thus the law as of February 15, 2019. More than two-thirds of the House and Senate voted for it. Trump signed it himself.
But Trump ignored the law. As of August 28—more than six months later—the money still hadn't been released.
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But Trump ignored the law. As of August 28—more than six months later—the money still hadn't been released.
/3 politico.com/story/2019/08/…
Thus, Trump was breaking the law—a law overwhelmingly passed by Congress, a law which Trump himself signed—before we even get to the phone calls or the whistleblower complaint.
So what's going on while Trump is withholding the assistance to Ukraine? Here's a timeline.
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So what's going on while Trump is withholding the assistance to Ukraine? Here's a timeline.
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Trump was thus illegally withholding aid to Ukraine and urging their President to speak with Giuliani, who has no role in gov't (to illegally avoid oversight and recordkeeping), so they could solicit Ukraine to bribe Trump with an unfounded prosecution of Hunter Biden.
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The whistleblower complaint was to be provided to Congress by September 2. This isn't optional: 50 USC §3033(k)(5)(C) says it "shall" be provided within 7 days.
Instead, the Trump admin broke the law, and instructed the Inspector General to do the same. /6
Instead, the Trump admin broke the law, and instructed the Inspector General to do the same. /6
Every part of this was lawless: Trump withholding the aid, Trump repeatedly using the withheld aid to solicit a bribe from Ukraine, Giuliani being involved at all in diplomacy, and the DNI withholding the whistleblower complaint.
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Trump enablers try to separate these issues, arguing each is an appropriate use of the President's unbounded discretion. They know that's absurd, they do it to dodge the point: all of this lawbreaking was done for Trump's personal benefit, at the expense of U.S. interests. /end
Trump's argument is irrelevant: Congress overwhelmingly approved the aid and Trump signed it into law back in February. Trump withheld it to solicit a bribe and is still illegally withholding the whistleblower complaint to protect himself. See above.
Well, gosh, a lot has happened since I started this thread on September 24.
The transcript: cnn.com/2019/09/25/pol…
The whistleblower complaint: cnn.com/interactive/20…
Volker resigns: cnn.com/2019/09/27/pol…
More stuff hidden in codeword files: cnn.com/2019/09/27/pol…
The transcript: cnn.com/2019/09/25/pol…
The whistleblower complaint: cnn.com/interactive/20…
Volker resigns: cnn.com/2019/09/27/pol…
More stuff hidden in codeword files: cnn.com/2019/09/27/pol…
Updating this thread, we have written evidence State Dept's Ukraine group all knew Trump was demanding a quid pro quo for his personal benefit. Notice how Sondland, a hotelier who got this job by being a GOP megadonor, keeps trying to avoid a paper trail.
As described in my thread above, nothing else explains the months of delay for the aid, the call (as reflected by the memo), or Giuliani's involvement. Trump leveraged our national security trying to extract a personal benefit.
