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A couple days after this call, Trump went on Hannity and claimed that the Ukrainians had evidence of Hillary working with Ukraine to interfere in 2016, and that the Ukrainians would be handing that evidence over to AG Barr for him to hopefully prosecute. foxnews.com/politics/trump…
This was one month after Prosecutor General Lutsenko had reopened the investigations into Biden and the Democratic-Ukrainian collusion conspiracy theory. Giuliani was excited – he thought the investigation was full steam ahead.
After Zelensky's election on April 21st, though, Giuliani's grand plan started to hit some road bumps. By May, Giuliani was tweeting about how certain Ukrainian officials had attempted to get Zelensky to quash Lutsenko's investigation.
That's when Giuliani made his announcement that he would be flying to Kiev to try to convince the newly-elected Zelensky that he should continue the investigations into Biden and the 2016 election that Lutsenko had begun two months earlier, before Zelensky's surprise win.
Though, after the uproar that resulted from Giuliani's announcement, he called the plan off. At least partially. Instead of flying to Kiev to meet Zelensky, he flew to Paris to meet with Ukraine's corruption prosecutor.
Giuliani's efforts to convince Zelensky not to stop the newly re-opened investigations don't seem to have worked. By June, Giuliani was attacking Zelensky for being "still silent" on the now-stalled investigations into Biden and the 2016 election.
That brings us to July. Trump orders Mulvaney to cut off aid to Ukraine, and a week later, Zelensky has done a 180 on the investigations.
I understand the situation, Zelensky says, but I need until September. By then I'll have a hand-picked prosecutor who will look into this.
I understand the situation, Zelensky says, but I need until September. By then I'll have a hand-picked prosecutor who will look into this.
The call is proof that Trump pressured Zelensky into investigating his political rivals because Trump had already coerced the prosecutor into opening the investigations *before Zelensky took office*. But Zelensky shut them down.
And then, suddenly, Zelensky changed his mind.
And then, suddenly, Zelensky changed his mind.
That's why I believe, when Trump complains to Zelensky about "the way they shut your very good prosecutor down," he's talking about prosecutor Lutsenko.
Because Trump is rebuking Zelensky for stopping the investigations that Lutsenko had already begun.
Because Trump is rebuking Zelensky for stopping the investigations that Lutsenko had already begun.
The whistleblower confirms that White House officials believed the President was referring to Lutsenko.
White House officials also interpreted the meaning of Trump's statement to be a request for Zelensky to keep Lutsenko as Prosecutor General. (He left the office in August.)
White House officials also interpreted the meaning of Trump's statement to be a request for Zelensky to keep Lutsenko as Prosecutor General. (He left the office in August.)
