THREAD🧵UKRAINE CALL 1/ Here is a breakdown of President Trump’s phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and why it sparked an #impeachmentInquiry.
2/ Background: In 2014, Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine (Russia took land from Ukraine). The UN reports, since 2014, 13,000 people have died in the conflict. NATO suspended cooperation with Russia, in response to the Ukraine crisis. bbc.in/2TwN2O2
3/ Fast forward to June 2019. The Department of Defense announced $250 Million in aid for Ukraine. The funds were being given to purchase sniper rifles, grenade launchers and other military equipment. Read the press release here. bit.ly/2lEQcR4
4/ One month later, in mid-July, President Trump reportedly told his Acting Chief of Staff to hold off on giving the money to Ukraine. He reportedly had concerns if the money should be spent. Read more here abcn.ws/2mi5paF
5/ On July 25th, the now controversial phone call was made between President of Ukraine and President Trump. This phone call prompted the #whistleblower complaint. Link takes you to transcript of the call (NOT a verbatim transcript). bit.ly/2nishas
6/ During the call, points of concern for Dems include President Trump asking Ukrainian President for a favor, Trump asking him to look into Biden’s son and asking the Ukrainian President to talk with AG Barr & his attorney Rudy Giuliani. Call analysis -> abcn.ws/2lEFFFz
7/ Dems say the call is evidence that President Trump was withholding $250 Million in aid to Ukraine, in exchange for information on his political opponent Biden. Trump says the call shows there was no quid pro quo (favor for a favor) and the #ImpeachmentInquiry is a hoax.
Note: Not going to get into the Hunter Biden controversy on this thread. Too much info to add. But here is a great article by Forbes on the issue. bit.ly/2nevaJd
If you want me to do a separate thread on this, comment below.
8/ In mid-August, the #whistleblower (unidentified member of intelligence community) filed a complaint about President Trump’s communications with the Ukrainian President. *Important to remember, per the @AP, the call is just one part of the whistleblower complaint.*
9/ Today, the House & Senate Intelligence committees got their FIRST LOOK at the complaint. Democrats and Republicans who have seen it, appear to be giving opinions right down party lines. Democrats say it’s damning, Republicans say it’s nothing.
10/ What's next? The House Intelligence Committee will have a PUBLIC hearing with the Acting Director of Intelligence. They will be asking him questions about the #WhistleblowerComplaint. Watch it LIVE on @ABC7 at 6am PST.
TL;DR The House is conducting an impeachment inquiry into whether President Trump broke the law by withholding aid from Ukraine in exchange for information about Biden. The White House released call transcript. House & Senate leaders saw the Whistleblower complaint today.
Was this #thread helpful? Or confusing? Let me know.
#NEW: As of today in LA County, if paramedics/EMTs can’t get a patient’s heart beating again on scene, they will no longer transport that patient to the hospital.
That way, doctors in overrun ERs can provide care for patients who are viable. New directive below.
Medical director Dr. Marc Eckstein of @LAFD tells me wait times are dangerously long.
During Christmas week, one hospital had 19 ambulances waiting to offload at the same time.
People going to ERs without life-threatening problems, are waiting 12-18 hours just to get seen.
Why not take patients to other counties?
He says, “the reality is the entire region is severely impacted right now. So there's really nowhere to go. Orange County and Ventura County, they're all experiencing the same surge right now... this is not overstating the situation.”
Here’s a breakdown of the President’s tax returns obtained by the New York Times and #WhyItMatters.
The @nytimes obtained 18 years of President Trump’s tax returns. Sources gave access to three NYT reporters to examine his tax records which have not been made public.
KEY POINTs
📉He paid $750/yr in federal income tax in 2016 (year he became president) and in 2017 (his first year in office).
📉11 out of 18 yrs the Times reviewed, Mr. Trump reported he lost more than he made, so he paid no income tax.
📉Over 18 years of returns the Times reviewed, he paid $95 Million in taxes BUT got $72.9 Million of that back in federal tax refunds.
📉He has $421 Million in loans and debt that will have to be paid back in coming years.
#UPDATE: Here is a still of the shooter from the ambush of LASD deputies in Compton tonight. LASD says two of their deputies were shot in the head. @abc7leanne has the full video.