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Eric Umansky
@ericuman
, 18 tweets, 20 min read Read on Twitter
1/ It’s remarkable how much of this Ukraine stuff has been sitting in plain sight.

It reminds me of what happened with the torture scandal years ago.

The outlines were out there. We just couldn't wrap our heads around the *reality* of it.

propublica.org/article/trumps…
2/ Trump wasn’t shy about wanting Ukraine to go after his political opponents. He TWEETED ABOUT IT IN 2017.

3/ Trump brought wanting Ukraine to investigate his opponents *this April.*

He even threatened to get the AG involved. You know the secret place he had this conversation? Fox News.

propublica.org/article/trumps…
4/ Then there was a remarkable story in May by @kenvogel detailing how the president’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, was heading to Ukraine to put the squeeze on.

“Somebody could say it’s improper,” Giuliani said.

nytimes.com/2019/05/09/us/…
@kenvogel 5/ Politico asked Trump about pressure Ukraine in May, right after the @kenvogel story. They asked whether he would get AG Bill Barr involved.

Trump said he might: "Certainly, it would be an appropriate thing to speak about.”

politico.com/story/2019/05/…
@kenvogel 6/ Giuliani canceled his Ukraine trip after criticism. But, as BuzzFeed and OCCRP reported in July, two people working with him went instead.

buzzfeednews.com/article/mikesa…
@kenvogel 7/ Oh yeah, we also knew Trump had inexplicably delayed aid to Ukraine that Congress already appropriated.

politico.com/story/2019/08/…
@kenvogel 8/ It was in the air enough that on Sept. 2, before we knew about the whistleblower, VP Mike Pence was asked if aid was being delayed b/c of the desire to dig up dirt on the Bidens.

Pence said, well, Trump was worried about “corruption.”

Via @joshtpm:
talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/pence-g…
@kenvogel @joshtpm 9/ Then on Sept. 5,the WaPo put it all together: Trump “is attempting to force [Ukraine] to intervene in the 2020 U.S. presidential election” and “is using U.S. military aid the country desperately needs in an attempt to extort it.”

It was AN EDITORIAL

washingtonpost.com/opinions/globa…
@kenvogel @joshtpm 10/ Obviously, we did *not know* key details about the Ukraine campaign. Like how Trump turned the screws on his call.

And there’s been SO MUCH else to follow.

But I think there’s something else too: We couldn’t *believe* it.
@kenvogel @joshtpm 11/ Back in Nov. 2016, @eisingerj and I talked with @mashagessen about how journos should approaching the coming admin.

She warned about a failure of imagination.

If you find yourself dismissing something b/c it seems unbelievable, check yourself.

propublica.org/podcast/how-jo…
@kenvogel @joshtpm @eisingerj @mashagessen 12/ That is what happened with torture. The fact that the U.S. was abusing detainees had been reported. But we couldn’t grasp that the U.S. would treat detainees the way the photos eventually showed it did.

Title of my story: Failures of Imagination

archives.cjr.org/feature/failur…
@kenvogel @joshtpm @eisingerj @mashagessen 13/ And the same with Ukraine. “A president shaking down another country to investigate his opponent? It can’t be THAT!”

The lesson isn’t that we should be connecting the dots. It’s that we shouldn’t let unbelievableness dissuade us from *asking questions.*
@kenvogel @joshtpm @eisingerj @mashagessen OK. I'm done. Thank you to @katiezavadski, @katherrun and @Alice_Wilder for helping put all this together.
@kenvogel @joshtpm @eisingerj @mashagessen @katiezavadski @katherrun @Alice_Wilder 15/ And btw, Trump, Inc. — the @propublica/@wnyc podcast I edit — is about to have a verrrry special episode on Ukraine. Sign up to be notified:

wnycstudios.org/podcasts/trump…

End
@kenvogel @joshtpm @eisingerj @mashagessen @katiezavadski @katherrun @Alice_Wilder @propublica @WNYC So I just stumbled on another big thing about Ukraine that we missed:

When Rudy met w/ a Ukranian prosecutor in Jan. to scheme, Trump was literally part of the discussion. He was on the phone.

This was reported in...five months ago!

nytimes.com/2019/05/01/us/…
@kenvogel @joshtpm @eisingerj @mashagessen @katiezavadski @katherrun @Alice_Wilder @propublica @WNYC Why didn't we all notice that big news?

Well, it was in the 12th paragraph of a story that had this headline.

nytimes.com/2019/05/01/us/…
@kenvogel @joshtpm @eisingerj @mashagessen @katiezavadski @katherrun @Alice_Wilder @propublica @WNYC I'm reminded of this line I wrote about how torture took so long to become a scandal. Evidence was there. It was just buried.

archives.cjr.org/feature/failur…
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Eric Umansky
@ericuman
This WaPo story has so many revelations, it deserves its own thread.

Obviously, the top-line takeaway: Trump ordered aid to be held just days before he put squeeze on Ukraine's prez to investigate Biden.

But there's way more, like the *WH lied about it*

washingtonpost.com/national-secur…
Trump himself ordered the Ukraine aid withheld. But that's not what the administration told Congress. Instead, officials told Congress that the aid was on hold bc of "an interagency process."
Trump decided to withhold Ukraine aid bc of what one official described as his concerns about “a lot of corruption in Ukraine.” 😉
Read 11 tweets
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Eric Umansky
@ericuman
Oh look, Trump buddy & inauguration chief Tom Barrack is under federal investigation for foreign influence peddling -- the very stuff we at @propublica / @wnyc & Trump Inc. have been reporting about him.

nytimes.com/2019/07/28/us/…
@propublica @WNYC The NYT says feds have "questioned witnesses about Mr. Barrack’s involvement" in a plan to give Saudi Arabia nuclear technology

Our @iarnsdorf detailed that deal: "It smelled so bad I said I never wanted to be anywhere close to that," said one official

propublica.org/article/white-…
@propublica @WNYC @iarnsdorf We also got an internal memo from Tom Barrack's firm about plan to profit from his connections to the WH and foreigners

“The key is to strategically cultivate domestic and international relations while avoiding any appearance of lobbying,” the memo says.

propublica.org/article/trump-…
Read 9 tweets
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Eric Umansky
@ericuman
1/ The @nytimes just had a v. credulous story saying restaurant workers are *against* getting higher minimum wage

The workers say they’re upset that celebs like Amy Poehler are pushing for a higher min wage

I was curious: Who *are* these workers?

nytimes.com/2019/03/22/nyr…
2/ The NYT only IDs one worker speaking out: “Maggie Raczynski, a bartender at an Outback Steakhouse in upstate New York.”

A link shows Raczynski is part of the “Restaurant Workers of America”

*What* is that? I turned to an advanced tool called Google

static1.squarespace.com/static/5a3d428…
3/ The “Restaurant Workers of America” is a *dark money group* -- aka a 501(c)4--meaning it doesn’t have to disclose its funding.

Also, despite the name: It’s not just workers.

How do I know all that? It’s on their website!

restaurantworkersofamerica.org/join-rwa
Read 8 tweets

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