,
18 tweets,
6 min read
Read on Twitter
NEW: There’s one Big Lie at the heart of Trump and his cronies’ efforts to spin Biden and Ukraine: everything Biden did made an investigation of his son’s company *more likely,* not less.
thedailybeast.com/trumps-big-lie…
thedailybeast.com/trumps-big-lie…
‘When Joe Biden went to Ukraine, he was not trying to protect his son — quite the reverse.’ theintercept.com/2019/09/25/i-w…
‘Biden in fact made it more rather than less likely that the oligarch who employed his son would be subject to prosecution for corruption.’ theintercept.com/2019/05/10/rum…
‘By lobbying for Shokin’s dismissal, Biden invited more scrutiny of his son, not less.’ washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-m…
‘Ironically, Joe Biden asked Shokin to leave because the prosecutor failed [to pursue] the Burisma investigation, not because Shokin was tough and active with this case.’ rferl.org/amp/why-was-uk…
“Biden was actually pushing for better oversight of Ukraine—and specifically, better oversight of Burisma [the company at which his son worked].”
That’s the reason the White House’s spin on this has been such transparent propaganda—why there’s one Big Lie at the heart of everything they’re trying to push.
Again: No U.S. president has ever pressured a foreign government to investigate a political rival—let alone told that foreign government to work with the president’s personal lawyer on it.
‘Those of us who consume a lot of conservative media are, however, seeing even more flawed arguments in defense of Trump. Here are a few of the leading ones.’ bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
‘Biden did pressure Ukraine’s fledgling post-Yanukovych president to remove a public prosecutor... The problem was not that the prosecutor was too aggressive with corrupt businessman-politicians like Hunter Biden’s boss; it was that he was too lenient.’ amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/59…
Anyway, Biden (obviously) did the right thing pushing for the prosecutor’s ouster. Trump’s cronies are (obviously) lying through their teeth. And Trump (obviously) disregarded his constitutional duties, in an unprecedented manner.
‘“Ukraine is the country that hosts the Berlin Wall at the moment,” he said. “Ukraine is the country where the clash between the free and unfree world takes place.”’ nytimes.com/2019/09/27/wor…
‘State Department officials said they hoped to learn why a career foreign service officer was recalled as ambassador, and whether Mr. Pompeo was complicit in — or had opposed — putting Mr. Giuliani in touch with Ukrainian officials.’ nytimes.com/2019/09/28/us/…
‘“To use America’s global credibility as a casino token, to be cashed in for personal political gain,” he added, “is an intolerable abuse of power and totally anathema to the rule of law.”’ nytimes.com/2019/09/28/us/…
“You could say, ‘Don’t talk to Giuliani,’ but would you truly give that advice to the Ukrainians if you knew that refusal to talk to him would piss off Trump?” politico.com/news/2019/09/2…
'The central allegation Giuliani has made against Biden, “this idea that [Biden] had Shokin sacked to protect Zlochevsky and Burisma, is just nonsense.”' washingtonpost.com/world/national…
Also! This piece is no longer behind paywall, so feel free to read all about how Joe Biden’s efforts in Ukraine were the direct antithesis of what Trump’s trying to claim. thedailybeast.com/trumps-big-lie…
Meanwhile, over on Giuliani’s Twitter feed: 
