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, 3 tweets, 1 min read
The new WaPo scoop that Sondland will testify to a quid pro quo contains a big revelation.

Sondland came to believe military aid *was* being used as leverage to extract statement calling for investigations of Burisma.

If he testifies to this, it's big 1/
washingtonpost.com/world/national…
The story Sondland will push is he didn't know investigations about Burisma were an effort to get Ukraine to help Trump smear Biden.

That's laughable. The scheme was public for months.

But the point is, we don't need Sondland to say that. Trump mentions Biden on the call. 2/
And so, if Sondland connects the military aid to the demand for an investigation of Burisma, he's connected the money directly to the demand that Ukraine help Trump rig our election -- *even if* Sondland doesn't explicitly testify to the latter half. 3/3
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More from @ThePlumLineGS see all

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Greg Sargent
@ThePlumLineGS
Mick Mulvaney's walkback doesn't pass the laugh test.

Here's my look at the timeline.

Trump and Giuliani demanded Ukraine investigate the 2016 conspiracy theory *for months.* It's impossible to believe military aid wasn't leveraged for that purpose:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Another key point.

Sondland *admitted* in testimony that WH meeting was used to pressure Ukraine to validate the 2016 conspiracy theory.

We're supposed to believe Trump suddenly stopped thinking about wanting that from Ukraine when he froze the aid?

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Mulvaney's walkback is itself incriminating. He admits that military aid was used as leverage.

When you look at the "corruption" Trump and Giuliani *actually cared about* -- the conspiracy theories and lies -- the conclusion is increasingly inescapable:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Read 3 tweets
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Greg Sargent
@ThePlumLineGS
The two big scandals of the moment are overlapping.

It might be easier for Trump to demand the benefit of the doubt on Syria if we weren't now learning how willing he is to sell out our foreign policy on Ukraine for thoroughly corrupt ends.

New piece:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Why would anyone assume Trump is operating in the national interest on Syria, when he’s completely betraying it on Ukraine before all the world to see?

And if Bill Taylor testifies, we're likely to learn that this betrayal was worse than we thought:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
The circumstances surrounding Trump's decision to pull out of Syria are just deeply strange.

There's just no way to look at the timeline and conclude that Trump is operating out of any discernible conception of what's good for the country:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Read 3 tweets
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Greg Sargent
@ThePlumLineGS
The NYT has now established a crucial link.

Mulvaney has privately admitted freezing of military aid was meant to press Ukraine to investigate corruption.

I looked at the timeline. Mulvaney surely knew this really meant, "target Biden.' Quid, meet quo:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Giuliani and Trump repeatedly said as early as May that their goal was to get Ukraine to smear Biden.

Giuliani talked extensively about thi to NYT, and tweeted about it. Trump aired it on Fox News.

Mick Mulvaney knew all this when he froze military aid:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
When Mick Mulvaney carried out Trump's directive to freeze the military aid to Ukraine, he had already been in meetings for *months* with all of the ringleaders of Trump's scheme, in which they had extensively discussed what Trump actually wanted:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Read 3 tweets

Related threads

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The Epoch Times
@EpochTimes
News Analysis 🔎 Accusations against President Trump that he used his office to pressure #Ukraine to investigate a political rival have renewed scrutiny of actions taken by the Obama admin in Ukraine between 2014 and 2016. (Thread 👇) theepochtimes.com/ukraine-accusa…
The accusations by an anonymous #Whistleblower, 1st reported by @washingtonpost, center around the allegation that the president “pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate the son of former vice president Joe Biden.” whitehouse.gov/wp-content/upl…
@washingtonpost The #WhistleblowerComplaint—which has since been made public alongside the #Transcript of Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President #Zelensky—prompted @SpeakerPelosi to announce the launch of an #ImpeachmentInquiry.
Read 40 tweets
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Oliver Willis
@owillis
Mick Mulvaney claims holding the G7 at Trump's Doral resort will be cheaper than other sites. It doesn't matter. Holding the conference there enriches Trump, and the White House knows it.
Mick Mulvaney says there's no concern Trump is using the presidency to market his properties because Trump "is the most recognizable name in the English language" right now. That doesn't change how corrupt the entire arrangement is.
Trying to deflect from reporter's questions about the abject corruption of holding the G7 conference at Trump's resort, Mick Mulvaney claims - without naming it - that one resort would have required the use of "oxygen tanks" for participants.
Read 7 tweets
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Ryan Goodman
@rgoodlaw
What #Sondland OMITS from Opening Statement shows how extra-damning this is likely to get

Omissions:

1. Major media (including two NYT blockbusters) in May reported Giuliani pressure on Ukraine for Burisma-BIDEN probe

(Sondland can't credibly claim not knowing)

<thread>
2. Sondland opening remarks omits:

Content of July 10 meeting: Sondland personally pressed Ukrainians to investigate past cases, understood by US officials at Burisma-Biden (freaked out Bolton and Fiona Hill)

(Advice: believe Fiona Hill's testimony on this)
3. Sondland omits:

July 25: Mulvaney arranged for Sondland to prep Trump behind Bolton's back before call with Zelensky.

Note: prior version of WaPo story "indicated otherwise based on info provided by a person familiar with Sondland’s planned testimony"

Did he plan to lie?
Read 9 tweets
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Kate Brannen
@K8brannen
One of the main talking points from the White House and Trump supporters these days is that the whistleblower claimed that Trump discussed a quid pro quo on his phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky.

This is not true.
The whistleblower's description of the call contains nothing about a quid pro quo or a reference to the halt to Ukrainian military assistance.
The whistleblower raises Trump's decision to withhold the military funding later in his complaint, clearly saying he's not sure if it's connected to the overall pressure campaign.
Read 8 tweets
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Windthin ~ Savage Rebel Scum & Snark Jedi🇵🇷🌊
@windthin
1/16 It has begun. The GOP is spinning that the sole transcript Trump says he will release is more important than the #WhistleblowerComplaint as a tactic to insist everything should ride on this one supposed piece of evidence.

#ImpeachTrump #ImpeachmentParty #UkraineTranscript
2/16 All reports indicate this was a months-long conspiracy Trump and Giuliani were engaged in, subverting & bypassing officials who tried to stop them.

A single call does not BEGIN to give an accurate depiction of the events that lead up to this. washingtonpost.com/national-secur…
3/16 And Trump already has a shady history with releasing information.

Forget the obvious like his tax returns, school grades, and secret meetings with Putin.

Actually, a reminder of those secret meetings:
Read 348 tweets
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Cyrus Toulabi
@CyrusToulabi
#REDFLAG: The Intelligence Community whistleblower complaint about Trump’s communications with a foreign leader centers on UKRAINE.

Trump made a "promise" to the foreign leader that poses an urgent threat to our national security/intelligence interests.

washingtonpost.com/national-secur…
#REMEMBER: Ukrainian prosecutors dropped investigations into Manafort + Kilimnik, let Kilimnik flee to Russia out of reach, and withdrew their offer to cooperate with Mueller...

Then, Trump finally approved long-pending defensive weapons sales to Ukraine.
#REDFLAG: Trump pressured President Zelensky of Ukraine to investigate the Bidens EIGHT TIMES on a July 25th call.

He urged Zelensky to work w/ Giuliani.

Giuliani pressed Ukrainian officials in 2 meetings this summer; one set up by the State Department.

wsj.com/articles/trump…
Read 10 tweets

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