It’s here: washingtonpost.com/context/openin…
OK, I'll tweet out my notes. I can't resist a cute kitty.
Here’s Taylor's statement, (hopefully) condensed into under 20 🔥 Tweets.
June: Taylor arrived to find a “weird combination of encouraging, confusing, and ultimately alarming circumstances.”
Encouraging: The newly elected Zelenskyy supported long-stalled anti-corruption legislation . . .
Confusing: “Two channels of U.S policy making and implementation, one regular and one highly irregular."
The regular channel was the embassy, overseeing US efforts to support Ukraine against Russian aggression & defeat corruption.
They were operating outside the official State Department channels.
June 27: Sondland told Taylor in a phone conversation that Zelenskyy needed to make clear to Trump that he (Zelenskyy) was not standing in the way of “investigations.”
Taylor understood that this was being guided by Guiliani.
Sondland connected “investigations” with an Oval Office meeting.
Bolton was so irritated that he abruptly left the meeting.
July 10: Zelenskyy’s chief of staff told Taylor they were "alarmed and disappointed" to learn from Giuliani that the meeting was unlikely to happen.
Taylor was astonished. (It put the Ukrainian fighters against Russia in danger.)
Aug. 16: Taylor learned that Yermak (advisor to Zelenskyy) asked the US to submit an official request for an investigation into Burisma’s alleged violation of Ukrainian law, if that's what the US desired.
Taylor knew such a request wasn’t proper.
Sept. 1: Zelenskyy met Pence in Warsaw.
For the first time Taylor understood security assistance—not just the meeting—was conditioned on an investigation.
Sondland said Trump wanted Zelenskyy in a “public box.”
Sondland said he would try.
Sept 5: Taylor and two Senators, Johnson and Murphy, met with Zelenskyy in Kiev.
Zelenskyy asked the Senators about the security assistance.
Sept. 7: Taylor learned that Trump told Sondland that he wasn't asking for a “quid pro quo” but he did insist that Zelenskyy make a public announcement.
Taylor said that made no sense. The Ukrainians didn’t owe Trump anything . . .
I recommend staying away from the criminal code altogether.
I'll attach two threads in the next tweet.
And Nancy Pelosi's statement, in which she avoids the criminal code:
But if you have to pick, it's closer to extortion.
"No quid pro quo" is the new "No collusion"
He figured out there was a problem in mid-July.
The Whistleblower's complaint is dated August 12, plus it was clearly drafted by a team of lawyers.
These things take time: Writing that complaint, sorting out what was happening. A month is fast.
I imagine the comedians will have a great time with it.
terikanefield-blog.com/bill-taylors-d…