I've begun reading the transcript of Ambassador Taylor's deposition. I think that the "Ukraine incident" needs to be seen in its context for people to understand what a powerful betrayal of American interests trump was threatening.
The starting point of the story should be Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea.
The next act should be Russia's waging of a proxy war against Ukraine.
The next act should be Russia's waging of a proxy war against Ukraine.
The Obama administration's response to Russia needs to be understood, too. As a result of the invasion and war and the Magnitsky Act, Putin and the oligarchs are at risk of losing all of their ill gotten gains from plundering Russia's wealth.
The next act would be Russia's interference in the election against Obama's first Secretary of State. Key events would include the theft of Clinton and DNC documents, the change of the platform on Ukraine to benefit Russia, trump's coordination with Wikileaks and Russia ...
both overt ("Russia if you're listening) and covert (the facts coming out of the Stone trial), the conclusions of the intelligence committee, Kushner's efforts to set up a back channel to Russia, trump's lies about the trump tower Moscow, etc.
Also include Flynn's Logan Act violations and Manafort's history of working with Russian oligarchs to prop up Russian backed governments in Ukraine.
The bottom line is that Russia's interference with Ukraine is one of two key reasons Russia has been cut off from the west (Magnitsky Act being the other), and that Russia wanted to undo Obama's sanctions. Enter trump, the perfect useful idiot who was highly motivated to help.
The Reek pictures of trump and his master, Putin, in Helsinki need to put in an appearance, as well as the meeting in the Oval Office with Lavrov and no Americans, during which trump disclosed Israeli secret intelligence, trump's efforts to stop the investigation of Flynn, etc.
Looked at in the context of Russian - Ukrainian conflict and western sanctions, the through line is that Russia wants to dominate Ukraine, Obama interfered, Clinton would do more of the same, and trump was willing to accept Russian help and return the favors.
In this telling, trump's extortion of Ukraine is merely the latest act in his efforts to please his Russian masters and further his own electoral interests. The Crowdstrike theory is just an effort to confuse Russian interference in our 2016 election. Biden was Obama's VP.
I think dramatic presentations of the background of the Ukrainian - Russian conflict need to be broadcast. Show contemporary news stories about the takeover of Crimea's the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the downing of the airliner over Ukraine, ...
intelligence photos confirming Russian involvement in the Ukraine war, dramatic pictures of the Maidan Square rebellion, snipers killing protestors and the overthrow of the Russian backed president.
In short, most Americans don't remember or never knew about the longstanding conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Manafort's role as a Russian operative in Ukraine, etc. Put the 2016 election against this background. Show how trump favored Russia and disfavored Ukraine ...
leading up to the withholding of $391 million in weapons.
My bottom line is that the extortion (quid pro quo) isn't an one off event. It's the culmination of a decade or more of conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the United States and Ukraine.
Against this background of war and Russian foreign policy goals, trump was acting not only on behalf of his 2020 election prospects but also furthering Russian goals in Ukraine.
