In advance of tomorrow's first public impeachment hearings, we're debunking some of Trump's defenses. First up: the absurd argument that, since Trump eventually released the aid to Ukraine, there was no extortion, and therefore no impeachable offense. themoscowproject.org/dispatch/debun…
Not only do we know that Trump withheld much-needed military aid to pressure Zelensky, we know that multiple government agencies took issue with it, and even warned the White House it may be illegal to do so. justsecurity.org/66767/exclusiv…
And the White House only released the money after they got caught: The whistleblower had filed their complaint, Congress was starting to pressure Trump, and Trump's errand boy Gordon Sondland was warning Trump that people were starting to ask questions. cnn.com/2019/10/25/pol…
In fact, Trump didn't release the aid until several days after The Washington Post became the first outlet to report the outline of the extortion scheme—that is, that Trump was demanding investigations of his opponents in exchange for military aid. washingtonpost.com/opinions/globa…
Meanwhile, Ukraine knew full well that they were being extorted. By early September, multiple American government officials had told them aid was being withheld and outlined the quid pro quo: money and a White House meeting in exchange for investigations. themoscowproject.org/dispatch/debun…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was even all set to go on CNN to announce an investigation into the Bidens, just like Trump wanted him to, when Trump canceled the hold. nytimes.com/2019/11/07/wor…
The facts are clear: Trump extorted Ukraine. He only called it off because he got caught in the act just days before Ukraine could deliver what he was demanding. themoscowproject.org/dispatch/debun…
