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With Sondland set to testify, here's a refresher on Trump's use of mob-boss vernacular.

A close reading of testimony so far strongly suggests Trump conveyed his extortion demand while preserving plausible deniability for doing so.

I detailed this here:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Testimony from Bill Taylor -- and even from Sondland himself -- shows that Trump basically told Sondland:

I'm not asking for a quid pro quo, but Zelensky can't have his money until he does what I want. But lemme be clear: This isn't a quid pro quo!

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Gordon Sondland himself strongly suggested this is how Trump communicated with him, in his own testimony:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Former Trump fixer Michael Cohen was extremely clear on how Trump's crime-boss directives really work:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
It's important not to get snowed by the game Rs will play here. They'll say that because Trump's extortion direction wasn't *explicit* that it didn't happen.

We are not obliged to pretend not to know all of these other surrounding facts.

Full case here:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
In his opening statement, Sondland uses weasel language *twice* to avoid saying Trump directed him to convey that the military aid conditioned on the investigations.

This *must* be drawn out today, as I argued here: washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…

Here are Sondland's two weasel quotes:
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More from @ThePlumLineGS see all

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Greg Sargent
@ThePlumLineGS
Don't get snowed by the GOP strategy on Alexander Vindman.

The big lie they're telling is that govt professionals worked to undermine Trump's *policies.*

But Trump's acts weren't rooted in policy. They were rooted in corrupt self interest.

New piece:

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Trump's actions had nothing to do with any conception of foreign policy in the national interest.

They were *only* about corrupt self-interest.

The known facts confirm this. We aren't obliged to pretend there's a shred of legitimacy to the GOP argument.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
One other point.

The basic goal of Trump's propagandists is to eradicate public faith in the very idea that government professionals like Vindman might make reasoned judgments about Trump’s misconduct that are rooted in good-faith empiricism.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Read 4 tweets
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Greg Sargent
@ThePlumLineGS
1) The new GOP defense of Trump is that the extortion plot never came to fruition, so nothing untoward happened.

@Jim_Jordan and @SteveScalise both pushed this on the Sunday shows.

But new revelations blow this nonsense to smithereens.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
@Jim_Jordan @SteveScalise 2) An important new report in the @WSJ shows degree to which Sondland kept the WH apprised of the developing scheme.

That included Mulvaney.

Importantly, Mulvaney *both* froze the military aid *and* was kept informed of the status of the "deliverable."

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
@Jim_Jordan @SteveScalise @WSJ 3) As I argue in this piece, it's telling that the two officials -- Mulvaney and John Bolton -- who likely have the most direct knowledge of Trump's *intended* corrupt scheme are not testifying.

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Read 7 tweets
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Greg Sargent
@ThePlumLineGS
1) The new testimony from David Holmes breaks important new ground -- and it has broader implications than it first appears.

It leads inevitably to a conclusion that completely blows apart one of the biggest defenses of Trump coming from his propagandists right now.

*THREAD*
2) Holmes, an embassy staffer in Kiev, testified that he, too, overheard Trump demanding via loud cell-phone voice to know from Gordon Sondland whether Zelensky would pursue the sham “investigation” (i.e., smear) of Biden that he wanted.
3) According to Holmes, Sondland says Trump cares more about whether Ukraine is investigating Biden -- the “big stuff” -- than he does about Ukraine itself.

This undercuts the nonsense that Trump only cared about getting Ukraine to investigate generic “corruption.”
Read 9 tweets

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Miriam Elder
@MiriamElder
Here is the link to Sondland’s full testimony: docs.house.gov/meetings/IG/IG…
Sondland says he saw Trump before his testimony and that the president told him to “go tell the truth”
White House counsel asked him to come in for an interview ahead of his testimony and he declined. Also says he spoke to Rick Perry ahead of his testimony to “refresh his memory” 🤦🏻‍♀️
Read 48 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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𝗔𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿🌊
@AnIllicitWriter
𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 | 𝗧𝗵𝗲🍑𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗱 𝗝. 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗽
Nancy Pelosi Announces Formal Impeachment Inquiry of Trump

🔗nyti.ms/2kORLLE #Trump #ImpeachTrumpNow #Resist #ImpeachTrump
Here’s a timeline of Trump’s Ukraine scandal. It’s damning.

🔗washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/… #Trump #ImpeachTrumpNow #Resist #ImpeachTrump
Read 352 tweets
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Alice Stollmeyer
@StollmeyerEU
Based on docs & interviews with over 24 (!) US officials:

How @USAmbEU #Sondland seized control of Ukraine portfolio to help Trump:

Force Ukraine to forge kompromat on Biden.

Crimes: extortion, abuse of power & election interference

msn.com/en-us/news/pol… #Giuliani #Manafort
@USAmbEU Ambassador #Sondland’s predecessor, @TonyLGardner:

[Sondland's] special assignment to Ukraine is “extremely unusual,’’ since it has little to do with the EU. 🤔

And Sondland's own colleagues are 'not aware' of the scope of his activities in Ukraine. 🤔

nytimes.com/2019/10/04/wor…
@USAmbEU @tonylgardner @StevenErlanger @MatinaStevis Oops: Ambassador #Sondland told Republican Senator

About the #QuidProQuo:

$400 million in aid

wsj.com/articles/trump… #CultureOfCorruption #UkraineGate
Read 10 tweets
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Andrew Seeder
@oyveyistmir_
Here's a thread about the books I read this year!

#reading #books #libraries #readingrainbow
1. "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" by Michael Wolff. Yes, I hate-read this book in a matter of days. Problematically, Bannon comes across as an articulate, insightful source and not an arch nationalist parasite. Will Wolff's depiction be hagiography in the future?
2. "The Invention of the White Race, Volume 1: Racial Oppression and Social Control" and "The Invention of the White Race, Volume 2: The Origin of Racial Oppression in Anglo-America" by Theodore Allen. Who knew how important Bacon's Rebellion (1676) was to the history of racism?
Read 27 tweets
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Zach Everson
@Z_Everson
Trump Hotels' website still lists Trump SoHo New York among its properties in the Our Hotels menu. Select its name though to access its page and there's a message about it being renamed

bit.ly/2EPCSy1
National politics correspondent for Newsweek, Nina Burleigh, with a fun find on a TV above the bar at the Trump Hotel DC bit.ly/2E37QRR
Two errors in the 2nd graf of Breitbart's Trump Hotel DC article:
-holdings aren't out of @realDonaldTrump's hands: trust isn't blind & he can profit from it
-Trump Org told Congress it was estimating foreign receipts—not auto donating in full
bit.ly/2CpL7z2
Read 1562 tweets

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