President Trump won the 2016 election by accepting clandestine foreign help. He was caught trying to win the 2020 election by extorting clandestine foreign help. If unchecked, he will do it again. He's likely doing it right now.
Trump's Ukraine plot nearly succeeded. Pressured by escalating Russian violence over summer 2019, Zelensky booked a 9/13 interview w @FareedZakaria to announce investigation of Biden. Only the 9/9 delivery of whistleblower report to Congress disrupted the scheme.
@FareedZakaria And don't forget that the Trump admin had illegally -but successfully - suppressed the whistleblower report for 6 weeks. If the suppression had succeeded only 1 week more, Trump's plan to conscript Zelensky as a 2020 campaign auxiliary would have worked.
@FareedZakaria One more thing. We treat Trump's escalating pressure on Zelensky to accuse Biden - and Russia's escalating violence vs Ukraine - as two unconnected events. But if Russia knew Trump was pressuring Zelensky (thanks eg to Sondland's unsecured calls) then maybe events were connected
@FareedZakaria I keep wondering whether by escalating its violence vs Ukraine in August and September 2019, Russia was doing its part to pressure Zelensky to help Trump win re-election in 2020
@FareedZakaria Now that the scheme has failed for the time being, it can be waved away as merely "inappropriate" by @HurdOnTheHill
But with only slightly tighter timing, Trump would have succeeded in his plan to extort Ukraine to help him exonerate Putin and slander Biden.
But with only slightly tighter timing, Trump would have succeeded in his plan to extort Ukraine to help him exonerate Putin and slander Biden.
