In late August, Pompeo, Bolton, and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper reportedly tried to convince Trump to release aid to Ukraine.
He refused—until a few weeks later, when the whistleblower complaint and congressional investigations forced him to repent. nytimes.com/2019/12/29/us/…
He refused—until a few weeks later, when the whistleblower complaint and congressional investigations forced him to repent. nytimes.com/2019/12/29/us/…
The decision to withhold aid left a long paper trail. It shows a concerted effort to find questionably legal workarounds to evade scrutiny—and *none* of the after-the-fact anti-corruption rationale Trump and his defenders now claim.
nytimes.com/2019/12/29/us/…
nytimes.com/2019/12/29/us/…
(Correction: Congressional pressure and the whistleblower forced Trump to *relent,* not *repent,* which he still hasn’t done—on the Ukraine front, where he maintains his behavior was perfect, or on any other subject.)
