Thread by @linda72135856

1/14 "Are we there yet?"

Toll Bridges:

"Firtash...at the heart of a sprawling international corruption investigation...2006, he flew to India..he offered officials an $18.5 million bribe to acquire the mining rights for minerals integral to the production of Boeing 787...

2/14 Exit ramp:

"...authorities apprehended him outside his plush offices in Vienna. Firtash quickly made bail—an all-time Austrian record, $174 million, to be exact—and has been living comfortably in Vienna ever since, his fortune growing by the year."
newrepublic.com/article/155678…

3/14 Road Work Ahead:

"... no date set for the extradition...The accused applied for a reopening of the case and submitted numerous documents. ... Due to the load of data & newly submitted evidence, it will take some time to assess the reopening request."
voanews.com/europe/austria…

4/14 GPS required:

"... no answer from the Justice Department about why a Ukrainian oligarch linked to Paul Manafort and two men who work with Rudolph Giuliani has not been extradited to the U.S. to face federal bribery charges."
nbcnews.com/politics/justi…

5/14 Pit stop:

"Lev Parnas, an associate of Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, talks...about the offer being made by indicted Kremlin-connected oligarch Dmytro Firtash to help Donald Trump in exchange for DOJ help with his criminal case in the U.S."
msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/

6/14 Roundabouts:

"...alleged that Donald Trump may have abused the power of the presidency by withholding military aid as a means of pressuring newly elected president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to pursue investigations of [the Bidens]"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachme…

7/14 On-ramps:

"A level playing field in this strategically-located country
bordering four NATO allies, creates an environment in which U.S. business can more easily trade, invest, & profit....corrupt officials are vulnerable to Moscow. "

Marie Yovanovitch's opening statement

8/14 Speed Zones:

Natasha Bertrand @NatashaBertran
"Um holy sh*t. This certainly makes it sound like Parnas and co. were actively tracking Yovanovitch's movements. This could explain why Yovanovitch was moved out of Ukraine so quickly." intelligence.house.gov/uploadedfiles/… …

9/14 No travel logs?

"Trump has berated the “deep state”—the longtime staffers supposedly ensconced in the State Department, the Pentagon, the CIA, and even his own National Security Council..." @McFaul
nybooks.com/daily/2019/10/…

10/14 Speed bumps:

"It’s just so unfair that American companies aren’t allowed to pay bribes to get business overseas,” Trump said, according to a passage published by the Post. “We’re going to change that.”

11/14 Straight aways:

"The law is designed to prevent individuals and businesses in the U.S. from paying money or offering gifts to foreign officials as a way to win business overseas."
vanityfair.com/news/2020/01/d…

12/14 Paving the way:
"Fruman, Parnas...indicted..for “engaging in a scheme to funnel foreign money to candidates.” The indictment alleged the two men did so to “buy potential influence with the candidates, campaigns, and the candidates’ governments.”
rollcall.com/news/campaigns…

13/14 Wrong turn?
"President Donald Trump on Thursday repeatedly and vigorously denied knowing Lev Parnas, one day after the associate of Rudy Giuliani made the explosive claim that the president was fully aware of his actions in Ukraine."
politico.com/news/2020/01/1…

14/14 Guardrails Needed:

‘All roads lead to Putin’: Impeachment ties Ukraine, Russia"
apnews.com/57518f0072af44…