.@RepAdamSchiff picks up where @RepJeffries left off: the aftermath of the July 25 phone call. The very next day saw more escalation as Volker coordinated with Giuliani to continue putting pressure on Ukraine.
@RepAdamSchiff @RepJeffries Giuliani and Yermak met in Madrid a week later.
Everybody involved came away with the same understanding: Zelensky needed to announce the investigations Trump wanted.
Everybody involved came away with the same understanding: Zelensky needed to announce the investigations Trump wanted.
@RepAdamSchiff @RepJeffries When talks failed to move things forward, Volker contacted Giuliani—who'd said he was there doing the president's personal business, who wasn't conducting foreign policy.
That's not how you follow legitimate objectives. It's how you pursue a corrupt one.
That's not how you follow legitimate objectives. It's how you pursue a corrupt one.
The text messages from early August make the extortion scheme clear.
Read our breakdown from when they were first released in October: themoscowproject.org/dispatch/timel…
Read our breakdown from when they were first released in October: themoscowproject.org/dispatch/timel…
By August 9—less than two weeks after Trump's phone call with Zelensky—two of his "Three Amigos" were discussing the possibility of drafting a statement for Zelensky to make delivering the investigations Trump wanted.
The texts show plenty of debate about which came first, the announcement or the White House meeting, but absolutely *no* confusion about what Trump wanted and what he was offering: investigations of political opponents in exchange for official acts.
Everyone
was
in
the
loop
was
in
the
loop
Ukrainian officials tried to get away with a generic statement about corruption.
Giuliani, acting on Trump's behalf, wouldn't let them, because they didn't care about corruption; they only cared about the specific investigations into Trump's political opponents.
Giuliani, acting on Trump's behalf, wouldn't let them, because they didn't care about corruption; they only cared about the specific investigations into Trump's political opponents.
By August 19, Sondland was telling Ukraine that it wasn't just the White House meeting that was on the line; it was "the relationship per se." That meant everything, including the military aid Trump was illegally withholding.
Early September: Bolton tells Zelensky that he has to "favorably impress Trump" to get his meeting with Trump.
There's only one thing that could mean: announcing the investigations Trump wanted, no matter how much Zelensky didn't want to.
There's only one thing that could mean: announcing the investigations Trump wanted, no matter how much Zelensky didn't want to.
The Senate could see what Bill Taylor's first-person memo says.
They could hear how Bolton understood the messages he was supposed to send to Zelensky.
All they have to do is issue subpoenas for the witnesses and documents the American people want to see.
They could hear how Bolton understood the messages he was supposed to send to Zelensky.
All they have to do is issue subpoenas for the witnesses and documents the American people want to see.
A rare passionate outburst for today as @RepAdamSchiff explains what that memo from Taylor might say, what it reflects about Trump's corrupt actions in Ukraine ...
@RepAdamSchiff ... and what it means that the administration is trying so hard to keep it hidden:
@RepAdamSchiff On August 28, the White House upped the pressure on Ukraine even more, leaking to the press that they were withholding aid.
A Ukrainian official asked why Ukraine was being singled out.
We know why: because Trump wanted them to help him cheat in the 2020 election.
A Ukrainian official asked why Ukraine was being singled out.
We know why: because Trump wanted them to help him cheat in the 2020 election.
@RepAdamSchiff When Zelensky finally met with Pence in Warsaw in September, aid was the first thing on his mind. Sondland pulled aside his counterpart to make things clear: no aid until the investigations were announced.
@RepAdamSchiff "We're to believe they felt no pressure. Folks, they're at war. They're at war and they're being told, you're not getting $400 million in aid you need unless you do what the president wants and what the president wants are these two investigations."
That's pressure.
That's pressure.
@RepAdamSchiff The Senate, and the American people, could know so much more about what transpired in Warsaw and elsewhere.
All they have to do is issue subpoenas.
All they have to do is issue subpoenas.
@RepAdamSchiff Taylor took notes on the conversation where Sondland said Trump wanted Zelensky "in a public box."
"Maybe those notes say something completely different. Maybe those notes say no quid pro quo. Maybe those notes say it's a perfect call. I'd like to see them."
"Maybe those notes say something completely different. Maybe those notes say no quid pro quo. Maybe those notes say it's a perfect call. I'd like to see them."
Here's the Washington Post op-ed breaking the Ukraine scandal.
It's exactly right.
"We're reliably told that the president...is attempting to force Zelensky to intervene in the 2020 U.S. presidential election by launching an investigation of...Joe Biden."
washingtonpost.com/opinions/globa…
It's exactly right.
"We're reliably told that the president...is attempting to force Zelensky to intervene in the 2020 U.S. presidential election by launching an investigation of...Joe Biden."
washingtonpost.com/opinions/globa…
Just about every call in the Trump/Ukraine saga is memorialized somewhere in the documents the administration is withholding from the Senate.
All they need to get a fuller story is a subpoena.
All they need to get a fuller story is a subpoena.
