More Evidence Emerges That Ukraine Knew Early On About U.S. Aid Freeze | Talking Points Memo

A former Ukraine official told the New York Times that she learned of the Trump administration’s hold on military aid on July 30, a claim that undercuts a GOP talking point in defense of President Trump while corroborating other evidence in the impeachment probe that Ukraine was aware of the aid freeze before it was made known publicly.


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1266058
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If we can only stick to the facts — looking at you cable news urchins — Trump is impeached and the GOP is discredited.

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Zelensky: “We’re at war. If you’re our strategic partner, then you can’t go blocking anything for us.”

The GOP knows Ukraine is at war with a KGB colonel, his post-Soviet mafioso, and Russian invaders.

Their withholding military aid from Ukraine has zero to do with “corruption”.

If Republicans actually gave a damn about “corruption”, then they wouldn’t blurt out stuff like this:

https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1201674758158352385

(h/t @inversion)

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If you’re our strategic partner, then you can’t go blocking anything for us. I think that’s just about fairness.

I see NATO, the Kurds, and South Korea in the “CC” line… but somebody forgot to copy Olena Zerkal on the memo that US strategic partnerships are now being run as protection rackets.

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A Washington meeting she had planned with U.S. lawmakers in October was even canceled by the Zelensky administration, she told the Times, out of fear the topic would come up.

She’s a woman though. Are women even allowed to use fear as an excuse not to report abuse of power? /s

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I think if he loves russia so much, he should get on a fucking flight there and surrender his passport to the U.S. embassy on arrival, renouncing his citizenship.

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I have to think Zelenski knew Zarkal would give interviews after leaving the government.

I have to think Zelenski approved of it to get their story out but also with plausible deniability for Pres. Z.

President Z has to say “No Pressure” because future disbursement of aid will depend on Trump letting it through. And if there is one truth that Trump has projected time and time again is that he is a small petty person.

Add in Trump’s obvious affection for Putin, and we can can plainly see that President Z is in a tight spot.

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I would think that Saving the Planet would be exciting enough without having to muddle one’s life with click-bait and cable stenographers.

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Speaking of cold…
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/melania-trump-white-house-christmas_n_5de5da4fe4b00149f734b3c7

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How much more evidence do we need? It is as plain as day, to me, but then I’m a rational thinker, and not a Trumpkin.

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He can keep his passport. He should just go and not come back.

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December 4th, 2019. Kyiv, Ukraine

AP-- A former deputy foreign minister was found deceased at her residence this morning. No foul play is suspected at this time, although authorities have promised a thorough investigation.

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All the white is obviously about purity. It means so much to former nude models and cheap thug racists.

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Romney vs Kennedy. hmmm.

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It really doesn’t matter much when Ukraine learned of the hold on the aid money.

Trump broke the law and violated his oath of office—both impeachable offenses—by putting a hold on money appropriated by Congress.

It’s akin to the quid pro quo argument—it’s nonsense and has no bearing on Trump’s illegal and unethical behavior.

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Drip…drip…drip…soon it will be an irreversible torrent…if Trump came out today and proclaimed" yeah, I did it, ya got me.!"…his acolytes would insist he didn’t mean to do it…not a crime…give him a break etc.

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Not from a legal standpoint, true, but it undermines a major defensive line the republicans have tried to draw, so from a political/optics viewpoint, it’s quite valuable.

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He must be impeached.

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And convicted.

ETA. But that ain’t gonna happen.

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