Mulvaney Confirms Trump Held Up Ukraine Aid Over DNC Server Conspiracy | Talking Points Memo

c_stedman · October 17, 2019, 6:38pm

That movie blew my mind.

captainjazzhands · October 17, 2019, 6:39pm

[by negative three million votes]

khyber900 · October 17, 2019, 6:39pm

Mulvaney has fucked this up in so many ways from Sunday that’ll have to be fired by the end of the day or shortly thereafter. I gotta believe senior Republicans on the Hill are going to demand that Trump let him go. Here’s why:

He admitted to a quid pro quo, the crime of extortion. He admitted to his role in it and put Trump at the head of a conspiracy.
He admitted that Trump inserted Doral into the selection process and demanded it be so. That makes Trump’s emoluments violation intentional. This will be added fodder in the case that is advancing in court. It’s also part of the impeachment inquiry.
He got tripped up on the role of Giuliani as to whether it was appropriate for Rudy to be conducting private Trump business in an official setting. This, again, ties Trump to using his office for personal gain and betraying the oath.

These glaring admissions put Trump at the center of multiple conspiracies. He even slipped up and said there’s a tape of the Trump-Zelensky conversation (let’s find that!).

What Mulvaney was trying to do is give an admission to everything Sondland was saying but say that it wasn’t about Biden, that it was about the DNC server conspiracy theory. He didn’t sell it well b/c the NY Times is going with the headline that Mulaney contradicted prior Trump denials. You’re talking Nixon level stuff instead of the usual Trump goal post moving and more parsed spin.

The only way for Trump to disassociate himself from Mulvaney’s ill-advised remarks and avoid having those used against him in court is to fire him.

inversion · October 17, 2019, 6:40pm

I’m not sure yet, but part of the the alarm should be on the reemergence of the Rich conspiracy theory.

tsp · October 17, 2019, 6:40pm

It was a reference to a conspiracy theory that the cybersecurity firm that the DNC hired in 2016 to investigate the hacking of its servers actually manufactured evidence to implicate Russia. Trump appeared to think, on his call with Zelensky, that a DNC server was physically in Ukraine.

That’s some powerful drug they took to come up with that one. It’s probably one of those new psychedelics from Russia that are all the rage in Prague these days.

steviedee111 · October 17, 2019, 6:40pm

You could actually see him tire of the whole charade in real time, and just sort of throw in the towel. Hilarious.

george_spiggott · October 17, 2019, 6:40pm

khyber900 · October 17, 2019, 6:41pm

It really was. Mulvaney knew he was being outed for his role and outed everyone else along with him.

rob_beatty_walters · October 17, 2019, 6:41pm

This is the “Yea we did it, but it wasn’t illegal” stage of the scandal. Next comes, “So what?”

news247 · October 17, 2019, 6:41pm

This is but a variant of the Mulvaney Defense.

jinnj · October 17, 2019, 6:41pm

What time is the “Walk-Back-o-matic” set to go off?
…we are some where in the … soak or agitate cycle … I guess there is a spin… then a rinse … then another spin before this load is done.

mondfledermaus · October 17, 2019, 6:42pm

This woman is a moral prostitute of the worse kind. Melania at least doesn’t pretend that god guides her.

captainjazzhands · October 17, 2019, 6:42pm

Just gonna sleep through Infrastructure Week again, huh?

becca656 · October 17, 2019, 6:43pm

Understood on each of your points, but how do we get Barr out of the equation? His sole purpose is to sweep these under the rug and say ‘nothing to see here; move along’. I suspect (and I hope I’m wrong) nothing will happen with regard to any of this because Trump demands it.

khyber900 · October 17, 2019, 6:43pm

The irony of what Mulvaney and Barr have done is that they’ve made impeachment a reality. Had Barr taken up the investigation that was referred, he could’ve managed it to blame Rudy and insulate Trump. That would’ve slowed down the impeachment train. Had Mulvaney simply fallen on his sword and said, ‘I stopped the aid. I shouldn’t have done that. I resign’.

So this doubling down, stonewalling has actually raised the risk of impeachment.

left_in_washington_state · October 17, 2019, 6:43pm

This is kinda “Anti-Infrastructure Week” Not only did we NOT build or shore-up anything…we actually blew up one of our bases in Turkey.

score.

ronbyers · October 17, 2019, 6:43pm

But they are both criminal. The debunked conspiracy theory has absolutely nothing to do with American interests. It is all about Trump’s 2016 election concerns and helping rehabilitate Russia.

riverstreet · October 17, 2019, 6:43pm

Russia Today releases photo of server and IT technician.

thebishop · October 17, 2019, 6:43pm

I’m thinking the effect of the blue pill might be lost on “mother”.

george_spiggott · October 17, 2019, 6:43pm

Geek Squad…