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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsVolker testimony...more devastating for the White House than even the reporting suggests.
Volker testimony and, on a close read, they are more devastating for the White House than even the reporting suggests.
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Reviewed the materials released by the House Committees from Amb. Volker testimony and, on a close read, they are more devastating for the White House than even the reporting suggests.
Lets walk through both Volkers testimony & then the corroborating texts...
First: who is Volker? Hes the former US Rep for Ukraine Negotiations & he resigned a week ago after news of the July 25 call btw Trump & Zelenskyy broke.
These are his wordsand he immediately rebukes the whole Deep State nonsense right out of the gate. No spies or treason.
He then frames the entire affair as his dogged effort to fix a problem as best he could. He also goes out of his way to highlight that *he* was focused on US national security interests. Its almost like he thinks the evidence might lead us to question that fact.
So what problem was Volker fixing? A negative narrative about Ukraine, fueled by assertions made by Lutsenko, that reached the President and impeded our ability to support Ukraine.
This is an admission that Trumps belief in conspiracies & Biden charges influenced US policy.
Then, Volker moves into CYA mode. He disavows knowledge of anything related to Bidenbut the revealed text messages suggest otherwise. Indeed, Burisma which was clearly code for Biden appears routinely throughout, as well see.
Read this! Volker clearly knows this smelled.
FinallyVolker goes to great pains to make it clear that he actively opposed withholding aid to Ukraine, along with the rest of practically the entire US national security and foreign policy apparatus.
Trump injured American interests to pressure Ukraine into doing his bidding.
The entire Giuliani section makes it clear that he & Trump were undermining the judgment of State officials on Ukraine. And Biden was all over this thing. Burisma clearly equaled investigating Biden throughout.
Oh, alsoVolker says claims against Biden are bogus.
Listen to Volkers own assessment of Trumps inability to even grasp the impact of changing circumstances in Ukraine after the election.
This is scary, folks. The President is just dense. He doesnt understand things and thinks other countries are trying to take him down.
Then, in the section of testimony about the Rudy/Yermak tango, Volker discusses negotiations over an official statement that Trump/Rudy wanted Zelenskyy to deliver re: investigating Burisma & 2016, presumably to create bad press for Biden. Rudy made repeated demands. Shameful.
Now lets move to the smoking guns: the text messages between various players in this shakedown.
These are really the nail in the coffinVolkers testimony just reinforces how bad this thing was for US interests in Ukraine & his damning feelings & guilt over what occurred.
Thankfullysome of these are so bad, we can cut right to the chase: Heres Volker advising Yermak about the quid pro quo. Zelenskyy had to convince Trump he would investigate in order to secure a meeting with Trump. This was BEFORE the call.
Quid. Quo. Its all there.
Need more evidence? Try this from Ambassador Bill Taylor who made clear thats exactly what he was gathering from the situation. Sondland who plays the role of yes-man in all thiswont put things in text.
He knows he cant memorialize the truth.
Bill Taylor doesnt give in. Hes pissed. Why? Because withholding the aid is playing right into the Russians hands.
The move was un-Americanand they knew it.
Finallythis kicker closes things out. Bill Taylor is furious that aid was withheld and progress in Ukraine stalled for help with a political campaign. Sondland unmoved. Notice, after Taylor speaks truth, Sondland takes 5 hrs to compile a legal treatise denying the suggestion.
This was just the *first* witness. This new evidence, combined w/ the July 25 call summary & the WB complaint, makes it abundantly clear that it was common knowledge for officials that a quid pro quo existed whereby Z would agree to investigate Biden for US aid & access. Period.
Lets walk through both Volkers testimony & then the corroborating texts...
First: who is Volker? Hes the former US Rep for Ukraine Negotiations & he resigned a week ago after news of the July 25 call btw Trump & Zelenskyy broke.
These are his wordsand he immediately rebukes the whole Deep State nonsense right out of the gate. No spies or treason.
He then frames the entire affair as his dogged effort to fix a problem as best he could. He also goes out of his way to highlight that *he* was focused on US national security interests. Its almost like he thinks the evidence might lead us to question that fact.
So what problem was Volker fixing? A negative narrative about Ukraine, fueled by assertions made by Lutsenko, that reached the President and impeded our ability to support Ukraine.
This is an admission that Trumps belief in conspiracies & Biden charges influenced US policy.
Then, Volker moves into CYA mode. He disavows knowledge of anything related to Bidenbut the revealed text messages suggest otherwise. Indeed, Burisma which was clearly code for Biden appears routinely throughout, as well see.
Read this! Volker clearly knows this smelled.
FinallyVolker goes to great pains to make it clear that he actively opposed withholding aid to Ukraine, along with the rest of practically the entire US national security and foreign policy apparatus.
Trump injured American interests to pressure Ukraine into doing his bidding.
The entire Giuliani section makes it clear that he & Trump were undermining the judgment of State officials on Ukraine. And Biden was all over this thing. Burisma clearly equaled investigating Biden throughout.
Oh, alsoVolker says claims against Biden are bogus.
Listen to Volkers own assessment of Trumps inability to even grasp the impact of changing circumstances in Ukraine after the election.
This is scary, folks. The President is just dense. He doesnt understand things and thinks other countries are trying to take him down.
Then, in the section of testimony about the Rudy/Yermak tango, Volker discusses negotiations over an official statement that Trump/Rudy wanted Zelenskyy to deliver re: investigating Burisma & 2016, presumably to create bad press for Biden. Rudy made repeated demands. Shameful.
Now lets move to the smoking guns: the text messages between various players in this shakedown.
These are really the nail in the coffinVolkers testimony just reinforces how bad this thing was for US interests in Ukraine & his damning feelings & guilt over what occurred.
Thankfullysome of these are so bad, we can cut right to the chase: Heres Volker advising Yermak about the quid pro quo. Zelenskyy had to convince Trump he would investigate in order to secure a meeting with Trump. This was BEFORE the call.
Quid. Quo. Its all there.
Need more evidence? Try this from Ambassador Bill Taylor who made clear thats exactly what he was gathering from the situation. Sondland who plays the role of yes-man in all thiswont put things in text.
He knows he cant memorialize the truth.
Bill Taylor doesnt give in. Hes pissed. Why? Because withholding the aid is playing right into the Russians hands.
The move was un-Americanand they knew it.
Finallythis kicker closes things out. Bill Taylor is furious that aid was withheld and progress in Ukraine stalled for help with a political campaign. Sondland unmoved. Notice, after Taylor speaks truth, Sondland takes 5 hrs to compile a legal treatise denying the suggestion.
This was just the *first* witness. This new evidence, combined w/ the July 25 call summary & the WB complaint, makes it abundantly clear that it was common knowledge for officials that a quid pro quo existed whereby Z would agree to investigate Biden for US aid & access. Period.
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Volker testimony...more devastating for the White House than even the reporting suggests. (Original Post)
Roland99
Oct 2019
OP
BigmanPigman
(51,582 posts)1. Sondland will be like Lewandowski
when he gives his testimony. I hope they have a good lawyer question him.
EleanorR
(2,389 posts)2. Fantastic thread, thank you
I'd not seen a transcript of Volker's opening statement before now, and the analysis seems spot on. Though I'm not yet buying the Volker as protector of democracy narrative.
ffr
(22,665 posts)3. Oh yeah it does.
I wasn't sure what point there was to Chris Haye's live format, but he goes into great detail playing into the live audience reading the text messages and their time.
Compelling to say the very least.
calimary
(81,184 posts)4. BOING! BANG! BOOM!!!