Let's harken back a bit. Did Trump Bribe Ukraine to Stop Cooperating With Mueller? [View all]

[Roland99]

Last edited Sat Sep 21, 2019, 11:36 PM - Edit history (2)

May 2018
Did Trump Bribe Ukraine to Stop Cooperating With Mueller?
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/amp/2018/05/trump-bornstein-mueller-questions-leaks-ukraine-missile-bribe.html

Second, and more significantly, on Monday the New York Times revealed a list of questions that Robert Mueller had, ostensibly, drawn up to ask the president. Shortly after this news broke, a furious Trump denounced the leak. (“So disgraceful that the questions concerning the Russian Witch Hunt were ‘leaked’ to the media.”) Trump proceeded to insist the questions showed Mueller had no leads on collusion with Russia, and was instead luring him into a perjury trap or prosecuting the secondary crime of obstruction of justice without an underlying offense (“No questions on Collusion. Oh, I see…you have a made up, phony crime, Collusion, that never existed, and an investigation begun with illegally leaked classified information.”).

Reporters immediately rebutted this charge by noting that Mueller’s questions included many queries into his campaign’s collusion with Russia. But it turns out, once again, we all assumed far too much good faith. The Washington Post now reports the questions were compiled not by Mueller but by Trump’s own legal team, based on topics proposed by Mueller.

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Bear this lesson in mind when you process the following. In December, the administration allowed the sale of anti-tank missiles to Ukraine. Supporters of the administration held up the sale as evidence that Trump could not have colluded with Russia — here he was, arming Russia’s enemy. “The year that began with the narrative of Trump-Russia collusion is ending with an unexpected plot twist — the Trump administration is confronting and cracking down on Russia,” reported Fox News. The Wall Street Journal editorial page mocked “people who say President Trump colluded with Mr. Putin to win the election and wants to appease him now.” Skeptics merely saw the sale as evidence that the foreign policy bureaucracy operated at some distance from Trump’s whims.

Today’s New York Times suggests a darker interpretation altogether. In response to the missile sale, Ukrainian officials have frozen out the Mueller investigation. Ukraine’s government had previously cooperated eagerly to expose the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia — providing, among other importance evidence, ledgers detailing payments to Paul Manafort by the Russian-backed Ukrainian party he had advised.

Oh...and of course Cambridge Analytica was involved

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