Original Article

Ukraine situation - a primer

  • 1,894
  • 8
1588989006988.png
By Taylor Bassett - Staff Writer | 1588967955253.png @bassett_taylor | MadAboutPolitics.com

Ukraine is part of the former USSR and is bordered to its east by Russia. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia has inserted itself into Ukrainian politics in order to maintain control in the country, while many Ukrainians have sought to cut ties with Russia and align with western ideals. For example, in 2014 Ukraine revolted against its pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, after he sided with Vladimir Putin and defied a vote to join the European Union. In addition to maintaining political control, Russia has engaged in military efforts to physically control portions of Ukraine, particularly in the east. One example of this was Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. Ukraine is in an ongoing military conflict with Russia as we speak.

Official US foreign policy toward Ukraine has been clear – we support Ukraine and oppose Russian aggression in that region. We have taken specific bipartisan actions designed to deter Russian political and military aggression. This includes imposition of sanctions against Russia (over the annexation of Crimea, for example), as well as providing Ukraine with hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid, which includes training, equipment, and weapons, including javelin missiles capable of destroying Russian tanks.

The impeachment investigation centers on the theory that the Trump administration was withholding aid to Ukraine in order to use it as leverage against Ukraine’s newly elected president Volodymyr Zelensky. The theory suggests that Trump saw Zelensky’s election victory as an opportunity to get two things he wanted from Ukraine, both pertaining to his odds to win the 2020 election: first, Trump believed he could use Zelensky to damage Joe Biden by announcing an investigation into his son’s company, Burisma. Second, Trump thought Zelensky might help him publicize conspiracy theories that would potentially implicate Ukraine, as opposed to Russia, in the 2016 election interference campaign, which would discredit the Mueller investigation (notably, Mueller had testified on July 24, the day prior to Trump’s well-known call with Zelensky).

The facts we’ve learned so far – some direct, and some circumstantial – tend to support the theory that Trump leveraged and withheld military aid in exchange for personal political benefit. Some of the inculpatory facts include:
  • The Trump administration cannot provide a legitimate explanation as to why the aid was withheld;
  • No one in the OMB or NSC knows why the aid was being withheld;
  • The Trump administration had set up an “irregular” foreign policy apparatus through Rudy Giuliani designed to conceal Giuliani's influence campaign;
  • US officials in the “regular” foreign policy channel to Ukraine did not understand why aid was being withheld;
  • No one is able to provide an alternative explanation for what Giuliani was doing in Ukraine in recent months;
  • Numerous non-partisan witnesses, including diplomats involved with Ukraine policy, ultimately came to understand (after being kept out of the “irregular” loop) that aid was being withheld as part of a potential quid pro quo for investigations;
  • Certain people within the “irregular” channel, including Ambassador Sondland, have admitted under oath that military aid was conditioned on Zelensky publicly announcing an investigation;
  • Mulvaney admitted to a quid pro quo on TV;
  • The transcript of the Zelensky call, in the context of prior communications with Ukraine via our “irregular” back-channel, indicates that Zelensky must have understood that the reason aid was being withheld was because he had not yet publicly announced these investigations;
  • The Trump administration has gone to great lengths to prevent those with knowledge from testifying;
  • The Trump administration hid the transcript of the call on a private server until it became obvious that the public, after learning of the concealed whistleblower complaint, would demand its release; and
  • The Trump administration has offered practically zero exculpatory evidence.
The...

Latest Posts from our Message Boards

Latest Political News Feed

SCOOP: Trump admin sets terms for Harvard to address antisemitism or lose billions in taxpayer dollars

  • News source: FOX News
  • Replies: 0
  • Views: 3
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration has set new preconditions for Harvard to combat antisemitism in exchange for access to federal funding.

In a letter addressed to Harvard President Dean Garber, senior administration officials claimed Harvard had "fundamentally failed to protect American students and faculty from antisemitic violence and harassment" in violation of the Civil Rights Act.

"U.S. taxpayers invest enormously in U.S. colleges and universities, including Harvard," the letter, signed by Josh Gruenbaum, Commissioner of the Federal...
Continue reading...

Republicans charge ahead on Trump budget, setting up marathon Senate votes

  • News source: FOX News
  • Replies: 0
  • Views: 3
Senate Republicans cleared the way on Thursday for an eventual vote on the latest version of a budget to push through several key agenda items for President Trump, including the southern border and extending his 2017 tax cuts.

A motion to proceed was agreed to in the upper chamber just one day after Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham unveiled the Senate's amendment to the House's budget plan.

The Senate agreed to the motion by a vote of 52 to 48, along party lines. The only exception was Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who voted against it...
Continue reading...

Hezbollah at crossroads after blows from war weaken group

  • News source: BBC News - World
  • Replies: 0
  • Views: 3
The BBC's Hugo Bachega explores the future for Hezbollah in the wake of Israel's devastating attacks.
Continue reading...

Hungary withdraws from International Criminal Court during Netanyahu visit

  • News source: BBC News - World
  • Replies: 0
  • Views: 3
The move is announced hours after Israel's PM, who is sought under an ICC arrest warrant, arrives in Budapest for a state visit.
Continue reading...

Europe hopes for Trump tariffs deal but prepares for the worst

  • News source: BBC News - World
  • Replies: 0
  • Views: 3
The EU's message is that it is ready to negotiate with the US but at the same time poised to hit back too.
Continue reading...

Katya Adler: How will EU respond to Donald Trump's tariffs?

  • News source: BBC News - World
  • Replies: 0
  • Views: 3
The EU has enormous economic clout as the biggest single market in the world, but does not want to risk a backlash.
Continue reading...

Fact check: Trump's misleading tariff chart

  • News source: Robert Farley and D'Angelo Gore
  • Replies: 0
  • Views: 2
In his Rose Garden announcement of sweeping new “reciprocal tariffs,” President Donald Trump held aloft a misleading chart that claimed to give a breakdown of the tariffs other countries charge the U.S. and the corresponding tariff that the U.S. will now impose against those countries.

“Reciprocal. That means they do it to us and we do it to them,” Trump said in his April 2 speech. “Very simple. Can’t get any simpler than that.”

Trump said the U.S. would begin charging a “minimum baseline tariff of 10%” on all imported goods. But he said the U.S...
Continue reading...

FORCED ONTO THE FAIR PLAN: Why Are Low-Risk Homes Losing Insurance?

  • News source: Politics - CBSNews.com
  • Replies: 0
  • Views: 8
California's insurance of last resort is supposed to be for homes with *high* wildfire risk, but our CBS News California data analysis found that the vast majority of people in the FAIR Plan live in areas that the insurance companies classify as “low risk”. Julie Watts Investigates why people in low-risk areas are being forced onto the FAIR Plan and why new regulations may not help to get them off the high-cost, low coverage FAIR Plan and back to normal insurance.
Continue reading...

Trump wants Musk to stay with administration, says DOGE found something 'horrible' today

  • News source: FOX News
  • Replies: 0
  • Views: 7
President Donald Trump said he wants Elon Musk to stay on his team "as long as possible" during a conversation with reporters Thursday, adding DOGE had found something "horrible" without divulging details.

The president made his remarks during a conversation with reporters on Air Force One after Trump was asked how much longer Musk would stay on as a "special government employee."

The questions followed a report from Politico this week claiming Trump had told his inner circle that Musk will be leaving his role as a "special government employee"...
Continue reading...

Trump tariffs trigger steepest US stocks drop since 2020 as China, EU vow to hit back

  • News source: BBC News - World
  • Replies: 0
  • Views: 7
Nike and Apple were among brands worst hit, but Trump maintained the US economy would ultimately "boom".
Continue reading...

Trump's new tariffs will hit lower-income households the hardest

  • News source: Shannon Pettypiece | NBC News
  • Replies: 0
  • Views: 7
The ripple effects of President Donald Trump’s new wave of sweeping tariffs announced this week will be felt the most by lower-income Americans, who are heavily reliant on products from countries hit the hardest by Trump’s tariffs and have less disposable income to absorb higher prices, NBC News reported.

Trump is placing some of his highest tariffs on goods coming from countries making the low-cost products that line the shelves of discount retailers. Products from Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Cambodia, for instance, will have a more than 40% tariff —...
Continue reading...

Trump plans to freeze $510 million for Brown University

  • News source: Politics - CBSNews.com
  • Replies: 0
  • Views: 6
Washington — The Trump administration plans to freeze $510 million in federal grants to Brown University while it reviews the school's response to antisemitism and its efforts to eliminate diversity policies, the White House confirmed Thursday.

Brown, however, said it was unaware of the funding freeze.

"At this moment, we have no information to substantiate any of these rumors," Brown's provost Frank Doyle wrote in a message to academic leaders Thursday. "We are closely monitoring notifications related to grants, but have nothing more we can share...
Continue reading...

Judge Boasberg poised to hold Trump admin in contempt, takes down names of DHS officials: 'Pretty sketchy'

  • News source: FOX News
  • Replies: 0
  • Views: 6
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on Thursday grilled Trump administration lawyers over whether they defied a court order blocking deportations under a wartime immigration law — a potential step toward holding the administration in contempt.

At issue is the administration’s use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan nationals, including alleged members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang. Boasberg pressed Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign on why the government appeared to ignore an emergency injunction last month halting...
Continue reading...

HHS gutted programs to help people quit smoking. The impact could be deadly.

  • News source: Erika Edwards | NBC News
  • Replies: 0
  • Views: 5
Smoking rates in the United States are at historic lows and fewer people are dying from tobacco-related lung cancer — in part because the federal government has pumped millions of dollars into research and attention-grabbing anti-smoking campaigns, as well as resources to help smokers quit.

Public health experts were stunned this week when the Department of Health and Human Services dismantled several key groups that had been hugely successful in helping to curb smoking rates in the U.S. for decades. The groups also tracked youth smoking and vaping...
Continue reading...

Here’s a closer look at Trump’s tariff plan: What to know about the new duties

  • News source: FOX News
  • Replies: 0
  • Views: 8
President Donald Trump laid out his plans for imposing a host of new tariffs on imports to the U.S. Wednesday — a day his administration touted as "Liberation Day" and vowed would restore the American dream.

Trump unveiled the new tariffs in a ceremony at the White House’s Rose Garden for a "Make America Wealthy Again" event, where he declared that these new duties would usher in a wave of jobs for U.S. workers.

"For nations that treat us badly, we will calculate the combined rate of all their tariffs, nonmonetary barriers and other forms of...
Continue reading...

General News Feed

Fact Checkers News Feed

Back
Top Bottom