Perhaps it was inappropriate. Or perhaps not.
It was definitely inappropriate. NICE is reserved for top-secret sources and methods, not calls with formal leaders. Same with the other calls.
More to the point is that the WB was definitely correct that the writeup was moved to NICE.
Not sure what this even means.
You should, because it's important. It means that Trump was using Giuliani to undermine the foreign policy of the actual government of the United States. It's kind of insane, because as the POTUS, Trump
should be able to set the priorities of the State Department. Instead, he thwarted the will of Congress, and did an end-run around his own appointees.
Trump wouldnt be the first president to use a private citizen for some sort of government objective.
It is
extremely rare to do so. In fact, private citizens interfering in foreign affairs without authorization is a violation of the Logan Act.
And Trump has said they are wrong. Not really sure he said vs she said as a standard for impeachment.
Again, we're talking about the credibility and accuracy of the WB's reported concerns. He said, and testimony corroborated, that numerous WH staffers were concerned about the call and related events.
Trump segued into the Bidens after talking, again, about that unsubstantiated conspiracy theory that he or his campaign had worked with Russia to fix the 2016 election. Ukraine is somehow mixed up in it.
Again, this is about what the WB reported that Trump pressured Zelensky to
- investigate the Bidens
- look into the Crowdstrike conspiracy theory
- talk to Giuliani and Barr
I.e. his comments on the call were all correct.
And..? We have Biden on tape encouraging Ukraine to "play ball."
sigh
Biden was executing the official policy of the United States government, which was also that of the EU, that Shokin was incompetent and failing to do his job, and thus had to be fired. Trump was pushing Ukraine to interfere with a US election. They're not the same.
Trump can change USA policy toward Ukraine, or any country, if he wishes, for whatever reason he wishes.
Incorrect. There are limits on executive powers, e.g. only the Senate can ratify treaties. More to the point is that it is not appropriate for the POTUS to pressure a foreign nation for his own personal benefit.
Specifically in this situation, he was referring to his concern that the Obama admin had pressured Ukraine re-open its investigation into Manafort.
*bzzt* wrong, there was no mention of Manafort or Obama in the call.
Barr had asked Trump if he could reach out to the Australian government for assistance in the investigation into the origins of the Russia probe....
What are you babbling about?
Again: The WB specifically wrote that one of his concerns was asking Zelensky to work with Barr. The writeup bore that claim out.
Thus, and again... Even if you somehow ignore US law, the US Constitution and intent of the Framers and convince yourself that "the call was perfect!" the reality is that pretty much everything the WB put in his report has been corroborated by the subsequent evidence and testimony.
