Tell me again how there is no history of Trump believing Ukraine was corrupt? This is from THREE WITNESSES'S TESTIMONIES.
"2. President Trump has a deep-seated, genuine, and reasonable skepticism of
Ukraine due to its history of pervasive corruption.
Multiple Democrat witnesses offered firsthand testimony of President Trump’s skeptical
view of Ukraine, as far back as September 2017. Ambassador Volker explained: “President
Trump demonstrated that he had a very deeply rooted negative view of Ukraine based on past
corruption. And that’s a reasonable position. Most people who would know anything about
Ukraine would think that.”112 He elaborated that the President’s concern about Ukraine was
genuine,113 and that this concern contributed to a delay in the meeting with President Zelensky.
He explained:
107 E.U.-Ukraine Ass’n Agreement, art. 14, Mar. 21, 2014, 57 Off. J. of the E.U. L161/3 (“In their cooperation on
justice, freedom and security, the Parties shall attach particular importance to the consolidation of the rule of law
and the reinforcement of institutions at all levels in the areas of administration in general and law enforcement and
the administration of justice in particular. Cooperation will, in particular, aim at strengthening the judiciary,
improving its efficiency, safeguarding its independence and impartiality, and combating corruption. Respect for
human rights and fundamental freedoms will guide all cooperation on justice, freedom and security.”).
108 Kent deposition, supra note 65 at 105, 151.
109 Taylor deposition, supra note 47, at 86.
110 Volker transcribed interview, supra note 60, at 76.
111 Id. at 148-49.
112 Id. at 30.
113 Id. at 295.
17
So the issue as I understood it was this deep-rooted, skeptical view
of Ukraine, a negative view of Ukraine, preexisting 2019, you know,
going back. When I started this, I had one other meeting with
President Trump and [then-Ukrainian] President Poroshenko. It was
in September of 2017. And at that time he had a very skeptical view
of Ukraine. So I know he had a very deep-rooted skeptical view.
And my understanding at the time was that even though he agreed
in the [May23] meeting that we had with him, say, okay, I’ll invite
him, he didn’t really want to do it. And that’s why the meeting kept
being delayed and delayed. 114
Other testimony confirms Ambassador Volker’s statements. Former U.S. Ambassador to
Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch confirmed the President’s skepticism, saying that she observed it
during President Trump’s meeting with President Poroshenko in September 2017.115 She
testified:
Q. Were you aware of the President’s deep-rooted skepticism about
Ukraine’s business environment?
A. Yes.
Q. And what did you know about that?
A. That he—I mean, he shared that concern directly with President
Poroshenko in their first meeting in the Oval Office.116
Dr. Fiona Hill, NSC Senior Director for Europe, also testified that President Trump was “quite
publicly” skeptical of Ukraine and that “everyone has expressed great concerns about corruption
in Ukraine.”117 Catherine Croft, a former NSC director, similarly attested to President’s Trump
skepticism when she staffed President Trump for two Ukraine matters in 2017, explaining:
“Throughout both, I heard, directly and indirectly, President Trump described Ukraine as a country."
