- Joined
- Jun 18, 2018
- Messages
- 38,932
- Reaction score
- 31,580
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Progressive
1. Spread propaganda about Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election
As early as 2017, Trump began voicing the conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Russia, had interfered in the 2016 presidential election. This was one of the things Trump pressured Zelensky to “investigate” while withholding military aid.
2. Ousted the well-regarded U.S. ambassador to Ukraine
Trump pushed out Marie Yovanovitch in 2019, after his lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani mounted a smear campaign against her. Yovanovitch was perceived as disloyal to Trump.
3. Froze military assistance to Ukraine
Well before extorting Zelensky, Trump alarmed officials by freezing military aid to Ukraine that Congress had appropriated, but without meaningful policy justification.
4. Withheld a White House meeting from Zelensky
In 2019, Trump communicated in various ways to Zelensky that a much-sought-after White House meeting would be conditioned on doing his corrupt dirt-digging on Joe Biden.
5. Turned Ukraine policy over to Giuliani
This was one of the most shocking subplots: Trump repeatedly instructed Zelensky to contact Giuliani to discuss what Zelensky would be required to do to please Trump. Giuliani’s circumvention of national security protocols deeply alarmed officials.
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It will be years before this country and world can recover from his corruption.