Summation of Zelensky Transcript (yes it's bad and yes it's impeachable)
The redacted transcript is much more damning than I had expected. It's extraordinary Trump thought it would clear him. I expect the unredacted version to be far worse. Here are some highlights:
1. Clear Quid Pro Quo
A quid pro quo is not necessary for Trump to have committed a federal crime or to have committed an impeachable high crime or misdemeanor that doesn’t neatly fit into a federal crime. As constitutional law prof Jed Shuger points out, it’s felony bribery:
Keep in mind here the background. Per WAPO, Trump ordered Mick Mulvaney to freeze the UKR aid weeks before the July 25 call. Mulvaney likely violated federal laws to put that hold on the State Department and Defense Department on money that Congress had already appropriated. In fact, it was the perception of GOP Senators that what the WH was doing was illegal that caused the push back in part and enabled Schiff to uncover the whole plot.
So when Zelensky walked into that call, Trump had already set the stage to extort him. From the transcript he does just that.
Zelensky:
“I would also like to thank you for your great support in the area of defense. in the area of defense. We are ready to continue to cooperate for the next steps specifically we are almost ready to buy more javelins from the United States for defense purposes more javelins from the United States for defense purposes.”
Zelensky is saying that he will use the aid provided by the US (which Trump is holding up) to buy US made military equipment (this is often a string attached to get US military aid.)
Trump (in immediate response):
“I would like you to do us a favor though…”
Trump then launches into the Crowdstrike/DNC server conspiracy theory and later demands that Zelensky help him with investigating Biden. For his part, Zelensky appears to be willing to cooperate to some degree.
That’s the quid pro quo. Again it’s not necessary to impeach or try Trump with federal crimes, but this is a separate crime that pushes Trump and the GOP into a corner and they can’t defend themselves well. This is felony solicitation of a bribe through extortion. It could be 2 crimes or one. Basically, for this alone, Trump and Rudy should serve hard time.
2. Demand that Zelensky Provide Fodder for Barr’s Inquiry into the Origins of the Russia Investigation.
Trump makes reference to “Crowdstrike” the security firm hired by the DNC to investigate the Russian hack. Trumplandia has long sought to discredit Russia’s responsibility for the hack b/c it’s the anchoring point for the Mueller investigation. They want to argue that the DNC hacked itself (inside job) or that Russia was not responsible in some way and therefore the investigation should’ve never happened. Barr has launched such an investigation and here Trump wants Zelensky to provide more fodder for it. So Trump intended to have AG Barr ‘investigate’ the matter. So Trump wasn’t just looking to frame Biden, he was looking to launch investigations on 2 continents to attack Hillary Clinton, the DNC and all of Trump’s political opponents.
3. Express Demand to Investigate Biden
“There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution & a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do w/the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it…It sounds horrible to me.”
The “AG” Trump is referring to here is AG Barr. Trump not only directly demanded that Zelensky intervene to provide dirt on Biden, he intended to use it to have AG Barr launch an investigation against Uncle Joe and family in the United States. This is damning.
To boot, Trump also wanted to investigate the former Ambassador to UKR (Ivanovich). Trump then says he will have AG Barr call Zelensky and they “will get to the bottom of it.”
In short, Trump used most of his call to pressure the UKR President to investigate his opponents and to provide fodder for investigations that AG Barr is running in the US which are intended to damage Trump’s political opponents. Few things more impeachable than this conduct.
Perhaps the biggest revelation here is the role of AG Barr. Lord Barr and Rudy are mentioned by Trump 7 times in this call, all with the purpose of digging up dirt and setting the stage for criminal prosecutions against Biden and other political opponents on two continents.
Trump has circumvented and broken the US bureaucracy with a few bit players: Barr, Rudy and Mulvaney are who Trump uses to do an end run around the bureaucracy and legal constraints. share