Blog Credo

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.

H.L. Mencken

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Quid Pro Quo

Josh Marshall's analysis of the "transcript" is very good. There's a key point that I hadn't noticed in other reports.  First, he notes that Bill Barr was hip deep in this.  Second, Trump presses a bunch of conspiracy theories. Third, there's the issue of firing the ambassador to Ukraine.

Fourth and most importantly, Marshall points to about as close an example of quid pro quo as you can get without the Latin:

Zelensky: "We are ready to continue to cooperate for the next steps specifically we are almost ready to buy more Javellin (missiles) from the United States for defense purposes."
Trump: "I would like you to do us a favor though..." he then goes on to talk about helping with his campaign and the Mueller Report, which had been the focal point of the previous day in DC.

In other words, Trump pivoted immediately from Zelensky's request for the military funds that he knows he has been promised and that Trump has withheld to a request for help with the server and some other issues.

Paired with Trump's refusal to release the funds appropriated by Congress...it's pretty damned clear that he is making those funds contingent on Zelensky helping his re-election campaign.

As Jon Chait shows, it's the context.

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