When the Washington Post started reporting about a “whistleblower” complaint about President Trump’s conversation with an unspecified “foreign leader,” speculation ran wild as to what it meant. But as Allahpundit at Hot Air figured out, it’s about Trump’s effort to get Ukraine to investigate corruption involving Joe Biden’s son. As part of that effort, apparently, Trump played hardball, conveying that U.S. military aid to Ukraine would be dependent on their cooperation.
And the correct response is, “So?” Is it the position of Democrats and their media allies that the apparently corrupt dealings of Joe Biden’s son in Ukraine should not be investigation? And as has been noted, Russia wasn’t the only foreign government “meddling” in the 2016 election — Ukraine did it, too. So if the Biden-Ukraine scandal is connected to that “meddling,” isn’t it logical that Trump would want Ukraine to investigate it? He’s the President of the United States, after all, and this investigation involves American interests, which he is sworn to protect.
Both The Washington Post and The New York Times report that an intelligence official who worked in the White House filed the complaint Aug. 12 after growing alarmed about the details of a phone call that President Donald Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, citing two people familiar with the matter.
Trump and Zelensky, who took office in May, spoke by phone July 25. The Ukrainian government released a read-out of the phone call that said the two leaders spoke about corruption investigations “that have hampered interaction between Ukraine and the USA.” . . .
Details of the complaint have spilled into public view following a tense battle between House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and Joseph Maguire, the acting director of national intelligence.
Michael Atkinson, the intelligence community inspector general (ICIG), sent Schiff letters this month making it clear that he disagreed with Maguire’s decision not to turn the whistleblower complaint over to Congress. Atkinson said he found the complaint credible and “urgent,” a threshold that requires the Office of Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to sent an intelligence community whistleblower complaint to Congress.
But Maguire, with guidance from the Justice Department, declined to turn over the complaint, saying it involved privileged communications.
Rudy Giuliani has admitted that he acted as Trump’s representative in discussions with Ukrainian officials. Again, the question is, “So?”
Only in the minds of Democrats, for whom everything Trump does is scandalous, is this considered a scandal.
It looks like the Ukrainian government tried to turn over evidence of Democrats who sought foreign help in tipping the 2016 election to Clinton over to US Embassy employees. The information was refused by the embassy and visas were refused for Ukrainian officials who wanted to turn it over to US justice officials. The informational was eventually given to a trusted US Attorney who did get the information to the Justice Department. The phone call was the Ukrainian government asking permission to go after Hunter Biden and Joe Biden. This happened months ago. The embassy employee was fired. The leaker got it wrong since he or she only was aware of the last conversation. The media jumped on partial information and tried to protect Biden and ginned up fake news. How about that!
Well… yeah. Just like their position was that Hillary should not be investigated and how unfair it was to her that she committed crimes that required investigation while she tried to become President.
@Randy:
They didn’t get it wrong; they just tried to turn it into the story they wanted it to be. Now, they’ve let the corrupt cat out of the bag.
Giuliani’s contact with Zelensky adviser and attorney Andrei Yermak this summer was encouraged and facilitated by the U.S. State Department.
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/462422-missing-piece-to-the-ukraine-puzzle-state-departments-overture-to-rudy
This whole thing has been a Trump Trap and the Leftists in politics and media have fallen into it completely.
Now they have to try to spin Biden and his drug-addicted son’s filthy dealings with foreign entities in such a way that Biden is still their place-holding “front runner,” until their DNC bosses deem it the right time to dump him and replace him with their real planned Democrat candidate for president. (You didn’t think Dem delegates would pick that person, did you?)
‘Whitleblower’? whitle as in little. Little bureaucrats that get to listen in on big boys phone calls. Whitle pencil necks that dont like it when democrat dirt is investigated.
Its a different admin whitle one, different goals.
WSJ jumps on the pile quoted by Allpundit again leaving out important elements to the narrative as pointed out by Nan.
This isnt about the election this is about ruining the foreign policy plans.
Creepy Feely Uncle Joe has filled his druggy kids pockets, Kerry got in on it too.