Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Tuesday November 12 2019, @09:40PM   Printer-friendly
from the the-enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

The view among the national security officials was unanimous: Military aid to Ukraine should not be stopped. But the White House's acting chief of staff thought otherwise.

That was the testimony of Laura Cooper, a Defense Department official, whose deposition was released Monday in the House impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.

"My sense is that all of the senior leaders of the US national security departments and agencies were all unified in their - in their view that this assistance was essential," she said. "And they were trying to find ways to engage the president on this."

Cooper's testimony was among several hundred pages of transcripts released Monday, along with those of State Department officials Catherine Croft and Christopher Anderson.

Cooper told investigators that, in a series of July meetings at the White House, she came to understand that Trump's acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, was holding up the military aid for the US ally.

[...] When she and others tried to get an explanation, they found none.

[...] She said it was "unusual" to have congressional funds suddenly halted that way, and aides raised concerns about the legality of it. The Pentagon was "concerned" about the hold-up of funds and "any signal that we would send to Ukraine about a wavering in our commitment", she said.

Cooper told investigators that she was visited in August by Kurt Volker, the US special envoy to Ukraine, who explained there was a "statement" that the Ukraine government could make to get the security money flowing.

[...] "Somehow, an effort that he was engaged in to see if there was a statement that the government of Ukraine would make," said Cooper, an assistant defence secretary, "that would somehow disavow any interference in US elections and would commit to the prosecution of any individuals involved in election interference."

For a handy reference to the documents that have been released concerning this, npr has posted Trump Impeachment Inquiry: A Guide To Key People, Facts And Documents:

Written words are central to the Ukraine affair. The significance of the whistleblower's original complaint and the White House's record of its call with Ukraine are debated, but the text is public. Here are the documents to refer to as the inquiry proceeds:

Texts and memos

Enlarge this image

The whistleblower's complaint has largely been corroborated by witness testimony, public statements and media reports. See how the document checks out — with a detailed annotation of the text.

Testimony released by Congress following closed depositions


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 5, Informative) by Snow on Tuesday November 12 2019, @11:05PM (14 children)

    by Snow (1601) on Tuesday November 12 2019, @11:05PM (#919594) Journal

    I could be wrong here... but isn't he being investigated for an illegal ordering of stopping military aid to Ukraine in exchange for investigating his political opponent.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +3  
       Informative=2, Touché=1, Total=3
    Extra 'Informative' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   5  
  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 12 2019, @11:14PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 12 2019, @11:14PM (#919598)

    Yep, turns out investigating democrats is a crime for anyone powerful enough to do anything about it.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 13 2019, @01:37PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 13 2019, @01:37PM (#919821)

      In Ukraine, he asked for two "anti-corruption" investigations against the Dems.

      Can you name one other anti-corruption initiative he has enacted?

      No? Then this is not a matter of enforcing the law, it is a matter of punishing those that oppose him. That is, abusing his office for his personal gain.

  • (Score: 0, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 12 2019, @11:26PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 12 2019, @11:26PM (#919604)

    Running for office isn't supposed to provide immunity to being investigated. If it did, where was Trump's immunity when Obama investigated him and even paid foreigners to concoct a false narrative in order to get a wiretap?

    Trump is stuck with the duty to investigate crime, even when done by political opponents. Trump is stuck with the duty to negotiate with foreign leaders for assistance, using every carrot and stick available. Trump can stop aid whenever he wishes, and this is a perfectly fine tool for getting foreigners to cooperate.

    None of this would be an issue if the Biden family hadn't abused political office to obtain bribes from foreign nations.

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 13 2019, @01:34AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 13 2019, @01:34AM (#919645)

      Make sure they pay you in USD not Rubles.

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday November 13 2019, @12:09AM (9 children)

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Wednesday November 13 2019, @12:09AM (#919611)

    You're not wrong. That is exactly what is happening.

    I wonder what will happen when (or if) he is actually convicted of an actual crime?

    I have spent most of my life assuming that I wouldn't actually live to see the American Civil War II, but there is a chance I might.

    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday November 13 2019, @04:38AM (8 children)

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday November 13 2019, @04:38AM (#919714) Journal

      I wonder what will happen when (or if) he is actually convicted of an actual crime?

      Like what? If as part of the conviction, you're expecting a Republican Senate to do the deed, you're going to need some pretty solid evidence of a pretty serious crime.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 13 2019, @04:00PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 13 2019, @04:00PM (#919881)

        Like all the crimes he committed while the GOP enjoyed the little power trip. Keep pretending reality isn't what it is, I mean that was Trump's explicit instruction.

        You khallow have shown yourself to be a pure partisan hack who ignores simple facts for dreams of conquest. Short version, you are a traitot by proxy support.

        • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 13 2019, @05:54PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 13 2019, @05:54PM (#919941)

          And, you, poor Mr. Coward, are an hysterical ninny who believes everything MSM tells you about the Trump.

        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday November 13 2019, @10:21PM

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday November 13 2019, @10:21PM (#920035) Journal

          Like all the crimes he committed while the GOP enjoyed the little power trip.

          Like?

      • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday November 13 2019, @08:22PM (4 children)

        by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Wednesday November 13 2019, @08:22PM (#919993)

        I'm not expecting a Republican Senate to convict Mr. Trump of anything, regardless of any evidence.

        I am expecting the Republican Senate to continue to deny any crime was committed, and even if one was he's the President and can do what we wants.

        That is what they've claimed so far, so why change?

        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday November 13 2019, @10:20PM (3 children)

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday November 13 2019, @10:20PM (#920034) Journal
          That's the point, who's going to pull the trigger and get a conviction when the only party who can convict a sitting president isn't very inclined to do so.
          • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday November 13 2019, @11:17PM (2 children)

            by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Wednesday November 13 2019, @11:17PM (#920061)

            The part of your comment that caught my eye was:

            ...you're going to need some pretty solid evidence...

            I was making the point that I don't think evidence has any role in the Republicans strategy, which bodes ill for rule of law in your country.

            Personally I think rule of law is a good thing largely, and laws ought to apply to everyone equally, but I don't think your Republican Party share that view, and I think that will be something they live to regret.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 13 2019, @11:58PM (1 child)

              by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 13 2019, @11:58PM (#920077)

              Personally I think rule of law is a good thing largely, and laws ought to apply to everyone equally, but I don't think your Republican Party share that view, and I think that will be something they live to regret.

              I think many of us, regardless of party affiliation, are already living to regret it. It feels like the country I once knew is evaporating before my eyes!

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 14 2019, @02:24AM

                by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 14 2019, @02:24AM (#920161)

                I feel it is the democrat party that has gone batshit crazy, as outrageous as the republicans used to be. Not in pushing religion down your throat, but any harebrained idea that they can use to signal how woke they are. The shrill MSM just follows them along.
                It may play well on campus, but millions of workers care more whether the Chinese ate going to pirate them out of a job, rather than celebrating some guy's transition to butterfly.