September 20, 2019

What “Promise” Did Trump Make to Ukraine?

Cheriss May/NurPhoto via ZUMA Press

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The Wall Street Journal reports today that President Trump asked the Ukrainian president “about eight times” in a single phone call to investigate Joe Biden’s son. This was obviously something Trump was pretty obsessed with. However, the Journal report also says this:

Mr. Trump didn’t mention a provision of foreign aid to Ukraine on the call, said this person, who didn’t believe Mr. Trump offered the Ukrainian president any quid-pro-quo for his cooperation on any investigation.

I’m pointing this out because yesterday’s reporting on the whistleblower complaint said the whistleblower was concerned about an alarming “promise” Trump made. This contradicts that reporting.

It’s possible that there are multiple phone calls involved here, or that some of the sources for the past week’s revelations don’t have the full story. Still, there’s a contradiction here.

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This is no time to come up short. It's time to fight like hell, as our namesake would tell us to do, for a democracy where minority rule cannot impose an extreme agenda, where facts matter, and where accountability has a chance at the polls and in the press. If you value our reporting and you can right now, please help us dig out of the $100,000 hole we're starting our new budgeting cycle in with an always-needed and always-appreciated donation today.

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