Since I wrote this post, more and more evidence has become public about how President Trump tried to enlist foreign leaders in discrediting rival politicians and then to restrict access to the reports and hide the evidence in a super-secret computer. In the coming weeks, it is likely that more information will be forthcoming as the House Intelligence Committee holds hearings and as more investigative reporting appears in national newspapers. Among the other people already implicated are Attorney General Barr, Secretary of State Pompeo, and the president’s personal attorney Rudolph Giuliani. Besides Ukraine, it appears contacts were made with Australia, Italy, and Great Britain in attempts to undermine the work of the US intelligence organizations. All of these actions are related in some way or another to Russia, who we know interfered in the US elections in 2016. It also appears that United States pressure has resulted in Ukraine agreeing to have elections in the eastern part of the country where insurgents backed by Russia have been fighting for several years. Ostensibly, this could lead to that region being given special status and would then officially ally itself with Russia, who would ask to have the international sanctions against them lifted, which is what they have been trying to do since Trump’s election.
If the current public information is corroborated with testimony, documents, and other evidence, it would be very grave. To make matters worse, the administration is continuing to say that its employees may not testify or turn over documents. This seems to also be obstructive behavior.
Now, the Inspector General of the State Department has asked for an urgent meeting with several Congressional committees on October 2nd, tomorrow as I write this. I am filled with trepidation, but grateful that the Inspector General is independent of the State Department and can’t be blocked from bringing information to Congress.
Stay tuned.
Share this:
Top of JC's Mind 
Ugh he is so slippery!!! I worry he will wiggle out of this somehow but pray not 😬
LikeLike
I’m scared by the threats against anyone who speaks against him. I still can’t believe that the White House thought the read-out (not even transcript) of the Ukraine call was “perfect” – and that so few in his own party are willing to speak out against something so blatant.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m not American but Ive been watching the whole drama play out from afar. And I’ve always been curious about this- yes one man may be terrible but how can the whole party (except very very few) just stand by!!! It’s not just him by the way so many world leaders now are goons. Dark times!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s true that there is a rise in toxic populism around the world. I think leaders like Trump play on the fears of vulnerable people which emboldens them to lash out at people who are different from them in some way.
The Congressional Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, are ignoring the corruption in order to get through a batch of very conservative and partisan federal judges, massive cuts in regulations, and tax cuts that favor the very wealthy people and corporations. They totally abandoned being fiscally conservative, which was a long-time belief of the Republicans. It’s possible that people will vote some of them out of office in the next election, but each state has two senators, regardless of its population. The conservative, sparsely populated rural states thus have a lot of power in the government. To make matters worse, Republican-led state legislature have drawn district lines that favor their party. And we can’t forget that the president is not elected by popular vote but by an arcane method called the electoral college. In the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton got three million more votes than Trump, but still lost because of the way the process is set up.
The last piece is that Trump has so vilified the free, independent press that the same vulnerable folks that voted for him don’t believe facts anymore. That is, perhaps, the scariest thing of all from my perspective.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gosh thanks for this detailed update. Indeed, Ive been pretty hooked on CNN, MSNBC and funnily enough follow George Conways tweets which are so hilarious and awkward given his wife is such a staunch defender of Trump. I really feel for the USA regarding the electoral college – it’s super unfair that Hilary (and maybe even Al Gore??) had millions of people wanting them to be their president but it’s almost like their vote doesn’t count. We’re not talking about 3,000 or even 300000 people but 3 million. That’s like the population of a whole country – what is the incentive even for them to vote. I pray pray pray for there to be a different US president in 2020. It would make a difference not just in the US but globally.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much for your prayers. My fantasy is that both Trump and Pence are taken down by their scandalous behavior and that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi becomes president until the 2020 election is held! You are correct about Al Gore, too; he should have been our president and we would have taken significant climate action earlier.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amen to those gorgeous fantasies, I’ll join that visualisation too 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe if we all wish hard enough…
LikeLiked by 1 person