An overlooked Bill Taylor revelation hints at worse to come from Trump

[Dennis Donovan]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/10/23/hidden-revelation-taylor-hints-worse-come-trump/

By Greg Sargent Opinion writer

Oct. 23, 2019 at 10:37 a.m. EDT

William B. Taylor Jr.'s explosive testimony illustrated with smoking-gun force that President Trump did indeed use hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to leverage a foreign leader into helping corrupt our election on his behalf. But there’s a forward-looking dimension to Taylor’s revelations, too.

The testimony from Taylor, the acting U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, also contains a key revelation about Attorney General William P. Barr — one that provides an occasion to revisit his role in this scandal, and hints at how Barr will likely continue perverting the U.S. government machinery to help Trump get away with it.

Taylor’s key mention of Barr comes in a very damning passage. Taylor recounted that he’d learned that Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, had informed Ukraine that the frozen military aid would be conditioned on launching the “investigations” Trump wanted.

Taylor then testified that on a call, Sondland stated that Trump told him he wanted Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to “publicly” pledge investigations -- which would undercut the fact of Russian sabotage of the 2016 election and help smear potential 2020 opponent Joe Biden. Taylor claimed Sondland told him the money was dependent on this.

Taylor then adds:

We also discussed the possibility that the Ukrainian Prosecutor General, rather than President Zelenskyy, would make a statement about investigations, potentially in coordination with Attorney General Barr’s probe into the investigation of interference in the 2016 elections.

Two senior U.S. officials seriously discussed a plan in which the attorney general of the United States would publicly coordinate with a foreign government to help Trump absolve Russia of culpability for an attack on our political system, by helping to repudiate our intelligence services’ conclusion about that culpability.

That’s the goal of Trump’s demand for Ukraine’s investigation into 2016 -- to validate a conspiracy theory which holds that Ukraine hacked Democrats’ emails and set up Russia to get blamed for sabotaging the election for Trump.

</snip>

Bring it on!

[NoMoreRepugs]

1. I'm not an attorney but sure sounds like a strategy had been

formulated and was in play.... hard to argue that chicanery wasn't afoot.

[uponit7771]

2. Yep, second time on paper that Barr is indicated to be involved with Ukraine.

[Mike 03]

3. Nothing would make me happier than seeing Barr get hopelessly snared in

this investigation.

[riversedge]

4. That's the goal of Trump's demand for Ukraine's investigation into 2016 -- to validate a conspiracy

Two senior U.S. officials seriously discussed a plan in which the attorney general of the United States would publicly coordinate with a foreign government to help Trump absolve Russia of culpability for an attack on our political system, by helping to repudiate our intelligence services’ conclusion about that culpability.

That’s the goal of Trump’s demand for Ukraine’s investigation into 2016 -- to validate a conspiracy theory which holds that Ukraine hacked Democrats’ emails and set up Russia to get blamed for sabotaging the election for Trump.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

28. It's also to invalidate the findings of the intelligence

community and Senate intelligence committee (lead by the Republicans) that Russia was responsible for the attack on our election system to help Trump and hurt Clinton.

If Russia is found free of any responsibility, then the sanctions that were put in place in response to its attacks are invalid and would have to not only be lifted, but be found to be improper from the moment they were imposed. That would give Russia a cause of action against the U.S. for unlawfully blocking trade between Russia and potential customers.

So the American taxpayers would end up paying Russia for attacking our 2016 election. Mission accomplished.

As Nancy Pelosi put it, when it comes to Trump, “all roads seem to lead to” Russian President Vladimir Putin.

[dalton99a]

5. Kick

[pecosbob]

6. In my mind this constitutes actual treason

If it is not legally considered as such then the statute is deficient.

[Cosmocat]

13. It so is

nm

[NCjack]

7. Amp. Taylor raised the possibility that

1. Trump would succeed in getting UKR Pres. Zelensky to say that he was opening investigations.
2. UKN Pres. Zelensky would mollify Trump by concluding that investigations proved that UKR and not RUS interfered in USA elections,
3. Trump would not ever send the assistance money to UNR,
3. Trump would pull away from UKR, leaving them to face the Russians alone (as he screwed the Kurds).

[UrbanProspector]

10. This...

Beautiful thought, just perfect!

[iluvtennis]

8. more proof that trump is indeed putin's puppet

[smb]

15. He's A Timeshare Puppet

[iluvtennis]

25. Love it, just love it!

[flibbitygiblets]

9. So they strong-armed Ukraine into investigating THEMSELVES about 2016 election interference

...which they did not do, in order to save face from RUSSIA, the country that invaded them and is still invading them?

Sounds like an abusive husband telling the abused wife that she'd better tell the cops that SHE is guilty of punching herself in the face, or else he'll kick her out on the streets.

[AllyCat]

18. Unreal.

Not to be confused with fake.

[Sogo]

11. "...all roads lead to Putin." nt.

[calimary]

12. They sure do.

[world wide wally]

14. Eerily similar to Comey making a "public statement" about Hillary when it was in fact against FBI

policy to speak publicly about a candidate and an ongoing investigation so close to an election.

[Sneederbunk]

16. Is Barr now extorting other countries in Trump's stead?

[Toorich]

17. And there's more....

.... Putin is dying for US sanctions to be lifted. They were imposed for invading Ukraine and
election interference. Trump "suggested" that Ukraine should play nice and make a deal
with Putin.
If Ukraine caves in to Putin and gives up it's invaded territory - then that reason for sanction is gone.

If Ukraine "finds" that it's bad actors, not Russian's, interfered in our election - then reason 2 for sanctions
is gone.

Why does it matter? Among other financial benefits, Rosneft oil can again be exported to the tune of billions and billions
and billions of dollars. Remember that Rosneft went public and was bought up by mega rich oligarchs (Putin and his buddies).

2 or 3 years ago some reporter did some digging and found that ownership of 10 to 15 percent of the Rosneft shares
couldn't be determined.

"Many people are saying" a portion of that 10 to 15 percent is being dangled as bait to whomever gets the sanctions lifted.

Many people are saying.......

[AllyCat]

19. So this also proves Russia meddled in our elections

[Qutzupalotl]

20. This is a Russian propaganda narrative with no factual basis.

Barr and others are deliberately promoting Russian propaganda. History will not be kind to them, nor, I hope, will our legal system.

[catbyte]

21. I shudder to think what would've happened if we hadn't taken the House last November.

None of this would've come to light. This country would've been lost. Utterly lost. Over 200 years down the toilet, destroyed by the Worst Person America Ever Produced.

[Dennis Donovan]

23. Me too. It would've destroyed the Constitution

...and my 54 year love affair with it.

[oldsoftie]

22. Oh, I'm sure Taylor was an "Obama man" or "deep state Bush man"

or some other such bullshit

[mjvpi]

24. Barr showed his colors in the wake of Iran Contra

He’s at best an ideological tool. Didn’t his law firm represent Wilber Ross’s bank in Cypress? The same bank that had the big computer dumps with Trumps company during the election. The same bank that is suspected of Russian mob money laundering? Going from memory. Please correct me if not factually sound.

[blm]

27. He's pro-fascist elite not pro-American.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

26. WP's point is v important, but complicated to explain to propaganda-infused wobbly middle.

We can hope that Barr's activities will be revealed soon.

[Hassler]

29. Before any vote to impeach Chump, they should vote to impeach

dis-Barr Bill.