Trump’s Ukraine call reveals a president convinced of his own invincibility

The Washington Post ^ | 21 September 2019 | Philip Rucker , Robert Costa and Rachael Bade

[E. Pluribus Unum]

When the July 24 congressional testimony of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III deflated the impeachment hopes of Democrats, President Trump crowed “no collusion” and claimed vindication from accusations that he had conspired with Russia in the 2016 election.

Then, the very next day, Trump allegedly sought to collude with another foreign country in the coming election — pressing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to dig up what he believed would be damaging information about one of his leading Democratic challengers, former vice president Joe Biden, according to people familiar with the conversation.

The push by Trump and his personal attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, to influence the newly elected Ukrainian leader reveals a president convinced of his own invincibility — apparently willing and even eager to wield the vast powers of the United States to taint a political foe and confident that no one could hold him back.

“We haven’t seen anything like this in my lifetime,” said William A. Galston, a senior fellow in governance at the Brookings Institution who graduated from college just before Watergate. “He appears to be daring the rest of the political system to stop him — and if it doesn’t, he’ll go further.”

The effort — which came as the Trump administration was withholding financial and military support from Ukraine to help the small democracy protect itself against Russian aggression — illustrates Trump’s expansive view of executive power and what appears to be a cavalier attitude about legal limits on his conduct.

[NorthMountain]

Dezinformatsia ... it isn't new ...

[Revolutionary]

Trump has played them like a fiddle. He exposes that he is still being spied upon by the Deep State and puts Biden on the hot seat for his corruption.

[Lisbon1940]

Rosalind Helderman also contributed.

[Fresh Wind]

Compost = Rotting Garbage

[nikos1121]

I want my president to feel invincible

[Yaelle]

Holy hell. It’s like complaining that the guy crossed outside the crosswalk to report a murder.

[nathanbedford]

1. The president of the United States is the chief diplomat and chief law enforcement officer of the country.

2. As such he is duty-bound to investigate credible allegations of corruption and mismanagement of foreign affairs.

3. Schweitzer's book and Biden's own filmed confession of forcing the Ukrainian prosecutor out of office by threats to withhold American taxpayer money, constituted credible allegations of corruption and mismanagement.

4. The president says there was no quid pro quo for his requests that the new Ukrainian administration investigate the matter.

5. The whistleblower apparently confirms that there was no quid pro quo for the requests by the president to investigate.

6. The Ukrainian authorities confirm that there was no quid pro quo.

The president behaved correctly and to have done otherwise than request investigation would have been to neglect his duty to see the laws faithfully executed by himself and by former vice presidents.

Rudy Giuliani acting as a private citizen had a perfect right to request that the Ukrainians investigate. There is a long history in the United States of employing private citizens in foreign negotiations, the name Harry Hopkins comes to mind as does Averill Harriman.

There is no evidence that Giuliani offered any quid pro quo, therefore, he did nothing wrong. There is no evidence that Giuliani had any quid pro quo to offer, therefore the president did nothing wrong.

[qaz123]

Hasn’t it already come out that:

1. there were no promises to anyone with regards to anything

2. it has been shown that an obama appointed holdover, US Ambassador withheld and obstructed the Ukrainian governments attempts to provide the DOJ information regarding possible illegal activities on the part of the previous administration and the clinton campaign. So much so that the Ukrainians hired an outside law firm and asked for a meeting with a US representative and the US Dept of State ASKED Giuliani to be that representative.

3. the so-called whistle blower, it is being shown, didn’t not have direct knowledge of the contents of the phone call and is not being given whistle blower status.

4. the media is covering for Biden, Inc....who would have thunk they’d be just as corrupt as the rest of them, b/c all along, we all thought they were all just a bunch of dumbasses.

[AzNASCARfan]

Here is Biden on tape... literally BRAGGING about doing the EXACT quid pro quo thing the entire left AND the Media is now accusing Trump of doing... Share this link everywhere, it is qued up and ready to go, just listen to 2 minutes! https://youtu.be/Q0_AqpdwqK4?t=3127

Notice the date on the video... I have known about this investigation since Feb. 2018, a month after the video was made and have been waiting for it to become public knowledge and so has Biden! He only ran for President as cover so they could make this claim when the investigation went public!!

I mean just think about for it 5 seconds, IF Biden had ANY Presidential aspirations would he have not ran as the sitting Vice President instead of waiting until just before he was going to turn 80 years old? He could have ran against Hillary if he wanted to be President, unless the fix was in... Has Obama endorsed his own Vice President?? Nothing any of them are doing now makes any logical sense lately...

[maggief]

Fake News.

No bias from this liberal Clintonite...

“We haven’t seen anything like this in my lifetime,” said William A. Galston, a senior fellow in governance at the Brookings Institution who graduated from college just before Watergate. “He appears to be daring the rest of the political system to stop him — and if it doesn’t, he’ll go further.”

wiki:

He was deputy assistant for domestic policy to U.S. President Bill Clinton (January 1993 – May 1995).[1][7][9] He has also been employed by the presidential campaigns of Al Gore (1988, 2000),[10][11] Walter Mondale,[11] and John B. Anderson.[12]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-clear-and-present-danger-of-trump-1519169425

The Clear and Present Danger of Trump
His weekend Twitter outburst calls into question his ability to discharge his powers.
By William A. Galston
Feb. 20, 2018

https://muckrack.com/william-galston/articles

Articles by William Galston | The Wall Street Journal ...

https://www.amazon.com/William-A-Galston/e/B001IZTL9M/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

Anti-Pluralism: The Populist Threat to Liberal Democracy (Politics and Culture)

by William A. Galston

The Great Recession, institutional dysfunction, a growing divide between urban and rural prospects, and failed efforts to effectively address immigration have paved the way for a populist backlash that disrupts the postwar bargain between political elites and citizens. Whether today’s populism represents a corrective to unfair and obsolete policies or a threat to liberal democracy itself remains up for debate. Yet this much is clear: these challenges indict the triumphalism that accompanied liberal democratic consolidation after the collapse of the Soviet Union. To respond to today’s crisis, good leaders must strive for inclusive economic growth while addressing fraught social and cultural issues, including demographic anxiety, with frank attention. Although reforms may stem the populist tide, liberal democratic life will always leave some citizens unsatisfied. This is a permanent source of vulnerability, but liberal democracy will endure so long as citizens believe it is worth fighting for.

[Ann Archy]

Phillip Drucker and Robert Costa are Hugh Hewitt's FAV BOYS!! Hey Hughie....how do you like this article??

And WHO are they talking about who has direct knowledge of the "call"?

[txrefugee]

Panic in the Washington Compost because Slow Joe’s campaign is sinking under scrutiny of the Biden Crime Family involvement with China and Ukraine. Inquiring minds want to know where the money is being hidden offshore.

[Cboldt]

Yellow journalism and dirty cops - a match made in hell.

[rolling_stone]

he doesn’t have to be invincible his opponents are morons with schiff for brains...they are throwing dirty snowflakes that melt midair. do any of them have an iq larger than their age or waist size?

[USS Alaska]

Trump allegedly sought to collude with another foreign country in the coming election

They got him now:)

[Fido969]

And what did Biden’s bragging reveal?

[RArtfulogerDodger]

Why is a POS like this article allowed to be published here? I can get this liberal bllsht all over the teevee machine and the propaganda internet and on Supergirl. Why do i need to see it here too? Why isn;t it taken down?

[Maris Crane]

I AGREE 100%!!!

[Rainwave]

“Burn!” The POTUS is masterfull in setting up the media for their uuuge downfall coming. Something about all this feels comforting to me. I think Trump is going to come out of this as victorious and yes, invincible. Certainly not with the deep state but with most Americans who aren’t as dumb as the media wish them to be

[Bookshelf]

The radical authors use the disgraceful “according to people familiar with the conversation” scam on which to hang their tale. I, for one, am sick of this dodge.