Ashley Parker, Washington Post White House bureau chief, and John Heilemann, executive producer of Showtime’s “The Circus”, recount Ukraine President Zelensky’s complicated relationship with former President Trump and highlight the importance of Zelensky’s recent visit to the Biden White House.
» Subscribe to MSNBC:
MSNBC delivers breaking news, in-depth analysis of politics headlines, as well as commentary and informed perspectives. Find video clips and segments from The Rachel Maddow Show, Morning Joe, Meet the Press Daily, The Beat with Ari Melber, Deadline: White House with Nicolle Wallace, The ReidOut, All In, Last Word, 11th Hour, and more.
Connect with MSNBC Online
Visit msnbc.com:
Subscribe to MSNBC Newsletter:
Find MSNBC on Facebook:
Follow MSNBC on Twitter:
Follow MSNBC on Instagram:
#WhiteHouse #Biden #Zelensky
Welcome, President of Ukraine to the WH!
old putin crying
@tingle blade put-in is an old sick grandpa himself who can’t even use a smartphone.
Impeach Lying Cheating Joe! 🤮
@N Q no
Biden SHOULD GRANT THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINIAN ALL OF THE REQUESTS FOR WEAPONS SALES HE NEEDS. JAVELINS MISSILES, BODY ARMOR, ARTILLERY, Armed drones , Assault Rifles all in the name of fighting Putins tyranny.
@tingle blade REALLY? Cause I’m looking at the picture of the first meeting between Biden and Putin AND PUTIN AIN’T LAUGHING LIKE WAS AT HELLSINKI WITH HIS ORANGE LAPDOG THE ORANGE CHIMPANZEE.
The DoD warned the Trump “administration” several times that continuing to withhold aid to Ukraine violated the Impoundment Control Act, which stipulates that if the federal funds are not spent on their designated purpose within a certain period, they will be taken, or impounded, by the Treasury Department.
The unredacted emails between Defense Department and Office of Management and Budget officials revealed that between June and September — when the Ukrainian aid was ultimately released following the whistleblower’s complaint — the Defense Department repeatedly asked the OMB why the military aid was being held up.
The timeline of Trump’s impeachable acts while engaging in a quid pro quo.
● June 19, OMB aide, Robert Blair, learned that Trump was questioning the delivery of the aid package, at which point Blair told Russell Vought, the acting head of the office, that “we need to hold it up.”
● That day, another OMB official, Michael Duffey, emailed the acting Defense Department comptroller, Elaine McCusker, and copied Mark Sandy, an OMB official on national-security programs, to ask if she had “insight on this funding.”
● After McCusker explained on June 25 which companies were producing the military equipment and said that only $7 million of the Pentagon’s $250 million part of the package had been spent, Blair told Mick Mulvaney on June 27 that they should “expect Congress to become unhinged” by withholding the aid.
● July 25, Sandy officially froze the Ukraine aid. This was also the day Trump spoke with President Zelensky on the phone and asked him to launch a bogus investigation on Joe Biden and his son. Shortly after Trump’s call, Duffey emailed several Pentagon officials and asked them to “please hold off on any additional DOD obligations of these funds.” He requested that the recipients keep the directive “closely held to those who need to know” because of “the sensitive nature of the request.”
● McCusker replied that same day and asked whether the OMB had cleared the hold with the Defense Department’s lawyers. This was the first sign of the Pentagon’s concerns about the legality of withholding the aid.
● July 26, John Rood, the head of policy at the Pentagon, emailed Defense Secretary Mark Esper a readout of a meeting in which top national-security officials voiced their “unanimous support” for sending the security assistance. On August 9, McCusker warned Sandy, Duffey, and other senior OMB officials that if the aid was not released soon, it might affect the “timely execution” of the program. “We hope it won’t and will do all we can to execute once the policy decision is made, but can no longer make that declarative statement,” she wrote. The DOJ redacted this warning from McCusker, which, notably, contradicted the OMB’s talking points..
● August 12, when it became clear that Trump would continue the aid freeze, McCusker emailed Duffey and asked him to include language in a footnote in a budgeting document to reflect the growing risk of withholding funding. The language was not included, and the request was redacted in the initial document release.The DOJ also redacted several emails from McCusker near the end of August raising additional legal questions about withholding the aid and the possibility that Trump’s actions violated the Impoundment Control Act…
● August 28, after Politico publicly revealed the aid freeze, the OMB’s general counsel, Mark Paoletta, sent around talking points including that “no action has been taken by OMB that would preclude the obligation of these funds before the end of the fiscal year.”
● McCusker pushed back, writing: “I don’t agree to the revised TPs — the last one is just not accurate from a financial execution standpoint, something we have been consistently conveying for a few weeks.” Her response was initially redacted.
● As September came around, McCusker raised concerns about whether the Defense Department would be “adequately protected from what may happen as a result of the Ukraine obligation pause.” She added, “I realize we need to continue to give the WH as much decision space as possible, but am concerned we have not officially documented the fact that we can not promise full execution at this point in the fiscal year.”
● September 9, Duffey sent McCusker a misleading email suggesting that if the president greenlighted the aid but the Pentagon was not able to obligate the funding, it would be on the Pentagon and not the OMB..
● McCusker responded: “You can’t be serious. I am speechless.”
● September 11, after Congress became aware of a whistleblower’s complaint accusing Trump of “using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country” in the 2020 election, Duffey emailed McCusker and said the president had lifted the hold on Ukraine’s military aid.
● “Glad to have this behind us,” he wrote..
“If you don’t fire the prosecutor, you won’t get the billion dollars in aid.”…. “SOB, they fired the prosecutor!” – Joe Biden.
@b s *Still working hard for your rubles and vodka, da?* 🙄
The truth is biden is a complete Failure. He stranded Americans in Afghanistan, he cost lives unnecessarily. He is a complete incompetent fool & needs to go.
Exactly, and why Trump is a criminal and MUST be prosecuted.
@D RiteMoLawzBks I am not making any mistake. The evidence for the Abuse of Power charge is the same evidence for all of the crimes that I detailed. The same evidence suffices for BOTH crimes to be prosecuted in court, AND for High Crimes to justify impeachment and removal from office. It’s a “both/and” and not an “either/or.”
Just because the Senate voted not to convict Trump of High Crimes and keep him in office, does NOT mean that he is innocent of the crimes that can be charged according to the evidence in the impeachment trial proceedings.
Whether he is charged for those crimes is for a prosecutor to decide and for a court to adjudicate.
Watch the Giuliani case. As the evidence of that case unfolds, it will be discovered that Senators received bribes that came from the Russian mafia.
Is it a felony to bribe jurors? Is it a felony for jurors to take bribes in exchange for acquittal? Do you think that we should just cover up these crimes? Should they become legal and normal? Do you want to live in the kind of system they have in Russia?
There is NO CHOICE but to prosecute. And get a conviction. The republic is at stake. The conspirators in the Senate voted to keep a felon in the presidency. And he subsequently committed more felonies.
So, President Zelensky, let me ask you
Did it feel like extortion?
You’re asking a professional contortionist.
👏👏👏👏👏
Funny and they say ( Republicans ) that Biden unfit to rule, have you seen how many dossier the white house dealing with?
I think you mean indictments. How many indictments Republicans are dealing with. The ones that aren’t in prison or dead from COVID or suicide. Well at least something good happened. Less Republicans.
So wait a minute, he didn’t have to publicly announce a fake investigation into a political rival, OR have Ukraine take the blame for Russia attacking our elections in 2017?……That’s weird….
No announcements and no indictments. But that’s just because all the Republicans are under investigation, indictment, or dead or in prison already.
Lol
@Drunken Dragon there will be forthcoming indictment for the Trumplicants involved in 1/6 insurrection starting with the scared as cat McCarthy including obstruction of congress
You don’t have to pay for the wall. Just say you’ll pay for the wall and I’ll take it from there.
You don’t have to prove the election was corrupt. Just say the election was corrupt and I’ll take it from there.
You don’t have to find any dirt on my political rivals. Just say you found dirt on my political rivals and I’ll take it from there.
–The Trump Doctrine
@N Q By “world” you mean your boss, Putin.
@Jake Be Everything Trump has ever done has been a façade aimed at gullible and racist marks. Businesses, marriages, politics and allies. All scam marketing BS.
@Stirling Fletcher Na….. I meant the world!
@N Q Prove it.
👌👍🏼
If we do not stand with Ukraine against Russia, what will our allies think of us?. Especially after Vietnam, the Kurds in Syria and now the Afghans?
We’re worried about Ukraine we got this Taiwan situation Russia and Ukraine have had multiple conflicts and at the end of the day we do not need to get dragged into a conflict with a monster like Russia because China’s already waiting at our doorstep for us to make a stupid move and we’ve got towel on and we’ve got Israel to look after and we got to take care of the whole world apparently even though we’re still in our jobs overseas and cutting off all production and stopping the import of ammunition but you know I guess you like paying your taxes to let our CIA do their little overthrowing of foreign governments under the guise of national security . I don’t know about you but I don’t like the feeling of my stomach I get from knowing that I go to work everyday and pay some of my money so they can make a bomb and drop it on a little poor kid and blow his hands and legs off and we don’t even know the true reasons. We got to stop to support more so willy-nilly because we’re going to be on the receiving in one day soon and then maybe you’ll have an understanding of what it’s like
It is in ours and Ukraine’s interest to keep a check on Russia. Ukraine actually aided in evacuation of Afghanistan.
@Elizabeth Ayres when and where did The Ukraine aid anyone? How about some specifics?
LET HIM TELL THE TRUTH. AMERICAN PEOPLE WOULD LIKE THE TRUTH. TRANSPARENCY IS WHAT WE THE PEOPLE EXPECT.
You can’t handle the truth!!!
As someone looking in from the outside, I would like to know the status of Col. Vindman in relation to his job with the American government ? Surely any administration would see him and his brother as terrific ‘assets’ with their proven integrity and knowledge of this area of international, foreign policy aims of the United States ? Those Public Servants that stood up to the previous administrations illegal, immoral and downright thuggish behaviour are due more recognition if nothing else, just to prove to their fellow Americans and fellow Public Servants that there is a right and a wrong way to behave in these positions of Trust and Honour and correct behaviour will be either rewarded or acknowledged as “best practice” ???
Lt. Col. Vindman is a national treasure and hero to me and everyone I know who is sane. I’m not sure the insane could pick him out of a crowd of two.
Marie Yavonovich (so) is also a great national treasure and heroine. All who were true🇺🇸
Yavonovich is a professor in college, Vindman got a good job at a think tank and he wrote a best selling book.
There’s an interview (do a YouTube search) with him done just a few months ago (July 21?) – wherein, he addresses those questions.
@Deborah Freedman Vindman is a disgraced traitor. The corrupt Ukrainians won’t even have any to do with the loser!
We’re out, we’re in. Wake up. We’re f’d. Stop supporting the machine.
Love it operation GOP voter suppression AKA “operation delta force” and AKA “operation dumb and death” plan is working perfectly @/deathtogop
Zelensky finally got his visit to the White House,no need for a favor.👏👏👏
He’d been sucking up for so long, they couldn’t put him off anymore.
This will drive Putin to lose his mind.
That is the intention
Putin’s got bigger fish to fry. Zelensky’s just a stale beer snack.
It makes me happy to see the meeting of these two leaders. I hope President Biden can undoubtedly the malicious harm the former guy did to this relationship. They seem relaxed, and confident. I think there is a chance of US helping Ukraine against Russian Aggression, and Ukraine can help with some people getting safely out of Afghanistan. I understand that Canada is seeking the aid of Ukraine, as well to get more Canadians home, via Ukraine. I hope this goes well for all parties, and only strengthens this bond and trust. Wouldn’t it be nice to see Ukraine considered, or even let into NATO, after Russia was expelled for it’s Aggression in Ukraine, Belarus ( if their leader wants to get away from Putin, that is). I would enjoy the Irony.
Canada is seeking the aid of The Ukraine? Can you be more specific?
Lol.
trump and ‘the truth’ are polar opposites, never will the 2 ever meet…..rump is a liar. period
Ukraine leader Zelensky visits the White House & wasn’t extorted.. how refreshing
All those good people punished, targeted & threatened for just telling the truth..
“When exposing a crime becomes a crime, you know you’re being ruled over by criminals” – unknown
Joe Biden impeachment is taking to long and Kamala Harriz should resigner immediatelly.
Zelensky will benefit from Crackhead Hunter getting millions being on the board of corrupt Burisma with 10% for the “big guy.”