Ukraine President Zelensky: ‘No Blackmail’ in Phone Conversation With Trump
Maybe, just maybe, Zelensky is telling the truth? Stop dragging him down because you suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome.
The crux of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump keeps falling apart.
Once again, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that Trump did not blackmail or threaten to withhold aid from Ukraine if he did not investigate former Vice President Joe Biden.
From the Associated Press:
Zelenskiy is trying to save his reputation and distance himself from the U.S. political drama. In an all-day “media marathon” held in a food court, he played down suggestions that Trump pressured him to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden in exchange for military aid to help Ukraine battle Russian-backed separatists.
Responding to questions from The Associated Press, Zelenskiy said he only learned after their July 25 phone call that the U.S. had blocked hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine.
“We didn’t speak about this” during the July call, Zelenskiy said.
“There was no blackmail.”
Trump asked Zelenskiy during the call to “look into” Biden and his son, according to a rough White House transcript. Congressional Democrats believe Trump was holding up the military aid to use as leverage to pressure Ukraine and advance his domestic political interests before next year’s U.S. presidential election.
Zelensky explained he does not want to interfere in any elections. He hoped the phone call with Trump would lead the president to visit Ukraine. He wants a “no conditions” meeting.
The AP not only insisted “Zelensky is trying to save his reputation,” but also that the phone call transcript “embarrassed him” since the wire service thinks “it showed him as eager to please Trump and critical of European partners.”
Then the AP claimed “Zelensky appears to be playing to both U.S. political camps to ensure Ukraine has continued support no matter who wins the presidential election next year.”
OR maybe, just maybe, Zelensky is telling the truth, which means the Democrats, the left, and the media are making much ado about nothing. They’re just dragging Zelensky into their war on Trump and doing everything they can to remove a legitimate sitting president.
The Associated Press also left out valuable clips of the media event with Zelensky. From Fox News (emphasis mine):
Zelensky spoke at a daylong event with media inside a Kiev food market, and said he believes the transcript released by the White House is accurate and that he knew the U.S. had withheld $400 million in military aid due to concerns about corruption and concern for American “taxpayer money.” But the issue, he said, was never linked to Trump’s desire that Kiev rekindle an investigation into an energy company with ties to former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.
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Zelensky also told reporters his country will “happily” investigate whether Ukrainians interfered in the United States’ 2016 elections – a topic Trump also broached with him during his July phone call with the leader.
Zelenskiy said “we can’t say yes or no” as to whether there was any interference without an investigation.
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Zelensky, a 41-year-old actor, comedian and screenwriter elected in May, has sought to reverse his country’s image as a hotbed of corruption. He told reporters Thursday that the main purpose of his conversation with Trump was to set up a meeting with the American president and show reform measures were in place in Ukraine.
“We just wanted to establish relations,” he said, adding at one point, “the story with Burisma has nothing to do with weapons.”
The transcript came out on September 25. It showed no blackmail and a cordial conversation between two presidents.
Later that day, in a meeting with Trump, Zelensky said “nobody pushed me” to start an investigation into Biden.
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Comments
It’s squirrels, all the way down.
Oh, look, a bird!
Want to read today’s bombshell revelation?
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/joe-biden-personally-paid-900000-burisma-according-ukrainian-mp-bombshell-admission
If this is true….
Allegations… Nay, rumors, innuendo, and journolistic publications of obstruction of justice — social justice, perhaps — are not viable. #NoLabelsNoJudgmentNotPlanned
On the other hand, Obama, Biden, Clinton, WaPo et al… Well, they’re up to their necks. Deep Plunger is a process in progress to clear the obstructions from Water Closet.
Oh, hey, today’s San Diego Union-Tribune has an editorial claiming the President is “stonewalling” Adam Schiff’s “investigation.”
This after the President released a transcript of the phone call in question, and allowed the testimony of Mr. Volker, the person actively handling contact with the Ukrainians.
It’s easy to see why the President put a stop to Schiff’s nonsense and demanded due process: Schiff lied on Cspan about the contents of the transcript of the call, and then selectively leaked and lied about Volker’s testimony. And the local newspapers in California (LA Times is also owned by the same person) swallowed it whole.
Worst stonewalling of all time. A real record-breaker, I can tell you.
If a Dem wins in 2020 expect a sudden regime change in Ukraine to reestablish the Dem piggy bank. This is the House Post Office “bank” moved up several notches .
Zelensky has been dubbed “Monica Zelensky” by Ukrainian wags.
According to Feminists and social liberals, the relationship between President Clinton and the intern, Monica, may or may not have been consensual in politically congruent times. Fear of a Libyan solution: sodomy and abortion. Perhaps an elective coup that left over ten thousand aborted and many more displaced. There is precedent, but Trump is not Obama.
We’re witholding aid from his country already…what’s his motivation to lie?
The hopes of restoring aid? The decision was made before this so-called blackmail phone call that has been released and is clearly a nothingburger.
Zachriel has been dubbed “Comreade Commie Zachriel” by Ukrainian wags.
Make up some more shit commie. No such thing as a “Ukrainian wag” dubbing any such thing.
What does Zelensky know? It’s not like he heard about the conversation second or third-hand.
Obama, Clinton, Biden, and the associated press and social media platforms jumped the ass. The ball of yarns they carefully spun over multiple trimesters is threatening to unwind with catastrophic force.
here’s a person with first-hand knowledge, nay an actual PARTICIPANT, in the supposedly scandalous phone call–the chief executive of a soverign nation, no less–yet his account is somehow less authentic than innuendo/rumor/gossip purportedly experienced by ” whistleblower(pick a number)”
the dems/leftists/media be busted
were this whole “impeachment ” theatre not so transparent, so arrogant, such a brazen attempt to remove a duly elected president it would almost be funny
disturbing times
The deep state considers taking down Zelensky as a two-fer. They do not want their money-laundering playground over theire cleaned up anymore than they want the swamp drained over here.
Free and fairly elected Presidents are a direct threat and they mean to put a stop to this nonsense of entire nations of people thinking that they can just elect anyone they wish.
Worst angle I heard on this was Schiff claiming that President Zelensky saying he was not pressured only PROVED he was being pressured.
Kafka weeps.
wonder how may political chits Biden had to call in to get the impeachment to this point.
Good question, considering that it’s now being reported by the Washington Examiner that the candidate the whistleblower had preciously worked with was none other than ….
Joe Biden