Trump’s latest explanation for withholding Ukraine aid is as nonsensical as his previous ones

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/10/23/20928429/trump-ukraine-aid-quid-pro-quo-impeachment

President Donald Trump’s latest defense against the impeachment inquiry is that while congressionally approved military aid may have been withheld to pressure Ukrainian leaders to investigate Joe Biden and his son, withholding that money was not wrong, because Ukraine didn’t know it was happening. However, not only is that defense thin, it also not supported by sworn testimony or recent reporting.

The president endorsed this defense, made by Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) on Fox & Friends Wednesday, in a tweet quoting the Congress member. “Neither [Bill Taylor] or any other witness has provided testimony that the Ukrainians were aware the military aid was being withheld,” Ratcliffe said on the show. “You can’t have a quid pro quo with no quo.”

This defense does not make much sense. The fact Ukrainian officials weren’t initially sure why the security assistance had been delayed does not mean it wasn’t withheld. Trump himself has said it was held back, and has cited corruption as the reason. Notably, he did not use his latest tweet to deny that he held up the aid, and it’s clear he privately and publicly called for Ukraine to investigate the Bidens.

On his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump responded to a Ukrainian request for weapons by asking for a “favor” — an investigation into Democrats, and later on the call an investigation into the Bidens.

URGENT! TRUMP BREAKING NEWS TODAY WITH STEPHANIE 10/23/19 (9AM)

'Ultimately Alarming Circumstances.' Read Acting Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor's Full Opening Statement to Congressional Investigators

https://time.com/5707713/bill-taylor-opening-statement-impeachment-inquiry/

'Ultimately Alarming Circumstances.' Read Acting Ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor's Full Opening Statement to Congressional Investigators

https://time.com/5707686/bill-taylor-testimony-donald-trump/

Lawmakers coming out of the almost ten-hour hearing said that Taylor filled in the picture drawn by other career officials, including former Ukraine envoy Kurt Volker, former ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, and Trump’s former top White House Russia adviser Fiona Hill. Taken together, the bureaucrats have provided damning context to what Trump meant when he told Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25, “I would like you to do us a favor.”

It's Not The Deep State That Threatens Trump. It's The State

https://time.com/5707686/bill-taylor-testimony-donald-trump/

Lawmakers coming out of the almost ten-hour hearing said that Taylor filled in the picture drawn by other career officials, including former Ukraine envoy Kurt Volker, former ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, and Trump’s former top White House Russia adviser Fiona Hill. Taken together, the bureaucrats have provided damning context to what Trump meant when he told Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25, “I would like you to do us a favor.”

Are We Now Well Into Impeachable Territory? | Morning Joe | MSNBC

The WH reacted to acting ambassador to Ukraine Bill Taylor's testimony on Tuesday, saying it was a smear campaign from 'far-left lawmakers and radical unelected bureaucrats'. The panel discusses Taylor's career and the White House response. Aired on 10/23/19.

Dramatic deposition rocks Trump's impeachment defense

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/10/23/politics/donald-trump-impeachment-ukraine-testimony/index.html

The top US diplomat in Ukraine notified House investigators that he was told that the release of military aid to Kiev would depend on a pledge to probe the 2016 election and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

The deposition by Bill Taylor on Tuesday appears to directly refute the President's claim that there was no quid pro quo in his dealings with the former Soviet state.

Top US diplomat to Ukraine testifies there was a quid pro quo

https://www.vox.com/2019/10/22/20927322/taylor-impeachment-testimony-ukraine-quid-trump\

The top US diplomat in Ukraine just told lawmakers that President Donald Trump wanted hundreds of millions in military aid to the Eastern European country held up until it agreed to investigate Joe Biden’s family and another conspiracy theory related to Democrats.

In other words, there was a quid pro quo — one that could eventually lead to Trump’s impeachment in the House and even more trouble with the Senate.

William Taylor, the acting US ambassador to Ukraine, testified in front of three House committees on Tuesday as part of the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry. He’s the latest in a parade of current and former US officials who’ve testified in the past few weeks about whether or not Trump withheld around $400 million in military aid to Ukraine for his own political and personal gain.

According to Taylor, that’s exactly what the president did. This is by far the most damning account of Trump’s conduct yet in the impeachment inquiry.

Lessons from Kohelet - A Sukkot shiur by Rabbi Sacks

Fake interview in Mishpacha magazine

Mick Mulvaney Melts Down Under Brutal Grilling By Fox’s Chris Wallace

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-acting-chief-of-staff-mick-mulvaney-melts-down-under-brutal-grilling-by-foxs-chris-wallace

The two would go back and forth over this issue for a few more minutes, with Wallace repeatedly cornering Mulvaney over his previous comments and the chief of staff flailing away and struggling to present even a laughable defense.

At one point, Wallace asked Mulvaney whether he had offered his resignation to Trump in the wake of the blowback and criticism he received over the press briefing. Mulvaney said the topic was “absolutely not” discussed with the president, adding that he is “very happy working there.”

CNN, meanwhile, reported Sunday that prior to the impeachment crisis that Trump finds himself currently embroiled in, there were internal efforts to push Mulvaney out as acting chief of staff. Those efforts subsided, however, when the push for impeachment heated up in the wake of the Ukraine scandal late last month.

Besides the issues surrounding the Ukraine scandal and impeachment, Wallace also grilled Mulvaney on the president’s sudden reversal on next year’s G7 summit, which Mulvaney announced last week would be held at Trump’s personal property.

Asked by Wallace why the president “caved” to the bipartisan backlash, Mulvaney said Trump was “honestly surprised at the level of pushback,” adding that the president “still considers himself to be in the hospitality business.”

Wallace seized on the “hospitality business” comment and pressed Mulvaney if the president understood why it “looked lousy.” The acting chief of staff's retort: “I think he thinks people think it looks lousy.”

Pressure Builds on President Trump As New Revelations Emerge About His Dealings with Ukraine

https://time.com/5704385/donald-trump-ukraine-impeachment-mulvaney/

Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, undercut the President’s denial of a quid pro quo when he told reporters that Trump withheld military aid as leverage to push Ukraine to investigate Democrats’ activity during the 2016 election—and then reversed himself hours later. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said he contacted Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani at the president’s behest to talk about Ukraine—and then resigned. And European Union Ambassador Gordon Sondland told House investigators that Trump had delegated power over U.S. foreign policy in Ukraine to Giuliani, and added that it was “wrong” to link political requests to actions on Ukraine.

Criminal Case Overlaps Uncomfortably With Trump Impeachment Probe | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC

Mark Lawson explores how the story of Rudolf Kastner, one of the most controversial figures to emerge from the Holocaust, has been retold outside Israel.Part I, Mark Lawson explores the retellings of one of the most controversial stories to emerge from the Holocaust

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0739pgh