Democracy Has Prevailed.

November 14, 2019

Representative Guy Reschenthaler on The Impeachment Hearings

Yesterday, in response to the first day of the House Impeachment Hearings, Representative Guy Reschenthaler (PA-14) tweeted:
Holy crap, there's a lot to unpack here. Let's take them one-by-one.
  
No quid pro quo in call transcript
Perhaps Guy was looking to give himself some rhetorical wiggle room when he added the "in call transcript" to his tweet. Perhaps since the exact phrase "quid pro quo" is nowhere to be found in the so-called transcript, he thinks he can simply say that there was no quid pro quo in the phone call. The text, however, says otherwise:
President Zelenskyy:...We. are ready to continue to cooperate for the next steps. specifically we are almost. ready to buy more Javelins from the United States for defense purposes.

Trump: I would like you to do us a favor though...
If the representative needs an explanation for the "a favor" part, here's Rolling Stone:
Though Trump has repeatedly directed Americans to “READ THE TRANSCRIPT” of his July 25th call with Zelensky, the partial readout of the call released by the White House in September is actually pretty damning. After Zelensky mentions that Ukraine is willing to “cooperate” regarding military aid, Trump says, “I want you to do me a favor though,” before detailing the investigations he wants carried out. The “though” is a pretty explicit indication that the aid in question is contingent upon Ukraine launching the investigations details by the president.
Both leaders said there was no pressure
Well, of course Trump would say there was no pressure. But what about Zelensky? Why would he say that there was no pressure?

Well, what would you do if you were at war with a huge military and dependent on another country's huge military to survive?
Ukraine unaware aid was held
Ukraine took no action to receive aid

Ukraine only learned that the aid had been on hold with the publication of this Politico piece published in August. The aid was released only after the world learned that it was being held. It doesn't change the fact of the extortion.
I'll let another member of the house, Representative Adam Schiff (CA-28) explain:
Some have argued in the President's defense that the aid was ultimately released. That is true. But only after Congress began an investigation; only after the President's lawyers learned of a whistleblower complaint; and only after Members of Congress began asking uncomfortable questions about quid pro quos. A scheme to condition official acts or taxpayer funding to obtain a personal political benefit does not become less odious because it is discovered before it is fully consummated.
Guy needs to do his homework better before he tweets.

1 comment:

Social Justice NPC Anti-Paladin™ said...

If only the educated people in Group of 88 had testified to hearing about the rape.

The credibly accused Duke Lacrosse rapists would have been convicted if more educated people with rape culture expertise like Tara Levicy had come forward to testify that they heard the Frat Gang rape happened.