Rachel Maddow Says Trump Wants To Give Military Aid To Ukraine In Exchange For Dirt On Joe Biden

Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 11:32 am

The Washington Post shed more light on the whistleblower complaint against Donald Trump on Thursday, reporting that the troubling “promise” the president made to a foreign leader involved Ukraine.

According to the report, “A whistleblower complaint about President Trump made by an intelligence official centers on Ukraine, according to two people familiar with the matter, which has set off a struggle between Congress and the executive branch.”

While Rachel Maddow noted that we still don’t know the details of the whistleblower complaint because the Trump administration and the Justice Department are trying to cover it up, recent reporting could give us some clues.

The MSNBC host referred to another recent report from The Washington Post, which found that Trump is “attempting to force the Ukrainian president to intervene in the 2020 U.S. presidential election” in exchange for “U.S. military aid that that country desperately needs.”

That type of arrangement – particularly if Trump spoke about it over the phone with the Ukrainian president – would be enough to set off alarm bells and warrant the type of whistleblower complaint on which The Washington Post first reported.

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Maddow said:

“Some suspect Mr. Trump is once again catering to Russian president Vladimir Putin who, of course, is dedicated to undermining Ukrainian democracy and independence,” but the Post says “We’re reliably told the president has a second and more venal agenda. He attempting to force the Ukrainian president to intervene in the 2020 U.S. presidential election by launching an investigation in Ukraine of the leading Democratic candidate, Joe Biden. Mr. Trump is not just soliciting Ukraine’s help with his presidential re-election campaign, he’s using U.S. military aid that that country desperately needs in an attempt to extort it.” So, again, we still do not know if that is exactly what this whistle-blower complaint is about that’s currently blowing up proverbial Washington. Shane Harris and The Washington Post tonight is reporting the whistle-blower complaint has something to do with Ukraine.

Innocent people don’t behave like this

Despite the disturbing nature of the latest reporting, the president insists he has done nothing wrong. But time and again, we have seen Donald Trump and company declare their innocence while engaging in behavior that only shows how guilty they are.

Trump and his shills constantly say that the president’s financial history is clean. They claim he has no conflicts of interest. But when asked to prove it by releasing Trump’s tax returns, they pull out all the stops to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Trump claimed that the Mueller report completely exonerated him, even though it didn’t. But the president wheeled out his attorney general before the release of Mueller’s redacted report to whitewash the report and make sure the public’s first impression was misleading.

Now, as another allegation of serious wrongdoing comes forward, the Trump administration and his protectors at the Justice Department could clear the air immediately if they release this whistleblower complaint. Instead, they are blocking it.

This is not how innocent people behave.

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Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.

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