U.S. envoy says he was told release of Ukraine aid was contingent on public declaration to....

[mahatmakanejeeves]

This article is this afternoon's take on this morning's testimony.

PowerPost
U.S. envoy says he was told release of Ukraine aid was contingent on public declaration to investigate Bidens, 2016 election

By Rachael Bade, Anne Gearan, Karoun Demirjian and John Wagner
Oct. 22, 2019 at 4:13 p.m. EDT

The senior U.S. diplomat in Ukraine told lawmakers Tuesday that President Trump made the release of military aid contingent on public declarations from Ukraine that it would investigate the Bidens and the 2016 election, contradicting Trump’s denial that he used the money as leverage for political gain.

The explosive, closed-door testimony from acting ambassador William B. Taylor Jr. undermined the repeated statements of the president and the depositions of other administration officials, with the potential to reset the House impeachment probe of Trump.

Taylor, a seasoned diplomat, Army veteran and meticulous note taker, provided an expansive description of a series of events at the heart of an investigation that poses the most serious threat to the Trump presidency. One Democrat described the testimony as “damning.”
....

Karoun Demirjian and John Hudson contributed to this report.

Rachael Bade is a Congress reporter for The Washington Post, primarily focusing on the House. Her coverage areas include House Democrats’ oversight of the Trump administration as well as policy clashes with the White House, the dynamics animating the historic freshman class and the inner workings of the Democratic leadership team. Follow https://twitter.com/RachaelMBade

Anne Gearan is a White House correspondent for The Washington Post, with a focus on foreign policy and national security. She covered the Hillary Clinton campaign and the State Department for The Post before joining the White House beat. She joined the paper in 2012. Follow https://twitter.com/agearan

Karoun Demirjian is a congressional reporter covering national security, including defense, foreign policy, intelligence and matters concerning the judiciary. She was previously a correspondent based in The Post's bureau in Moscow. Follow https://twitter.com/karoun

John Wagner is a national reporter who leads The Post's new breaking political news team. He previously covered the Trump White House. During the 2016 presidential election, he focused on the Democratic campaigns of Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley. He also chronicled Maryland government for more than a decade. Follow https://twitter.com/WPJohnWagner

[Stuart G]

1. First paragraph could be smoking gun:

"The senior U.S. diplomat in Ukraine told lawmakers Tuesday that President Trump made the release of military aid contingent on public declarations from Ukraine that it would investigate the Bidens and the 2016 election, contradicting Trump’s denial that he used the money as leverage for political gain."

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

2. A big flaming bag of shit was just left on the Whitehouse porch