Its EXTORTION. "Quid pro quo" is deliberately obscure and confusing framing.

[Voltaire2]

This is "enhanced interrogation" all over again. The word has gone out to not refer to what the Trump administration was doing to the government of Ukraine as extortion. but instead to use the somewhat obscure latin phrase quid pro quo.

Fuck that nonsense.

[unitedwethrive]

1. Agree! Blackmail and bribery also work

but we need to scream the word extortion from the mountain tops! People need to understand what really happened.

[Johnny2X2X]

2. Agree!

Extortion is the word I've been using for weeks. This was extortion, I wish the news would start referring to it as such.

[Lindsay]

3. I saw earlier today

that Rep. Jamie Raskin had referred to it as "a shakedown."

I liked that a lot. Nice and mob-esque.

But yeah, actual precise terms like extortion should be used in place of right-wing framing.

[tblue37]

4. Big K&R. nt

[DonaldsRump]

5. That is an excellent point! K& R infinite times

Quid pro quo doesn't resonate with many. Bribery, extortion, and blackmail are terms that are directly to the point and understandable to most everyone, except the whackos out there.

The Ds would be very smart to start using this language as we move forward so that everyone can understand what happened and what it means.

Hang on, folks! This ride's gonna' be fun (and terrifically sad). However, there is absolutely no other choice.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. Several MSNBC contributors, analysts, and guests were saying that yesterday

The confusion of the latin can be eliminated by using the terms "bribery" or "extortion" - and I think they preferred "bribery" because that term is explicitly in the Constitution as one of the crimes that a President can be impeached for.

In this instance, I preferred extortion more because that seems to suggest "withholding" or "taking" something away (a threat) if the deed being requested to be done isn't done. I.e., "the military aid will not be released unless you do blah blah...". Whereas bribery seems to suggest "offering" something to have someone do a deed. I.e., "we'll give you $x if you give us access to so-and-so".

[Qutzupalotl]

7. Agreed. One could say "soliciting a bribe"

— that is, asking for something in return for the withheld aid, which is more specifically extortion. There is value in using the word Bribery, since it is specifically prohibited in the Constitution, as you mentioned. I take that to mean any participation in bribery, whether recipient or instigator, should get your ass tossed out of office.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. Yes AND

as we keep getting hints about other instances of this. I.e., Ukraine doesn't seem to be the only country where this took place. Apparently other places (like China) experienced the same and who knows who else just over the past couple months (let alone prior).

Of course the whole election that handed the U.S. over to Russian in exchange for <fill in the blank> was the epitome example.