@Baba, still hearing "Blow the Man Down" in my head.
Some important notes about the Fruman tape today - bear with me, it's a little long:
The date of the tape is April 31, 2018.
At first, that seems to dispute the idea that his rant about wanting Yovanovitch "taken out" had any significance since it was well before the Biden call in 2019.
So, I did a little digging in the NY Times archives to remind myself about what was going on at that time.
In April 2018, Mueller's team was actively preparing for Manafort's trial, which of course, directly linked to Ukraine.
And then I found this NY Times article (link below) dated May 2, 2018. It seems that the Ukrainian government had suddenly decided to stop cooperating with Mueller out of fear that Trump would cut off their U.S. military aid for 2018.
Quote from the article which again came out two days after Trump said he wanted Yovanovitch "taken out":
Ukraine, Seeking U.S. Missiles, Halted Cooperation With Mueller Investigation
...in Ukraine, where officials are wary of offending President Trump, four meandering cases that involve Mr. Manafort, Mr. Trump’s former campaign chairman, have been effectively frozen by Ukraine’s chief prosecutor.
The cases are just too sensitive for a government deeply reliant on United States financial and military aid, and keenly aware of Mr. Trump’s distaste for the investigation by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, into possible collusion between Russia and his campaign, some lawmakers say.
The decision to halt the investigations by an anticorruption prosecutor was handed down at a delicate moment for Ukraine, as the Trump administration was finalizing plans to sell the country sophisticated anti-tank missiles, called Javelins.
Take a moment to read the article if you can.
It seems likely to me that Yovanovitch was probably encouraging Ukraine to keep helping Mueller's team; after all, she's a law and order type and knew it was official U.S. policy to support Mueller's investigation.
So, it is also likely that:
(1) Trump used the threat of with holding military aid in both 2018 and 2019.
(2) He got what he wanted in 2018 -- Ukraine stopped cooperating with Mueller. But if Yovanovitch was still encouraging Ukraine to help Manafort, of course he'd see her as a threat and want her "removed."
(3) However, he couldn't just fire her because then questions might be asked about the timing. Or she might blow the whistle. So, instead, he turned to Lev and Igor to "take her out."
(4) This also suggests obstruction with the Mueller investigation. He used the powers of his office to get the message to Ukraine that if they cooperated with Mueller, he'd cut off the military aid for 2018. Someone made it clear to Ukraine (would be interesting to look at Rudy, Lev and Igor's movements during this time).
In any case, in 2018, Ukraine got the the message and did what he wanted. (Again read the May 2018 article above). Only problem was that pesky Ambassador encouraging Ukraine to keep cooperating with Mueller.
(5) If Ukraine did his bidding in 2018 (and they did - read the article), he figured why not use the same technique again in 2019 with another "favor" for dirt on Biden?
This time, however, his scheme didn't work as well as there was a new administration and president in Ukraine.
(6) If my hunch is right, 2019 wasn't the first quid pro quo scheme Trump had run with Ukraine. It's a clear pattern of obstruction (of Mueller, of Congress), abuse of power (2 years in a row), and putting your personal gain ahead of that of American citizens (Yovanovitch, Bidens, etc.).
I suspect that the Schiff and all have already figured all of this out but don't have concrete proof for the 2018 obstruction. Mueller himself probably tried to get that but was stopped before he could go any farther. But, this is why Yovanovitch is SO critical to everything.
Any how, @baba, I know that you saw a big revelation involving Rudy and Parnas coming out for "Friday" and thought it was for the 31st, but this seems pretty major to me once I connected the dots.
If my hunch is right, 2019 wasn't the first quid pro quo scheme Trump had run with Ukraine.
@rosieheart, Thanks for sparking my memory! And thanks for the NY Times piece. I heard about this on one of Rachel Maddow’s shows. David Ignatius of the Post also did a piece on it. A lot of this centers around the black ledger that Ukraine was investigating – a secret, handwritten list of $2 billion in shady payments by the political party of ousted Ukranian President Yanukovich. When reports of the ledger first appeared, the scandal led to the resignation of Manafort as T’s campaign manager. Manafort’s name was found in the ledger, next to sums of hundreds of thousands of dollars. So Ghouliani makes a trip to Ukraine, a few days later the black ledger (i.e. Manafort) investigation is moved and halted, Ukraine stops cooperating with Mueller, Ukraine President Poroshenko gets his meeting with T. at the WH, and Ukraine eventually receives their javelin missiles.
Here are the Maddow and Ignatius links:
I, too, get a strong sense something big is coming. Something Financial is what comes to me.
@RosieHeart well done and I have no doubt that you are right that there have been several quid pro quo incidents between Ukraine and Trump. I have been following Seth Abramson’s twitter feed and have read both of his books. He posits, based on media reporting, the the Qataris also have proof of wrong doing that they wouldn’t turn over to Mueller’s team. This was around the time that Kushner wanted a loan from them for his NYC building that threatened to bankrupt his family and around the same time that they suddenly were blockaded by the Emirates and Saudis. They did eventually give in due to the pressure. Additionally, there is speculation that Trump profited or attempted to profit on the sale of Rosneft shares through an intermediary by promising to lift sanctions on the Russians if elected - not to mention all the assistance from Russia, Saudi Arabia, Israel...
He, his family and some of his administration have been very busy grifting all over the world. I can only hope that this is all brought to light soon so that it is stopped. Then we can all sing a rousing chorus of Blow the Man Down together!
There are moments when I feel to remain silent regarding a Trump action is liken to being complicit with his crime.
And so I wrote this on my social media account today.
As a mother of a child who suffered a traumatic brain injury, I find I must speak out and support our 34 US troops who have suffered with concussions and traumatic brain injury following the Iranian missile attack.
Mr. President , it is inexcusable to state our service members are simply suffering from "headaches".
I don't like conflict.
Being passive is ok until it isn't. Being passive about this issue would negate everything my daughter went through to overcome and recover from the challenges she faced after her life altering concussion at the age of 15. Those service members have worried parents and I hold those parents and their brave children in my heart.
I so feel you on this!!! My son had TBI from an automobile wreck at 17 years old...it totally changed our lives and his future. He is now 32 and is just now "coming out of the dark" to a "normal life". To hear IMPOTUS so dismissively describe it as "just a headache - nothing serious - not like losing arms or legs etc" was horrifying to me. To so callously disregard any form of sensitivity or regret of the injuries HE caused with his ill advised actions solely for the purpose of distraction from the Impeachment proceedings. SMH ... I have no words to describe how sick and despairing it made me feel. I pray with all my heart that America's eyes be opened to the harm this POS and his minions are raining down on us...and that we the people prevail before the harm can not be reversed. As I was driving home from the clinic after work I was praying for a sign and asking for Peace and Support. When I pulled in my yard... I saw several of my daffodils .. have bloomed.. about 4 weeks early. I gave thanks and I give thanks for this forum and safe place/haven to come and renew and be encouraged.
Bolton book release moved up to March 17th. Very near the Ides of March, which many of us have predicted. T's defense destroyed.
BREAKING: Bolton is reportedly furious about the leak of stunning details from his manuscript. An apparent change of plans has occurred.
Bolton’s book, "The Room Where it Happened," is set for release on March 17. The Amazon page has now gone live.
I can't believe the nerve of Bolton. Furious that there was a leak -- likely from someone who wants the truth to come out -- but unwilling to just tell the truth unless he's paid for it. He doesn't need a subpoena to release information that'll already been OK'd to out in a book. If the republicans won't agree to witnesses in the trial, then go to a mic and tell your story. Or send the house dems a sworn statement. Sheesh, it's all money with these people. They're like zombies, animated but without a soul.
You're predictions have been spot-on Lawrence. I hope March is sh#t show for T.
@lynnventura
Read it was leaked by the National Security Council.
Yes, what nerve. Bolton is like the rest of them. Greed and power is the only thing they care about.
Heather Cox Richardson noted in her summary that Bolton has a first hand account witness to it all and that the White House has sat on the manuscript preventing it out and Bolton from testifying. She posits that is the reason Moscow Mitch wanted to hurry up and speed through the trial. She also noted that the current administration's "dismantling of the government means we have not had anyone in charge of leading the U.S. response to a pandemic since May 2018, when Rear Admiral Timothy Ziemer from the National Security Council was pushed out during a shake up by then National Security Advisor John Bolton, who broke up the team designed to focus on global health security."
The plot thickens as the gaslighting tweets whip the emotions of the citizens to a frenzy as polls now show 50% of Americans think the Senate should vote to convict and remove him from office.
May you live in interesting times indeed!!!!
the droplets have become a trickle...and now the dam is breached and a flood of information is imminent...let us keep praying and sending Light to all who need it.