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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump involved Pence in efforts to pressure Ukraine's leader
By Greg Miller , Greg Jaffe and Ashley Parker October 2 at 7:30 PM
President Trump repeatedly involved Vice President Pence in efforts to exert pressure on the leader of Ukraine at a time when the president was using other channels to solicit information that he hoped would be damaging to a Democratic rival, current and former U.S. officials said.
Trump instructed Pence not to attend the inauguration of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in May an event White House officials had pushed to put on the vice presidents calendar when Ukraines new leader was seeking recognition and support from Washington, the officials said.
Months later, the president used Pence to tell Zelensky that U.S. aid was still being withheld while demanding more aggressive action on corruption, officials said. At that time following Trumps July 25 phone call with Zelenksy the Ukrainians probably understood action on corruption to include the investigation of former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden ...
Pences activities occurred amid several indications of the presidents hidden agenda. Among them were the abrupt removal of the U.S. ambassador to Kiev; the visible efforts by the presidents lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, to insert himself in the U.S.-Ukraine relationship; as well as alarms being raised inside the White House even before the emergence of an extraordinary whistleblower complaint about Trumps conduct ...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-involved-pence-in-efforts-to-pressure-ukraines-leader-though-aides-say-vice-president-was-unaware-of-pursuit-of-dirt-on-bidens/2019/10/02/263aa9e2-e4a7-11e9-b403-f738899982d2_story.html
... Donald ... Donald who? ...Oh ... THAT Donald ... No ... I haven't seen for for a while ... Is he still around? ... What's he up to? ... Mother and I have been so very busy, you know ...
guillaumeb
(42,641 posts)hedda_foil
(16,375 posts)There's no way he could be cagey with Pence and no one else.