"The former president is sounding off about Russia's attacks barely two years after he faced charges of abusing his power by withholding aid for Kyiv.
In this Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019 photo, President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York. | Evan Vucci, File/AP Photo
As Russia bombards Ukraine, Donald Trump is wading into the conflict barely two years after he faced an impeachment trial on charges that he abused his power by essentially extorting the Kyiv government and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Trump was acquitted in February 2020 after the House impeached him, alleging he held hostage hundreds of millions of dollars in security aid in order to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals, including his eventual successor, Joe Biden. The aid was eventually provided, but not before a crisis that rattled two continents and desperate pleas by Zelenskyy’s government for help fending off the very Russian aggression that now threatens to topple him from power in Ukraine.
Then-President Trump’s treatment of Ukraine alarmed some of his own top advisers at the time, particularly when coupled with his relatively warm praise of Putin — which continues today. At the time, Zelenskyy had desperately sought and asked Trump for a White House meeting, an effort to bolster his mandate to confront Russia. The meeting never came.
While Biden hosted Zelenskyy at the White House last fall, Trump allies often point out that the former president didn’t entirely deprive Ukraine of military aid during his tenure — the U.S. did deliver Javelin missiles and other arms, a fact Trump backers cited during his first impeachment trial to blunt Democratic charges of coziness with Russia. But Trump also pushed Zelenskyy to pursue politically motivated investigations that might hurt Biden’s White House bid as Zelenskyy sought more missiles from the United States.
“We are ready to continue to cooperate for the next steps. Specifically we are almost ready to buy more Javelins from the United· States for defense purposes,” Zelenskyy said on a July 25, 2019, call, the transcript of which became key evidence in Trump’s first impeachment. Trump replied: “I would like you to do us a favor, though, because our country has been through a lot, and Ukraine knows a lot about it.”
Now Trump is seeking to undercut Biden’s handling of the Russia-Ukraine conflict by portraying himself as better-equipped to handle Moscow. Here’s a look at how other key players in Trump’s first impeachment are operating during the current Ukrainian invasion:
Bill Taylor:
Rudy Giuliani:
Mike Pence:
Alexander Vindman:
John Bolton:
Read more >> https://www.politico.com/news/2022/02/24/ukraine-trump-impeachment-00011406
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