Mick Mulvaney acknowledges Ukraine aid was withheld over investigation into Democrats

[bostonangler]

\WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump's acting chief of staff acknowledged Thursday the aid to Ukraine at the center of an ongoing House impeachment inquiry was withheld because of the president's desire for the country to look into U.S. domestic politics.

"Did he also mention to me in passing the corruption related to the DNC server? Absolutely," Mulvaney told reporters during a rare briefing at the White House on Thursday, noting that was part of the president's concern about corruption in Kiev. 

"That’s it," Mulvaney said. "That’s why we held up the money."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/mick-mulvaney-acknowledges-ukraine-aid-175437594.html

 

B/A

[nstoolman1]

If I knew there was corruption in a government I was about to hand over millions, I would also hold it up until I knew it was going to the Righr cause. Finding that government was behind an effort to keep me from getting elected would be a good reason to hold the money.

 

[bostonangler]

1 minute ago, nstoolman1 said:

If I knew there was corruption in a government I was about to hand over millions, I would also hold it up until I knew it was going to the Righr cause. Finding that government was behind an effort to keep me from getting elected would be a good reason to hold the money.

 

 

Sorry nstoolman, but he opened a big can of worms... He said and I quote....

 

“Did he also mention to me in the past the corruption related to the DNC server?” Mulvaney responded when asked about “Absolutely. Not question about that. But that’s it. That’s why we held up the money.”

 

Of course he went into spin mode

 

Mulvaney insisted that withholding military aid had nothing to do with that investigation.

“The money held up had absolutely nothing to do with Biden,” Mulvaney said.

 

 

I don't see how we the people can trust any of the D.C. people on either side of the aisle.

I think Mulvaney just threw him under the bus.

 

B/A

[coorslite21]

1 hour ago, bostonangler said:

 

Sorry nstoolman, but he opened a big can of worms... He said and I quote....

 

“Did he also mention to me in the past the corruption related to the DNC server?” Mulvaney responded when asked about “Absolutely. Not question about that. But that’s it. That’s why we held up the money.”

 

Of course he went into spin mode

 

Mulvaney insisted that withholding military aid had nothing to do with that investigation.

“The money held up had absolutely nothing to do with Biden,” Mulvaney said.

 

 

I don't see how we the people can trust any of the D.C. people on either side of the aisle.

I think Mulvaney just threw him under the bus.

 

B/A

 

I listened to the press conference in it's entirety.....he also stated tha Marlago was on the short list for the G7.....when questioned he realized he had misspoken.....meant to say....Doral.....

 

Of course the MSM will twist anything said without specifics into what ever suits them.....

 

As someone who can walk and chew gum at the same time.....( the new Tom Perez /DNC 2020 slogan) it was very clear the issue was being sure the new leader was stable and non corrupt......

 

look at IRAQ....how many billions did the US give to Maliki.......that was real smart wasn't it......

 

The MSM........at some point they have to change...

........hope Nick Sandman scores a couple of $Billion....that will slow the lying SOB's down.....

[bostonangler]

4 minutes ago, coorslite21 said:

 

I listened to the press conference in it's entirety.....he also stated tha Marlago was on the short list for the G7.....when questioned he realized he had misspoken.....meant to say....Doral.....

 

Of course the MSM will twist anything said without specifics into what ever suits them.....

 

As someone who can walk and chew gum at the same time.....( the new Tom Perez /DNC 2020 slogan) it was very clear the issue was being sure the new leader was stable and non corrupt......

 

look at IRAQ....how many billions did the US give to Maliki.......that was real smart wasn't it......

 

The MSM........at some point they have to change...

........hope Nick Sandman scores a couple of $Billion....that will slow the lying SOB's down.....

 

White House legal staff is freaking out about Mulvaney. That says something.

As for the G-7 that is a pretty big assumption. And we all knows what happens when you assume.

 

B/A

[bostonangler]

[bostonangler]

[MyLadiesDaddy]

14 hours ago, bostonangler said:

 

I don't see how we the people can trust any of the D.C. people on either side of the aisle.

I think Mulvaney just threw him under the bus

And yet you trust the MSM

[bostonangler]

2 hours ago, ladyGrace'sDaddy said:

And yet you trust the MSM

 

I do trust journalism over twits on twitter cashing in on fools who believe every conspiracy they throw out there.

 

I know people who work in news and they work hard to get facts. They are just like you, good people doing their jobs. I understand the corporations who control those people do interfere. I had one friend who was directed to do a fake story about how much welfare recipients receive with numbers that were so over blown he refused to do it. His boss told him to report the inflated numbers or he was fired... He quit. He had integrity, his boss had an agenda to piss off conservatives making them think welfare people were making more then the average worker. You probably saw that story on your local news if you have a station owned by the company. They make their stations run stories that are opinion pieces made to look like factual news. They have been fined by the FCC for fake news.

 

B/A

[bostonangler]

15 hours ago, bostonangler said:

 

Wow who negs actual quotes? It is becoming more and more obvious the Trump supporters have begun to realize the end is in sight and they are freaking out... I know it is hard to admit Trump is a mistake, because admitting that is to admit you made a mistake. But the time has come to put on your big boy pants and admit he was wrong for America.

 

He has painted himself into a corner and his back is against the wall. His party is jumping ship. His generals are making jokes about him. The people he hired for his staff in the White House are defying his orders and are beginning to testify. Leaders across the globe are putting everything on hold until he is gone, they all realize you can't trust him and his words and promises mean nothing.

 

Tic Toc 

B/A

[Shabibilicious]

Read an article this morning that it took 14 months from the time Watergate started until 50% of Americans believed Nixon should be impeached....Trump managed to reach that same 50% threshold in under a month.  

 

GO RV, then BV 

[umbertino]

1 hour ago, bostonangler said:

 

I do trust journalism over twits on twitter cashing in on fools who believe every conspiracy they throw out there.

 

I know people who work in news and they work hard to get facts. They are just like you, good people doing their jobs. I understand the corporations who control those people do interfere. I had one friend who was directed to do a fake story about how much welfare recipients receive with numbers that were so over blown he refused to do it. His boss told him to report the inflated numbers or he was fired... He quit. He had integrity, his boss had an agenda to piss off conservatives making them think welfare people were making more then the average worker. You probably saw that story on your local news if you have a station owned by the company. They make their stations run stories that are opinion pieces made to look like factual news. They have been fined by the FCC for fake news.

 

B/A

 

Thanks for sharing.....And your friend was commendable in his choice

[yota691]

[coorslite21]

1 hour ago, Shabibilicious said:

Read an article this morning that it took 14 months from the time Watergate started until 50% of Americans believed Nixon should be impeached....Trump managed to reach that same 50% threshold in under a month.  

 

GO RV, then BV 

 

Think if you look a little harder you will find the MSM is the responsible party for the quick rise.....     CL

[coorslite21]

12 minutes ago, yota691 said:

What are the odds?.......hmmm

Post of the day!

CL

[MyLadiesDaddy]

3 hours ago, bostonangler said:

 

I do trust journalism over twits on twitter cashing in on fools who believe every conspiracy they throw out there

THAT'S WHAT MAKES PEOPLE SO STUPID. 

Nothing more to say to ya. 

[Shabibilicious]

1 hour ago, coorslite21 said:

 

Think if you look a little harder you will find the MSM is the responsible party for the quick rise.....     CL

 

And with today's technology we receive information so much faster than in 1973, from all sorts of sources.  Imagine how much longer it would take Donald to disparage his foes, former administration personnel, world leaders, allies, Hollywood types, athletes, etc. etc. if he didn't have twitter and millions of mind numbed followers to spread his message.  He probably wouldn't be in the precarious situation he's in....Of course without twitter, he probably wouldn't be pOTUS either.  As always, just my opinion.

 

GO RV, then BV 

[MyLadiesDaddy]

46 minutes ago, Shabibilicious said:

 

And with today's technology we receive information so much faster than in 1973, from all sorts of sources.  Imagine how much longer it would take Donald to disparage his foes, former administration personnel, world leaders, allies, Hollywood types, athletes, etc. etc. if he didn't have twitter and millions of mind numbed followers to spread his message.  He probably wouldn't be in the precarious situation he's in....Of course without twitter, he probably wouldn't be pOTUS either.  As always, just my opinion.

 

GO RV, then BV 

Earlier you made a post about social programs and with that post it occurred to me EXACTLY what you need. 

A safety Blankee.

 

 

[Shabibilicious]

3 minutes ago, ladyGrace'sDaddy said:

Earlier you made a post about social programs and with that post it occurred to me EXACTLY what you need. 

A safety Blankee.

 

Spoken like a truly embedded Trumpkin, dignity free....You've gone all in.  You are Donald, he is you.  

 

GO RV, then BV

[MyLadiesDaddy]

27 minutes ago, Shabibilicious said:

 

Spoken like a truly embedded Trumpkin, dignity free....You've gone all in.  You are Donald, he is you.  

 

GO RV, then BV

And You are Pelosi/Nadler/ShifftyShift/ and ANTIFA.

But you are right about one thing,  I am a PATRIOT who makes no bones about 

LOVING AMERICA. 

[Synopsis]

2 hours ago, ladyGrace'sDaddy said:

And You are Pelosi/Nadler/ShifftyShift/ and ANTIFA.

But you are right about one thing,  I am a PATRIOT who makes no bones about 

LOVING AMERICA. 

 

ALL THEE "referenced" AND "noted" "poster" "offers" "repeatedly" IS PSBS (Petulant Spoiled Brat Syndrome AND Progressive Senseless ) AND THEN EVEN MORE PSBS (Petulant Spoiled Brat Syndrome AND Progressive Senseless ).

 

      

 

           

 

Although appearing wasted on THIS PSBS "poster" AS WELL, I would like to Thank You, LadyGrace'sDaddy, for Your exemplary time, talent, and patience as a refreshing display and high bar for us ALL as a True The United States Of America Patriot.

 

 !!!LadyGrace'sDaddy!!! 

[coorslite21]

4 hours ago, Shabibilicious said:

 

And with today's technology we receive information so much faster than in 1973, from all sorts of sources.  Imagine how much longer it would take Donald to disparage his foes, former administration personnel, world leaders, allies, Hollywood types, athletes, etc. etc. if he didn't have twitter and millions of mind numbed followers to spread his message.  He probably wouldn't be in the precarious situation he's in....Of course without twitter, he probably wouldn't be pOTUS either.  As always, just my opinion.

 

GO RV, then BV 

I don't see Trumps situation as precarious.....unless you put your faith in the MSM.....Twitter may have helped him get elected......but it can be detrimental as well....

Gotta love technology........good luck with Penn State!

CL

[bostonangler]

WASHINGTON — On the day after he made more news than any chief of staff in recent White House history — much less an acting one — Mick Mulvaney went about his business as usual.

He finalized plans for hosting Republican members of Congress this weekend at Camp David, a form of outreach he has regularly pursued and a bit of traditional Washington socializing that is not President Donald Trump’s forte. He was booked as a guest on Fox News’ Sunday morning talk show, despite a desire by some conservatives that he stop talking. And he gave a speech to a Republican group in the Raleigh, North Carolina, area.

But Mulvaney’s job has been anything but normal since the news conference Thursday at which he seemingly undermined the Trump administration’s strategy for avoiding impeachment by acknowledging that Trump had sought a quid pro quo for providing Ukraine with American aid. In the chaotic aftermath, the president’s Republican allies are questioning Mulvaney’s savvy and intelligence even as the Trump campaign is defiantly turning one of his lines from the news conference into a T-shirt.

As he approaches his anniversary in the White House, Mulvaney, 52, a former South Carolina congressman and Trump budget director, finds himself in a strange netherworld.

The word “acting” is still conspicuously stuck to his title, even though Trump could remove it at any time. His relationship with the president runs hot and cold, depending on the day, though never quite cold enough for Trump to fire him.That is in part because it’s unclear who might be willing to take a job that Trump struggled to fill when it last came open.

But Thursday’s briefing in the White House press room was a prize winner in “the annals of disastrous appearances by White House chiefs of staff,” according to Christopher Whipple, author of “The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency.”

Mulvaney’s ostensible purpose was to announce that Trump had chosen his own golf resort in Doral, Florida, as the site for next year’s Group of 7 summit meeting of world leaders — a controversy of its own, but one that Mulvaney appeared prepared to take heat for.

“I get the criticisms,” he told reporters. “But, no, there’s no issue here on him profiting from this in any way, shape or form.”

Then the questions quickly turned from whether Trump was using the presidency to enrich himself to why his administration recently froze $391 million in congressionally allocated military aid to Ukraine and whether it was an effort to coerce its government into pursuing political investigations sought by Trump.

Peppered by skeptical questions from reporters, Mulvaney was remarkably nonchalant in conceding a central component of the Democratic case for impeachment: that the aid was delayed, in part, because of Trump’s belief in an unfounded conspiracy theory that a Democratic National Committee email server hacked in 2016 may be hidden in Ukraine and could hold data showing that Russia did not interfere in that year’s election.

Mulvaney dismissed questions about whether it was appropriate to delay the aid, saying, “There’s going to be political influence in foreign policy.”

“Get over it,” he declared.

It did not take long for Mulvaney to release a statement trying to take back his admission that indeed the release of aid to Ukraine had been linked to Trump’s demand for an inquiry. White House aides privately expressed shock that Mulvaney said what he said. Several of Trump’s advisers — concerned the president didn’t seem to process what had happened — told him there was a problem.

Trump, though, grew unhappy only when he saw coverage of the news conference, according to people close to him. Even then, he was not as angry as many aides have seen him before.

Asked about Mulvaney’s comments, Trump said he hadn’t watched them and appeared unbothered. “I think he clarified it,” Trump said.

The extended Trump apparatus seemed to embrace parts of the Mulvaney message. By midday, a black T-shirt with “Get Over It” in white letters was available from the Trump 2020 campaign for $30.

But despite the effort to project confidence, Republicans in Congress and at least one prominent conservative media figure expressed dismay at Mulvaney’s words, which contradicted weeks of White House messaging.

Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Fla., told reporters Friday that he was “shocked that he said that stuff” and that Mulvaney’s remarks could not be walked back so simply.

“It’s not an Etch-a-Sketch,” easily erased, he said, miming the gesture.

“I want to get the facts and do the right thing,” he told reporters, “because I’ll be looking at my children a lot longer than I’m looking at anybody in this building.”

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a former colleague of Mulvaney in the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, accused the media of taking his friend out of context, then said Mulvaney’s remarks had been incorrect.

“We know from the call transcript itself, there was no linkage,” he said, repeating the talking point about Trump’s phone call with the Ukrainian leader that was damaged badly by Mulvaney. “There was no quid pro quo.”

One of Trump’s most reliable allies, Fox News host Sean Hannity, assailed Mulvaney on his radio show Thursday as “idiotic” and “dumb,” saying he “didn’t know what he was talking about.”

Whipple said that Mulvaney’s defiant defense of the president told a larger story about how the president’s staff had largely come to enable, rather than check, his impulses.

“I think the senior advisers in the White House, led by Mulvaney, have become a cult,” he said. “To the extent there’s any discernible defense or strategy here, it seems to be, ‘There’s no defense — so let’s pretend it’s normal.’”

He added, “We found out that they think if Trump does it, it’s normal — get over it.”

The underlying tether that Trump is using to keep Mulvaney close, some advisers and former aides say, is a recognition that his scorched-earth farewells to other senior officials have left a number of them willing to tell secrets about what they saw while they served him.

Within the White House, Mulvaney has a number of allies among his subordinates. But at a more senior level, he has repeatedly been at odds with the White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, who came into his job not long after Mulvaney stepped into the chief of staff role.

Mulvaney and Cipollone had an extensive disagreement the day the White House released the transcript of Trump’s call on July 25 with the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Since then, the counsel’s office staff has repeatedly been frustrated by Mulvaney, seeing him as an impediment to helping the president.

And like everyone else, Mulvaney has the shadow of Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, to remind him that there are few permanent fixtures in this White House besides Trump’s family members.

Kushner has told White House officials that he supports Mulvaney, but he has also told associates that he has fielded complaints about him over time. Kushner was said to be frustrated by Mulvaney’s podium gaffe.

Joe Lockhart, who served as press secretary for President Bill Clinton and faced his own daily barrage of impeachment questions, said of Mulvaney, “It was malpractice to send him out there, given his lack of experience, lack of skills and a clear lack of preparation.”

But, Lockhart added: “One thing I do give him credit for, he covered himself. He was very clear that anything he did on Ukraine was at the direction of the president.”

 

 

So let's see next week Trump will say "he is the worst acting chief of staff ever and I Donald Trump am the best chief of staff in the history of the world."

B/A

[yota691]

Diplomat tells investigators he raised alarms in 2015 about Hunter Biden’s Ukraine work but was rebuffed

 

 

 

Hunter Biden on Oct. 15 discussed his business dealings in Ukraine and China in his first interview since House Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry. (JM Rieger/The Washington Post)

By 

John Hudson, 

Rachael Bade and 

Matt Viser 

Oct. 18, 2019 at 7:44 a.m. EDT

A career State Department official overseeing Ukraine policy told congressional investigators this week that he had raised concerns in early 2015 about then-Vice President Joe Biden’s son serving on the board of a Ukrainian energy company but was turned away by a Biden staffer, according to three people familiar with the testimony.

George Kent, a deputy assistant secretary of state, testified Tuesday that he worried that Hunter Biden’s position at the firm Burisma Holdings would complicate efforts by U.S. diplomats to convey to Ukrainian officials the importance of avoiding conflicts of interest, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of confidentiality rules surrounding the deposition.

Kent said he had concerns that Ukrainian officials would view Hunter Biden as a conduit for currying influence with his father, said the people. But when Kent raised the issue with Biden’s office, he was told the then-vice president didn’t have the “bandwidth” to deal with the issue involving his son as his other son, Beau, was battling cancer, said the people familiar with his testimony.

 

The testimony by Kent offers a reminder that as Democrats probe President Trump’s alleged actions in pressuring Ukraine to dig up compromising information on Biden, the impeachment inquiry also threatens to keep alive questions about the former vice president’s handling of his son’s foreign work at a precarious moment for his 2020 presidential campaign.

 

'Where's Hunter?': Trump slams the Bidens

 

 

President Trump slammed Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter during his Oct. 10 campaign rally at the Target Center in Minneapolis. (The Washington Post)

Kent, who also testified about how Trump’s associates raised unfounded allegations about the former ambassador to Ukraine, is the first known example of a career diplomat who raised concerns internally in the Obama administration about Hunter Biden’s board position. The Washington Post has previously reported that there had been discussions among Biden’s advisers about whether his son’s Ukraine work would be perceived as a conflict of interest, and that one former adviser had been concerned enough to mention it to Biden, though the conversation was brief.

During his testimony this week, Kent did not name the Biden staffer he said he communicated with, according to people familiar with his remarks.

 

Although many of Trump’s charges regarding Hunter Biden have been unfounded, the elder Biden has faced questions about why he didn’t anticipate concerns about potential conflicts of interest as he took a leading role in carrying out U.S. policy toward Ukraine. Polls show Biden with an advantage over Trump in a potential general election matchup, and Biden has sought in recent days to focus attention on the actions of a president many Democrats see as corrupt and unfit for office.

Hunter Biden in October 2012. A career State Department official testified Tuesday that he had raised concerns about Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine in early 2015. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

The gas tycoon and the vice president’s son: The story of Hunter Biden’s foray into Ukraine

A former senior Biden national security aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, had no recollection of hearing about Kent’s concerns, and also never heard a concern raised by the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine at the time. The first time the aide recalls Hunter Biden’s involvement surfacing as an issue was in December 2015, when the vice president traveled to Ukraine to deliver an anti-corruption speech and the New York Times wrote about his son’s role. Hunter Biden’s board appointment had been publicly announced the previous year and reported by the media at the time.

The aide said that Hunter Biden’s position had no substantive impact.

 

 

“I don’t understand what the optics thing means other than someone thinking it looked bad in a political way,” the aide said. “Did it have any effect on U.S. policies, either on what we were doing or what the Ukrainians were doing? It didn’t. . . . In the aggregate it didn’t have any discernible effect.”

The aide said that Joe Biden was dealing with a lot during Beau Biden’s bout with cancer, but that it had a minimal impact on his work.

“Day to day the vice president was at work and he was pretty focused,” the aide said. “Does that mean it’s inconceivable that someone said, ‘Hey, look, it’s not the time to raise a family issue?’ I guess it’s conceivable. But I never saw evidence he wasn’t capable of doing the VP role and dealing with his family at the same time.”

 

Andrew Bates, a Biden campaign spokesman, said in a statement that “on Joe Biden’s watch, the U.S. made eradicating corruption a centerpiece of our policies toward Ukraine.”

 

 

Hunter Biden joined the board of the Ukrainian gas company — headed by a former government minister investigated for possible corruption — in 2014, at the same time his father was leading U.S. efforts to crack down on corruption in that country.

The issue has erupted in recent weeks amid revelations about a July 25 phone call in which Trump asked Ukraine’s president to “look into” the Bidens, particularly whether Joe Biden pressured Ukrainian officials to fire a prosecutor whose office had been investigating Burisma. The Democrats’ impeachment inquiry is seeking to determine whether Trump withheld military aid and diplomatic support to Ukraine in an attempt to get information to use against Biden.

 

Trump and his allies have made the unsubstantiated claim that Biden pressed for the prosecutor’s firing to protect his son. In fact, according to former U.S. officials and Ukrainian anti-corruption activists, the investigation of Burisma was dormant at the time. And Biden, adding to the calls from others in the U.S. government and Western institutions, was urging Ukraine to tap a new prosecutor who would be more aggressive in combating corruption.

 

 

Biden has said that he never spoke with his son about his dealings with Ukraine and has said that he only learned of his position on the Burisma board when he read about it in news reports.

Hunter Biden told ABC News in an interview this week that he did “nothing wrong at all” but that he showed “poor judgment” in accepting the position on the Burisma board.

 

Joe Biden told reporters Wednesday that he wouldn’t have changed anything about his actions, including discouraging his son from joining the board, and said he had no regrets.

“No. No, I don’t,” he said. “Because I never discussed with my son anything having to do with what was going on in Ukraine. That’s a fact.”

Biden has pledged that, if president, no one in his family would have “any business relationship with anyone that relates to a foreign corporation or foreign country.” During the presidential candidates debate Tuesday night, he twice dodged a question about why he did not have a similar policy as vice president.

 

But on Wednesday, he said his new policy was developed not because of anything Hunter Biden did but because of the actions of the Trump family.

 

Daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, hold senior White House jobs, while Trump has retained ownership of his real estate business, which is being run by his sons and has been the subject of lawsuits alleging that the company has been a conduit for foreign governments to enrich Trump in violation of the Constitution’s emoluments clause. On Thursday, the White House announced that Trump had awarded the 2020 Group of Seven summit of world leaders to his golf resort in Miami, using his public office to direct a large contract to his private company.

“In my White House, none of my children or family have offices at the White House,” Biden said. “They will not be invited to sit in significant meetings of a Cabinet-level post and they will have no foreign investment, and the reason to do that is not because of anything that went on in our administration. It is because of what Donald Trump has done. He has so debased the standard of what constitutes ethical behavior that the next president has to make it absolutely clear — absolutely clear — this will not happen again.”

 

 

Biden’s campaign has been attempting to move past any discussions about Hunter Biden, and his team considers most questions having already been addressed. Biden aides also pointed toward the debate Tuesday night, where no candidate criticized Biden on the issue, as a sign that it is not resonating on the campaign trail.

 

“It’s been asked and answered,” Kate Bedingfield, his deputy campaign manager, told reporters after the debate. “Democratic voters know that these lies are not getting traction and it's not the conversation they want to hear. And I think that was reflected in the fact that it was not a significant piece of the discussion.”

[cranman]

You know quid pro quo happens in everyday life.  If you go to bank for a loan you have to show the ability to be able to pay it back with tax returns and pay stubs.  As well as shown you haven't filed for bankruptcy. No proof, no money.  Buying groceries requires you to have cash, checks or credit.  No money, no groceries.   It's like that everywhere you go with almost every transaction.  It's business as usual just between two countries with the amount of money being used for much more than just groceries.  If this request for information wasn't about anyone else other than Biden, or any other presidential candidate,  this wouldn't haven't been a blip in on the political radar.  Quid pro quo happen between countries everyday.  That's how it all works and has for many,  many years.  You never give or get something for nothing in the political arena.