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Ukrainians: Trump Just Sent Us ‘a Terrible Signal’


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Ukrainian officials spent last weekend glued to Trump’s Twitter feed. 

People working closely with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have been in contact with Trump administration officials over the past several weeks discussing the relationship between the two presidents, according to four people with knowledge of the talks. Based on those conversations, Ukrainian officials came to expect that Trump would make a statement of support before Zelensky met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in France for peace talks. A statement might even come via Twitter, they said they were told. 

“Through all the signals we got, we firmly believed there would be a statement,” a senior Zelensky administration official told The Daily Beast. 

But as Saturday and Sunday ticked by, there was only silence from the White House. Even as Ukrainian officials have publicly been loath to criticize Trump’s pressure campaign on their country, frustrations with Washington have quietly percolated. And last weekend, they were especially acute. 

On Monday, Zelensky and Putin met in Normandy, France for face-to-face negotiations on the war in eastern Ukraine. Russia had seized Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014, and has ever since backed separatists in the eastern part of the country. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were on hand for the talks. Putin and Zelensky agreed to exchange “all known prisoners,” according to The Washington Post. Another round of talks is expected in several months. 

Words of support from the United States in the lead-up to the Normandy talks could have given the Ukrainian president more leverage with Putin, according to the Zelensky administration official and two additional people close to his administration. Instead, Trump spent the weekend on Twitter tweeting about Fox News pundits, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and CNN. It was a particularly busy weekend of social media for him, with more than 100 tweets and retweets by Politico’s count. But no word on Normandy.

And the next week put salt in the wound. On Tuesday, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and made an appearance at the White House. 

Russia’s Top Diplomat: We’re Ready to Publish Our Correspondence With U.S. on Election Meddling Allegations

One of the people close to the Zelensky administration said the silence from White House—combined with Lavrov’s photo-friendly visit to Washington—sent “a terrible signal” and was “most unfortunate.” According to a read-out of Trump’s meeting with Lavrov, the president “urged Russia to resolve the conflict with Ukraine.” The Ukrainian official called the episode “frustrating.” Ukrainians say they view the coupling of Trump’s pre-Normandy silence and the administration’s decision to welcome Lavrov as a signal in an of itself—and not a good one. 

Zelensky administration officials are now reconsidering their strategy on communication with and about the Trump administration, the official said. Thus far, Zelensky administration officials have stayed in line with the Trump administration’s narrative on Giuliani’s Ukraine activity and the focuses of the impeachment inquiry. But they say they have little to show for it, and may take a different public relations strategy in the future. 

A Time interview published earlier this week captured Kyiv’s willingness to publicly bolster Trump’s version of events. Andriy Yermak, a top aide to Zelensky, contradicted a key assertion that European Union Ambassador Gordon Sondland made in Congressional testimony last month. Sondland had said he pulled Yermak aside during an event in Warsaw and urged him to have Kyiv announce Trump-friendly investigations. Yermak, meanwhile, told Time that no such conversation happened. The statement was a body blow to a key impeachment witness’s testimony, though Sondland’s lawyer said he stood by his description of events. 

In a separate interview, Zelensky said he did not speak to Trump in terms of “you give me this, I give you that.” Trump tweeted out a link to the interview and thanked Zelensky for the comment. 

Trump’s relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was a key focus of Democrats’ impeachment inquiry. The inquiry began after an anonymous Intelligence Committee official filed a whistleblower complaint in August alleging that Trump pressured Zelensky to announce investigations of a company linked to the Bidens and of alleged Ukrainian meddling in the 2016 election. The complaint said that Trump was withholding military aid from Ukraine until those investigations were announced. Trump has vehemently denied allegations that withholding the military aid—which happened for a short time at his orders—was part of a pressure campaign. Sondland, meanwhile, told Congress that the administration was explicit that it refused to arrange a White House meeting between Trump and Zelensky until Kyiv announced the two investigations. 

After weeks of closed-door depositions and hearings, Pelosi announced the introduction of two articles of impeachment based on Trump’s pressure on Ukraine. House Democrats are expected to vote on those articles as soon as next week. If they pass—which is extremely likely—then they will be referred to the Senate for a trial.

 

One more world leader just learned the hard way.... извини чарли

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3 minutes ago, nstoolman1 said:

So now Trump tweets less and people are upset and think it means something. 

Before he tweeted and people thought he was crazy.

Nobody is happy. 

 

Tweets less? Over the weekend he was in a tweet frenzy, but only about himself. He didn't have time to show public support for a country under seize by Russia.

 

They expected their ally to support them against the evil empire, but of course we know Trump bows to Putin and doesn't have any allies unless there is something in it for him.

 

B/A

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You did not read the article did you? Silence from the White House over the weekend. 

 

Ukrainian officials spent last weekend glued to Trump’s Twitter feed. 

 

A statement might even come via Twitter, they said they were told. 

 

But as Saturday and Sunday ticked by, there was only silence from the White House.

 

 

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18 minutes ago, nstoolman1 said:

You did not read the article did you? Silence from the White House over the weekend. 

 

Ukrainian officials spent last weekend glued to Trump’s Twitter feed. 

 

A statement might even come via Twitter, they said they were told. 

 

But as Saturday and Sunday ticked by, there was only silence from the White House.

 

 

 

Seriously???? 

 

 

 

Instead, Trump spent the weekend on Twitter tweeting about Fox News pundits, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and CNN. It was a particularly busy weekend of social media for him, with more than 100 tweets and retweets by Politico’s count. But no word on Normandy.

 

 

 

 

He was tweeting just not about anything but his endless problems.

B/A

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4 hours ago, Muleslayer said:

Serbian? really?

 

i think you meant

 


вибачте Чарлі

 

oh i bet that was a YAHOO source!

Now that's just funny :lmao: but I don't think he even reads pass the Yahooooooos headlines anymore. B/As taken a walk off the deep end and it's just a matter of time before he's gone too far. 

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15 hours ago, bostonangler said:

 

Tweets less? Over the weekend he was in a tweet frenzy, but only about himself. He didn't have time to show public support system" rel="">support for a country under seize by Russia.

 

They expected their ally to support system" rel="">support them against the evil empire, but of course we know Trump bows to Putin and doesn't have any allies unless there is something in it for him.

 

B/A

 

Just the facts on Trump....Russia...and Putin...

 

Doubt you will take the time to read it....even if it comes from the very anti Trump WAPO

CL

 

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-has-not-been-soft-on-russia-hes-been-tougher-than-obama/2019/03/28/08e88a04-5194-11e9-88a1-ed346f0ec94f_story.html

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2 minutes ago, coorslite21 said:

 

Just the facts on Trump....Russia...and Putin...

 

Doubt you will take the time to read it....even if it comes from the very anti Trump WAPO

CL

 

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-has-not-been-soft-on-russia-hes-been-tougher-than-obama/2019/03/28/08e88a04-5194-11e9-88a1-ed346f0ec94f_story.html

 

I read that and it is a good piece, slightly slanted like all things today. But I get confused when conservatives rave about spending more money. Economic policies is one of the biggest reasons I didn't vote for Trump or Clinton.... I voted libertarian last time and more than likely will again. The Libertarians seem like the only party that wants to shrink government and reduce spending. Libertarians are against the federal government controlling the states... The original idea of federal government was to serve the states not control them.

 

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A conservative group is targeting House Republicans with a digital billboard campaign that is heavily critical of President Donald Trump.

In the new ads, Republicans for the Rule of Law calls out Trump for prohibiting key witnesses in the Ukraine scandal from testifying in the House impeachment inquiry against him.

The ads show Trump with a finger over his mouth to indicate that he wants silence. He appears next to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former National Security Adviser John Bolton, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, in the images.

All apart from Trump have tape placed over their mouths to keep them from speaking.

“What Is Trump Hiding?” ask the ads, which will be placed in the congressional districts of House Republicans, including Reps. Greg Walden (Ore.), Mac Thornberry (Texas), Fred Upton (Mich.) Brian Fitzpatrick (Penn.), Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) John Katko (N.Y.) and Martha Roby (Ala.).

(Photo: Republicans for the Rule of Law)
(Photo: Republicans for the Rule of Law)

House Democrats unveiled two articles of impeachment against Trump on Tuesday. Trump is accused of abuse of power in relation to his alleged pressuring of Ukraine’s president to investigate potential 2020 Democratic rival Joe Biden, and obstruction of Congress, following his administration’s stonewalling of the congressional probe into the initial allegation.

“The president doesn’t own the government and he’s not above the law,” Republicans for the Rule of Law spokesperson Chris Truax said in a statement to HuffPost. “He’s merely a caretaker acting on our behalf and when Congress demands an accounting, it’s the President’s duty to comply.”

“President Trump has been given every opportunity to answer the charges against him,” the statement continued. “He demands friendly witnesses, yet refuses to allow his most loyal supporters to testify. He complains the proceedings are unfair, yet refuses to allow his lawyers to participate in the hearings.”

“If President Trump really could prove he is innocent of the impeachment charges against him, he would have made some effort to do so by now,” Truax concluded. “If the President really does think the facts will exonerate him, why won’t he let those facts come out?”

Last month, Republicans for the Rule of Law launched an ad campaign on Fox News in a bid to educate GOP voters on the facts of the Ukraine scandal.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/republicans-for-the-rule-of-law-billboards-trump-135139335.html

 

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5 minutes ago, bostonangler said:

Thanks Negmiester... Good to know you aren't a conservative.

 

B/A

 

Right....an angry one negged a post of mine about a girl with Aspergers (ASD) embracing her condition as her "superpower".  The human condition is deteriorating at an alarming rate under the Trump model of interacting with others.  

 

GO RV, then BV

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Just now, Shabibilicious said:

 

Right....an angry one negged a post of mine about a girl with Aspergers (ASD) embracing her condition as her "superpower".  The human condition is deteriorating at an alarming rate under the Trump model of interacting with others.  

 

GO RV, then BV

 

Like I said earlier, some of these people are merely posers....

 

B/A

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2 minutes ago, Shabibilicious said:

 

I can't commit to that label....but angry certainly seems like a legit condition.

 

GO RV, then BV

 

I understand what you mean about the anger, I just don't understand the lack of standards or if you will, the double standards... You know, they say they are conservative, but they support a guy who increases our debt by trillions.

 

B/A

Edited by bostonangler
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3 hours ago, Shabibilicious said:

 

Right....an angry one negged a post of mine about a girl with Aspergers (ASD) embracing her condition as her "superpower".  The human condition is deteriorating at an alarming rate under the Trump model of interacting with others.  

 

GO RV, then BV

Come on Shabs, your more intellectually honest than that!  Derangement is evident and prevalent on both sides!!!!  Civility has lost its place in modern America!  I completely disagree with liberal policy but I still find value in the individual.  I was reading an article about the friendship between Michele O and Bush..... disagree on policy but see the good anyway.  We need to get back there.  How????  By living it out.  I can have an honest debate with you or anyone else and still not hate you because you see things different than me.

 

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As for the whole gag order on those listed above.  Lets be honest here please. It's called separation of powers.  Trump is allowed to block testimony from the Executive Branch just as Obama did.  It took 1 1/2 years to get Holder to testify about Fast and Furious.  If the House really wanted to, they could have taken the Executive Branch to court in order to force testimony.  That's the way the law is written.  They chose not to do so.  What would the response be if Trump called on members of Congress or their staff to come to the White House and testify?  Granted, Congress has oversight powers that the Executive Branch does not have but the rules laid out are that they can go to court and request that subpoenas be honored.  They decided not to that.  Now, the Senate can issue those subpoenas and use the courts to enforce them.  I wonder what Schiff will sound like on the witness stand!?!!?

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16 minutes ago, stonewall67 said:

Come on Shabs, your more intellectually honest than that!  Derangement is evident and prevalent on both sides!!!!  Civility has lost its place in modern America!  I completely disagree with liberal policy but I still find value in the individual.  I was reading an article about the friendship between Michele O and Bush..... disagree on policy but see the good anyway.  We need to get back there.  How????  By living it out.  I can have an honest debate with you or anyone else and still not hate you because you see things different than me.

 

 

I appreciate the sentiment and feel pretty much the same way about you, though it's been a long minute since we last chatted at length.  I simply wish the leader of the free world and those who enable him would aspire for the same standard....those voices are afforded the platform for change...and as of right now, the division is growing exponentially.  Both parties to blame for sure, yet the days of "let Trump be Trump" have worn out their welcome and proven ineffective for a country so divided.  As always, just my opinion.

 

GO RV, then BV 

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1 minute ago, Shabibilicious said:

 

I appreciate the sentiment and feel pretty much the same way about you, though it's been a long minute since we last chatted at length.  I simply wish the leader of the free world and those who enable him would aspire for the same standard....those voices are afforded the platform for change...and as of right now, the division is growing exponentially.  Both parties to blame for sure, yet the days of "let Trump be Trump" have worn out their welcome and proven ineffective for a country so divided.  As always, just my opinion.

 

GO RV, then BV 

Yes, it's been a long bit.  I bounce in from time to time to see what is happening and the rest of the time I just try and live my life the best I can!!  By the way, It appears to you to be growing exponentially simple because he is in charge at this time.  For conservatives, it appeared to be growing during the previous admin.  

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5 minutes ago, stonewall67 said:

Yes, it's been a long bit.  I bounce in from time to time to see what is happening and the rest of the time I just try and live my life the best I can!!  By the way, It appears to you to be growing exponentially simple because he is in charge at this time.  For conservatives, it appeared to be growing during the previous admin.  

 

Can't argue that logic.

 

GO RV, then BV

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Shabs and Boston, where was the outcry for support for Ukraine when Russia initiated their aggression?  If you will recall, the annexing of parts of Ukraine by Russia took place under the previous admin.  What did Obama send?  Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  Trump has at least sent actual military aide and supplies that can be used for fighting.  This is why those on the right call out the left for hypocrisy.  Heck, when Romney (NOT A FAN) suggested that Russia was our biggest threat, Obama told him the 80's wanted their foreign policy back.  In order to be truly honest, you have got to at least own up to the fact that the previous admin did absolutely nothing to thwart Putin and his plans to annex!

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