First, there's no quid pro quo in that case. Congress was asking Ukraine to cooperate with an ongoing domestic investigation - there has been no allegation of Congress threatening to jeopardize Ukrainian security or withhold aid if they don't assist.
The transcript is out and there's no quid pro quo in the conversation.
Quid pro quo on a national level is not a problem, it's the backbone of international politics - the issue is whether that quid pro quo was in the interest of the US or the interest of Trump.
Let's take a look at this. Quid pro quo means "something for something" From Wikipedia:
Quid pro quo ("something for something" in
Latin)
[2] is a
Latin phrase used in
English to mean an exchange of goods or services, in which one transfer is contingent upon the other; "
a favour for a favour". Phrases with similar meanings include: "give and take", "
tit for tat", and "you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours" and "one hand washes the other".
First, let's look at what happened before the call with Ukraine. Days prior to the phone call, Trump froze military aid to Ukraine. The White House has tried to say this was in response to rampant corruption in Ukraine, despite
the Pentagon sending a letter two months prior certifying Ukraine's efforts and outcomes to reduce corruption. Remember, Ukraine is currently fighting an undeclared war with Russia following an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, a nation which,
according to the US State Department, we have a good relationship. Fast forward to after this all came out and there was bipartisan pressure to send the aid held by Trump to Ukraine.
So we have Trump withholding aid from a nation we have been supporting to apply pressure prior to his phone call with their newly elected president.
From the transcript:
"Well it's very nice of you to say that. I will say that we do a lot for Ukraine. We spend a lot of efford and a lot of time. Much more than the European countries are doing and they should be helping you more than they are. (insert some rambling about Germany not doing enough) ...the United States has been very very good to Ukraine. I wouldn't say that it's reciprocal necessarily because things are happening that are not good, but the United States has been very very good to Ukraine.
First of all, this sounds like an abusive partner. Both Trump and Zelenskyy know that Trump is withholding that vital military aid package while he's talking about how great the US is treating Ukraine. This is an identical tactic used by domestic abusers.
After Zelenskyy strokes Trump's ego and reflects Trump's talking points back to him (Zelenskyy is much better at this game than Trump is, he just has a shit hand to play).
I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been though a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say Crowdstrike... I guess you have one of your wealthy people... The server, they say Ukraine has it. There are a lot of things that went on, the whole situation. I think you're surrounding yourself with some of the same people. I would like to have the Attorney General call you or your people and I would you to get to the bottom of it. As you saw yesterday, that whole nonsense ended with a very poor performance by a man named Robert Muller, an incompetent performance, but they say a lot of it started with Ukraine. Whatever you can do, it's very important that you do it if that's possible.
Shambling mess of word salad aside, Trump, like any half-decent Mafia enforcer, doesn't have to explicitly say "Nice country, be a shame if anything happened to it" He has the leverage and now he's asking for "a favor" while implying that compliance will get Zelenskyy his aid - the aid that Trump has already held to apply pressure before the call even happens.
But let's continue to the Bidens.
... I heard you had a prosecutor who was very good and he was shut down and that's really unfair. A lot of people are talking about that, the way they shut down your very good prosecutor down and that's really unfair
First of all, if there was something illegal or unethical happening with the Bidens, I believe that it should come out and Joe Biden or his son be held accountable. However, there is
this story that indicates the prosecutor who was fired does not believe Biden's son did anything illegal. On the other hand, Joe Biden has made public comments about getting the prosecutor fired; this was also at a time when Ukraine was being investigated for corruption and there was evidence that US monetary aid was being transferred out of the country and into private accounts - allegations that the prosecutor in question was not pursuing. He also refused to prosecute or pursue those who allegedly shot unarmed protesters, and blocked cases from proceeding against his political allies. His office also carried out raids on anti-corruption groups like the Anti-Corruption Action Center; Viktor Shokin's own deputy resigned in protest of the corruption within the office.
Let's not fall into this talking point of Biden demanding an innocent man be fired to protect his son. First, there's no indication, even from Viktor Shokin, that Biden's son did anything illegal - and there is good reason to withhold cash aid going to a nation when there is strong evidence that the cash is only being used to line the pockets of oligarchs. This is the difference between the actions of the Obama Administration and Trump.
Let's continue:
A lot of people are talking about that, the way they shut your very good prosecutor down and you had some very bad people involved. Mr. Giuliani is a highly respected man. He was the mayor of New York City, a great major, and I would like him to call you. I will ask him to call you along with the Attorney General. Rudy very much knows what's happening and he is a very capable guy. If you could speak to him that would be great. The former ambassador from the Unites States, the woman, was bad news and the people she was dealing with in the Ukraine were bad news so I just want to let you know that. The other thing, There's a lot of talk about Biden's son,. that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever your can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it.. It sounds horrible to me.
Zelenskyy then agrees to have the newly appoint Prosecutor General look into the matter. Trump then "predicts" that the Ukraine economy will get better and "will have a lot of assets" after Zelenskyy agrees with him. Zelenskyy reminds Trump that he stayed at Trump Tower and promises to buy American oil.
This quid pro quo is not the same as withholding aid to a corrupt government - according to the Pentagon, since the removal of Shokin, Ukraine has come a long way in combating corruption. This is not a deal in the national interest, it's Trump strongarming a state into helping him sink a political rival.
@LeVeL this is the very definition of a quid pro quo - and one for personal gain rather than being in the nation's interests. It's also a bullshit shakedown in the same tradition as protection rackets, "you do for me and maybe your store doesn't catch fire in the night."
