Interesting Times

I have read that there is a Chinese curse that says, "May you live in interesting times." Our current times are interesting.

We have a president of the United States who is being investigated for impeachment. He made a phone call to the president of the Ukraine in July, and during the call, he asked for favors.

The first was something like this: President Zelenskiy of Ukraine said he would like to get more anti-tank weapons from the U.S., and our president said, "I'd like you to do us a favor, though." Then he asked for Ukraine to start investigations into a company called CrowdStrike and whether someone in Ukraine had a server that once belonged to the DNC. Then he asked Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son.

An American president asking a foreign government to investigate an American citizen is abuse of power. I can't see any circumstances under which that is not true.

The investigation of CrowdStrike and looking for the DNC server is an attempt to undermine the findings of the Mueller investigation, so attempted obstruction of justice.

As Joe Biden is running for president against the current American president, asking a foreign government to investigate him is conspiracy with a foreign government to interfere with an American election, a felony violation of campaign finance laws.

Making a link between continued American aid to Ukraine and getting these favors is attempted bribery. In addition to the statement above about favors, the American president made another. He said the United States does a lot for Ukraine, but the relationship isn't really reciprocal, and again asked for a favor. Same two favors.

So we have clear evidence of multiple criminal offenses in one phone call. And there are witnesses to other connections between people working for the American president, both in and out of government, delivering the same messages to officials in Ukraine, making more clear the connection between aid, and a possible invitation for President Zelenskiy to come to American, and the favors being done.

It is disheartening to have a president who would do such things. It is also disheartening to have so many people in this country who defend his criminal actions, though the defenses given so far are laughably weak. It is also disheartening that the outcome is not clear. The case, in an impartial court of law, is a slam dunk. The president is clearly guilty, based on the record of the phone call and his own public statements, unless he can find some exculpatory evidence. But the decision is as much political as legal, and it seems half the country's leaders would rather support their own party leader than stand up for the rule of law.