Caltrops - Balance of Power





	[quote name="Bryan Appleyard"]<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/09/trump-admits-pressuring-ukraine-over-biden/598609/">By the end of last week, rumors were swirling about what President Donald Trump might or might not have done to elicit a whistle-blower complaint about his conversations with a foreign leader. A rough outline had emerged: Trump had pressured Ukraine’s president to investigate business dealings of the Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden’s son. The president was refusing to answer questions. And then on Sunday, Trump helpfully put an end to the speculation: Of course he did it. “The conversation I had was largely congratulatory. It was largely corruption—all of the corruption taking place. It was largely the fact that we don’t want our people, like Vice President Biden and his son, creating to [sic] the corruption already in the Ukraine,” Trump said. (Neither Ukraine nor Trump has produced any evidence to support that claim about the Bidens.) Trump once again implicitly admitted pressuring Ukraine during remarks at the United Nations Monday.</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/25/us/politics/ukraine-transcript-trump.html">‘Do Us a Favor’: Calls Shows Trump’s Interest in Using U.S. Power for His Gain</a> <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/trump-admits-discussing-biden-in-ukraine-call-69648454000">President Trump acknowledged that he discussed former VP Joe Biden during a July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky</a> <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-ukraine-aid-impeachment-joe-biden-son-2020-election-a9118456.html">Trump admits withholding aid to Ukraine while asking country's leader to investigate 2020 rival Joe Biden</a> [/quote]