In his defense during the impeachment trial, Donald Trump claimed that he did not know Lev Parnas. That seemed a little unlikely, given their seeming connections, and the fact that they were photographed together on numerous occasions. But Trump claimed that he did not know Parvas personally, that he had never really met the man.
Then came an audio tape of the two of them discussing matters at length, which was released by Parnas.
Now, there is a new video, again involving Parnas and Trump, in which Trump urges the removal of then United States ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, which also sure seems to prove that the efforts to remove her were indeed directed by Trump, something else that was denied.
This latest released tape has the complete conversation where Trump infamously barks the order to take Yovanovitch out.
Here is a snippet of the conversation, the most pertinent part, it appears, as taken from the New York Times article by Kenneth P. Vogel and Ben Protess (see link below) that got me on this topic to begin with:
Mr. Trump responds, “How’s Ukraine doing?” then quickly adds, “Don’t answer,” prompting laughter in the room.
After some conversation about Ukraine’s war with its hostile neighbor, Russia, and its efforts to establish energy security, Mr. Trump asked, “How long would they last in a fight with Russia?”
“I don’t think very long,” Mr. Parnas responded. “Without us, not very long,” adding “they feel they’re going to be O.K. if you support them.”
Mr. Parnas continued by saying that “the biggest problem is corruption there,” and later added Ms. Yovanovitch, though not by name, to a list of issues Mr. Trump should address in Ukraine.
“The biggest problem there, I think, where we, where you, need to start is we got to get rid of the ambassador,” he said. “She’s basically walking around telling everybody, ‘Wait, he’s going to get impeached, just wait.’”
The remark prompted laughter in the room. Mr. Trump asked for the ambassador’s name. Mr. Fruman said, “I don’t remember.”
Mr. Trump, sounding stern, then said: “Get rid of her. Get her out tomorrow. I don’t care. Get her out tomorrow. Take her out. O.K.? Do it.”
We knew that Trump was lying anyway, of course, right? It is what he does best, kind of his calling card, if you will.
Anyway, here is the link to the New York Times article about this story. Please take a look at this, even if Trump was acquitted by the Senate. It shows that nt everything was as “perfect” as this president laughably proclaimed in his dealings:
Tape Made Public of Trump Discussing Ukraine With Donors by Kenneth P. Vogel and Ben Protess Jan. 25, 2020Updated Jan. 26, 2020:
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