In The Midst Of Impeachment Firestorm, Trump Meets With Ukrainian President

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky walked right into the lion’s den Tuesday, a meeting with President Trump coinciding with an explosive impeachment inquiry related to Trump’s interactions with the leader.

Roughly translated, the caption reads: “Yesterday communicated with @RealDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS at the official reception from the US President and First Lady. Today we will continue in working mode!”

Zelensky and Trump have a meeting scheduled for Wednesday at 2:15 pm E.T.

At the heart of the impeachment inquiry is Trump’s July 25 call with Zelensky, during which he confirmed that he brought up Biden and his son, Hunter, who sat on the board of a Ukrainian company. News reports claim that Trump tried to strong-arm Zelensky into digging up dirt on the Bidens, possibly by leveraging withheld aid that he asked to be blocked just days before the call.

The administration released notes on the call Wednesday morning, though not a full transcript or recording. The notes confirm that Trump pushed Zelensky to investigate the Bidens.

Also part of the scandal is a whistleblower, a member of the intelligence community, who lodged a complaint with the Intelligence Community Inspector General concerning Trump and Ukraine. Not much detail is known of the complaint, which was barred from Congress by acting DNI Joseph Maguire.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. Trying to get the story straight?

    (Speaking of straight, Zelensky is a comedian by trade. Can Trump be his straight man?)

  2. Un-fucking-believable.

    I hope Zelensky is wearing body armor.

  3. I expect it could probably be proven with facts and figures that no American President has ever been weaker facing a foreign head of state than Trump is, in this meeting.

  4. I´m sure talking to Trump right about now is a real blast.
    I mean, not that it ever is, I´m sure, but he´s under a tad more stress than usual.

    And the translator should get combat pay for trying to make his words cohere into some understandable form.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

23 more replies

Participants

Avatar for discobot Avatar for srfromgr Avatar for mondfledermaus Avatar for old_curmudgeon Avatar for invitedguest Avatar for Lacuna-Synecdoche Avatar for carlosfiance Avatar for tao Avatar for tribalogical Avatar for bodie1 Avatar for rickjones Avatar for lizzymom Avatar for michaelryerson Avatar for dannydorko Avatar for maximus Avatar for zillacop Avatar for theamericanist Avatar for occamscoin Avatar for rascal_crone Avatar for filmknight Avatar for kovie

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: