It is by no means normal for a U.S. president to ask a foreign leader to launch an investigation into a political rival. But that's exactly what happened during a July 25 phone conversation between President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine. Trump asked Zelenskiy to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, the current front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, and his son.
I Would Like You to Do Us a Favor
It's never possible to know precisely what's going on in Trump's mind. But it seems clear that the favor he was asking of the Ukrainian president was finding dirt on Biden and his son.
Por:
Jorge Ramos.
Publicado el 1 oct 19 - 06:23 PM EDT.
President Trump
Imagen AP
According to a reconstructed transcript of the call, Trump said to Zelenskiy: "I would like you to do us a favor. ... I would like to have the attorney general call you or your people and I would like you to get to the bottom of it."
A bit later in the conversation, Trump explains that he wants the Ukrainians to find out if Biden, as vice president, pushed for the firing of Ukraines top prosecutor in charge of corruption cases. At the time, Biden's son Hunter sat on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company.
It's never possible to know precisely what's going on in Trump's mind. But it seems clear that the favor he was asking of the Ukrainian president was finding dirt on Biden and his son.
As my mom worked and parented, all in one breath, she instilled in us the values that I carry with me today: “por la familia, todo.” Lee este contenido en <a href="https://www.univision.com/noticias/opinion/por-la-familia-todo-ruben-gallego-sobre-su-candidatura-para-ser-el-primer-senador-latino-de-arizona" target="_blank" link-data="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000147-f3a5-d4ea-a95f-fbb7f52b0000","_type":"ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20"},"cms.content.publishDate":1726508089253,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017b-d1c8-de50-affb-f1df3e1d0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.content.updateDate":1726508089253,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017b-d1c8-de50-affb-f1df3e1d0000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"link":{"target":"NEW","attributes":[],"url":"https://www.univision.com/noticias/opinion/por-la-familia-todo-ruben-gallego-sobre-su-candidatura-para-ser-el-primer-senador-latino-de-arizona","_id":"00000191-fbe6-d0b9-a3df-ffee82b60000","_type":"ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599a"},"linkText":"español","_id":"00000191-fbe6-d0b9-a3df-ffee82b10000","_type":"809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288"}">español</a>.
"What a sad reflection that the Republican Party has moved from Abraham Lincoln, who <a href="https://www.lincolncottage.org/lincoln-and-immigration/" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.lincolncottage.org/lincoln-and-immigration/&source=gmail&ust=1722615259799000&usg=AOvVaw1h4-6RbvpglrZVIbOjgpuE" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">said </a>immigration was a ‘source of national wealth and strength’ and Ronald Reagan, who <a href="https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/farewell-address-nation" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/farewell-address-nation&source=gmail&ust=1722615259799000&usg=AOvVaw3smYQcjpnK2Yg75NSEOBUf" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">called </a>for his ‘city on the hill’ to be ‘open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here,’ to Donald Trump, who <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trump-says-immigrants-are-poisoning-blood-country-biden-campaign-liken-rcna130141" target="_blank" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trump-says-immigrants-are-poisoning-blood-country-biden-campaign-liken-rcna130141&source=gmail&ust=1722615259799000&usg=AOvVaw1u4LrDvU2tKeNxJCdbz96i" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">says </a>immigrants are ‘poisoning the blood of our country".
"Our current immigration laws include so many hurdles that can keep families in limbo, and even being married to a U.S. citizen isn’t always enough to allow someone to get a green card".
"For those of us whose livelihoods depend on it, President Biden’s actions to protect and preserve DACA show a striking contrast with those of Trump and MAGA Republicans. Trump has a record of trying to end DACA and will try again if he wins another term".
"While immigrants by now are accustomed to being the tip of the spear in the GOP’s arsenal of attacks, let's be clear-eyed that the threat now is beyond harming immigrant communities or calling attention to the border. This is about using this issue as a tool to further Trump’s political ambitions, even if that means suppressing the right to vote, undermining our election results, or stoking more political violence".
"This month comes at a special moment in our nation’s history. For the first time, we have more Latinos serving in Congress than ever before. In the Senate, the Democratic Majority has confirmed a historic number of Latino judicial nominees and recently confirmed the first Latina to serve on the Federal Reserve in the Board’s 109-year history".
"This is the clean energy boom unleashed by President Biden: good-paying jobs in a fast-growing industry and lower bills for working families — all while addressing the climate crisis affecting our lives".
Putting presidents, former presidents and coup plotters on trial is an honorable and necessary practice to maintain a healthy democracy. Failure to put on trial presidents or former presidents who broke the law or committed crimes has had devastating consequences in Latin America.
Mexico's migrant policy bears responsibility for the deaths of 39 migrants in the fire at a detention center in Ciudad Juarez. They were in the custody of the Mexican government, in a federal facility.
Did Zelenskiy feel any real pressure to do this "favor" for Trump? We will never know. What we do know is that a few days before the call, Trump put a $391 million aid package for Ukraine on hold. There is no direct reference to that money in the phone transcript. However, the aid package was an issue of primary concern for both countries at the time.
I've spent more than three decades covering corrupt and authoritarian regimes in Latin America, so the malfeasance of the Trump administration is very familiar. In many ways, Trump acts with the same sense of impunity that characterizes so many Latin American tyrants. He seems to think he can get away with anything.
But while it may be routine in other countries to ask a foreign government for dirt on a political opponent, it certainly isn't in the United States. Electoral laws clearly state that it is illegal for a foreign national to contribute anything of value, be it money or information, in connection with an election.
That's why Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House, has accused Trump of betraying his oath of office, and announced a formal impeachment inquiry. All of this may turn out to be little more than symbolic. It's very unlikely that the Democrats will get enough votes in the Republican-controlled Senate to actually force Trump from office.
Two things are clear, however: One, Democrats are now going after Trump regardless of the consequences; and two, the government will be gridlocked until the election on Nov. 3, 2020. The impeachment inquiry is just the beginning.
Meanwhile, Trump continues to learn nothing. He called Zelenskiy one day (one day!) after former special counsel Robert Mueller's testimony to Congress on Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election. Sure, Mueller didn't find enough evidence to suggest that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to defeat Hillary Clinton. But his report did confirm that Russia's actions - from conducting covert social media campaigns to leaking thousands of emails from Clinton's team - did indeed help Trump get elected.
Precisely at a time when our country is on high alert to prevent anything like this from happening again, Trump chose to ask another foreign power, in this case Ukraine, for help in his next presidential campaign. He just doesn't get it.
Trump lives in a world of his own. On Sept. 24, the day Trump authorized the release of the Ukrainian call transcript, he tweeted: "You will see it was a very friendly and totally appropriate call." Trump insisted that he had put "no pressure" on Zelenskiy and that the Democrats are engaged in "the Greatest and most Destructive Witch Hunt of all time!"
None of this is normal. We reporters are often wrong when we make political predictions, and we have a poor record when it comes to Trump. But one thing I know for sure is that asking some favors can cost you dearly - as the president now knows, too.
Relacionados: