Trump swims freestyle against a string Congress current

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IANS | 14 Oct, 2019
A 30-minute phone call with the newly elected Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25 has opened a Pandoras box across the US. During the conversation, Zelensky asks for the anti-tank missile Javelins. Then US President Donald Trump says that he needs a favour, he asks for dirt on Joe Biden and his son. He also tells Zelensky that Rudy Giuliani and the Attorney General will be calling him to take this forward. Two months later Trump met Zelensky in person where the latter was asked whether he had been pushed by the US President to probe the Bidens. Subsequently in a presser former actor Zelensky denies having met or spoken with Giuliani. The hall of mirrors has many faces, many images, innumerable figures and even more likenesses - some ugly, some grotesque - as the maelstrom gets more severe.

In parallel, US Ambassador to the European Union (EU) Gordon Sondland speaks to Zelensky on July 26. This after he spoke To Trump. It is believed that Sondland spoke with Zelensky about the Bidens.

Strangely a former Soviet Union Republic has become central to an impending American election. In February 2014, brutal rioting in Kiev saw as many as 100 people killed. Russian puppet Viktor Yanukovych fled, but President Vladimir Putin did not take it lying down, he moved commandos to take over neighbouring Crimea. And he then began pressurising Ukraine militarily in east Ukraine.

In Trump's 2016 campaign, top American lobbyist Paul John Manafort was his key manager. When Yanukovych's payoffs were discovered, a $750,000 payment was shown against Manafort in the black ledger. Since then things have gotten more complicated, Joe Biden who was named pointman by the Obama administration to clean up a corruption ridden Ukraine. In a twist, Ukraine oil and gas major Burisma facing a corruption investigation appointed Biden's lawyer and venture capitalist son Hunter as an independent director at $50,000 per month. Hunter has had issues with drug and alcohol abuse. He left the Burisma board earlier this year. Both Burisma and Hunter Biden were acquitted by the corruption inquiry. Around the same time, the new Prosecutor General in Ukraine wanted to relook at the Burisma corruption case.

Trump charged with use and abuse of power remains blasï¿½ about the impeachment inquiry dismissing it as a deep state conspiracy and a partisan witchhunt. One would think that his was a tenuous position given that the dogs are off the leash. But he finds the Democrats' position repugnant as they use both hands to beat the drum.

Speaking to people here, working class blue-collar Americans are still behind Trump. Trump doesn't understand retreat or the fact that sometimes in life one fights the current, another time you flow with the river. He swims on his own, freestyle. Incidentally a super majority of two-thirds is required in the Senate to impeach Trump and that looks unlikely. A decorum rising above partisan politics will be required as the Chief Justice John Roberts will preside. Most importantly, the last impeachment trial of former President Bill Clinton was about his personal behaviour while in Trump's case, the scenario is vastly different since it is political and concerns a foreign power's alleged interference in American polity.

During the day, Trump went on a shooting spree nailing Adam Schiff on his Twitter handle: "Congressman Adam Schiff, who when seeing the REAL Ukraine phone call Transcript decided he'd better make up one of his own. ï¿½I'm going to say this only SEVEN times, so you better listen good. I want you to MAKE UP DIRT ON MY POLITICAL OPPONENT, UNDERSTAND, LOTS OF IT, AND BY THE WAY, DON'T CALL ME AGAIN, I'LL CALL YOU WHEN YOU'VE DONE WHAT I'VE ASKED'. A reminder, that wasn't just stupid, it was FALSE." @greggutfeld @GregGutfeldShow @FoxNews I never said this. Schiff made it up and read it to Congress & the American People. End Witch Hunt!"

As I write this, Trump has fulminated against the Democrats again: "Serial killers get more Due Process than the Democrats give to the President of the United States."

He followed up on that: "Somebody please explain to Chris Wallace of Fox, who will never be his father (and my friend), Mike Wallace, that the Phone Conversation I had with the President of Ukraine was a congenial & good one. It was only Schiff's made up version of that conversation that was bad!"

As the wolves gather, Trump remains impervious, but he would be churlish to ignore the coming storm. Even as his body language remains one of an aggressor in his speeches, displaying no stress or trouble.