Democrats wrote to the Ukrainian government in May 2018 urging it to continue investigations into President Donald Trump’s alleged collusion with Russia in the 2016 presidential campaign — collusion later found not to exist.
The demand, which came from U.S. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), resurfaced Wednesday in an opinion piece written by conservative Marc Thiessen in the Washington Post.
Ironically, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) declared Tuesday that the mere possibility that President Trump had asked Ukraine to continue an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden — even without a quid pro quo — was enough to trigger an impeachment inquiry. (Biden boasted in 2018 that he had forced Ukraine to remove its prosecutor by threatening to withhold $1 billion in U.S. aid; he did not tell his audience at the Council on Foreign Relations that the prosecutor was looking into a firm on whose board his son, Hunter Biden, was serving.)
Thiessen observed (original links):
Texas mom on ’40 Under 40′ list arrested for leaving baby on Florida beach
Thune urges Trump to drop nominee who allegedly made racist remarks in leaked chat
Trump admin on pace to shatter deportation record by end of first year: ‘Just the beginning’
Man arrested at Atlanta airport after family told police he wanted to ‘shoot it up’
Truck hits parked van in Midtown Manhattan, pushing vehicle onto sidewalk and injuring 9
Senate Dems Want to Reopen Government, But Are ‘Terrified of Getting the Guillotine’ from Radical Base: Report
‘It’s a joke’: White House dismisses ‘No Kings’ protests, while Nancy Pelosi rips crown in defiance
Jeffries hints at imminent decision on Mamdani endorsement after dodging questions for weeks
Comey cites Trump social media post as ‘smoking gun evidence’ of selective prosecution
Teens who assaulted former DOGE staffer slapped with federal charges: ‘Need for accountability’
Construction crews demolish wall of White House East Wing for ballroom construction
Fourteen GOP states push federal officials to require proof of citizenship for voter registration
Habba’s US attorney appointment faces uphill battle after appeals court hearing
BREAKING: Mass Shooting Prevented at Atlanta Airport After Police Work Quickly to Grab Suspect
AI helps ‘Predator Poachers’ expose elementary school music teacher accused of ‘sexting’ teen
It got almost no attention, but in May [2018], CNN reported that Sens. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) and Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) wrote a letter to Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Yuriy Lutsenko, expressing concern at the closing of four investigations they said were critical to the Mueller probe. In the letter, they implied that their support for U.S. assistance to Ukraine was at stake. Describing themselves as “strong advocates for a robust and close relationship with Ukraine,” the Democratic senators declared, “We have supported [the] capacity-building process and are disappointed that some in Kyiv appear to have cast aside these [democratic] principles to avoid the ire of President Trump,” before demanding Lutsenko “reverse course and halt any efforts to impede cooperation with this important investigation.”
The Democrats’ letter is available online here. In it, Menendez, Durbin, and Leahy demanded that the Ukrainian government answer their questions about the Mueller probe, and issued an implied threat: “This reported refusal to cooperate with the Mueller probe also sends a worrying signal — to the Ukrainian people as well as the international community — about your government’s commitment more broadly to support justice and the rule of law.”
Story cited here.
