New Emails: Over the Cliff Notes

Here’s the email dump from Friday night. (The administration released the Ukraine-related emails in compliance with a court order.) The emails confirm testimony gathered during the House impeachment investigation, particularly Laura Cooper’s, and adds a few new details.

Much of the emails look like this:

Raising the question: Why all the redactions?

Classified to protect national security? Gimmea break, particularly because so many of these emails were transmitted via cell phone.

Executive privilege? Nope. Not permitted to cover wrongdoing.

Dear GOP leadership: You may think you can hide the evidence now, but it will come out. Come clean now, or go down in history as enabling crooks.

Reading through these emails, it’s clear what went wrong for Trump: What must have seemed like a fairly simple idea (hold back the aid until Ukraine did what he wanted) required too many levers of government to pull off.

We know from the timeline that Operation Ukrainian Shakedown started in late 2018. The operation hit a snag when Zelensky (campaigning on an anti-corruption platform) was elected instead of their guy, Poroshenko. By late Spring, it looked like it might not be so easy as they thought. Trump saw the article about aid to Ukraine and got what he thought was a bright idea.

But Zelensky cleverly managed not to embroil himself in a corrupt scheme. Meanwhile, too many government employees and people with integrity caught on to what was going on and blew the whistle.

I’ll fit the new emails into the existing timeline for the big picture:

June 18: The Department of Defense approved the Ukraine security assistance.

Laura Cooper testified that Trump saw an article and asked about security assistance. At the time of her testimony, nobody could find the article she referenced.

Well, it was in the packet, along with the website where it had appeared. Nobody could find it because the site took it down. Here’s the article:

Cooper testified that a few days after the article appeared, she received a message “forwarded down” the Department of Defense, presented as a follow-up meeting with Trump. The email she referred to is here, in the packet, and another follow up:

Cooper said the request was unusual. Her staff responded quickly with a fact sheet.

Here are some key people in the new emails: Eric Chewning, chief of staff to DOD secretary, and Elaine McCuster, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)

Here’s the email showing that 2 hours after Trump’s “perfect” July 25 call to Zelensky, the OMB (White House) ordered a hold on the funds:

Notice the part about “given the sensitive nature of the request, I appreciate your keeping that information closely held . . .”

Cooper testified about a “footnote” to the security assistance apportionment added by the Office of Budget Management (headed by Mulvaney). Here is where Cooper was questioned about the footnote:

So the House already had this text. The footnote itself was in the emails, here:

First the footnote said not available until Aug. 5, then changed to Aug. 12, then Aug. 26.

Cooper’s “secondhand understanding” was that the way the OMB could carry out the president’s order was through apportionments.

Aug. 10: Followup questions are entirely redacted.

Cooper met with Volker on Aug. 20. She expected to strategize about how to get the aid released. (Cooper testimony) Instead Volker talked about his efforts “to see if there was a statement that the government of Ukraine could make that would disavow any interference in the US elections and would commit to the prosecution of any individuals involved in election interference.”

Volker also indicated to her that if his work was successful, he might get the hold lifted. (Cooper Testimony.)

Now for some more general timeline (to see how the new emails fit in.

Aug. 26: IG writes to Acting Director of National Intelligence Maguire that he reviewed the Whistleblower’s Complaint and deemed it “urgent concern” that “appears credible.”

Late August: Trump learned of the Whistleblower complaint

White House Counsel Cipollone and Eisenberg tried to prevent Congress from getting the complaint based on “executive privilege.” That obviously didn’t work.

August 29: Chewing tells McCusker about the Politico article “Trump slow-walks Ukraine military aid meant to contain Russia”

August 29: Mark Paoletta to Edwin Castle, cc Duffey: Here are the TPs we agreed upon. (I assume TP are Talking Points)

August 29: McCuster to Duffey “Just got out of another long session [ ] things evolved again . . .

Augjst 30 email: REDACTED (Subject heading: Ukraine)

Sept. 1: Subject heading: Ukraine: “I spoke to the boss” the rest is redacted.

Sept. 5: Elaine “Normally I would not send you this level of detail, but given the situation . . .

It sure seems like once the Whistleblower complaint became public, the reactions take over.

Sept. 9: the Inspector General informed the Intelligence Committee that the Whistleblower’s Complaint had made its way to the White House. That same day, the House Intel committee announced an investigation into the Ukraine scandal.

From emails: