Along with everything else that happened yesterday, Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) posted an opinion piece on Buzzfeed that seems to have missed most people’s attention (understandably). Murphy has some history with Ukraine and is personally horrified by what’s been happening, and he writes to explain that the July 25 phone call where Trump committed extortion is only part of a larger tapestry of treachery:
Today, as our country becomes consumed by the way Trump has corrupted the US–Ukraine relationship, it’s vital to stop and consider why Ukraine matters so much to the US, and why Trump’s purposeful abandonment of Ukraine has been so damaging to our own national security interests.
Murphy explains his own political connection to Ukraine and how the phone call with Zelensky was just the most acute example of an ongoing betrayal of Ukraine. It’s worth reading — when I first started it I hadn’t registered who the author was and I was imagining it was just some random blogger or pundit spitballing, but once I realized it was from a current US Senator I sat up and paid closer attention. Murphy knows the context and he lays out the history of Trump’s deliberate mistreatment of Ukraine and then makes a concise argument for impeachment:
It is increasingly clear that Trump simply views the US–Ukraine relationship as a convenient vehicle to advance his political interests. He sees American credibility as a casino chip to be traded in to convince Ukraine to help his reelection campaign. This cannot be allowed in a democracy, and that is why an impeachment inquiry is so vitally necessary.
But just before that Murphy makes another, chilling comment that adds another puzzle piece to the picture of Trump’s betrayal of Ukraine to the benefit of Russia:
Lastly, around the same time, Trump also began to unwind the Obama program to shore up NATO defenses against Russia in Eastern Europe. The president announced earlier this month that he would divert $771 million from this program to help pay for his Mexico border wall. Once again, Russia breathed a sigh of relief, watching Trump disassemble yet another cornerstone of the bipartisan counter-Russia strategy.
Interestingly, Murphy doesn’t continue the chain of thought to ask “why is Trump helping Russia?” But I’m sure it’s a question he’s asked himself, and it’s possible that the Ukraine Clown Posse investigation will finally provide clarity where Mueller failed to do so. After all, there’s a reason why the Attorney General of the United States is going around the world trying to get American allies to cough up evidence “proving” that Russia had nothing to do with Trump’s election.
I understand why Pelosi has chosen to keep the impeachment inquiry focused so tightly on the Ukraine phone call; it’s important to stay on target and not risk losing the plot because you keep running off to chase every whiff of corruption from this stinking cesspool. But there’s a traitor in the White House and the full extent of his treachery needs to be exposed.