So as the impeachment mob kicks into gear on Thursday morning, Democratic counsel Daniel Goldman, in a question to Fiona Hill, the onetime NSC “expert” on Russia and Europe, casually says that the story of Ukraine interfering in the 2016 election has been “debunked.” Hill agreed, and The New York Times quotes her as follows:
“Fiona Hill, the former top Russia expert on the National Security Council, criticized Republicans on Thursday for propagating what she called a “fictional narrative” that Ukraine, not Russia, meddled in the 2016 elections, denouncing a theory embraced by President Trump.
She argued that the story was planted by Russia and dangerously played into Moscow’s hands, by sowing political divisions in the United States that adversaries are eager to exploit.”
Say what?
A reminder for Goldman and Hill and anyone not paying attention.
As seen right here, on August 4, 2016, the Ambassador from Ukraine, one Valeriy Chaly, wrote an op-ed that appeared in The Hill. The title:
Ukraine’s ambassador: Trump’s comments send the wrong message to the world
“Recent comments by Republican nominee Donald Trump about the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea — occupied by Russia since March 2014 — have raised serious concerns in Kyiv and beyond Ukraine. Many in Ukraine are unsure what to think, since Trump’s comments stand in sharp contrast to the Republican party platform.”
That, Ms. Hill and Mr. Goldman, constitutes Ukrainian interference in the American election. Right there in black and white. There is nothing “fictional” about it.
Recall as well this January 11, 2017 story from Politico. The headline: Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump backfire
Kiev officials are scrambling to make amends with the president-elect after quietly working to boost Clinton.
The story begins this way:
“Donald Trump wasn’t the only presidential candidate whose campaign was boosted by officials of a former Soviet bloc country.
Ukrainian government officials tried to help Hillary Clinton and undermine Trump by publicly questioning his fitness for office. They also disseminated documents implicating a top Trump aide in corruption and suggested they were investigating the matter, only to back away after the election. And they helped Clinton’s allies research damaging information on Trump and his advisers, a Politico investigation found.
A Ukrainian-American operative who was consulting for the Democratic National Committee met with top officials in the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington in an effort to expose ties between Trump, top campaign aide Paul Manafort and Russia, according to people with direct knowledge of the situation.
The Ukrainian efforts had an impact in the race, helping to force Manafort’s resignation and advancing the narrative that Trump’s campaign was deeply connected to Ukraine’s foe to the east, Russia.”
Memo to Daniel Goldman and Ms. Hill, that is interference in the 2016 election.
The only thing that has been debunked in this hearing is the credibility of Goldman and Hill.
