Democrats needn’t bother to probe an allegation that President Trump “pressured” Ukraine’s president to dig up “dirt” on Joe Biden; they already know he did.
In grilling acting intel chief Joseph Maguire Thursday, Intelligence Committee Dems repeatedly asserted — as fact — that Trump urged Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky to “interfere” in the 2020 election by pushing him to investigate Joe Biden, and that the White House then tried to “cover up” the president’s “crime.” Case closed.
“Do you agree the definition of a coverup is the attempt to prevent people from discovering a crime?” asked Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), as if evidence has already established illegality and efforts to hide it.
Trouble is, the Dems base their conclusions on allegations from an anonymous whistleblower recounting gossip, plus their reading of the Trump-Zelensky transcript.
Yet Trump mentions Biden only once, toward the end of the call, and makes no threats or promises. As for the allegations: The whistleblower (a CIA officer, reports The New York Times) says some officials told him Trump “pressured” Zelensky, and that some officials told him that other officials told them about the supposed coverup. Who his sources are, what they base their charges on and whether any of it is true is far from clear.
Maguire had to stress that point repeatedly in his answers: “Right now, all we have is an allegation … with second-hand information from a whistleblower,” he said. “I have no knowledge” if it’s “true and accurate.”
Contrast Dems’ rush to judgment with the White House’s actions: Rather than delay, it quickly OKed the release of the transcript and the whistleblower complaint.
Dems’ attacks on Maguire were despicable. Taking office as the complaint landed, he has worked hand-in-hand with the inspector general of the intelligence community to get Congress all the info the law allows. Simply notifying Rep. Adam Schiff of the complaint’s existence ensured everything would come out. Yet Schiff and other Dems still treated Maguire as part of the “coverup.”
Democrats are showing their contempt not just for Trump, but for any facts that might get in their way.