Rather than continuing to ask whether there was a quid pro quo, we need to ask the more important and more difficult question: what should we do about it? BarbMcQuade writes
President Donald J. Trump stops to talk to reporters and members of the media as he walks from the Oval Office to board Marine One to depart from the South Lawn at the White House. Photo: The Washington Post/The Washington Post via Getty Im Was there a quid pro quo? According to Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, the answer is yes.
In addition to Sondland’s testimony, other evidence supports the conclusion that the two were linked, including Trump’s own July 25 phone call with Zelensky, in which Zelensky inquired about the aid. Trump’s response? “I would like you to do us a favor, though,” Trump said, and then proceeded to urge Zelensky to work with Giuliani to investigate the 2016 election and Biden.
Here, Trump demanded an announcement about investigations of his political rivals in exchange for performing an official act by releasing the military aid and hosting Zelensky at the White House, a visit the Ukrainian president wanted to help signal to Russia that he had the support of the United States. The answer to the first question in a charging decision, whether a high crime has been committed, as Sondland said, is yes.
In this instance, deterrence is important. If Trump is permitted to commit bribery of a foreign ally, then future presidents will not be deterred from engaging in similar behavior. The bar for presidential conduct will forever be lowered.
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