Читать книгу The Attempted Impeachment - Federal Bureau of Investigation - Страница 2

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

FINDINGS

TABLE OF NAMES

I. The evidence does not establish that President Trump pressured the Ukrainian government to investigate his political rival for the purpose of benefiting him in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

A. The evidence does not establish that President Trump pressured President Zelensky during the July 25 phone call to investigate the President’s political rival for the purpose of benefiting him in the 2020 election.

1. The call summary does not reflect any improper pressure or conditionality to pressure Ukraine to investigate President Trump’s political rival.

2. President Zelensky has publicly and repeatedly said he felt no pressure to investigate President Trump’s political rival.

3. President Trump has publicly and repeatedly said he did not pressure President Zelensky to investigate his political rival.

4. Read-outs of the phone call from both the State Department and the Ukrainian government did not reflect that President Trump pressured President Zelensky to investigate his political rival.

5. The National Security Council leadership did not see the call as illegal or improper.

6. The anonymous, secondhand whistleblower complaint misstated details about the July 25 call, which has falsely colored the call’s public characterization.

B. The evidence does not establish that President Trump withheld a meeting with President Zelensky to pressure Ukraine to investigate the President’s political rival for the purpose of benefiting him in the 2020 election.

1. Ukraine has a long history of pervasive corruption.

2. President Trump has a deep-seated, genuine, and reasonable skepticism of Ukraine due to its history of pervasive corruption.

3. Senior Ukrainian government officials publicly attacked President Trump during the 2016 campaign.

4. U.S. foreign policy officials were split on President Zelensky, a political novice with untested views on anti-corruption and a close relationship with a controversial oligarch.

5. President Trump extended an invitation to the White House to President Zelensky on three occasions without conditions.

6. Despite difficulty scheduling a face-to-face presidential meeting, senior Ukrainian officials interacted often with senior American officials between May and September 2019.

7. The evidence does not establish a linkage between a White House meeting and Ukrainian investigations into President Trump’s political rival.

8. The evidence does not establish that President Trump directed Vice President Pence not to attend President Zelensky's inauguration to pressure Ukraine to investigate the President's political rival.

9. President Trump and President Zelensky met during the United Nations General Assembly in September 2019 without any Ukrainian action to investigate President Trump’s political rival.

C. The evidence does not establish that President Trump withheld U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to pressure Ukraine to investigate the President’s political rival for the purpose of benefiting him in the 2020 election.

1. President Trump has been skeptical about U.S. taxpayer-funded foreign assistance.

2. President Trump has been clear and consistent in his view that Europe should pay its fair share for regional defense.

3. U.S. foreign aid is often conditioned or paused, and U.S. security assistance to Ukraine has been paused before.

4. Despite President Trump’s skepticism, the Trump Administration’s policies have shown greater commitment and support to Ukraine than those of the Obama Administration.

5. Although security assistance to Ukraine was paused in July 2019, several witnesses testified that U.S. security assistance was not linked to any Ukrainian action on investigations.

6. President Trump rejected any linkage between U.S. security assistance and Ukrainian action on investigations.

7. Senior U.S. officials never substantively discussed the delay in security assistance with Ukrainian officials before the July 25 call.

8. The Ukrainian government denied any awareness of a linkage between U.S. security assistance and investigations.

9. The Ukrainian government considered issuing a public anti-corruption statement to convey that President Zelensky was “serious and different” from previous Ukrainian regimes.

10. President Zelensky never raised a linkage between security assistance and investigations in his meetings with senior U.S. government officials.

11. In early September 2019, President Zelensky’s government implemented several anti-corruption reform measures.

12. The security assistance was ultimately disbursed to Ukraine in September 2019 without any Ukrainian action to investigate President Trump’s political rival.

D. The evidence does not establish that President Trump set up a shadow foreign policy apparatus to pressure Ukraine to investigate the President’s political rival for the purpose of benefiting him in the 2020 election.

1. The President has broad Constitutional authority to conduct the foreign policy of the United States.

2. President Trump was likely skeptical of the established national security apparatus as a result of continual leaks and resistance from the federal bureaucracy.

3. The President has the constitutional authority to remove Ambassador Yovanovitch.

4. Ambassador Volker, Ambassador Sondland, and Secretary Perry were all senior U.S. government officers with official interests in Ukraine policy.

5. Referencing Ukrainian corruption, President Trump told Ambassador Volker, Ambassador Sondland, and Secretary Perry to talk to Mayor Giuliani.

6. At the Ukrainian government’s request, Ambassador Volker connected them with Mayor Giuliani to change his impression about the Zelensky regime.

7. The Ukrainian government understood that Mayor Giuliani was not speaking on behalf of President Trump.

8. Ambassador Volker, Ambassador Sondland, and Secretary Perry kept the National Security Council and the State Department informed about their actions.

9. Although some in the U.S. foreign policy establishment bristled, the roles of Ambassador Volker, Ambassador Sondland, and Secretary Perry and their interactions with Mayor Giuliani did not violate the law or harm national security.

E. President Trump is not wrong to raise questions about Hunter Biden’s role with Burisma or Ukrainian government officials’ efforts to influence the 2016 campaign.

1. It is appropriate for Ukraine to investigate allegations of corruption in its country.

2. There are legitimate concerns surrounding Hunter Biden’s position on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma during his father’s term as Vice President of the United States.

3. There are legitimate questions about the extent to which Ukrainian government officials worked to oppose President Trump’s candidacy in the 2016 election.

F. The anonymous whistleblower who served as the basis for the impeachment inquiry has no firsthand knowledge of events and a bias against President Trump.

1. The anonymous whistleblower acknowledged having no firsthand knowledge of the events in question.

2. Press reports suggest that the anonymous whistleblower acknowledged having a professional relationship with former Vice President Biden.

3. The anonymous whistleblower secretly communicated with Chairman Schiff or his staff.

II. The evidence does not establish that President Trump engaged in a cover-up of his interactions with Ukrainian President Zelensky.

A. President Trump declassified and released publicly the summary of his July 25 phone call with President Zelensky.

B. President Trump released a redacted version of the classified anonymous whistleblower complaint.

C. President Trump released publicly the summary of his April 21 phone call with President Zelensky.

D. The Trump Administration has experienced a surge in sensitive leaks, including details of the President’s communications with foreign leaders.

E. The evidence does not establish that access to the July 25 call summary was restricted for inappropriate reasons.

III. The evidence does not establish that President Trump obstructed Congress in the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry.

A. Democrats have abandoned long-standing precedent by failing to guarantee due process and fundamental fairness in their impeachment inquiry.

B. Democrats have engaged in an abusive process toward a pre-determined outcome.

C. President Trump may raise privileges and defenses in response to unfair, abusive proceedings.

D. Although declining to submit to the Democrats’ abusive and unfair process, President Trump has released information to help the American public understand the issues.

IV. Conclusion