Strip away the partisan rhetoric, and the Democrats’ nonsensical impeachment proceedings rest on one fundamental question: Did President Trump withhold military aid to Ukraine as part of a demand that that country investigate Joe Biden?
The signs may point to yes. Gordon Sondland, U.S. ambassador to the European Union, recently testified “the aid suspension had become linked to the proposed anti-corruption statement” — that is, an anti-corruption investigation against Biden and his son, Hunter. Sondland went on to say the “resumption of U.S. aid would likely not occur until Ukraine provided the public anti-corruption statement that we had been discussing for many weeks.”
(Still, the “quid pro quo” question remains unanswered: U.S. special envoy Kurt Volker’s recent testimony indicates the exact opposite.)
But, if true, was Trump wrong to pursue a serious charge of quid pro quo — against “Quid Pro Joe”?
Absolutely not. Trump did exactly what he should do, if he actually did it. On legal and constitutional grounds, he has every right to condition or withhold aid — military or otherwise — to a foreign nation in order to force that nation’s assistance in a serious investigation of high-level political corruption or any number of other policy goals. Remember: Trump serves as commander in chief, which allows him to dictate U.S. foreign policy as he so chooses while in office.
Indeed, U.S. foreign policy often involves pressuring other countries to advance American interests — think sanctions against Iran or tariffs on Chinese goods. Remember when President Barack Obama put pressure on NATO members to spend more on their defense program? Or when he pressured then-Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to resign?
Not only does he have the legal authority to force Ukraine’s hand, but Trump would also be wise to do so. In this case, the “interest” Democrats don’t seem to support is accountability.
Let’s put the allegations against the Bidens into perspective. The son of a sitting vice president, whom many consider likely to be the next president, received $50,000 per month to sit on the board of a foreign company, for which he lacked any semblance of proper qualifications and relevant experience. Hunter Biden, who had never worked in the energy sector, has even admitted “a lot of things in his life happen just because he’s a Biden.”
Nevertheless, Hunter’s board seat gifted him $600,000 a year and for what? It appears to be little more than an insurance policy by a corrupt band of elites to avoid any criminal repercussions.
And it worked. When Ukrainian investigator Victor Shokin began looking into the blatant example of corruption, then-Vice President Biden got him fired. At one point, Biden withheld $1 billion in Ukrainian aid to pressure the government to remove Shokin from the prosecutor general’s office. Yes, he withheld foreign aid, which Democrats claim is somehow outside of Trump’s legal authority.
Not only is this blatant corruption, but it involves the vice president of the United States! Joe Biden is one of the most recognizable political figures in recent memory, and he leveraged his position on behalf of his son — at the expense of a foreign nation’s anti-corruption efforts.
Where is the outrage, oh Democratic “reformers”? If this had been Trump’s son, the #Resistance’s cries of impeachment would certainly ring even louder. But since it’s one of their own, the ever-hypocritical Left is circling the wagons.
The truth is this: “Quid Pro Joe” is certainly worthy of a criminal investigation. In fact, to investigate an obvious act of corruption (one Biden bragged about, until it stopped being in his interest to do so) is the only way to force accountability.
Good for Trump. If he did what has been alleged, Trump is simply exercising his authority to promote America’s law enforcement interests in fighting high-level political corruption by the rich, powerful, and well-connected.
In other words, he’d be doing his job. And if he’s trying to protect the investigation and preserve his investigatory tools — such as applying pressure on Ukraine — to help foreign leaders save face to their domestic audiences when working with America, he’s doing it the smart way.
Just because Joe Biden is running for president — and following in the corrupt footsteps of #CrookedHillary — doesn’t exculpate his corruption. It’s all the more reason to take extraordinary measures for the sake of accountability.
Dan Backer is a veteran campaign counsel, having served more than 100 candidates and PACs, including two of the largest pro-Trump super PACs. He is the founding attorney of political.law PLLC, a campaign finance and political law firm in Alexandria, Virginia.
