One more time: Cui Bono?
by digby
This Daily Beast piece by Julia Davis, who closely monitors Russian media discusses why the Russian government is the main beneficiary of Trump’s Ukrainian gambit:
The unconscionable demand for Ukraine to make “a deal” with an invader— which has annexed and occupied its territory and continues to fuel an armed conflict that has claimed more than 13,000 lives—would mean a surrender of Ukraine’s national interests for the benefit of the Kremlin. It would also lead to the lifting of sanctions against Russia for its aggression in Ukraine. Casting doubt on Russia’s involvement in the hack of the DNC server would potentially lead to the lifting sanctions against Russia for its election-meddling and other malign activities.
Attacking the credibility of Biden, frequently described by Kremlin-controlled state television as “Trump’s most dangerous rival,” would also benefit Putin, who openly admitted that he wanted President Trump to be elected in 2016. That preference remains intact, in spite—or perhaps because—of multiple missteps by America’s bumbling commander in chief. Dmitry Kiselyov, the host of Russia’s most popular Sunday news program, Vesti Nedeli, urged Trump to keep digging in Ukraine for “the sweetest” kompromat of all: “Proving that Ukraine—not Russia—interfered in the U.S. elections.”
#Russia‘s state TV names Joe Biden as “Trump’s most dangerous rival,” host Dmitry Kiselyov says Trump should keep digging in Ukraine for “the sweetest” kompromat of all: “proving that Ukraine—not Russia—interfered in the U.S. elections.” pic.twitter.com/EJiXiwZiZZ
— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) September 15, 2019
The pressure on Ukraine to investigate Biden has been not only from Trump, but also from the Kremlin. One of the expectations, voiced on Russian state-television channel Rossiya 24 by analyst Alexander Kareevsky, was that taking down Biden would inevitably lead to the “revelation”—in fact, an outrageous fantasy—that the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was ordered by the Obama administration and carried out by Ukraine, not Russia.
In another fantasy, pundits on Russian state television continually assert that Trump’s impeachment is all but “impossible.” In the meantime, the impeachment fallout is beneficial for the Kremlin, creating a spectacle of unprecedented political turmoil in the United States while placing Ukraine in the untenable position of alienating both parties, as well as the country’s European allies, and distracting from Russian election interference and the imposition of any additional sanctions.
#Russia is not ready to dump Trump:
Kremlin-controlled state TV hosts throw buckets of mud on #Ukraine, insist it should investigate Biden and conclude that “Republican majority in the Senate won’t allow President Donald Trump—whom we elected— to be impeached. It’s impossible.”
Participants on 60 Minutes, Russia’s flagship info-talk show—hosted by pugnacious married couple Olga Skabeeva and Evgeny Popov and featuring Russian ambassadors, government officials, and military experts—frequently boast that Trump is “owned” by Russia and demand Ukraine release kompromat on Biden or “give back the money,” referring to U.S. aid provided to Ukraine.
#Russia‘s state TV host Olga Skabeeva says that since #Ukraine took the money from the U.S., it is now obligated to deliver the kompromat on Biden.
Panelist asks her: “Are you on Trump’s or Russia’s side, Olga?”
Skabeeva responds: “We elected him!”
Last Sunday, Sergei Markov, an analyst close to the Kremlin, appeared on 60 Minutes and publicly directed Trump to pressure a specific official within the U.S. State Department—Deputy Assistant Secretary in the European and Eurasian Bureau George Kent—to extract the elusive Biden kompromat.
Pro-government experts on the nightly television show The Evening with Vladimir Soloviev have been openly rooting for the supposed scandal in Ukraine to “kill Biden” politically, and allow Trump “to disprove” Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. elections, and destroy the heart of the Democratic Party in the process.
There’s more at the link.
I don’t know if Trump is taking orders from his pal Vlad. But I’m pretty sure that Vlad knows Trump is a patsy and he can easily see how gullible Trump is and how desperate he is to “prove” that he won legitimately. In fct, it’s really the only thing he cares about. It’s not too tough to manipulate that situation to his advantage.
Trump is he dumbest president in history. In fact, he’s as dumb as any inbred monarch of the past. It’s a real comment on America’s definition of “democracy” that such a person could come to lead it.
.