Dear MoveOn member,
In a pair of explosive interviews last week, Rachel Maddow asked Rudy Giuliani associate Lev Parnas a simple question about the Ukraine scandal: "What is the main inaccuracy that you can correct?" His response? "That the president didn't know what was going on. President Trump knew exactly what was going on."1
But that's not all. Parnas went on to say that it felt like he was in a "cult" and that "everybody was in the loop."2
Trump.
Mike Pence.
John Bolton.
Mike Pompeo.
William Barr.
Mick Mulvaney.
Rick Perry.
Devin Nunes.
Everybody.
This scandal is no longer just this generation's Watergate. If what Parnas says is true, this is a gargantuan conspiracy perpetrated by the highest levels of the administration and their allies in Congress. There has never been anything like this before.
This information, combined with the news from the nonpartisan watchdog group the Government Accountability Office determining that the Trump administration violated the law by withholding nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine, means only one thing: Trump must be convicted and removed from office.3
We must demand a fair trial with witness testimony, fight hard until the very last vote is cast, and call on every single senator to do their duty to the Constitution, and if they don't ... they're going to hear from us.
John, we have to keep running full steam ahead until the end of the Senate trial. Will you start an emergency contribution of $3 a week to help us respond to this bombshell new information in Trump's impeachment and fight until the very end? (MoveOn will bill your weekly donation to your credit card once a month starting today and will contact you shortly after Trump is no longer president to see if you want to modify or cancel your weekly donation.)
Yes, I'll chip in weekly to help keep MoveOn's impeachment campaign going for as long as it takes.
No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.
Parnas went on to confirm that "the only motivation" for the smear campaign and eventual firing of then-Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch was to get her out of the way, since she refused to participate in bribing the Ukrainian government to help rig the 2020 election.4
And although Parnas claimed that he never believed the threats from Trump donor Robert Hyde that he had Yovanovitch under surveillance in Ukraine and said cryptically that he could hire someone "to help if we/you like the price," the government of Ukraine is taking these threats seriously and has announced that they are opening an investigation to determine if these claims were true, and the State Department finally relented on Friday and said it would also investigate.5, 6
The news is coming in at breakneck speed, and this could be the moment where everything changes. Because if Republicans in the Senate can see all of this and still refuse to hear witnesses and hold a fair trial to convict and remove Trump, they have completely forgone their duty to the American people and turned their backs on our democracy.
We can't let them do that. Please, John, will you chip in $3 a week so we can finish this fight? (MoveOn will bill your weekly donation to your credit card once a month starting today and will contact you shortly after Trump is no longer president to see if you want to modify or cancel your weekly donation.)
Yes, I'll chip in weekly to help keep MoveOn's impeachment campaign going for as long as it takes.
No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.
Thanks for all you do.
–David, Anne, Elsie, Chris, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. Tweet by Stand Up America, January 15, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/115698?t=6&akid=255067%2E40999114%2E7CEgDp
2. Tweet by the Center for American Progress, January 15, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/115699?t=8&akid=255067%2E40999114%2E7CEgDp
3. Tweet by the Government Accountability Office, January 16, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/115700?t=10&akid=255067%2E40999114%2E7CEgDp
4. Tweet by the Center for American Progress, January 15, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/115701?t=12&akid=255067%2E40999114%2E7CEgDp
5. "Ukraine police investigating possible surveillance of Yovanovitch, Russian hacking," ABC News, January 16, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/115702?t=14&akid=255067%2E40999114%2E7CEgDp
6. "After more than 48 hours of silence, Pompeo says State will investigate possible surveillance of ex-US ambassador," CNN, January 17, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/115725?t=16&akid=255067%2E40999114%2E7CEgDp
How do weekly donations to MoveOn work? When you sign up to make a weekly donation to help with MoveOn's impeachment work, your weekly contribution will be billed to your credit card once a month, starting today and repeating on the same day of every month going forward. To determine your monthly contribution amount, we will multiply the weekly amount of your donation by 4.34—the average number of weeks per month. We will contact you by email when Trump is no longer president to see if you want to modify or cancel your weekly donation. You can also cancel or modify your recurring donation at any time. If you decrease or cancel your weekly donation partway through the month and would like to request a refund, please contact us at [email protected].
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