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Peter's avatar

The presence of these two abject failures in the "negotiations" is proof that this is not a serious attempt to bring peace to Ukraine. It is, nakedly, a business negotiation aimed at dividing the spoils by throwing Ukraine to the wolves. And it's even more obvious that the primary beneficiaries will be Trump, Kushner and the Saudis that own them both.

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SeekingReason's avatar

Well said Peter. Criminals negotiating deals for themselves!

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A Sarcastic Prophet's avatar

Emoluments Clause? What Emoluments Clause? We don’t need no stinkin’ Emoluments Clause!

I might also add like good ol’ dad-in-law you need to learn keep your stories straight and remember that everything you say is there to see and read. Liar, Liar, pants on fire.

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SeekingReason's avatar

Constitution…we don’t need no stinkin’ Constitution..either. We have watched this group of high crime thugs rape this country over and over.

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Katy Bolger's avatar

Dad-in-law is coo-coo and wouldn't care even if he wasn't already past the point of clarity and rationality.

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Katy Bolger's avatar

Right out in the open. What's good for the billionaires and their families is what's on the table and they start negotiations there. Nothing to do with the people of Ukraine, the history of the country nor the future of its democracy. Zelenskyy has not had an easy time of it has he? And now he has these two self-dealers making choices for him and his country? At what point can Ukraine and Europe tell the U.S. to go fuck ourselves? My god, how has it gotten to this?

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JenneJ's avatar

It's disgusting, isn't it?

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Heidi Murad's avatar

Where are they putting “the best people”? All seem to be stuffing their own pockets. His father, Charles, was released from prison, pardoned, and is now our ambassador to France. He doesn’t speak French. We want qualified people to represent our country.

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mark's avatar

Kushner and Witkoff do not represent the interests of the United States or Ukraine. They are trying to selling the interests of the United States and Ukraine for a price.

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Ann Marie's avatar

Agree 100%

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Ann Sharon's avatar

Qualified and non-felons.

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BTAM Master's avatar

Here's a MadLib for the current administration:

Trump sent {business partner or relative} to {foreign country} to collect {valuable substance} in the guise of {standard foreign policy} while casually tossing {United States ally} under the bus. This action brazenly violated the {legal document} and contradicted previous on-the-record statements by {business partner or relative} on {media}.

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Mary Ellen Sinkiewicz's avatar

Your Mad Lib is brilliant!! Laughter sustains the hope and determination we need as we seek to restore justice and the rule of law to US democracy. 🗽⚖️☮️

veterans for peace.org

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TC Hardenbergh's avatar

Would you let a Senator use this? Nearly every one of them is having a hard time figuring out what Witkoff and Kushner are doing.

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JenneJ's avatar

lol, you da man.

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Joseph Mangano's avatar

With Jared Kushner, it's at least reassuring to know that you don’t have to wonder whether he's stupid or just a liar. He's both.

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Paula's avatar

Of course he is not representing the interests of the United States. This is the guy who whined that the administration was not the nation’s “shipping clerk” when Covid was raging and states were desperately trying to obtain PPE’s (Personal Protective Equipment). Yet, didn’t trump send PPE’s to his buddy Putin? I recall some reporting about that, but it hardly lasted a media minute in the lame stream media’s coverage of the 1st term.

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Ann Sharon's avatar

Yup and lied about it. (Quote: Legendary reporter Woodward wrote in “War” that Trump “secretly sent Putin a bunch of Abbott Point of Care Covid test machines for his personal use.” https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/11/europe/kremlin-confirms-trump-covid-tests-intl)

The not-shipping-clerks were also rerouting what states ordered to their other destinations — further tangling and depleting supply routes & supplies.

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Paula's avatar

Thanks for correcting what the grift actually was. Legal pundits can split hairs on what constitutes treason, but in my mind they are all traitors.

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Ann Sharon's avatar

I just added details. I remember when it hit the news.

Treason has a specific legal meaning and requirements to charge & prove. Only 1 person has been charged since 1954. He was killed by a drone & never got a trial. It is a very hard thing to prove for conviction especially when we are not at war with a defined “enemy.” But many treasonous acts can be tried under other laws. One example is spies who are tried under the Espionage Act. This administration is rotten to the core. Just about any nasty accusation or adjective applies to what they are doing.

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Robert's avatar

Judd, This reporting is deeply needed for the well being of the Ukraine people. We thank you!

Gotta love Peter’s & Joseph’s remarks. Everyone is right On!

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Patt's avatar

I never refer to trump as president.

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SeekingReason's avatar

Same here Patt. He is a seditionist and therefore illegitimately occupying the WH!!

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Mari Wilson's avatar

Not to mention that Musk rigged it for him. electiontruthalliance.org

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Adam's avatar

He is the dispenser of cheese-flavored Kool Aid and RedHaterHats in addition to his primary duties as grifter, pedo, common thief and enabler of the worst stripe and now can proudly add war criminakl to his lengthy list of base and criminal achievements.

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TC Hardenbergh's avatar

Don't forget Golfer-in-Chief.

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Zoe's avatar

And if when we ever out of this mess, will any of these illegal players be prosecuted ? And even then, if they’re found guilty like Trump in the NY cases, will they ever suffer any consequences? And there in a nutshell is our USA problem - we are a country of loopholes for the privileged AKA embarrassingly wealthy.

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dmwcg's avatar

This worries me more than anything, because there will no longer be any incentive to prevent any of this from happening as *standard practice*, no matter who is in power, and will be far too tempting to anyone in government, because they only need to ensure that one person can issue pardons or reverse convictions. It's terrifying to see who is being pardoned and the offenses they've committed *prior to* this administration, let alone offenses that are happening now and will continue to occur, the actors anticipating pardons at least prior to the end of this presidential term, as well as by any future president. It's hard to wrap my head around the nation we have become, that has evolved in less than a year. Just mind-boggling.

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JenneJ's avatar

We have a President that murders people he claims without proof are drug smugglers in the morning, and pardons a convicted drug trafficker that night. Make that make sense.

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Mari Wilson's avatar

Read Oligarchy Watch on Substack. He just came out today with the reality behind pardoning ex Honduran President. It’s so much more than just paying off Rump.

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Jazzme's avatar

Trump and his retinue are making a mockary out of the rule of law domestically , in the maritime, and in the rules of world order. We see it, we hear it daily and yet nobody does anything to stop it....they all bend the knee. It's looks to me -from my perspective- as if the whoole adminstration in inside an insulated box impenetrable from the out side. the box has an asshole that releases it toxic waste onto us (on the outside).

**Refuse fascism**

we need to end this now.

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George Lewis's avatar

Bravo. Please continue to hold Kushner's and the administration's feet to the fire on this outrageous conflict of interest issue.

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Nancy's avatar

I wonder why I haven't see headlines about the illegality of Kushner's involvement. It should be clear. Actually, it is! So once again, the headlines are sitting here, already written for journalists to pick up and publish! He's corrupt and carries the corruption of his FiL forward with fake gravitas! I think we may be nearing a tipping point away from, as George Will has described it, this "slum" administration. The behavior of Kushner should be one of the primary weights to tip us over into sanity!

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Charlie Cooper's avatar

"As a de facto SGE with substantial authority, the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the Constitution prohibits Kushner from accepting “any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”

I think the Constitution is not as much fun as it should be. If we want the "best people" as SGE, we need incentives to lure them into government service. The last thing we need is wet-blanket restrictions like this "Emoluments Clause." Who agrees with me?

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Lewis Dalven's avatar

Those Founders and their quaint 18th C. notions like “honor” and “integrity”. Imagine What a hoot!

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TC Hardenbergh's avatar

That is part of the problem. They believed too deeply that government officials would have integrity, act honorably, and put the nation's interest above theirs. How often has this been untrue for 225 years? The US is a young nation confident of the founder's wisdom and basking in its exceptionalism, but it is clearly time for a revision in expectations.

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Mary Ellen Sinkiewicz's avatar

lol!

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C. Jacobs's avatar

This whole episode is a charade. Two men with a real estate background who are personally connected to DJT, without necessary knowledge of Russia's language, culture, history or political landscape, are sent to Russia to deal directly with its leader, a former KGB agent. What possible deal could these two boobs secure that wasn't a wishlist for Putin? US foreign policy is a ludicrous joke.

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Sue's avatar

These types of action are exactly why trump first removed the spines of republicans in Congress, then fired all the Inspector Generals, and put sycophants in charge of the DOJ and FBI. Laws don’t apply to him. Don’t like it? Keep your mouth shut or he will come after you.

How do we expect small countries to stand up to trump when our own large country kneels?

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