Stop listening to "completely crazy person"- ex-Ukraine Pres rips Kilmeade's Biden/Ukraine fantasy
“Men occasionally stumble over truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened” — Winston Churchill
The Republican Biden/Shokin/Ukraine fantasy
The Republicans claim that in 2016, VP Joe Biden was pressuring the Ukrainians to fire their Prosecutor General, Viktor Shokin, in order to protect his son, Hunter Biden. The GOP says that Joe’s interference in another country’s business resulted from the fear that prosecutor Shokin was close to uncovering criminal behavior by the Ukraine Gas company Burisma — which had paid Hunter $100,000s.
On Sunday, Fox’s Brain Kilmeade tried to advance this narrative by enlisting the former President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, as a witness for the prosecution. It did not go well. First, some background.
Every accusation is a confession
Conservative claims of a self-serving Biden are a classic case of “projection." In a July 2019 phone call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s new President, their Dear Leader Trump threatened to withhold $400 million in congressionally approved military aid. To release the funds, Trump demanded dirt (“quid pro quo”) he could use to compromise Joe Biden before the 2020 election. Trump's use of a public office for personal electoral gain led to his first impeachment.
The GOP is trying to return the favor. Unfortunately for them, while the evidence of Trump’s attempted shakedown is grounded in fact and sworn testimony, the Biden brouhaha is the exact opposite of what the fact-averse Republican accusers allege.
What really happened
Prosecutor Shokin was under international pressure because he was not aggressive in rooting out corruption in Ukraine’s political class. He was so uninterested in pursuing justice that the UK’s Serious Fraud Office had to drop an investigation of Burisma’s owner, Mykola Zlochevsky, a prominent Ukrainian politician and businessman after Shokin failed to provide requested documents.
Far from being an outlier, Joe Biden was just one in a chorus of international voices demanding the Ukrainian authorities fire Shokin. In 2015 and early 2016, the IMF, the EU, and the European Bank, among others, pressured the Ukrainian authorities to remove the self-dealing bureaucrat. The Obama administration joined this international effort by withholding $1 billion in loan guarantees to Ukraine. Far from trying to protect Hunter, Joe was telling the Ukrainians to step up their investigations of financial crimes.
The international pressure worked. And Shokin resigned.
Poroshenko schools Kilmeade
A month ago, Kilmeade interviewed Shokin. Unsurprisingly, the disgraced Ukrainian prosecutor gave the Fox host what he wanted to hear. On Sunday, armed with this testimony, Kilmeade had Poroshenko (Yelenksyy’s) predecessor on his show, One Nation. Whoops.
Kilmeade’s truth is what he believes it to be, not what the facts say it is. So he expected Poroshenko would give him the sugar to sweeten his conspiracy coffee. Instead, he had to swallow a bitter pill. Kilmeade started by offering some background,
“I had a chance to talk to Victor Shokin, a man who says he was friends of yours, who you are as to come back and help out during the transition, after the previous regime. Here's what he said on why he was fired. Listen.”
Kilmeade then played a tape of Shokin’s claim that Poroshenko fired him. On the recording, Shokin said:
“Poroshenko fired me at the insistence of then-Vice President [Biden] because I was investigating Burisma. There were no complaints whatsoever. No problems with how I was performing at my job. But because pressure was repeatedly put on President Poroshenko, that’s what ended up in him firing me.”
Kilmeade asked Poroshenko:
“Is that why he got fired? Because of the billion dollars and the former vice president, now president?”
Poroshenko did not give Kilmeade what he expected. He replied:
“First of all, this is the completely crazy person. There is something wrong with him. Second, there is not one single word of truth. And third, I hate the idea to make any comments and to make any intervention in an American election.
We have very much enjoyed the bipartisan support, and please, do not use such a person like Shokin to undermine the trust between bipartisan support and Ukraine.”
Knocked off balance by the truth, Kilmeade spluttered:
“Right, Would he be … he’s not your friend?”
Poroshenko replied, “I don't see him [Shokin], maybe four years or something. I hate the idea to have him, because he plays a very dirty game, unfortunately.”
Kilmeade, “OK, So that’s not true. He didn’t get fired because of Joe Biden
Poroshenko, “He was fired because of his own statement [resignation?], and if he didn’t do that, the next day the Ukrainian Parliament will have fired him.”
Kilmeade, “OK Mr. President, Stay safe.”
That Shokin was a “completely crazy person” who “plays a very dirty game” is not what Kilmeade wanted to hear. But do not expect the narrative to change. Sunlight may be a great disinfectant, but time and propaganda bury many lies.
Conclusion
It is tough to prosecute a case when your star witness testifies for the defense. An intellectually honest person would self-appraise and concede that his position was untenable. I doubt Kilmeade is that person — he works for Fox, after all. I wonder how long Brian will need to shake off his collision with reality and return to his fictional narrative.