Quote Originally Posted by Tgo01 View Post
Also how is telling Israel "I want X and until you give me X you won't get aid" not the literal definition of a quid pro quo? Are you sure you're mature enough to be discussing this topic if you don't even know what a quid pro quo is?

Surely you understand the difference. It is okay to use government resources to pressure other countries to do something for the benefit of the United States. It is not okay to use government resources to pressure another country to do something for you personally.

Did Trump do the former with Ukraine? Trump says no. In his press conference last Thursday, Mulvaney said that Trump held up aid to Ukraine for three reasons, one of which was that Ukraine was not sufficiently cooperating with the U.S. Justice Department investigation, which Mulvaney said would be for the benefit of the United States, not just for the benefit of Trump. As you know, Mulvaney later retracted that statement.

Did Trump do the latter with Ukraine -- use government resources to pressure Ukraine for Trump's personal benefit? Since Trump says he did not pressure Ukraine at all, then no, unless you don't believe Trump about pressuring Ukraine. And if you think he is lying about pressuring Ukraine, then you probably think he did it for personal gain.

Until we have the chance to see the evidence being collected, it all comes down to whether we trust Trump.