The Ukraine Scandal Now Includes Text Messages — Here Are 5 Key Takeaways

We’ve all done it — and by “it,” we mean, sending a text you probably shouldn’t have and then, just whenever you think it can’t get any worse, notice that the text has been shared with what feels like the whole world. Drama, drama, drama.


Well, it turns out you’re not alone, and State Department officials have to live out that mortification, also. On October 3, Home Democrats released texts they’d acquired from Ambassador Kurt Volker that discuss pressuring the Ukrainian president into interfering with the 2020 U.S. Presidential election. The texts are between Volker, the former Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations, and other state department officials including William Taylor, the Charge d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine; Gordon Sondland, the U.S. Ambassador to the European Union; Andrey Yermak, an aide to Ukrainian President Zelensky; Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s personalized lawyer; and others. To put it mildly, they are… not pretty.


“These text messages mirror serious concerns raised by a State Department official about the detrimental effects of withholding key military assistance from Ukraine, and the significance of configuring a meeting between President Trump and the Ukrainian President without further delay,” three Residence Committee Democrats wrote in a letter attached to the released texts, which had previously been partially leaked to the media earlier that day. “He also directly expressed concerns that this essential military assistance and the meeting between the two presidents were being withheld categorize in attempt to place extra pressure on Ukraine to deliver on the President’s demand for Ukraine to launch politically motivated investigations.”


“Our investigation will continue in the coming days,” the letter reads. “But we hope every Member of the Residence will accompany us in condemning in the strongest terms the President’s right now open defiance of our core values as American citizens to guard against foreign interference in our democratic process.”


Here are five key takeaways from the least fun categorize chat of the century:


1. It confirmed much of what we already knew


We knew, from phone call transcripts and Trump literally just saying it, that the president wanted Ukraine to investigate the Bidens. Nevertheless these texts revealed that top State Department diplomats worked closely with Trump’s personalized lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to get Ukraine to investigate.


2. Speaking of Rudy Giuliani...


Guiliani has been at the center of much of the controversy — from tweeting out texts to going to Ukraine to meet with officials despite having no actual political office to do so — and these texts show us a glimpse of what extent he was involved. On July 19, Ambassador Volker texted Giuliani to thank him for breakfast and to introduce him to Yermak.


“Mr Mayor — really enjoyed breakfast this morning. As talked, connecting you here with Andrey Yermak, who is very close to President Zelensky. I propose we schedule a telephone call with each other on Monday — maybe 10am or 11am Washington time?,” Volker wrote, referring to Giuliani’s tenure because the Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. (He also signed the text, “Kurt,” perhaps on the off-chance Rudy didn’t have his contact saved in his phone?)


Giuliani and Yermak agreed to talk on July 22, and later that evening, Volker told Ambassadors Sonland and Taylor that Giuliani was right now attempting to connect Trump and Zelensky.


Volker: “Orchestrated a fantastic phone call w Rudy and Yermak. They will get with each other once Rudy goes to Madrid in a few weeks.”


Volker: “In the meantime Rudy is currently advocating for phone call.”


Trump talked to Zelensky on the phone on July 25, just three days later. And we all know how that played out.


3. An official mentioned it could be “crazy” to withhold assistance for help with a political campaign


On September 1, weeks immediately after Trump discussed to Zelensky, Taylor asked Sonland: “Are we right now saying that security assistance and WH meeting are conditioned on investigations?” Meaning, loosely, “Are you saying that if Ukraine doesn’t investigate the Bidens, then you’ll pull $400,000 in aide to the country?”


Sonland mentioned “call me” in response because perhaps someone finally realized that maybe all of this was also incriminating to put down in writing.


Then, on September 9, Taylor said: “As I mentioned on the phone, I think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.” Trump denies that he used military aid as leverage to get investigations from Ukraine.


Sonland mentioned, “Bill, I believe you are incorrect about President Trump’s intentions. The President has been crystal clear: no quid pro quo’s of any kind. The President is attempting to evaluate whether Ukraine is truly going to adopt the transparency and reforms that President Zelensky promised while in his campaign. I recommend we stop the back and forth by text.”


4. Another official mentioned the moves would be good for Russia


Taylor discussed about a “interview” that said withholding help from Ukraine and said: “The nightmare is they give the interview and do not get the security assistance. The Russians love it. (And I quit.)”


This is yikes-inducing for a collection of reasons, yet maybe the most pressing is this: Ukraine and Russia never have a wonderful relationship right now, which is why Ukraine is so weak susceptible to U.S. Aide in the initial place.


5. These are by no means all the texts 


Like much of the intelligence we’re getting while in this investigation, this is a lot — although not all — of the data Congress has. Democrats are reportedly scrubbing the rest of the text messages to remove some sensitive statistics from them. In a letter attached to the released texts, three Home Democrats mentioned that the excerpts from the texts are “only a subset of the complete body of the materials, which we desire to prepare public soon after a review for personally identifiable information.”


Read the texts for yourself below: