President Trump appears to have attempted to collude with Ukraine in an attempt to interfere with the 2020 election.

Josh Marshall on Twitter

“Pretty clear. They went back to the collusion barrel for another try since it worked the first time. And now they're caught.”

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Renato Mariotti on Twitter

“1/ If Trump promised foreign aid to Ukraine in exchange for investigating Biden's son, that is obviously corrupt and should meet any definition of a "high crime" for impeachment. It's also "bribery" as commonly understood, but I'm not sure it fits the federal bribery statute. https://t.co/CO4OpJPyKM”

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Renato Mariotti on Twitter

“2/ The bribery statute is all about bribing public officials *in the United States*, and defines public officials in that fashion. (You can check out the definition yourself, below.) So I disagree with legal analysts who cite that statute. https://t.co/0BusBM1u3r”

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Renato Mariotti on Twitter

“3/ The more likely charge here would be one of two things. First, a campaign finance charge, if the purpose of the bribery is to influence a federal election. (Given that Biden is leading in the polls, this has some appeal on its face.)”

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Renato Mariotti on Twitter

“4/ Second, a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act charge for bribing a foreign official. The issue with that charge would be that, as president, Trump has control of our foreign policy apparatus and can make foreign policy decisions on behalf of the United States.”

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Renato Mariotti on Twitter

“5/ This is not a garden variety bribe. Our criminal law system is not set up to deal with a president using his constitutional authority to engage in corrupt behavior. The remedy for that conduct is impeachment and removal from office. /end”

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