Impeachment, resignation, treason, federal charges—reaction to the stunning Trump-Ukraine news

Thursday ended with the absolutely bombshell news that Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani allegedly schemed to withhold military and financial aid to Ukraine—unless the newly elected prime minister found some kind of dirt on Joe Biden’s son Hunter, who has done work in Ukraine. You could and should read more about this scandal from my colleague, Mark Sumner, who has a great summary of the situation and a complete timeline of the scandal. 

For what it’s worth, we aren’t talking small funds here. We are talking $250 million in aid that the White House blocked this summer, which was, coincidentally, released on Thursday.

Almost immediately after the news skyrocketed to the top trending topic on social media, Rudy Giuliani appeared on CNN where he lost his mind and admitted he was a co-conspirator in a Ukraine deal. More incredibly, Giuliani then ran to Twitter to not just affirm his role; he also directly implicated Donald Trump.

So, what is the reaction on Twitter from pundits, elected officials, former U.S. attorneys and more? In short—treason, corruption, bribery, extortion. Let’s get to it.

Former U.S. Attorney and current University of Alabama law professor Joyce Alene:

Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti:

Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii dropped the “T” word.

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut added critical new information.

Preet Bharara, former U.S. attorney from the Southern District of New York, had the excellent vision of Barry Berke as the one to question Giuliani in a future hearing. After all, Berke did a fantastic job wiping the smug off Corey Lewandowski’s mug.

Dan Pfeiffer, former senior advisor to President Obama:

Washington Post conservative blogger Jennifer Rubin:

Washington Post conservative blogger Jennifer Rubin:

and …

and …

Former U.S. ambassador to Russia:

Former U.S. ambassador to Russia:

Former Deputy National Security Advisor to President Barack Obama:

And that’s just a round-up of Thursday night’s reaction. Nothing yet from the 2020 candidates, but needless to say, this story is still developing and we’ll have more. In the meantime, which 2020 candidate do you think will be the first to call for Donald Trump’s resignation? Sound off in the comments.