The noose tightens

Vox reports:

The top US diplomat in Ukraine just told lawmakers that President Donald Trump wanted hundreds of millions in military aid to the Eastern European country held up until it agreed to investigate Joe Biden’s family and another conspiracy theory related to Democrats.
In other words, there was a quid pro quo — one that could eventually lead to Trump’s impeachment in the House and even more trouble with the Senate.
William Taylor, the acting US ambassador to Ukraine, testified in front of three House committees on Tuesday as part of the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry. He’s the latest in a parade of current and former US officials who’ve testified in the past few weeks about whether or not Trump withheld around $400 million in military aid to Ukraine for his own political and personal gain.
According to Taylor, that’s exactly what the president did. This is by far the most damning account of Trump’s conduct yet in the impeachment inquiry.

The testimony is damning and of course Trump should be impeached and convicted. Can there be a greater abuse of office than withholding military aid to an ally under threat from Russia, in an attempt to force them to smear his main political opponent.

In effect, Taylor told Congress that, in his understanding, if Ukraine wanted anything out of Trump — including a long-desired meeting and much-needed military aid to fend of a Russian invasion — Kyiv had to state unequivocally that it would look into the Bidens.

Taylor is is a highly respected diplomat who has served both Republican and Democrat Presidents. He is a West Point graduate and served in Vietnam in the infantry.