Thursday
On Tuesday I wondered about the genre of Donald Trump’s attempt to trade military aid for Ukrainian dirt on Joe Biden. As a whodunit, I wrote, the story wasn’t compelling.
As it turns out, I misidentified the genre. We’re not watching a detective story but a gangster drama. Judging from the account of Trump’s interchange with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at times the president appears to be channeling Mario Puzo’s Godfather.
A number of people have compared the Ukraine outreach to mob extortion. Responding to the notes released by the White House of the president’s talk with the Ukrainian president, chair of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff tweeted,
The transcript of the call reads like a classic mob shakedown: — We do a lot for Ukraine — There’s not much reciprocity — I have a favor to ask — Investigate my opponent — My people will be in touch — Nice country you got there. It would be a shame if something happened to her.
Schiff has in mind such moments as the following interchange:
Trump: I will say that we do a lot for Ukraine. We spend a lot of effort and a lot of time….A lot of the European countries are the same way so I think it’s something you want to look at but the United States has been very very good to Ukraine. I wouldn’t say that it’s reciprocal necessarily because things are happening that are not good but the United States has been very, very good to Ukraine.
Zelenskyy: I would also like to thank you for your great support in the area of defense. We are ready to continue to cooperate for the next steps specifically we are almost ready to buy more Javelins from the United States for defense purposes.
Trump: I would like you to do us a favor though [my emphasis] because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. I would like you to find out what happened with this whole situation with Ukraine, they say Crowdstrike … I guess you have one of your wealthy people … The server [supposedly with Hillary Clinton’s e-mails], they say Ukraine has it. There are a lot of things that went on, the whole situation. I think you’re surrounding yourself with some of the same people. I would like to have the Attorney General [William Barr] call you or your people and I would like you to get to the bottom of it. As you saw yesterday, that whole nonsense ended with a very poor performance by a man named Robert Mueller, an incompetent performance, but they say a lot of it started with Ukraine. Whatever you can do, it’s very important that you do it if that’s possible.
And later:
Trump: The other thing, there’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it … It sounds horrible to me.
Don Corleone’s consigliere Tom Hagen, perhaps because he is a literary character, is smoother in his negotiations but applies the same kind of indirect approach. When he presses a movie producer to hire Johnny Fontane, the godfather’s godson, he too uses the word “favor”:
Hagen came directly to the point. That he was an emissary from a friend of Johnny Fontane. That this friend was a very powerful man who would pledge his gratitude and undying friendship to Mr Woitz if Mr Woltz would grant a small favor. The small favor would be the casting of Johnny Fontane in the new war movie the studio planned to start next week.
The seamed face was impassively polite. ‘What favors can your friend do me?’ Woltz asked. There was just a trace of condescension in his voice.
Hagen ignored the condescension. He explained. ‘You’ve got some labor trouble coming up. My friend can absolutely guarantee to make that trouble disappear. You have a top male star who makes a lot of money for your studio but he just graduated from marijuana to heroin. My friend will guarantee that your male star won’t be able to get any more heroin. And if some other little things come up over the years, a phone call to me can solve your problems.’
Like Trump, Hagen insists that he isn’t applying pressure:
Jack Woltz listened to this as if he were hearing the boasting of a child. Then he said harshly, … ‘You trying to put muscle on me?’
Hagen said coolly, ‘Absolutely not. I’ve come to ask a service for a friend. I’ve tried to explain that you won’t lose anything by it.”
Later, Hagen draws a distinction between asking a favor and extortion. Only the willfully blind (amongst whom are many Trump supporters) fail to see they are one and the same:
So Hagen started again, speaking in the most ordinary voice. ‘Look at my card,’ he said. ‘I’m a lawyer. Would I stick my neck out? Have I uttered one threatening word? Let me just say that I am prepared to meet any condition you name to get Johnny Fontane that movie. I think I’ve already offered a great deal for such a small favor. A favor that I understand it would be in your interest to grant. Johnny tells me that you admit he would be perfect for that part. And let me say that this favor would never be asked if that were not so. In fact, if you’re worried about your investment, my client would finance the picture. But please let me make myself absolutely clear. Wc understand your no is no. Nobody can force you or is trying to.
Like Trump, “friendship” for Hagen is a velvet glove hiding an iron fist. His concluding sentence is clearly a threat, not a personal opinion:
Hagen said quietly, ‘You are deliberately misunderstanding me. You are trying to make me an accomplice to extortion. Mr Corleone promises only to speak in your favor on this labor trouble as a matter of friendship in return for your speaking in behalf of his client. A friendly exchange of influence, nothing more. But I can see you don’t take me seriously. Personally, I think that is a mistake.’
Zelenskyy, whose country is at war with Russia and who is desperate for aid, nevertheless doesn’t make Woltz’s mistake. He plays for time, flatters Trump, and offers up vague promises rather than turning the president down cold. As a result, he gets his aid rather than the equivalent of a dead horse’s head in his bed. Now that’s diplomacy.