"It's fiction", an "alternative reality". Fiona Hill, head of Russian affairs at the National Security Council, sharply criticized Republican politicians on Thursday, November 21, the last day of public hearings of the democratization process launched by the Democrats against the US president, suspected of having lobbied Ukraine to investigate his potential opponent in the presidential election, Joe Biden. This expert from Eastern Europe was tired of hearing, since the beginning of the week, the pro-Trump camp seriously repeating a conspiracy theory in which Ukraine holds the wrong role.
According to this theory, the impeachment procedure would be the last act of a vast campaign led since 2016 by the Democrats with the complicity of corrupt Ukrainian officials to bring down Donald Trump. Devin Nunes, who led the charge for the Republicans during the hearings, made his fancy: "the president has good reason to suspect a Ukrainian interference in the 2016 US elections," he said Wednesday, November 20 on the third day of the public hearings.
This theory makes Ukraine responsible for the hacking of Democratic emails during the 2016 presidential campaign. Kiev then tried to blame Russia, while Democrats are accused of working with Ukrainians to find elements. compromising on Donald Trump, like pictures of the president in the simplest device ...
Corrupt Ukrainians and Donald Trump naked
Several US intelligence agencies, the Mueller report, and the majority of US media have been contradicting these statements for more than two years. Yet this theory has a hard life. Coming from the conspiracy scene in 2016, she made her way to the Oval Office through Paul Manafort, Donald Trump's former campaign manager, and Rudy Giuliani, the president's personal advocate. The tenant of the White House even spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenski at the famous call of July 25, which is at the heart of the impeachment process.
Proponents of this theory have evolved so far especially in the close entourage of Donald Trump, while the common Republicans in Congress did not seem to adhere. Until the public hearings of the last two weeks. The more witnesses called to undermine the defense of the president, the more the Republicans turned to this theory of conspiracy.
"This is a new cons-fire lit by the Republicans," says Jean-Eric Braana, US specialist at the University Paris II, contacted by France 24. And for this expert, this line of defense, also far-fetched in appearance, can be very effective. "Some Americans, who have little interest in politics, want information easily digested, and a conspiracy theory can explain everything in a few sentences," he summarizes.
Launch Donald Trump's reelection campaign
It also has the advantage of renewing the suspense of this indictment procedure that was starting to turn in circles, between Democrats who repeated that Donald Trump was guilty of "quid pro quo" (a loan for a rendering) and Republicans who argued that there was no direct evidence of such behavior. This conspiracy rebound allows to keep the attention of the media on the procedure, "which plays politically in favor of the president because, meanwhile, no one is interested in what the candidates propose to the Democratic primary," says Jean- Eric Branaa.
Far from being the maneuver for the last chance of a pro-Trump camp short of argument, recourse to this conspiracy theory is, according to this expert, the sign that the Republicans have decided to use the hearings as a forum to launch the re-election campaign of the outgoing president. "This is a strong argument with the base of the electorate of Donald Trump and a way to motivate them to go to vote," notes the political scientist at the University Paris II.
He recalls that one of the major challenges for Republicans is the wear and tear of power that can erode the motivation of voters to put a ballot in the ballot box. In the United States, abstention plays primarily against the outgoing president, and portraying Donald Trump as the victim of a vast Democratic conspiracy, Republican elected officials hope that his base will fly to his rescue. "For now, opinion polls show that the 43%, 44% of Americans in favor of Donald Trump, are all determined to go to vote. It's unheard of! ", Analyzes Jean-Éric Branaa.
Throw oil on the fire lit by the Russian
At the witness stand Thursday, Fiona Hill showed she was not fooled. This specialist in Russia has not only denounced the far-fetched nature of this conspiracy theory, she also pointed out that Republicans were playing a dangerous game. "This fiction that you use for internal political purposes has been developed by the Russian intelligence services in order to sow division between the Americans," she said.
The Republicans did not seem affected by this accusation. They may say that after all, playing the Russians game in 2016 did not stop Donald Trump from being elected and maybe even helped him.