The Ukraine fiasco, leading to President Donald Trump’s impeachment, convinced many corrupt foreign leaders that the United States is just as corrupt as they are.

“It looks like the whole of U.S. politics is for sale . . . It turned out everything depended on money, and all these [Western] values were pure hypocrisy.”

The quote is from “The Rise of Strategic Corruption; How States Weaponize Graft.” (Zelikow, Philip; Edelman, Eric; Harrison, Kristofer; Gventer, Celeste Ward; Foreign Affairs; July/August 2020)

In 2018, two naturalized Americans with ties to Ukraine, plus former New York mayor Rudy Giulani and two Ukrainian officials, began a campaign to smear Marie Yavanovitch, U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. The ambassador was attempting to warn the U.S. about corruption in Ukraine.

President Trump’s administration apparently did not care about the corruption uncovered by the ambassador. Indeed, the president tried to use taxpayer money slated to help Ukraine fight off Russian aggression as a bribe to help his 2020 reelection bid.

Perhaps, he hinted to the Ukrainian president, perhaps the Ukrainian leader could find something to damage Joe Biden, possible rival in the election. He hinted that the money for Ukraine would be given only if this were done.

Thanks to a whistle blower and several courageous public servants, the facts became public. Unfortunately, the careers of Yavanovitch and several others who testified were damaged. The damage to the reputation of the United States is far greater.