HILLARY CLINTON: Well, let’s imagine the phone conversation because that is what kicked this all off. If we had a president who was genuinely concerned about corruption in the Ukraine and the potential impact of that corruption on our elections, you certainly could have a conversation. It might go something like this:

“President Zelensky, we know that you’re new to the job, you just got there, but you need to know the United States wants to support you, wants to help defend you against continuing Russian aggression, but we are worried that unless you tackle the corruption in your own country, anything we give to you will not be put to the best use and will not produce the best results, so we’re going to send a team over to sit with you and your entirely new cabinet,” — because these people have never been in politics before. “We’re going to walk through with you some of the best practices for dealing with corruption and we’re going to ask you to provide any information that in any way would suggest that America could do more to help you.”

Not: “But, if you don’t do what I want you to do, and what I want you to do has nothing to do with America’s interest and everything to do with my own interests, we’re not going to help defend you against the Russians.”