DISINFO: Trump faced several coup attempts, including the impeachment and the Russian collusion fraud
SUMMARY
President Donald Trump faced political persecution, and had to defend himself even against the several coup attempts, such as the impeachment and the fraud of the Russian collusion.
RESPONSE
Conspiracy theory, with no evidence provided to support the claim. This is a recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about an alleged plot against president Donald Trump by undemocratic powers, articulated through a “fake Russiagate” and an impeachment process. The 2019 impeachment was not a coup attempt but an entirely legal procedure contemplated by the US Senate legislation, whose aim was to determine whether President Trump committed high crimes and misdemeanours by 1) pressing a foreign government (Ukraine's) to harm a domestic political rival, former vice president and current Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, and 2) trying to impede a Congressional investigation by blocking testimony and refusing to provide documents in response to House subpoenas. Regarding to collusion with Russia, there were plenty of reasons for US authorities to open an investigation, as the Volume 5 of the Intelligence Committee of the US Senate on Russian Interference in the 2016 election (released in August 2020) shows, which highlights many elements that were not cleared by the previous Mueller Report. Though Mueller’s inquiry only had stated that the investigation “did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities”, it unequivocally established that Russia attempted to interfere in the election on Trump’s favour. Pro-Kremlin disinformation, however, has repeatedly portrayed Mueller’s work as proof that there was no such interference and that Russia is always falsely accused. See other examples of these disinformation narratives, such as claims that the Deep State is behind the racial justice protests in the US; that Trump’s impeachment was a failed plot by a group of Democrats obsessed with Soros, who had links to the whistleblower who triggered the inquiry; that the NYT story on Trump’s tax returns proves that the Russiagate is a hoax; that the CIA is organising a colour revolution in the US to oust Trump after the 2020 election; or that US Democrats are trying to destroy Trump and incite a civil war. This disinformation message appeared in the same article as the claim that “Biden refused to condemn street violence because he fears losing electoral weight.”