‘No other way to look at this’: Ex-federal prosecutor says Trump's Ukraine call was clearly an ‘extortion attempt’

Impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump continued Friday. On Thursday, explosive texts emerged showing State Department officials struggling to manage Trump's apparent attempt to extort Ukraine in exchange for dirt on Joe Biden.

On CNN Friday, Greg Bower, former assistant director to Congressional Affairs for the FBI, said he was sure the president had tried to extort the Ukrainian government.

"You know, I'm a former federal prosecutor in Las Vegas, of all places. I think I would know an extortion attempt if I see one," he joked. "This is a quid pro quo where something is being offered or held back in exchange of doing something for someone else," he added. "Now the text messages, I think, fill in the blanks. I don't think there is any other way to look at this."

"I don't think there is any other way to look at this," he said. He chronicles Rudy Giuliani's role.

"At one point the diplomats are consulting with Rudy Giuliani or informing him of what Zelensky might say publicly, publicly. But that, Gloria, does not suit what Giuliani thinks the president wants -- we're going to investigate Biden," he says.

"I remember when Giuliani wanted to be Secretary of State and they turned him down, and now he's behaving here as if he is the Secretary of State. And the Secretary of State is actually calling Rudy Giuliani to kind of say, well, you know, we passed this along, we passed your concerns along, because he knows this is what the president wants. So it's everybody saying, okay, how do we get the aid to Ukraine, because everybody seemed to be convinced except for maybe the president and Rudy Giuliani, that the aid needed to go to Ukraine and how do we work around this so we can get the money where it belongs to this country that is trying to fight Russian aggression. or is this far too far? Do you look at that and say that is a crime?"

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