In Ukraine story, media should stick to reporting the 'what' and not speculate as to the 'why'

Let's remember that, on the same day as the call, former special counsel Robert Mueller was testifying before Congress about the Russia investigation. It's clear from Trump's tweets, speeches, and comments to the media over the course of the Mueller investigation that he thinks the real scandal -- which is never talked about, let alone investigated -- is the Obama administration's alleged interference in the 2016 election through the FBI and Justice Department.

It's a safe bet that Biden wasn't Trump's only target. Rather, it's possible the president was attempting to discredit the entire Obama administration. Officials in the State Department and the White House -- perhaps including President Obama himself -- had to have known that Biden had threatened to hold up $1 billion in U.S. funding to Ukraine if the prosecutor wasn't fired. Biden did so despite the fact that he had an obvious conflict of interest because the prosecutor had apparently looked into the Ukrainian natural gas company where Biden's son, Hunter, was a member of the board, reportedly earning as much as $50,000 per month -- despite having no experience in the field.

At the time, the Obama White House defied common sense in claiming that Biden had no conflict of interest. That's insane. That place was full of Ivy League lawyers, who seemingly slept through many of their law school courses.

Meanwhile, in Congress, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., may be auditioning for a job with the media after he leaves office. During a committee hearing on Thursday, the House Intelligence Committee chairman showed he is pretty good at making stuff up. Pretending to be reading the transcript of the Trump-Zelensky call, Schiff made up his own dialogue in what he later called a "parody." Another word for parody is "farce" and that term fits Schiff awfully well.

What if this wasn't really about Biden at all? What if Trump merely wanted to muddy the legacy of the Obama administration? And now he just wants to rattle critics in the media and throw the Democratic Party into chaos?

Mission accomplished.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.