Republican defenses of President Trump have run the gamut as public impeachment hearings loom. Here is a breakdown of six of the GOP’s most commonly used lines of defense on Capitol Hill.
By Lindsay Wise Nov. 9, 2019 5:30 am ET Republicans have run the gamut in their defense of President Trump’s interactions with Ukraine in recent days, as the public hearings in the House impeachment inquiry loom: There was no quid pro quo. Or if there was, it wasn’t illegal or even improper. And because Ukraine ultimately received aid and its president met Mr. Trump without opening investigations, no favors were traded.
Many Republicans, however—Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell chief among them—are sticking with criticism of how Democrats have conducted the inquiry and ducking questions on the merits of the case. Here is a breakdown of six of the GOP’s most commonly used lines of defense on Capitol Hill as Congress approaches the public-hearing phase of impeachment:The president’s critics say it was improper for the president on the July phone call to link U.S. military aid to Mr. Zelensky doing him a political favor.
Some Republicans argue that even if Mr. Trump had intended to withhold the aid from Ukraine, there could be no quid pro quo because the administration eventually released the money. They note that both Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky have publicly denied Mr. Trump was pressuring Mr. Zelensky to investigate Mr. Biden and his son.
“Quid pro quo is a red herring unless you distinguish between a legal quid pro quo and an illegal quid pro quo,” Sen. John Kennedy told Politico Wednesday.Several witnesses have told the House committees conducting the impeachment inquiry that they understood that Mr. Trump wanted the quid pro quo.
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