Since the whistle was blown on Trump denying aid to Ukraine unless it “investigated” his political opponents in the U.S., his position has been that there was no quid pro quo. Yesterday, his White House chief of staff Mike Mulvaney admitted there was, and added a sneering “get over it” for good measure. This was, apparently, not in the script, and he was soon made to walk back the remarks. But everyone saw them…
It was the first time the White House acknowledged a link between the withheld aid and probes that Trump sought. Some Republicans were deeply concerned by Mulvaney’s comments.
“You don’t hold up foreign aid that we had previously appropriated for a political initiative,” said GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. “Period.”
Republican Rep. Francis Rooney of Florida called Mulvaney’s acknowledgment about withholding Ukraine aid “troubling,” saying it is “not a good thing” to do that in connection “with threatening foreign leaders.”