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The Trump Impeachment Inquiry: What Happened Today
(about 3 hours later)
George P. Kent, a deputy assistant secretary of state, told impeachment investigators this week that he raised concerns with a senior Obama White House official in 2015 about the son of Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. holding a position on the board of a Ukrainian gas company.
Republicans in Congress have been militant in backing President Trump during the impeachment investigation. But after Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, appeared to admit to a quid pro quo with the president of Ukraine on Thursday, that support showed signs of cracking.
But the warning was ignored, according to two people familiar with Mr. Kent’s testimony. Mr. Kent, of the State Department’s Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, said he told the official that Hunter Biden’s position could look like a conflict of interest, given his father’s role, and would complicate American efforts to encourage Ukraine to clean up corruption.
“You don’t hold up foreign aid that we had previously appropriated for a political initiative. Period,” Senator Lisa Murkowski said. Representative Adam Kinzinger told CNN that it was “quite concerning.”
The White House official told Mr. Kent that the elder Mr. Biden did not have the “bandwidth” to address the concerns while his younger son, Beau, was undergoing cancer treatment, according to the people, who were not authorized to discuss the private deposition.
An impeachment interview planned for Laura Cooper, a senior official at the Defense Department who specializes in Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, was postponed until next week.
Mr. Kent’s remarks about the Bidens were first reported by The Washington Post. Mr. Kent also voiced concerns about the Trump administrator’s handling of the United States’ relationship with Ukraine, testifying that he and other career officials were all but cut out of decisions regarding the country after a May meeting at the White House.
As Congress left for the week, a few Republicans dared to criticize Mr. Mulvaney. I spoke with one of them: Representative Francis Rooney of Florida, a former ambassador who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Hunter Biden’s work for the Ukrainian firm Burisma Holdings, and an unsubstantiated allegation that the elder Mr. Biden took official action as vice president to protect the firm from a Ukrainian prosecutor, lie at the center of the impeachment inquiry. Mr. Trump and his private lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, have both pressured Ukraine’s leaders to investigate the Bidens, and House lawmakers are investigating whether the White House withheld almost around $400 million in military aid to pressure Kiev to conduct the investigation.
What was your reaction to what Mick Mulvaney said?
“He excoriated the Obama administration and Joe Biden and Joe Biden’s son, saying that he has tremendous problems, tremendous problems, with Joe Biden’s son and the Ukraine,” Mr. Trump said, citing news reports of Mr. Kent’s account. He added, “It’s been a big deal.”
I thought, “Wow, O.K.” We’ve had this president saying that the withholding of the funds was not related to his pressure of the new president of Ukraine. I gave the guy the benefit of the doubt. And then this week we had some testimony from the impeachment hearings. Then this thing comes out from Mulvaney. It looks like game, set, match to me on that issue. I heard the words like anyone else, and I couldn’t believe it.
— Nicholas Fandos
What did you think of Mr. Mulvaney’s attempt to revise what he said?
White House officials knew almost immediately that President Trump’s acting chief of staff had opened a whole new controversy when he said military aid to Ukraine had been put on hold this summer to pressure Kiev to investigate the president’s theory that Ukraine — not Russia — was behind the 2016 election interference. Mr. Mulvaney tried to clean it up hours later and deny what everyone saw — that he said there was a quid pro quo.
I don’t know how you can walk it back. It’s not like, “I said these three vague things and one thing was misinterpreted.” I didn’t see a lot of gray area in what he said. It was pretty clear.
The fallout might be beginning.
Why did you react the way you did?
Representative Francis Rooney, Republican of Florida, told reporters on Friday that he was “shocked that he said that stuff” and said that Mr. Mulvaney’s remarks could not easily be walked back.
There are a few things that really bother you. I’ve been involved in the diplomatic business. I have great respect for our professional diplomats who go about their work. This has undermined them and put them in a bad light. Like Senator Murkowski said, I don’t think its right to use the power and prestige of the U.S. for a political situation. Our foreign policy is supposed to advance the interests of the United States. That’s what we’re in the business of.
“It’s not an Etch-a-Sketch,” he said, miming the gesture that erases the toy board.
Why were you one of the few to actually speak out today?
“I want to get the facts and do the right thing,” he told reporters, “because I’ll be looking at my children a lot longer than I’m looking at anybody in this building.”
There are a lot of people in the Republican conference. You’ve got all different shades of response. A lot of them have no response. A lot of them have a defiant response. Some of them are equivocating. And then you have a couple like me that say, “This is kind of bothersome.”
Mr. Rooney served as ambassador to the Holy See for George W. Bush and may be sensitive to White House efforts that ran roughshod over the diplomatic corps.
Have you talked to your constituents about this?
But he was not alone.
They don’t understand how anyone could say anything remotely at variance with President Trump. I’m sorry, but I’m just going to call ‘em like I see ‘em.
“You don’t hold up foreign aid that we had previously appropriated for a political initiative,” Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska and a famously cautious congressional veteran, told reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday afternoon. “Period.”
The Washington Post first reported that George Kent, a State Department official in charge of Ukraine policy, testified earlier this week that he had raised concerns in 2015 about Hunter Biden’s work for a Ukrainian energy company, but was rebuffed by a Biden staffer.
Representative Adam Kinzinger, Republican of Illinois, told CNN that Mr. Mulvaney’s words were “quite concerning.” He made clear he was not sure what Mr. Mulvaney was saying the president wanted Ukraine to investigate, but if it had anything to do with Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son, Hunter Biden, that would be serious, “because it would be, if it’s true, taxpayer-funded aid and policy for political reasons, which is totally wrong.”
Mr. Mulvaney will bring a group of Republican lawmakers to the presidential retreat Camp David this weekend to discuss “issues of the day,” which will likely include impeachment. Invitees include Representatives Elise Stefanik of New York and Rodney Davis of Illinois, both from potential swing districts.
Mr. Mulvaney actually said the aid was not held up for a Biden-related investigation, but for an investigation of discredited allegations that a Ukrainian company had a computer server that contained Hillary Clinton’s purloined emails.
Republicans have said the push to impeach Mr. Trump would be politically damaging for Democrats, especially in swing districts. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is circulating a memo saying, in effect, not to worry. “The numbers do not back up Republicans’ posture that impeachment worsens the political environment for House Democrats,” a pollster wrote.
In damage-control mode, Mr. Mulvaney will bring a group of Republican lawmakers to Camp David this weekend for a confab. Among those invited, Representatives Elise Stefanik of New York and Rodney Davis of Illinois, both of whom occupy potentially swing districts.
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And who could blame him? It could not have been comforting when Sean Hannity, Mr. Trump’s friend and favorite conservative commentator, told his radio audience that the acting chief of staff is “dumb.”
“What is Mulvaney even talking about? I just think he’s dumb, I really do. I don’t even think he knows what he’s talking about. That’s my take on it,” Mr. Hannity said.
Mulvaney loyalists who served with him in the hard-line House Freedom Caucus remained steadfast on Friday. Representative Mark Meadows, Republican of North Carolina, said he called Mr. Mulvaney Friday morning to discuss the remarks. He declined to say what he told Mr. Mulvaney, but insisted that his initial claim of a quid pro quo was wrong.
“You asked me if I thought he was incorrect,” Mr. Meadows said. “I don’t think he’s incorrect. I know he’s incorrect. There’s a big difference.”
Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio and another Freedom Caucus founder, first blamed the media for taking his friend out of context, then said Mr. Mulvaney’s remarks were incorrect.
“We know from the call transcript itself, there was no linkage,” he said, repeating the talking point that was damaged badly by Mr. Mulvaney: “There was no quid pro quo.”
But Democrats looking for cover keep picking up Republican assistance. On Friday, it came from a former House member and Ohio governor, John Kasich.
The Trump campaign did embrace one part of Mr. Mulvaney’s remarks from the podium. Drawing from Mr. Mulvaney’s statement, “I have news for everybody. Get over it. There is going to be political influence in foreign policy,” the campaign unveiled on Friday a new addition to its lineup of merchandise. A T-shirt — available for $30 — features the words “GET OVER IT” emblazoned on the front with a replica of Mr. Trump’s trademark hairstyle perched atop the “O.”
Since Speaker Nancy Pelosi declared the opening of an impeachment inquiry, Republicans have taken it on faith that the push to impeach the president would be a political loser for Democrats, especially in swing House districts.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is circulating a memo saying, in effect, not to worry.
“The numbers do not back up Republicans’ posture that impeachment worsens the political environment for House Democrats,” a pollster for the House Democrats’ campaign arm wrote. “National polling conducted by the DCCC finds voters back a Democrat who supports an impeachment investigation over a Republican who opposes an impeachment investigation by 11 points. Even in the 57 most competitive battleground districts, moving the inquiry forward is slightly favorable at 49-48. Additionally, Democrats’ lead in the generic ballot remains steady in national polling (+8 average) and in battleground districts (+3 average).”
In swing districts, those numbers might feel uncomfortably tight. So the committee is offering up some advice:
1. When discussing Trump’s actions, keep the language simple, direct and values-based: President Trump abused his power and put himself above the law when he asked the Ukrainian President to interfere in the U.S. election.
2. Emphasize the core value that no one is above the law. Incumbent members who support the inquiry are simply working to uphold the rule of law and Republicans who oppose the inquiry are failing to fulfill their oath of office.
3. The whistle-blower did the right thing by coming forward — members of Congress have a duty to protect this person, and Trump is wrong to threaten this person and impugn their character or motives.
4. Demonstrate your constant focus on the biggest issues facing families in the country, specifically health care and wages. These issues continue to outrank impeachment as priorities for voters, especially swing voters.
President Trump repeatedly pressured President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to investigate people and issues of political concern to Mr. Trump, including former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. Here’s a timeline of events since January.
A C.I.A. officer who was once detailed to the White House filed a whistle-blower complaint on Mr. Trump’s interactions with Mr. Zelensky. Read the complaint.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced in September that the House would open a formal impeachment proceeding in response to the whistle-blower’s complaint. Here’s how the impeachment process works.
House committees have issued subpoenas to the White House, the Defense Department, the budget office and other agencies for documents related to the impeachment investigation. Here’s the evidence that has been collected so far.
