SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
White House Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, on October 17, 2019. (Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
'We Do That All the Time... Get Over It': Mulvaney Openly Admits Trump Quid Pro Quo With Ukraine
"Mulvaney just straight up admitted that this administration sees no difference between using U.S. aid to advance national policy goals and using it to advance Trump's personal political goals."
Oct 17, 2019
This is a developing story... Check back for possible updates...
President Donald Trump's Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney openly admitted during a press briefing Thursday that the White House withheld military aid to Ukraine to pressure that country to investigate so-called "corruption" by Democrats in the 2016 election.
"The look-back to what happened in 2016 certainly was part of the thing that [Trump] was worried about in corruption with that nation. And that is absolutely appropriate," said Mulvaney. "Did he also mention to me in passing the corruption related to the DNC. server? Absolutely. No question about that. But that's it, and that's why we held up the money."
The New York Times noted that Mulvaney was "referring to Mr. Trump's discredited idea that a server with Hillary Clinton's missing emails was being held by a company based in Ukraine."
Jon Karl, chief White House correspondent for ABC News, pointed out to Mulvaney that what he described "is a quid pro quo."
"It is funding will not flow unless the investigation into the Democratic server happened," said Karl.
Mulvaney didn't reject Karl's characterization.
"We do that all the time with foreign policy," said Mulvaney. "Get over it. There's going to be political influence in foreign policy... That is going to happen. Elections have consequences."
Watch:
\u201c"To be clear, what you described is a quid pro quo" -- Here's Mick Mulvaney casually admitting that Trump held up aid to Ukraine as leverage to get the Ukrainian government to investigate the 2016 election\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1571330596
"To all the Republicans that denied the quid pro quo--feel free to release your statements backtracking now," said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus in response to Mulvaney's remarks.
\u201cGOP talking points three weeks ago: the call transcript shows NO quid pro quo!\n\nMulvaney today: of course there was a quid pro quo. That\u2019s how you do foreign policy.\u201d— Sam Stein (@Sam Stein) 1571333012
\u201cMulvaney admits the quid pro quo out loud. Amazing.\u201d— Renato Mariotti (@Renato Mariotti) 1571332787
Matt Duss, foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), tweeted, "For those just joining us, Mulvaney just straight up admitted that this administration sees no difference between using U.S. aid to advance national policy goals and using it to advance Trump's personal political goals."
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
This is a developing story... Check back for possible updates...
President Donald Trump's Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney openly admitted during a press briefing Thursday that the White House withheld military aid to Ukraine to pressure that country to investigate so-called "corruption" by Democrats in the 2016 election.
"The look-back to what happened in 2016 certainly was part of the thing that [Trump] was worried about in corruption with that nation. And that is absolutely appropriate," said Mulvaney. "Did he also mention to me in passing the corruption related to the DNC. server? Absolutely. No question about that. But that's it, and that's why we held up the money."
The New York Times noted that Mulvaney was "referring to Mr. Trump's discredited idea that a server with Hillary Clinton's missing emails was being held by a company based in Ukraine."
Jon Karl, chief White House correspondent for ABC News, pointed out to Mulvaney that what he described "is a quid pro quo."
"It is funding will not flow unless the investigation into the Democratic server happened," said Karl.
Mulvaney didn't reject Karl's characterization.
"We do that all the time with foreign policy," said Mulvaney. "Get over it. There's going to be political influence in foreign policy... That is going to happen. Elections have consequences."
Watch:
\u201c"To be clear, what you described is a quid pro quo" -- Here's Mick Mulvaney casually admitting that Trump held up aid to Ukraine as leverage to get the Ukrainian government to investigate the 2016 election\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1571330596
"To all the Republicans that denied the quid pro quo--feel free to release your statements backtracking now," said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus in response to Mulvaney's remarks.
\u201cGOP talking points three weeks ago: the call transcript shows NO quid pro quo!\n\nMulvaney today: of course there was a quid pro quo. That\u2019s how you do foreign policy.\u201d— Sam Stein (@Sam Stein) 1571333012
\u201cMulvaney admits the quid pro quo out loud. Amazing.\u201d— Renato Mariotti (@Renato Mariotti) 1571332787
Matt Duss, foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), tweeted, "For those just joining us, Mulvaney just straight up admitted that this administration sees no difference between using U.S. aid to advance national policy goals and using it to advance Trump's personal political goals."
This is a developing story... Check back for possible updates...
President Donald Trump's Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney openly admitted during a press briefing Thursday that the White House withheld military aid to Ukraine to pressure that country to investigate so-called "corruption" by Democrats in the 2016 election.
"The look-back to what happened in 2016 certainly was part of the thing that [Trump] was worried about in corruption with that nation. And that is absolutely appropriate," said Mulvaney. "Did he also mention to me in passing the corruption related to the DNC. server? Absolutely. No question about that. But that's it, and that's why we held up the money."
The New York Times noted that Mulvaney was "referring to Mr. Trump's discredited idea that a server with Hillary Clinton's missing emails was being held by a company based in Ukraine."
Jon Karl, chief White House correspondent for ABC News, pointed out to Mulvaney that what he described "is a quid pro quo."
"It is funding will not flow unless the investigation into the Democratic server happened," said Karl.
Mulvaney didn't reject Karl's characterization.
"We do that all the time with foreign policy," said Mulvaney. "Get over it. There's going to be political influence in foreign policy... That is going to happen. Elections have consequences."
Watch:
\u201c"To be clear, what you described is a quid pro quo" -- Here's Mick Mulvaney casually admitting that Trump held up aid to Ukraine as leverage to get the Ukrainian government to investigate the 2016 election\u201d— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1571330596
"To all the Republicans that denied the quid pro quo--feel free to release your statements backtracking now," said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus in response to Mulvaney's remarks.
\u201cGOP talking points three weeks ago: the call transcript shows NO quid pro quo!\n\nMulvaney today: of course there was a quid pro quo. That\u2019s how you do foreign policy.\u201d— Sam Stein (@Sam Stein) 1571333012
\u201cMulvaney admits the quid pro quo out loud. Amazing.\u201d— Renato Mariotti (@Renato Mariotti) 1571332787
Matt Duss, foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), tweeted, "For those just joining us, Mulvaney just straight up admitted that this administration sees no difference between using U.S. aid to advance national policy goals and using it to advance Trump's personal political goals."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.