15 Times Trump and His Allies Claimed 'No Quid Pro Quo'

WASHINGTON — It was not the message that the White House and its supporters have been trying to hammer home in recent weeks as the impeachment investigation has intensified on Capitol Hill: Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, said Thursday that President Donald Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine in part to pressure Kyiv to pursue a politically motivated investigation into the 2016 election.

His comments — even after he issued a statement walking back his remarks — undercut weeks of denials from Trump, his aides, Republican lawmakers and the conservative news media that the president was seeking a quid pro quo in his dealings with the new Ukrainian president. Some of their statements were focused on a July 25 phone call between Trump and the president of Ukraine in which Trump repeatedly brought up his desire for investigations into political rivals. Others touched specifically on Trump’s decision in July to hold up the $391 million package of security aid to Ukraine, a development that government officials there said they only learned about at the end of August.

OCT. 16, 2019

1. President Donald Trump

“Now, all of a sudden, quid pro quo doesn’t matter because now they see, in the call, there was no quid pro quo.”

— In remarks at the White HouseThe New York Times also found several other instances of Trump’s proclaiming “no quid pro quo” on Twitter, in remarks to reporters, in news conferences and at political rallies.

OCT. 3, 2019

2. Vice President Mike Pence

“Contrast that with the president’s — the transcript of the president’s phone call with President Zelenskiy where there was no quid pro quo. There was no pressure.”

— In remarks to reporters

OCT. 3, 2019

3. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C.

“What we do know is there was definitely no quid pro quo. I mean, it came out over and over.”

— In remarks to reporters

OCT. 13, 2019

4. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin

“In the Oval Office, when the president was asked about this in front of the vice premier, the president made very clear, they can do what they want. So, again, people who are trying to imply that the president is asking for things or quid pro quos, I think this is ridiculous.”

— In an interview on ABC

OCT. 4, 2019

5. Lou Dobbs, Fox Business Network host

“And it’s not a difference of opinion. Any rational person looking at it, any reasonable person, can only conclude that there was no quid pro quo. There was no threat of any kind.”

— on Fox News

SEPT. 28, 2019

6. Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president

“And as the president said, this was a perfect call. The Ukrainian president said on live TV the other day, up at the United Nations General Assembly, that he felt no pressure. And, in fact, if you read what’s there, you see what’s not there — no quid pro quo.”

— In an interview on Fox News

SEPT. 26, 2019

7. Larry Kudlow, Trump’s chief economic adviser

“There was no quid pro quo. There was no issue about finally getting the military assistance. And he thanked us. The Ukrainian president thanked us for our support on his anti-corruption campaign.”

— In an interview on Fox News

OCT. 14, 2019

8. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La.

“And I think a lot of these members in swing districts are hearing that, hey, you ran saying you were going to work with people to get things done and all you’re focused on is impeaching the president over a lie about quid pro quo that never even happened. What are you people doing up there?”

— In an interview on Fox Business Network

OCT. 14, 2019

9. Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y.

“President Zelenskiy had no idea that there was a hold on aid during the July 25th call. The readouts of the July 25th call on both the Ukraine side and the U.S. side mention nothing about a hold on aid or a quid pro quo. July 26th, the day after that phone call, Ambassador Volker met with President Zelenskiy. During that meeting, there was no reference to a hold on aid or a quid pro quo.”

— In remarks to reporters

OCT. 13, 2019

10. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D.

“There was no quid pro quo in the — in the phone conversation. So, no doubt that the haters are going to hate.”

— In an interview on CNN

OCT. 13, 2019

11. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas

“I think that was good because a lot what the Democrats had been raising, alleging an illegal quid pro quo, was not, in fact, backed up by the transcript.”

— In an interview with CBS

OCT. 8, 2019

12. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio

“If they would release the transcript from Ambassador Volker’s testimony and interview last week, you would see that Ambassador Volker backs up exactly what you just said. There was no quid pro quo.”

— During an interview on Fox News

OCT. 6, 2019

13. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

“Every Democratic member of the House needs to be on record: Do you agree with Nancy Pelosi that the transcript is enough to impeach President Trump? Remember when Pelosi said that the transcript would show a quid pro quo? It doesn’t.”

— In an interview on Fox Business Network

OCT. 8, 2019

14. Mercedes Schlapp, senior adviser for the Trump campaign

“But more so, what is so disgusting is the fact that the Democrats continue to try to build up this narrative on, well, there was a quid pro quo when the call — when the call happened. They just jumped the gun without facts, without being credible.”

— In an interview on Fox Business Network

OCT. 2, 2019

15. Hogan Gidley, White House spokesman

“Well, right. But this doesn’t have anything to do with the 2020 election, and the president was very clear about that and that wasn’t in the call. What else wasn’t in the call was the quid pro quo.”

— In an interview on Fox News

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

© 2019 The New York Times Company

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