How Republicans' latest defenses of the Trump-Zelensky call fall short

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The linchpin of Democrats’ impeachment evidence against President Trump didn’t come from the 17 witnesses they called, or from hours of public hearings and subpoenaed documents and phone records. It came from Trump’s own mouth. Specifically, his July 25 call with Ukraine’s newly elected president, where Trump asked him to investigate Democrats.

At the time of the call, multiple witnesses were perplexed why Trump was holding up military aid to Ukraine. Others couldn’t understand why Trump was reluctant to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office. They testified that when they heard the call or read its transcript months later it all clicked for them. Trump was holding these things back to get Ukraine to investigate his political opponents.

Democrats have taken that a step further: The call itself is evidence Trump was leveraging the power of his office and official diplomatic tools to help his reelection.

So how are Republicans defending Trump’s call now that it’s a central piece of evidence against him? And where does their defense fall short? Let’s review some of the main things they said in Wednesday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing.

-more-

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/how-republicans-latest-defenses-of-the-trump-zelensky-call-fall-short/ar-BBXP49a?li=BBnb7Kz

[Karadeniz]

1. I don't call it a transcript (it's not) or a summary. I call it Trump's confession.