Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday morning said he was not aware of any quid pro quo in relation to the White House’s hold on military aid to Ukraine, but demurred on whether the officials who have testified on the issue are lying.
“I can only tell you what I know…what I know is the transcript shows there was no quid pro quo in all of my interactions with [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelensky,” Pence said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
Pressed by host Margaret Brennan about the House witnesses, including U.S. diplomats Bill Taylor and Gordon Sondland, who have alleged there was a quid pro quo, Pence insisted White House discussions with Zelensky had focused on efforts to stem corruption in Ukraine, Russia’s invasion of Crimea and the need for Europe to “step up.”
{mosads}“I’m telling you that all of my interactions with the [Ukrainian] president were entirely focused on issues of importance to the American people,” Pence added.
The allegations of a quid pro quo are at the center of the House’s impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Earlier this month, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney seemingly confirmed that the aid was delayed in part in an attempt to pressure Zelensky to investigate possible Ukrainian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He walked back that assertion hours later.
A whistleblower alleges Trump used the aid to pressure the Ukraine leader to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.