On this week’s broadcast of “Fox News Sunday,” anchor Chris Wallace had a heated back and forth with House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) on the ongoing House Impeachment inquiry.
Wallace asked, “If Gordon Sondland, who met with the president a half dozen times this summer, testifies on Wednesday, yes, the president said to me we are not releasing the aid until they announce they are going to investigate the Bidens and Burisma doesn’t that blow a hole in the president’s defense?”
Scalise said, “Well, the president’s defense is that those things didn’t happen. And it’s not just the president’s word, President Zelensky himself said that the aide wasn’t conditioned and there was no pressure. And then because of some of these innuendos that you’re talking about, the Foreign Minister of Ukraine just a few days ago released another statement saying that there was never a link between aid and investigations. And once again, there were only two people that participated in that phone call. It was Donald Trump and President Zelensky. Both of them were very happy with the phone call. The real bottom line is he got the money. Ukraine got the money.”
Wallace said, “First of all, a dozen people listen in on the phone call and a number of them were immediately upset because what the president said about Burisma—”
Scalise said, “Those were Schiff’s witnesses.”
Wallace said, “No, Sir, they are career foreign service officers, and these are people who worked in the Trump administration.”
Scalise said, “They are Schiff’s witnesses.”
Wallace said, “Wait a minute, Sir, you had a woman yesterday who was on Vice President Pence’s staff. She said it was inappropriate. You had Tim Morrison, who was on the NSC staff, who said that alarm bells immediately went off for him. Alexander Vindman and immediately went to see —these are all people —you say they are Schiff’s witnesses, they all were working in the Trump administration.”
Scalise said, “They were not all Trump administration folks.”
Wallace said, “Are you saying Alexander Vindman wasn’t part of the Trump National Security Council?”
Scalise said, “The inspector general said the whistleblower had political motivations.”
Wallace said, “We’re not talking about the whistleblower.”
He continued, “I’m asking you about these people who worked for the Trump administration, who worked on the National Security Council or worked for the vice president’s office.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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