New Mexico Democrat Rep. Xochitl Torres Small (D-NM) admitted in October 2019 that President Donald Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky that Democrats impeached him over was “not an explicit quid pro quo.”
The audio of Torres Small making this admission, which undercuts the Democrats’ since-dismissed-by-the-Senate case for impeachment of Trump, runs counter to the congresswoman’s decision to subsequently vote for impeachment.
Torres Small made the comments during an Oct. 4, 2019, “Congress on Your Corner” event in Hatch, New Mexico, at the Pepper Pot Restaurant. Torres Small appeared there and met with constituents, one of whom recorded her answer to his question—audio of which was since obtained by Breitbart News exclusively.
“I was just kind of curious, I haven’t done enough research on it to make a full stance. From the phone call itself, it didn’t sound as bad I guess, per se. It wasn’t an explicit ‘in order to get this, you know, you have to do this,’” the constituent, who is not identified, asked Torres Small.
“It was not an explicit quid pro quo. I think you’re right there,” the Democrat congresswoman replied.
LISTEN TO DEMOCRAT XOCHITL TORRES SMALL AUDIO:
For weeks afterwards, Torres Small did not say anything publicly, and this audio has never been made public until now, after Breitbart News obtained it earlier this week. But she voted for moving forward with the “impeachment inquiry” into Trump later in October. Then she stayed quiet again for months straight until mid-December just before the House was set to vote on Articles of Impeachment against Trump.
Torres Small, in a Dec. 15, 2019 statement, changed her tune from early October wherein she said the president had not engaged in a quid pro quo and announced she decided to vote for both articles of impeachment against him.
Torres Small said:
After serious consideration, I believe impeachment is the necessary response to President Trump’s use of the Executive Office of the President for his own personal and political gain. We cannot allow any President of either party to abuse the power of the highest office, jeopardizing our country’s national security in the process, to pressure foreign leaders to conduct investigations against political rivals. We also cannot allow any President to obstruct Congress’s power to investigate impeachable offenses by prohibiting White House and other administration officials from testifying or providing evidence. I must act to protect our national security, our Constitution, and the integrity of our elections.
The decision to buck her constituents—Torres Small is one of 30 House Democrats who represent districts that Trump won in 2016—has haunted her ever since. In recent campaign ads, Torres Small has attempted to portray herself as working with President Trump—even though Trump has endorsed her Republican opponent, Yvette Herrell—and as some kind of moderate focused on core issues that matter to New Mexicans. But in reality, as evidenced by this saga, she is telling her constituents in New Mexico one thing, but then when she gets to Washington, D.C., does something else.
“This is yet another example of Torres Small telling New Mexicans what she thinks they want to hear, and then voting the opposite in DC,” Herrell told Breitbart News when asked about it. “Her hypocrisy is even more stunning given her new TV ads in which she brags about working with President Trump, who she voted to impeach. Torres Small’s actions speak louder than her words, and New Mexicans won’t be fooled by her fake rhetoric.”
Offered the opportunity to comment through her congressional press secretary, Paloma Perez, Torres Small did not reply.
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