CNN prime-time anchor Chris Cuomo conceded that Democrats should not use the word “extortion” while describing President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.
Cuomo, 49, made the admission during a quick back-and-forth with Oklahoma Republican Rep. Markwayne Mullin on Wednesday night. Their conversation centered on the House Democrats’ impeachment investigation and the testimony of William Taylor, the top diplomat to Ukraine, and George Kent, the deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs.
[WATCH: Officials testify in first public hearing of impeachment investigation]
“There’s still no quid pro quo. Zero quid pro quo. There’s been no crime committed whatsoever, and they’re still trying to impeach the president of the United States because of why?” Mullin asked.
“You can’t say either of those things because you don’t know either of those things,” the host countered. “The Democrats are wrong to use the word extortion. I don’t see a threat of force. This was an attempted bribe and not just cause it’s in the Constitution.”
When pressed by Mullin for an explanation, Cuomo added, “I’ll tell you how, because the president says to Ukraine, I know what you want, you want me. You want access to the presidency.”
The congressman then told Cuomo that he couldn’t make the assumption that Trump used access to the presidency as leverage, to which Cuomo asked why he could speculate that there was no quid pro quo if he couldn’t do the same.
The two also sparred over whether or not the whistleblower has legal protections as well as the Republicans’ ability to call witnesses during the House’s investigation.
The president’s apparent decision to withhold military aid until Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, as well as the younger Biden’s former employer Burisma Holdings is at the center of the impeachment investigation.
