A number of Republican senators are reportedly prepared to admit that President Trump did attempt to force a quid pro quo on Ukraine but that his actions were not illegal or impeachable.
More and more GOP senators are ready to acknowledge that the president did leverage military aid to Ukraine in exchange for the country investigating former Vice President Joe Biden and his son but that he did so without “corrupt intent,” the Washington Post reported Friday. As the House Democrats’ impeachment proceedings continue, some Republicans are growing worried that damaging revelations may prevent a quick dismissal of wrongdoing.
The shift in thought apparently came after a private Senate GOP lunch on Wednesday. At the time, Sen. John Kennedy said there may have been quid pro quo but argued that leveraging military aid to another country is something the United States government often does.
“To me, this entire issue is going to come down to, why did the president ask for an investigation,” Kennedy told the Post. “To me, it all turns on intent, motive. … Did the president have a culpable state of mind? … Based on the evidence that I see, that I’ve been allowed to see, the president does not have a culpable state of mind.”
In the lunch meeting, Sen. Ted Cruz echoed Kennedy’s argument, saying that a quid pro quo is not illegal unless there is “corrupt intent.”
The report comes a day after the House formally approved the impeachment proceedings against Trump. It also follows Republicans initially rallying around a “no quid pro quo” message after the White House released a transcript of Trump’s July 25 phone call with the president of Ukraine.
