Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee, said he believes President Trump paused millions in military aid to Ukraine because of his “sincere” concerns that the country was corrupt.
Gaetz, an ally of the president’s in the House, said Trump was leery about squandering US taxpayers dollars in Ukraine because of its history of being corrupt that extended into former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter’s work with a Ukrainian gas company.
“I think the president was acting on a sincere, longly held view and skepticism of foreign aid,” Gaetz of Florida said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I think he was acting on concern about Ukraine being the third most corrupt country in the world.”
Trump in a July 25 phone call asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch an investigation into the Bidens after he suspended nearly $400 million in military assistance to Ukraine.
The revelation of that phone call by a whistleblower prompted the House’s impeachment inquiry into Trump over what Democrats claim is an abuse of power.
So far, the White House has refused to participate in the hearings and called on former and current administration officials not to testify citing executive privilege.
Democrats have sought the testimony of acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
Gaetz on Sunday said allowing them to appear would bolster the president’s defense but set a troubling precedent.
“I think it would inure to the president’s advantage to have people testify who could exculpate him, but they — we want to preserve an executive branch where there are out-of-the-box strategy sessions where people come up with crazy ideas and reject those ideas and hone them,” he said.