SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – On October 22, Bill Taylor, an Army veteran and the top United States diplomat to Ukraine, testified before the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight committees that President Donald Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine in order to pressure their government into declaring they would investigate one of Trump’s domestic political opponents. This is the latest piece of evidence of a quid pro quo in which Donald Trump sought to exchange U.S. military aid for electoral support from the Ukranian government.
Late last month, the White House released a summary of Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Zelensky. In that call, Zelensky requested the military aid that Congress passed and Trump blocked, to which Trump responded “I would like you to do us a favor though…” Trump then asks Zelensky to investigate his political rivals in what many argue is an explicit quid pro quo arrangement. Two weeks ago, text message between top U.S. diplomats strongly corroborated the existence of that quid pro quo. Last week, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney openly confessed to a quid pro quo before attempting to walk his comments back.
In response to the growing evidence of a quid pro quo, DFL Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement calling on Minnesota’s Republican Congressional Delegation to support the House investigation into Trump’s conduct:
“Today, I am calling on Congressman Tom Emmer, Pete Stauber, and Jim Hagedorn to support the House of Representatives’ inquiry into one of the most disturbing allegations that has ever been leveled against a sitting President of the United States. Republicans can no longer turn a blind eye to the mounting evidence that President Trump withheld military aid from a foreign ally to pressure their government into attacking his political rivals and interfering in an American election.
“If President Trump did seek to exchange military aid for foreign election interference, he will have betrayed the trust of the American people, violated his oath to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution, and broken our laws against receiving foreign electoral support.
“Tom Emmer, Pete Stauber, and Jim Hagedorn must put party politics aside and act for the good of our country. If we are going to ensure that the United States of America remains a democracy where no one is above the law, it is crucial we get to the bottom of the deeply disturbing and highly credible allegations leveled against President Trump.”