Democrat Rep. Jeff Van Drew Slams Taylor's Impeachment Testimony: 'It's Hearsay'
A Democratic representative isn’t quite on board with his fellow lawmakers’ allegations that President Donald Trump was involved in a quid pro quo with Ukraine.
Democrats have accused President Donald Trump of suggesting a quid pro quo, claiming he planned to withhold military aid from Ukraine until that nation’s government investigated former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
While he was vice president, Joe Biden pressured Ukraine to fire a prosecutor who had investigated Burisma Holdings, an energy company where Hunter served on the board.
But the U.S. military aid to Ukraine was released in September without Ukraine launching an investigation into the Bidens.
On July 25, Trump mentioned the Bidens during a phone call with Zelensky.
As The New York Times reported, Bill Taylor — America’s top diplomat to Ukraine — testified Wednesday that one of his staffers had listened to a July 26 conversation between Trump and U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland about “the investigations.”
Taylor claimed the staffer told him that Sondland told Trump “that the Ukrainians were ready to move forward.”
According to Taylor, the staffer asked Sondland about the president’s thoughts on Ukraine. Sondland “responded that President Trump cares more about the investigations of Biden, which Giuliani was pressing for,” Taylor testified, referring to Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.
Democratic Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey isn’t buying it.
“It’s hearsay,” Van Drew said after Taylor’s testimony, according to CNN. “It’s really difficult dealing with this because it’s he said, she said.”
The congressman pointed to the fact that the nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine was released without an investigation being opened into the Bidens.
“Frankly, the aid did flow, so that really isn’t an issue at the end of the day,” Van Drew said. “The aid flowed, and everything resolved.”
Late last month, Van Drew and Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson were the only two Democratic members of Congress to vote against a resolution formalizing the impeachment inquiry.
“Without bipartisan support I believe this inquiry will further divide the country tearing it apart at the seams and will ultimately fail in the Senate,” Van Drew said in statement at the time, according to Insider NJ.
Taylor, for his part, admitted Wednesday that he did not have firsthand knowledge of an alleged quid pro quo.
“What I can do here for you today is tell you what I heard from people,” he testified.
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