Pence defends Trump's -- and his own -- interactions with Ukraine as scrutiny intensifies
WASHINGTON – Vice President Mike Pence on Monday defended his own and the president’s conversations with the Ukrainian president, telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity that there was no quid pro quo when Trump brought up former Vice President Joe Biden during Trump’s congratulatory call to the newly-elected president in July.
“He mentioned Vice President Biden and his son in the context of us wanting to see honest government,” Pence said on Hannity’s show. “That’s exactly what the American taxpayer would expect.”
Trump himself denied Tuesday using military aid as a pressure tactic to get Ukraine to investigate Biden.
"I didn't do it," Trump said in brief remarks with reporters before delivering a speech at the United Nations. Trump said he held up the funds because the U.S. was paying too much while other countries were not paying enough.
Pence had his own conversation with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky during a trip to Poland this month. He told reporters after the meeting that he had not discussed Biden with Zelensky. He did not directly respond when asked if he could assure Ukraine that the holdup of military assistance was not related to an effort to dig up dirt on the Biden family.
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Pence told Hannity Monday that all of his discussions with Zelensky, and all of the administration’s contacts, “were all based upon proper considerations of how we support Ukraine, how we support their effort to end an era of corruption in their government and advance the interest of their sovereignty.”
Asked whether he would recommend that a transcript of Trump’s call with Zelensky be released, Pence said that’s a decision for the president to make.
Trump, on Tuesday, said reporters would realize the charges against him are "nonsense" when they "see the call."
But he then referred to a "read out" of the call, which is a summary, and not a transcript.
Like Trump has, Pence said that the only wrongdoing was on the part of Biden.
“He had a quid pro quo,” Pence said of his predecessor. “He said to Ukrainian officials that you will not get over a billion dollars in American aid unless you fire a prosecutor who just happened to be investigating a company that Vice President Biden’s son was on the very board of.”
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Biden, while vice president in the Barack Obama administration, pressured Ukraine's government to dismiss a chief prosecutor. He did so with the support of the Obama administration and other western governments who regarded the chief prosecutor as corrupt.
Trump and allies maintain that the prosecutor was investigating a gas company in which Biden's son Hunter was a board member. There is no evidence that any kind of investigation touched directly on Hunter Biden, though he was criticized for work in a developing country in which his father had influence.
Biden's presidential campaign team on Monday accused President Trump and his allies of peddling “roundly debunked conspiracy theory."
The back-and-forth comes as scrutiny of Trump’s actions during the call is mounting amid renewed calls among House Democrats to impeach Trump.
Contributing: John Fritze and Aamer Madhani.
More: What's going on with Trump and Ukraine? And how does it involve Biden and a whistleblower complaint?
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pence defends his and Trump's talks with Ukraine as scrutiny continues
