Watch VP Pence Dodge Hannity’s Question About Releasing the Trump-Ukraine Phone Call Transcript
Vice President Mike Pence refused to answer a direct question from Fox News’ Sean Hannity about whether he would recommend President Donald Trump release the full transcript of the July phone call between Trump and the Ukrainian president.
In a long interview at the United Nations, avowed pro-Trump supporter Hannity spent much of his time focused on the baseless corruption charges being lobbed at Pence’s predecessor, Joe Biden, by Trump and his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani. But as the conversation wrapped up, Hannity pressed Pence on publicizing what exactly was said between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call which the president has repeatedly characterized as “perfect.”
“Would it help the president, would you recommend that he release the transcript?” Hannity asked.
“Well, uh, that would be a decision for the president to make,” Pence said, notably ducking the part about his own recommendation. “It’s so important that the President of the United States can have conversations with leaders around the world that are candid, that are open. And for leaders to be concerned in the future that a conversation with the president might make its way into the public.”
“It’s already happened,” Hannity pointed out, interrupting Pence’s answer.
“…Would undermine, would undermine the ability of the president to have those discussions in the future,” Pence said, forging ahead and ignoring Hannity’s point. “So I know the president would like to do it. I know he’s looking at all the circumstances. But the American people can be confident that the president spoke about issues in that congratulatory call that are of interest to American taxpayers. There was no quid pro quo.”
However, a new Washington Post report offers evidence from Zelensky that contradicts Pence’s reassurances. In its story, the Post reported that Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said that in a early September meeting, the Ukrainian president told him he interpreted a clear link between Trump’s repeated mentions of investigating Biden for corruption and the months-long delay by the White House in releasing Congressionally-approved military aid to that country.
“The Ukrainian leader was apparently left with a different impression,” the Post reported late Monday night. “Murphy, who spoke with Zelensky during an early September visit to Ukraine, said Monday that the Ukrainian president ‘directly’ expressed concerns at their meeting that ‘the aid that was being cut off to Ukraine by the president was a consequence’ of his unwillingness to launch an investigation into the Bidens.”
Watch the video above, via Fox News.
