Plenty of House Republicans defended President Trump after the release of his Ukraine call transcript, but during a House Intelligence Committee hearing Thursday, one GOP lawmaker called him out.
Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) while questioning Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire condemned Trump for his July conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during which he pushed for an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden's son.
"Concerning that conversation, I want to say to the president, this is not okay," Turner said. "That conversation is not okay, and I think it's disappointing to the American public when they read the transcript."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Turner went on, however, to question the actual whistleblower complaint, saying the Ukraine conversation is "not what's in the complaint" and that the complaint is "based on hearsay." He also called out the House Intelligence Committee Chair Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) for his summary of the Ukraine call earlier in the hearing; Schiff had suggested the "essence" of what Trump said was, essentially, "I want you to make up dirt on my political opponent, understand?" Schiff would later claim this misleading summary was intended as a "parody." Brendan Morrow
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.