GOP congressman bluntly condemns Trump for the Ukraine call: 'This is not okay'

Mike Turner.
(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/Aaron Rupar)

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."

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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

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