McConnell denies ever telling Trump his call with Ukraine's president was 'innocent'
President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have two different takes on a conversation they may have had about Trump's July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
During his chat with Zelensky, Trump pushed him to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, neither of whom has been accused of wrongdoing. In late September, McConnell released a statement saying he "read the summary of the call" and it is "laughable to think this is anywhere close to an impeachable offense."
On Oct. 3, Trump told reporters that McConnell "put out a statement that said that was the most innocent phone call he's read. And I spoke to him about it, too. He read my phone call with the president of Ukraine. Mitch McConnell, he said, 'That was the most innocent phone call that I've read.' I mean, give me a break."
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McConnell remembers things a little differently. When asked by CBS News on Tuesday about his conversation with Trump, McConnell said he has not spoken with Trump about the Ukraine phone call, the genesis of the House impeachment inquiry. When asked if Trump was lying, McConnell responded: "You'd have to ask him. I don't recall any conversations with the president about that phone call."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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