But Democrats said the transcript showed behavior which was not acceptable - and there were some GOP lawmakers agreeing in part.
"I believe it was inappropriate," Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) said of the President's request in a July phone call for the government of Ukraine to launch investigations which would have benefited Mr. Trump politically.
"I do not believe it was impeachable," Thornberry said on ABC's "This Week."
Mr. Trump argued specifically against that.
"Republicans, don’t be led into the fools trap of saying it was not perfect, but is not impeachable," he tweeted.
.@martharaddatz presses Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Rep. Mac Thornberry on the Republican strategy to manage the substance of allegations in the impeachment inquiry: "I believe it was inappropriate, I do not believe it was impeachable." https://t.co/YznDSw674W pic.twitter.com/2pW6JtudOJ
— ABC News (@ABC) November 10, 2019
The call to the Ukrainian President was PERFECT. Read the Transcript! There was NOTHING said that was in any way wrong. Republicans, don’t be led into the fools trap of saying it was not perfect, but is not impeachable. No, it is much stronger than that. NOTHING WAS DONE WRONG!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2019
House Intel member Rep Will Hurd (R-TX) joined FOX News Sunday exclusively to react to President Trump's recent comments on the whistleblower. Rep Hurd says: "I think we should be protecting the identity of the whistleblower" #FNS #FoxNews #Politics pic.twitter.com/g8YMRPxjtz
— FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) November 10, 2019
The White House document detailing the call - which is not a full, word for word transcript - shows the President clearly asking the leader of Ukraine to investigate the son of Vice President Biden, along with probing the assertion that Ukraine - and not Russia - had hacked Democrats in the 2016 elections.
From a quick read of the document released by the White House. Trump asks Ukraine President for a favor (Mueller mentioned here) pic.twitter.com/4ywlOMNrPQ
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) September 25, 2019
While the White House and Republicans tried to sort out their impeachment arguments, Democrats were blasting the GOP.
"Witness testimony shows that everybody involved in the President’s pressure campaign knew what he wanted," said Rep. Mike Quigley (D-I), "political investigations to undermine our free and fair elections."
"Republicans cried for weeks for open & public impeachment inquiry hearings," said Rep. Nanette Barragan (D-CA). "Now that public hearings begin this week, Trump & GOP don’t want them."
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