WASHINGTON — It was not the message that the White House and its supporters have been trying to hammer home in recent weeks as the impeachment investigation has intensified on Capitol Hill: Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, said Thursday that President Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine in part to pressure Kiev to pursue a politically motivated investigation into the 2016 election.
His comments — even after he issued a statement walking back his remarks — undercut weeks of denials from Mr. Trump, his aides, Republican lawmakers and the conservative news media that the president was seeking a quid pro quo in his dealings with the new Ukrainian president. Some of their statements were focused on a July 25 phone call between Mr. Trump and the president of Ukraine in which Mr. Trump repeatedly brought up his desire for investigations into political rivals. Others touched specifically on Mr. Trump’s decision in July to hold up the $391 million package of security aid to Ukraine, a development that government officials there said they only learned about at the end of August.
OCT. 16, 2019
1. President Trump
“Now, all of a sudden, quid pro quo doesn’t matter because now they see, in the call, there was no quid pro quo.”
— In remarks at the White House
The New York Times also found several other instances of Mr. Trump proclaiming “no quid pro quo” on Twitter, in remarks to reporters, in news conferences and at political rallies.
oct. 3, 2019
2. Vice President Mike Pence
“Contrast that with the president’s — the transcript of the president’s phone call with President Zelensky where there was no quid pro quo. There was no pressure.”
— In remarks to reporters
Oct. 3, 2019
3. Representative Mark Meadows, Republican of North Carolina
“What we do know is there was definitely no quid pro quo. I mean, it came out over and over.”
— In remarks to reporters
Oct. 13, 2019
4. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin
“In the Oval Office, when the president was asked about this in front of the vice premier, the president made very clear, they can do what they want. So, again, people who are trying to imply that the president is asking for things or quid pro quos, I think this is ridiculous.”
— In an interview on ABC
Oct. 4, 2019
5. Lou Dobbs, Fox Business Network host
“And it’s not a difference of opinion. Any rational person looking at it, any reasonable person, can only conclude that there was no quid pro quo. There was no threat of any kind.”
— on Fox News
Sept. 28, 2019
6. Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president
“And as the president said, this was a perfect call. The Ukrainian president said on live TV the other day, up at the United Nations General Assembly, that he felt no pressure. And, in fact, if you read what’s there, you see what’s not there — no quid pro quo.”
Sept. 26, 2019
7. Larry Kudlow, Mr. Trump’s chief economic adviser
“There was no quid pro quo. There was no issue about finally getting the military assistance. And he thanked us. The Ukrainian president thanked us for our support on his anticorruption campaign.”
— In an interview on Fox News
Oct. 14, 2019
8. Representative Steve Scalise, Republican of Louisiana
“And I think a lot of these members in swing districts are hearing that, hey, you ran saying you were going to work with people to get things done and all you’re focused on is impeaching the president over a lie about quid pro quo that never even happened. What are you people doing up there?”
— In an interview on Fox Business Network
Oct. 14, 2019
9. Representative Lee Zeldin, Republican of New York
“President Zelensky had no idea that there was a hold on aid during the July 25th call. The readouts of the July 25th call on both the Ukraine side and the U.S. side mention nothing about a hold on aid or a quid pro quo. July 26th, the day after that phone call, Ambassador Volker met with President Zelensky. During that meeting, there was no reference to a hold on aid or a quid pro quo.”
— In remarks to reporters
Oct. 13, 2019
10. Senator Kevin Cramer, Republican of North Dakota
“There was no quid pro quo in the — in the phone conversation. So, no doubt that the haters are going to hate.”
— In an interview on CNN
Oct. 13, 2019
11. Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas
“I think that was good because a lot what the Democrats had been raising, alleging an illegal quid pro quo was not, in fact, backed up by the transcript.”
— In an interview with CBS
Oct. 8, 2019
12. Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio
“If they would release the transcript from Ambassador Volker’s testimony and interview last week, you would see that Ambassador Volker backs up exactly what you just said. There was no quid pro quo.”
— During an interview on Fox News
Oct. 6, 2019
13. Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina
“Every Democratic member of the House needs to be on record: Do you agree with Nancy Pelosi that the transcript is enough to impeach President Trump? Remember when Pelosi said that the transcript would show a quid pro quo? It doesn’t.”
— In an interview on Fox Business Network
Oct. 8, 2019
14. Mercedes Schlapp, senior adviser for the Trump campaign
“But more so, what is so disgusting is the fact that the Democrats continue to try to build up this narrative on, well, there was a quid pro quo when the call — when the call happened. They just jumped the gun without facts, without being credible.”
— In an interview on Fox Business Network
Oct. 2, 2019
15. Hogan Gidley, White House spokesman
“Well, right. But this doesn’t have anything to do with the 2020 election and the president was very clear about that and that wasn’t in the call. What else wasn’t in the call was the quid pro quo.”
— In an interview on Fox News