Mick Mulvaney, fact witness, copped to the quid pro quo by admitting that “we do it all the time, get over it”. This rendered null a week of Trump proclaiming “No Quid Pro Quo”.
It’s probably the best he could do for media framing considering as he’s still OMB head, he did hold the arms shipment up to help Trump get his dirt.
There’s now at least five amigos. Amigo three, Rick Perry will actually resign.
Mulvaney may get cut loose more quickly, as he might also remember that Nixon’s Chief of Staff went to prison. He might get cut because he was stupid enough to try to negate the effect of his comments only hours later:
58% believe Trump has done things that are grounds for impeachment
One Trump adviser said Mulvaney did “far more damage” than Sondland’s testimony, calling it “totally inexplicable.”
Officials close to Trump were infuriated by Mulvaney’s comments during his news conference that essentially acknowledged a quid pro quo under which Ukraine would receive aid in exchange for helping with a Justice Department investigation that might benefit Trump’s campaign.
One Trump adviser said Mulvaney did “far more damage” than Sondland’s testimony, calling it “totally inexplicable.”
“He literally said the thing the president and everyone else said did not happen,” the adviser said.
One person who spoke to Trump said, however, that he was pleased with Mulvaney’s performance.
Mulvaney also caught the Justice Department by surprise when he asserted that Ukraine’s “cooperating in an ongoing investigation with our Department of Justice” was connected to aid money being withheld. A department official said, “If the White House was withholding aid in regards to the cooperation of any investigation at the Department of Justice, that is news to us.”
The official also disputed that the White House made the Justice Department aware of the July phone call between Trump and Ukraine’s leader immediately after it occurred, saying the department wasn’t aware of the call until mid-August.
A third outside official said it was incredible that in the middle of an impeachment inquiry and the chaos in Syria that the White House would also invite another emoluments issue.
“Clearly, they just don’t care anymore,” this person said.
(2017)
Who is he?
A scandal-plagued real-estate developer who joined the House Freedom Caucus as a member of Congress, Mulvaney is now director of Trump’s Office of Management and Budget, where he’s promoting a Pentagon-first approach. The Trump-Mulvaney plan would dramatically increase military spending and pay for it by gutting domestic programs.
Why is he dangerous?
Mulvaney had the difficult task of boiling down Trump’s frequently contradictory campaign promises into a budget plan. His solution has been to embrace a perverse combination of austerity for those in need, tax cuts for the rich, and budget-busting largesse for military contractors.
What’s his weakness?
Mulvaney’s crackpot theories—he claims the Congressional Budget Office is not up to analyzing proposals like the GOP assault on the Affordable Care Act—place him on the extreme end of conservative economic policy-making. He didn’t earn much respect on Capitol Hill, and the response to his budget plan suggests the regard for his abilities has only decreased.
www.thenation.com/...
nevermind….