Mick Mulvaney admits the White House DID hold up Ukraine aide to force server probe

Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney acknowledged that he held up $390 million in security aide for Ukraine in order to pressure the country into pursuing a 2016 election probe being demanded by President Trump.

Trump and top administration officials have vigorously denied any ‘quid pro quo’ with Ukraine following a whistleblower’s report that the White House was demanding a probe of the Bidens as well as Trump’s conspiracy theory that the DNC server might be in Ukraine’s possession.

But Mulvaney on Thursday vigorously defended holding up the congressionally appropriated funding in order to get the Ukrainians to investigate a Demoratic server from 2016, telling critics: ‘Get over it.’ 

In a rare White House briefing, Mulvaney denied any knowledge of a company linked to Hunter Biden – but said the money was in fact dangled to push what he called anti- ‘corruption’ efforts by Ukraine.  

He said of President Trump: ‘Did he also mention to me in [passing] that the corruption that related to the DNC server? Absolutely, no question about that. But that’s it. And that’s why we held up the money.’

Mulvaney confirmed what Trump also said in a July phone call with the president of Ukraine: that he wanted an investigation related to the hacked Democratic National Committee Server. U.S. intelligence, the Mueller probe, and bipartisan congressional committees concluded that the Russians hacked Democratic servers. But Trump wants to explore an unproven theory that the Democratic server might be in Ukraine, where information came out that implicated his now jailed 2016 campaign manager Paul Manafort.

‘The look back to what happened in 2016 certainly was part of the thing that [Trump] was worried about in corruption with that nation. And that is absolutely appropriate,’ said Mulvaney.

Pressed on holding up money to aid to get an investigation sought by the president, in a ‘quid pro quo’ for a probe of the DNC server, Mulvaney said: ‘We do that all the time with foreign policy.’ 

‘I have news for everybody: Get over it. There is going to be political influence in foreign policy,’ Mulvaney said. 

Mulvaney said President Trump wanted Ukraine to take pursue 2016 ‘corruption’ and said the matter was directly linked to U.S. aide appropriated by Congress

Asked again if that was why the funding got held up, Mulvaney said: ‘Yeah.’ Then he noted that it ‘ultimately flowed’ as required by the law and Congress.  

Mulvaney also confirmed that the president ordered top officials to work with his private lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine.

Mulvaney called linking the funds to the president’s search for a Democratic server ‘absolutely appropriate’

Democratic emails on the DNC server, as well as those belonging to Hillary Clinton chief of staff John Podesta were hacked during the 2016 elections. The Mueller report concluded the hacking was directed by the Kremlin

Trump raised the issue personally in a phone call with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky

Trump told Energy Secretary Rick Perry to work with his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine, Perry said

‘There was a May meeting and I think this is widely reported. [EU ambassador Gordon] Sondland mentioned it in his testimony and I’m pretty sure Rick Perry mentioned it yesterday … that in the May meeting in the Oval Office, that I was in, I think Senator [Ron] Johnson was there as well as Mr. [Kurt] Volker was there, the president asked Rick Perry to work with Mr. Giuliani,’ he said. 

Asked if he thought that was appropriate, he replied: ‘I wasn’t asked.’

‘And the answer to your question is that the president told Rick Perry, who I think was sort of, you know — the issue — one of the reasons we were in there, we were talking about energy and Ukraine as an energy partner. We were trying to get Ukraine as an energy partner. And so the president said to Mr. perry, go ahead and talk to Rudy’ he said.

Giuliani, a vocal TV defender of the president during the Mueller probe, has been reported to be under a counterintelligence investigation dating back months related to his overseas work.

Two Giuliani associates were arrested this month and charged with campaign finance violations stemming from their efforts to cultivate politicians. Prosecutors allege they gave a contribution of more than $300,000 to a pro-Trump super PAC when the funds were actually financed by another source.

Mulvaney’s statements were the latest to shed light on the multi-pronged effort to try to get Ukraine to take actions that a whistle-blower said were to promote President Trump’s 2020 reelection.

U.S. ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sonland, was testifying behind closed doors Thursday about his personal phone interactions with Trump, who instructed him to work with Giuliani. 

Mulvaney’s comments came at a White House briefing where he announced that the next G7 meeting for world leaders will be held at the president’s private golf club in Miami.