GOP Sen. Criticizes Trump’s Ukraine Call, Dismisses Biden Conspiracy Theory

Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) takes questions from reporters after meeting with Mary Barra, chief executive officer of General Motors (GM), on Capitol Hill, December 5, 2018. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
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Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) chastised President Donald Trump on Monday for pushing the Ukrainian president to investigate Joe Biden during a July call.

“The President should not have raised the Biden issue on that call, period,” Portman said, according to the Columbus Dispatch. “It’s not appropriate for a President to engage a foreign government in an investigation of a political opponent.”

The Ohio Republican said he doesn’t see the call as an impeachable offense, but he expressed support for a congressional investigation into the scandal.

Portman, who had co-signed a letter to Ukraine in 2016 calling for anti-corruption reforms at General Prosecutor Viktor Shokin’s office, also pushed back against Trump’s baseless claim that Biden had gotten Shokin fired for investigating a gas company with ties to his son.

“To be honest with you, I didn’t remember that even being an issue,” the senator said. “That was not why we were calling for reforms.”

The letter in question echoed then-Vice President Biden’s concern that Shokin was not addressing government corruption – the opposite of Trump’s claims in his debunked conspiracy theory.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) had also signed the letter, though last week he claimed that Congress may have been subjected to a “misinformation campaign” about Shokin at the time.

So far, only three other Republican senators have called out Trump for asking foreign governments to investigate Biden: Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Ben Sasse (R-NE), and Mitt Romney (R-UT).

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Notable Replies

  1. Check

    (the goalposts)

  2. So, by Portman’s logic, engaging in traitorous activity is not impeachable. Begs the question: What is?

  3. Yes he committed the crime, but it’s not illegal. Yeah, that works.

  4. “The Ohio Republican said he doesn’t see the call as an impeachable offense…”

    Says the guy who voted to impeach Bill Clinton.

  5. Babysteps. Its not a full throated call for Trump’s removal today…but it will provide cover for more republican Senators to break away from Trump. As more comes out and this thing continues to snowball, they will eventually be voting for his removal.

    No republican that votes for impeachment or removal is going to be doing so for “patriotic” reasons. We just have to accept that (for now, elections are still waiting), and take these openings coming exposed.

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