White House Insists President Trump ‘Has Done Nothing Wrong’ Amid Release Of New Transcripts

As President Donald Trump and his allies continue to mount a defense amid the House Democrat-led impeachment investigation into his dealings with Ukraine, a White House spokesperson on Tuesday insisted that the president is in the clear of any wrongdoing on the heels of two newly released transcripts.

According to The Hill, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham not only defended her boss against relentless accusations that his phone call with the Ukrainian president was out of line, but also said that the release of new transcripts — which were both from closed-door testimonies from October — provided “even less evidence” of any wrongdoing.

“Both transcripts released today show there is even less evidence for this illegitimate impeachment sham than previously thought,” Grisham said. “No amount of salacious media-biased headlines, which are clearly designed to influence the narrative, change the fact that the President has done nothing wrong.”

Not long after Gordon Sondland — the U.S. ambassador to the European Union — provided a revised version of testimony that indicated he believed military aid was being withheld from Ukraine in exchange for a favor from Ukraine involving an anti-corruption statement, Grisham provided the White House’s interpretation of his new testimony.

“Ambassador Sondland squarely states that he ‘did not know, [and still does not know] when, why or by whom the aid was suspended.’ He also said he ‘presumed’ there was a link to the aid — but cannot identify any solid source for that assumption,” Grisham said in a statement.

Sondland’s original testimony was revised on Monday in a statement after he claimed he refreshed his memory upon listening to the opening statements of two other U.S. officials who provided testimony in the matter.

Citing additional newly-provided testimony from former U.S. Special Representative to Ukraine Kurt Volker, Grisham argued that “there could not have been a quid pro quo because the Ukrainians did not know about the military aid hold at the time.”

Volker indicated that he believed the military aid wasn’t being withheld for any particular reason, though he reportedly described the move as unusual.

As The Hill reported, neither Sondland or Volker connected the events that took place directly to the president within their testimonies.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the release of the transcripts came in the wake of Trump’s call for his Republican allies in the House to release their own versions of the transcripts to counter what he called Democratic “propaganda.”

The president urged Republicans to make the move in a Monday social media post. However, he began by slamming House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, who has been at the forefront of the impeachment investigation. Trump claimed that Schiff and his allies were altering the transcripts to fit a particular narrative.

Trump has berated Schiff repeatedly since the impeachment inquiry and subsequent investigation was launched, once accusing the lawmaker of treason.