McCarthy defends Mulvaney's quid pro quo walk-back
Mulvaney told reporters on Thursday (October 18) that Trump's decision to withhold $391 million in aid to Ukraine was linked to his desire for an investigation by Kiev into a debunked theory that a Democratic National Committee computer server was held in Ukraine.
After weeks in which the president argued that he had done nothing wrong, Mulvaney's comments, which he later sought to walk back, seemed to undermine the core arguments that Trump and his advisers have made against the effort to oust him from office.
The confirmation of a quid pro quo, or favor for a favor, would bolster Democrats' arguments that Trump misused his office.
In a written statement, Mulvaney later accused the media of misconstruing his comments.
