At least two Democrats said on Sept. 25 that they mistakenly received an email from the White House regarding talking points for the transcript of the call between President Donald Trump and Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Reps. Anthony Brown (D-Md.) and Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) said they received the talking points.
“The White House sent my office their talking points on the Ukraine call. Republicans have been repeating them all day. Except you can’t defend a President who is exploiting our national security for personal political gain and is illegally obstructing Congress,” Brown said in a statement.
“The Trump White House just accidentally sent our office their talking points for deflecting trump’s treachery. They’re complete Orwellian lies and toxic trash, but maybe you’d like to read them to appreciate their corruption! Hazmat suit possibly required,” said Pascrell.
The email the Congressmen shared was headlined: “What You Need to Know, President Trump’s Call with President Zelenskyy.”
The talking points started with three alleged “myths” and “facts” about the phone call, including the claim that Trump made a “promise” to Zelensky in return for Ukraine investigating former Vice President Joe Biden and Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.
“Fact: there was no such promise. The president wanted allegations of corruption potentially involving an American official to be investigated,” the email stated.
The next portion said that what Trump spoke about with Zelensky “was entirely proper,” noting Zelensky brought up Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, first. Another part said there “was no quid pro quo for Ukraine to get U.S. aid in exchange for looking into Biden or his son” while another said that “the real scandal” was the leaks about Trump’s confidential call that triggered a slew of media reporters and, ultimately, an impeachment inquiry by House Democrats.
The email also outlined the steps the White House took to prepare for the release of the transcript, including speaking with Ukrainian leaders, and asserted that the complaint from a person who heard about the call “was handled absolutely by the book and it was properly determined that no further action should be taken.”
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