During this impeachment inquiry into Trump’s illegal dealings with foreign governments, many things have come to light, resulting in the now formal impeachment proceedings set to begin after a House vote on Thursday. One of the things we’ve seen in the news of late was the use of the term “quid pro quo,” which is essentially a fancy Latin phrase “used in English to mean an exchange of goods or services, in which one transfer is contingent upon the other; ‘a favor for a favor.'” Basically a “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” statement. The House now has evidence based on testimony from Trump ally, Gordon Sondland, that Trump did indeed have a “quid pro quo” with Ukraine.
Watch:
This testimony sent Republicans scrambling, and as the Washington Post reported late Friday, some members of the GOP are even banding together to come up with a “yes, he had a quid pro quo with Ukraine, but it’s not illegal” defense, which is just moronic.
According to reports:
‘An increasing number of GOP senators are preparing to acknowledge that there was a quid pro quo in President Trump’s leveraging of military aid with Ukraine as a means to urge the country to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden.
While some Senate Republicans have defended Trump’s insistence that there was no quid pro quo, a growing number of GOP officials in the chamber are adopting the stance that what Trump did was a quid pro quo but that his actions weren’t illegal and don’t constitute impeachment, the Post reported.
‘No Senate Republican has said the accusations against Trump rise to the level of an impeachable offense, but the continued damaging revelations against the president are quashing hopes that there could be a quick dismissal of the allegations against him, prompting lawmakers to adopt a more somber tone.’
The Post also pointed out that this change in tone came after a secret GOP lunch on Friday, when Senator John Kennedy (R-LA), reportedly stated:
‘there may have been quid pro quo but that the leveraging of military aid to another country is something the U.S. government does often.’
Kennedy later told the paper:
‘To me, this entire issue is going to come down to, why did the president ask for an investigation.
‘To me, it all turns on intent, motive. … Did the president have a culpable state of mind? … Based on the evidence that I see, that I’ve been allowed to see, the president does not have a culpable state of mind.’
We’ll see what comes from this, if anything, but one thing’s for certain — it’s impossible to explain this away now that it’s out in the open. They are wasting their time trying to do it. Why these Republicans keep fighting for and supporting a monster like Trump is beyond me.
Featured image via screenshot.
