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A2 U.S. NEWS
Friday 25 OctOber 2019
Trump confronts the limits of impeachment defense strategy

By ZEKE MILLER, JILL COLVIN that Republicans are not in-
and JONATHAN LEMIRE volved, though GOP mem-
Associated Press bers can ask questions right
WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- alongside the Democrats.
dent Donald Trump is con- The contradictions are tell-
fronting the limits of his main ing.
impeachment defense. On Thursday, GOP Sen.
As the probe hits the one- Lindsey Graham of South
month mark, Trump and his Carolina, a top ally of
aides have largely ignored Trump, introduced a resolu-
the details of the Ukraine tion condemning the Dem-
allegations against him. ocratic-controlled House
Instead, they're loudly ob- for pursuing a "closed door,
jecting to the House Demo- illegitimate impeachment
crats' investigation process, inquiry." Senate Majority
using that as justification Leader Mitch McConnell is
for ordering administration a co-sponsor of that mea-
officials not to cooperate sure.
and complaining about But Graham also said he's
what they deem prejudi- talked to Mulvaney about
cial, even unconstitutional, what seems to be a lacklus-
secrecy. ter White House pushback.
But as a near-daily drip Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of President Donald Trump's chief GOP During President Bill Clin-
allies, says he will introduce a resolution condemning the Democratic-controlled House for
of derogatory evidence pursuing a "closed door, illegitimate impeachment inquiry," during a news conference at the ton's impeachment, Gra-
emerges from closed-door Capitol in Washington,Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019. ham said, "he had a team
testimony on Capitol Hill, Associated Press that was organized, had
the White House assertion House orders. Asked about "It's like you're fighting were arrested in connec- legal minds that could un-
that the proceedings are criticism that the White a ghost, you're fighting tion with Ukraine. Com- derstand what was being
unfair is proving to be a House lacks a coordinated against the air. So we're plaining privately and pub- said versus the legal pro-
less-than-compelling coun- pushback effort and could doing the best we can," licly that Democrats "stick ceedings in question. And
ter to the mounting threat do a better job delivering she said on Fox News. together" better than the they were on message
to Trump's presidency. its message, spokeswoman It was a rare public admis- GOP, Trump has leaned on every day." Republicans
Some senior officials have Stephanie Grisham said, sion from the White House Republican congressional have been complaining
complied with congres- "It's hard to message any- that despite the president's allies to do more, accord- for weeks that the Trump
sional subpoenas to as- thing that's going on be- bravado, real risks remain. ing to White House officials White House has no such
sist House Democratic in- hind closed doors and in White House officials, who and Republicans close to defense system in place
vestigators, defying White secret." have been treating uni- the West Wing. They spoke — partly a result of the in-
fied Republican support on condition of anonymity ability to identify qualified
for Trump as a given, have because they were not au- talent but also Trump's own
grown increasingly fear- thorized to publicly discuss qualms about projecting
ful of GOP defections in a private conversations. concern in the face of the
House impeachment vote At first, Trump was angry investigation.
and a potential Senate trial. that his surrogates failed "I think they're working on
While they do not believe to defend him effectively. getting a messaging team
there will be enough votes Those included House Mi- together," Graham said.
to remove the president, as nority Leader Kevin McCar- Democrats reject Trump
Democrats hope, the West thy, who stumbled through arguments that the House
Wing believes more must a "60 Minutes" interview. interview process is unfair,
be done to shore up Re- Trump urged the GOP ear- and White House officials
publican support to avoid lier this week to fight back, privately acknowledge
embarrassment and genu- a lesson that was taken to their legal objections may
ine political peril. heart by a group of conser- not win the day. But they
Trump himself has been up- vative Republicans, includ- believe it's a political argu-
set with his own top aides ing members of the Free- ment that will hold sway
— including Grisham and dom Caucus, who stormed with the American people.
acting chief of staff Mick a Capitol Hill hearing room However, the White House
Mulvaney — for not suffi- on Wednesday to disrupt strategy comes with an
ciently changing the story testimony in the probe. expiration date: In coming
line. Instead he relies on Trump allies cheered that weeks, the closed-door tes-
his Twitter account and maneuver, believing it timony will give way to pub-
Q&A sessions with report- showed that Republicans lic hearings. Democrats are
ers to launch daily attacks throughout Washington expected to call a narrow
on the probe. And while were coming to grips with group of witnesses to tes-
Trump's personal lawyer, the severity of the situation. tify that Trump encouraged
Rudy Giuliani, has added But the GOP complaints still Ukraine to conduct investi-
to the smoke screen, much are largely about process gations that could benefit
as he did during the Rus- and may have limited po- him politically in 2020 and
sia probe, the former New tency: Trump's defenders to address whether those
York City mayor has dra- are complaining that the requests were tied to con-
matically scaled back his interviews are being con- ditions for giving Ukraine
media appearances since ducted in secret, which military aid and a White
several of his associates may soon change, and House meeting.q