Trump 'blames Rick Perry for the Ukraine whistleblower phone call...

[Miloch]

...and says he made him do it' - as he throws the outgoing Energy Secretary
under the bus

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7542059/Trump-blames-Rick-Perry-Ukraine-whistleblower-phone-call-says-didnt-want-make-it.html

*President Trump held a conference call with House Republicans Friday

•During the call, Trump was said to have blamed Energy Secretary Rick Perry for
the controversial phone call mentioned in the whistleblower's complaint

•Trump said he didn't want to call Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, but
Perry urged him to do so

•Perry has come under House scrutiny for his recent trips to the Ukraine

•It was reported that Perry is expected to resign from his position in November

President Trump is said to be blaming Energy Secretary Rick Perry for his now
infamous phone call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, which
ultimately led to the whistleblower complaint.

Axios reported that Trump made the claim during a conference call with House
Republicans on Friday. Sources told the news site that Perry urged him to make
the call.

According to the sources, Trump continued to beat the drum about how 'perfect'
his call with Zelensky was and that he hadn't done anything wrong during the
call.

One of the sources recounted that Trump had said something along the lines of 'I
didn't even want to make the call' and that the only reason Trump did so was
because Perry had asked him to and that a liquified natural gas plant was
involved.

Two other sources confirmed to Axios this account of the conference call.

Another source said that Trump, referring to Perry, had told House Republicans
that 'more of this will be coming out in the next few days.'

On Thursday, the day before Trump's call with House Republicans, Politico
reported that Perry is expected to resign in November, citing three sources that
were familiar with the former Texas governor's plans. Perry was said to have
been planning his resignation for several months.

Although Perry has been able to steer clear of the various controversies that
have embroiled and led to the exit of others in Trump's administration, he is
now facing impeachment inquiry scrutiny over his recent trips to the Ukraine.

Perry, taking the place of Vice President Pence, led the US delegation to the
Ukraine for Zelensky's May inauguration, leading Democrats to question Perry for
more information about both the trip and his talks with Ukrainian leaders.

The House has also subpoenaed Rudy Giuliani for documents related to Perry's
'involvement with Ukrainian leaders last spring,' according to Axios.

This, despite Perry claiming that neither Joe nor Hunter Biden's names were
brought up while he was in the Ukraine and that there does not appear to be any
evidence that Perry was involved in the act of pressuring Ukrainian officials to
investigate the Bidens.

In fact, recently released text messages exchanged by Trump administration
officials and Zelensky's top aide, Andrey Yermak, appear to suggest that
Giuliani - in his role as Trump's personal lawyer - was the one pushing for the
call between the two leaders. There also does not seem to be any message of
Perry having been involved in the call planning.

Neither Perry nor the liquified natural gas plant that Trump supposedly
mentioned during Friday's conference call with House Republicans was mentioned
in the five-page memo of the Trump-Zelensky call that was released by the White
House after the whistleblower complaint went public.

Perry's spokesperson told Axios that the Energy Secretary 'absolutely supported
and encouraged the president to speak to the new president of Ukraine to discuss
matters related to their energy security and economic development.'

The spokesperson also added that Perry 'continues to believe that there is
significant need for improved regional energy security' and that this belief is
why he is traveling to Lithuania Sunday to discuss these issues during a
Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation (P-TEC) meeting.

Among the nearly two dozen Central and Eastern European energy leaders attending
will be one from the Ukraine.

The White House did not respond to Axios' request for a comment on Trump's call
with House Republicans.

However, the White House spokesperson said that a conference call with House
Republicans took place Friday.

According to the spokesperson, Trump discussed recent unemployment figures, in
addition to what the spokesperson called 'Democrats’ refusal to focus on
solutions that would help the American people as they attempt to overturn the
result of the 2016 election.'

The White House spokesperson confirmed that Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy,
Whip Steve Scalise, Conference Chair Liz Cheney and other Republican leaders on
key House committees were on the call, according to The Hill.

Perry was not mentioned in the conference call readout.

The whistleblower's complaint brought to light a July 25 call between Trump and
Zelensky, during with the current US President asked the Ukrainian President to
investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, who recently
sat on the board of a Ukraine-based energy company. The complaint led to the
House's impeachment inquiry.




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