Republicans: ‘Deceitful’ for Democrats to Release ‘Cherry-Picked’ Texts Without Full Volker Testimony

Kurt Volker
Zach Gibson/Getty Images
Sean Moran

House Republicans said Friday that it’s “deceitful” for Democrats to release “cherry-picked” text messages from then-U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker without the full transcript.

The House Intelligence Committee released a text message conversation between then-U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Volker to a Ukrainian adviser that reportedly showed that it was important to the White House that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky convince President Donald Trump that an investigation would occur into the 2016 presidential election.

“Heard from the White House — assuming President Z convinces trump he will investigate/’get to the bottom of what happened’ in 2016, we will nail down date for visit to Washington,” Volker reportedly texted a Ukrainian adviser in July.

While House Democrats may contend that the selected text messages may show that the Trump administration was trying to push the Ukrainian government to investigate matters relating to the 2016 presidential election, many Republicans said Friday that the full Volker transcript does not show any quid pro quo or pressure on the European nation to take action.

Reps. Mark Meadows (R-NC), Jim Jordan (R-OH), and Lee Zeldin (R-NY) called for the release the full Volker transcript.

Jordan wrote in a tweet Friday, “When the American people get to read the transcript of Ambassador Volker’s testimony, they will see: -No quid pro quo -No pressure AND they’ll see that everyone involved was working both for America’s interests and for the success and security of Ukraine.”

“There’s a reason why Adam Schiff released cherry-picked text messages and not the transcript of the Volker interview. It’s because he’s misleading,” Meadows contended. “Again. The actual interview directly undermined Democrats’ impeachment effort. Release the transcript. Show Americans the truth.”

Rep. Zeldin wrote, “Amb Volker just put a dagger in the heart of Schiff’s fairy tale claims of quid pro quo. While House Democrats may prefer cherry picking the Ambassador’s texts without the other 99% of the story, they should release the entire transcript of yesterday’s marathon interview ASAP!”

Further, the House Oversight Republicans fact-checked media reports suggesting that Bill Taylor, a senior U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, expressed concerns over America’s withholding of foreign assistance relating to Ukraine. However, as the Volker told the House Oversight Committee Thursday, Taylor’s knowledge was from an August 28 Politico article, not because “Taylor had any independent information.”

The House Oversight Republicans said it was “deceitful for Democrats to release” “cherry-picked texts without full context of Volker’s testimony.”

Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.

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