Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) tried to defend Trump by saying that Obama should have been impeached for withholding Ukraine military aid, but Obama didn’t withhold aid.
Gaetz said at Judiciary Committee’s markup of articles of impeachment, “I hear my friend no New York Mr. Jeffries bring up Russia, the residue of impeachment theories past and failed, how is debating about how are we here debating about military aid, Javelins, that President Trump delivered, that President Obama withheld. I hear them crying the alligator tears, Trump didn’t give the aid, we have to impeach him. Where was the concern about how to make Thebo Ukraine great when Obama was president?”
Video:
Matt Gaetz falsely claims that Obama should have been impeached for withholding Ukraine aid. (Obama never withheld Ukraine aid). pic.twitter.com/PzkaL5CCnN
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— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) December 12, 2019
PolitiFact has already debunked this lie from Gaetz, “Obama did not permanently stop military aid to Ukraine. The element of truth in Gaetz’s statement is the Obama administration did not provide lethal military aid that Ukraine asked for in 2014. However, it did provide other military equipment and training. The United States has provided $1.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since 2014, on average $300 million a year.”
Rep. Gaetz is lying. His claim that Democrats only want to impeach a president for withholding aid to Ukraine is false. Trump isn’t being impeached for the withholding of aid. He is being impeached because he withheld aid in a scheme to force Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden.
Gaetz is embarrassing himself, as he distorted facts and twisted himself into knots in an effort to defend the indefensible Trump.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
