Thread by @K8brannen

One of the main talking points from the White House and Trump supporters these days is that the whistleblower claimed that Trump discussed a quid pro quo on his phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky.

This is not true.

The whistleblower's description of the call contains nothing about a quid pro quo or a reference to the halt to Ukrainian military assistance.

The whistleblower raises Trump's decision to withhold the military funding later in his complaint, clearly saying he's not sure if it's connected to the overall pressure campaign.

Trump supporters are saying: Look, the whistleblower's complaint does not match the call memo released by the White House, so his credibility is shot.

But this is completely made up.

Enter Trump ...

Yesterday, he claimed the whistleblower said Trump actually said the words "quid pro quo."

"Didn’t he say, seven or eight times, I said 'quid pro quo'?" Trump said at the presser.

Which would be hilarious if that's how it actually went down ...

Trump to Zelensky: Hey, let's do a quid pro quo ...

Anyway, it's all a mess of lies that they can't even keep straight.

The End.

PS When offering a quid pro quo, you'd don't need to use the words "quid pro quo." A better way is to withhold something of extreme value (say millions of dollars in desperately needed military funding) and then make your ask.