Trump is reportedly blaming Rick Perry for his infamous call with the Ukrainian president
- President Donald Trump reportedly told House Republicans on Friday that he hadn't wanted to make his now-infamous call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but that Energy Secretary Rick Perry asked him to.
- Axios reported Saturday, citing three sources on the call, that Trump had called his July 25 call with Zelensky "perfect," but sought to diminish his own role in the conversation.
- During the Zelensky call, Trump had pressed the foreign leader to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.
- The call has plunged the Trump administration into controversy in recent weeks and sparked an impeachment inquiry.
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President Donald Trump told House Republicans on Friday that he hadn't even wanted to call Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — and that he had only done so at the urging of Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Axios reported Saturday.
The notorious July 25 phone call has plunged the Trump administration into controversy and sparked an impeachment inquiry.
A recently released memo summarizing Trump and Zelensky's call revealed that Trump had pressed the foreign leader to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.
But Trump told House Republicans on Friday that the July 25 call was "perfect" and that he did nothing wrong, but that he had been reluctant to make the call, Axios reported, citing three sources who were on Friday's call.
"Not a lot of people know this but, I didn't even want to make the call," Trump reportedly said, according to one source who recalled the comments. "The only reason I made the call was because Rick asked me to. Something about an LNG [liquified natural gas] plant."
Another source on the call told Axios that Trump warned that "more of this will be coming out in the next few days."
The news comes shortly after reports emerged that Perry was set to announce his resignation by the end of November.
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- Trump brought up Joe Biden during a June phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping
- Trump reportedly personally ordered the removal of ambassador to Ukraine after people said she was impeding Biden investigations
- Newly revealed text messages show Trump diplomats' internal turmoil over his pressure on Ukraine
- 2 top Trump deputies drafted a statement for Ukraine's president committing him to pursuing political investigations for Trump