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Vice President Mike Pence privately counseled President Trump against releasing the rough transcript of the president’s call with his Ukrainian counterpart, but eventually sided with others in the White House arguing in favor of its release.
The vice president raised concerns about the precedent the release would set, but ultimately fell in line behind Trump, who felt he had no choice but to release it. Trump told aides he felt the messaging had gotten away from the White House and that releasing the document was his only option in the battle for public opinion.
Pence said Wednesday the document shows that Trump’s threat to withhold aid in return for investigating Joe Biden and his son “just never happened.”
An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com.
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