Donald Trump has repeatedly referred to his call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky as a "perfect phone call." He's also declared that even if he did ask Zelensky to investigate the business dealing of Joe Biden's son Hunter, "it doesn't matter." He was quick to add though, "Someone ought to look into Joe Biden."

Despite those assurances, the Trump administration still seems eager to spread the fault around, and apparently to more people than just Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. According to Axios, during a conference call with House Republicans on Friday, the president also roped in his head of the Department of Energy, former Texas governor Rick Perry. At least three sources have confirmed the comments to Axios:

Per the sources, Trump rattled off the same things he has been saying publicly — that his call with Zelensky was "perfect"and he did nothing wrong. But he then threw Perry into the mix and said something to the effect of: "Not a lot of people know this but, I didn't even want to make the call. The only reason I made the call was because Rick asked me to. Something about an LNG [liquefied natural gas] plant," one source said, recalling the president's comments. 2 other sources confirmed the first source's recollection.

It's curious timing, since earlier in the week Politico reported that Perry was planning to step down, despite being one of the few hangers-on to still have his position since Trump took office. In a statement, spokesperson Shaylyn Hynes confirmed that Perry did urge the president to speak with Zelensky but made no mention of the Bidens. "Secretary Perry absolutely supported and encouraged the president to speak to the new President of Ukraine to discuss matters related to their energy security and economic development," she wrote. In a follow-up email with Bloomburg, Hynes added, "[Perry] continues to believe that there is significant need for improved regional energy security—which is exactly why he is heading to Lithuania tonight to meet with nearly two dozen European energy leaders (including Ukraine) on these issues."

Meanwhile, the attorneys for the whistleblower whose complaint started this whole headache have confirmed that they are representing more than one whistleblower, and the second one reportedly has "first-hand knowledge" of the call. Which means that more Trump appointees may soon discover that the call is their fault as well.