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And now we enter Phase 5:

Trump’s latest on the content of the Ukraine call: “I did not make a statement that ‘you have to do this or I’m not going to give you aid.’ I wouldn’t do that. I wouldn’t do that.” — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 23, 2019

Trump didn’t literally say “If you don’t investigate Biden you’ll never see a dime of American money.” He just made sure they understood. And that makes it all different.

Today is September 23, and I’ll note for the record that there is still virtually no breaking of ranks among Republicans over this. Mitt Romney and Susan Collins have expressed some modest concern, but that’s about it. It’s especially noteworthy that Republicans in Congress haven’t called for the whistleblower complaint to be released to Congress, as required by law. They care more about protecting Trump than they do about their own branch of government being shat on.