NBC News reporter Leigh Ann Caldwell tried to get Rep. Mark Meadows' (R-NC) attention on Capitol Hill on Wednesday during her broadcast on the impeachment inquiry. He walked briskly past her, until he heard her say that Republicans were "struggling" to defend President Trump.
"The Republicans are not struggling on anything," he abruptly told Caldwell's audience.
WATCH as @RepMarkMeadows pushes back on @MSNBC's impeachment spin in real time pic.twitter.com/ApEWpXAjUI
— Kyle Drennen (@kjdrennen) November 6, 2019
Caldwell then took the opportunity to ask a few follow-up questions. She wanted to know, for instance, how Meadows and his Republican colleagues can continue to defend President Trump when "only one" witness so far in the impeachment inquiry has said there was no quid pro quo in his phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky. Meadows corrected her to note there was more than one witness to reject the quid pro quo narrative, starting with former envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker. Interestingly, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) noted today, that's the one testimony the Democrats have been reluctant to release.
On Twitter Meadows expanded on how Ambassador Gordon Sondland's testimony upended the Democratic narrative too.
Seeing many overblown (and outright false) reports about Ambassador Sondland's testimony. Here's what he actually said.
— Mark Meadows (@RepMarkMeadows) November 5, 2019
1. I did not (and still don't) know why aid was held up
2. I "PRESUMED" it was because of corruption
3. I told Yermak my assumption
See paragraph 4 here: pic.twitter.com/STZ2vtrVsv
Still, Caldwell wondered if it was at least "getting harder" to defend Trump.
"Actually as we hear more testimony - and the testimony that we're hearing today - it's actually getting easier to defend the president," Meadows said. "From a standpoint there is no linkage between aid."
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff confirmed that public hearings in the impeachment inquiry will begin next Wednesday.