Trump Communications Director Says Impeachment Inquiry Is 'Witch Hunt'
BOSTON (CBS) - Marc Lotter, the Strategic Communications Director for President Trump's campaign, says the campaign will remain focused despite the impeachment inquiry.
In an interview with WBZ-TV's Paula Ebben in Boston Wednesday, Lotter said the Democrats have made a mistake moving from the Mueller investigation to the impeachment inquiry and says the president is being held to a double standard.
"Every day that ends in 'y' for two and a half years they have been seeking to impeach President Donald Trump," Lotter said.
Paula Ebben: "You're going to hear things like this today - for instance from Judge Andrew Napolitano - 'Trump's act of corruption with Ukraine is the most serious charge he's faced.' He says that it is a crime for the president to solicit aid for his campaign from a foreign government."
Marc Lotter: "I would disagree with Judge Napolitano in terms of that he was looking to deal with corruption, you actually have- remember Joe Biden went to Ukraine as Vice President of the United States and said if you don't fire a prosecutor, who happened to be investigating a company tied to his son, I will hold one billion dollars in loan guarantees."
Ebben: "That was a different situation though, because many European leaders had all asked and talked to the administration."
Lotter: "I am not aware that any of those European leaders had a son who was working for the company that was being investigated at the time. And so you have to look at this broader context."
Ebben: "As soon as they ask him for help with defense he says but I need you to do me a favor - so isn't that implicit quid pro quo, you are not going to get the money unless you look into Joe Biden for me?"
Lotter: "When you look at the transcript, it was actually the President of Ukraine who brought up Rudy Giuliani first, it was not brought up by the president. The president was responding."
"When you are President of the United States, we have to deal with these corruption issues we have to deal with potential foreign interference in our elections."
Ebben: "But he didn't ask about foreign interference - he asked specifically about Joe Biden."
Lotter: "When he was talking about the issues of what I think is referred to as 'CrowdStrike' and other things going on in that transcript, that is what that is in reference to."
Ebben: "What do you think about Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and Lt. Governor Karyn Polito not supporting the President?"
Lotter: "Oh I think that's a choice that they have to make on their own but I can say that Massachusetts is succeeding - it's doing well and it's doing better under President Trump than what it had been doing in the past."
Ebben: "Nobody has a crystal ball, but how do you expect this whole impeachment inquiry to go?"
Lotter: "Well I think it's going to be, it's absolutely a witch hunt, again. This is the latest attempt for them to try to do this. But if the Democrats and the leaders and the squad and Nancy Pelosi are insistent upon dragging the country through that, I think the Senate will do its duty and the president will be vindicated."
Lotter also added he doesn't believe it matters if President Trump's Democrat opponent is Joe Biden or Elizabeth Warren or anyone else, because the 2020 Democratic field has aligned itself with unpopular positions.