Schiff says Mulvaney walk-back not ‘the least bit credible’

White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney’s walk-back of comments indicating the Trump administration held up aid to Ukraine to ensure it investigated issues related to the 2016 election was not “the least bit credible,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Friday. 

“What’s your reaction to the Mulvaney walk-back last night? Was that enough to satisfy your concerns?” CNN’s Manu Raju asked Schiff Friday. 

{mosads}”I didn’t find it the least bit credible,” he responded. 

“Why is that?” Raju asked. 

“I think it’s pretty obvious,” Schiff said.

Question: “What’s your reaction to the Mulvaney walkback last night? Was that enough to satisfy your concerns?”

Rep. Adam Schiff: “I didn’t find in the least bit credible.”

Question: “Why is that?”

Rep. Adam Schiff: “I think it’s pretty obvious.” pic.twitter.com/zMS8S9LuT4

— The Hill (@thehill) October 18, 2019

Mulvaney issued a statement Thursday afternoon accusing the media of “misconstruing” his earlier remarks that suggested there was a quid pro quo deal between the U.S. and Ukraine that led the Trump administration to withhold approved military aid.

Mulvaney at the earlier news conference said the nearly $400 million in assistance was held up in part because Trump wanted Kiev to investigate an unproven conspiracy theory about Ukraine’s involvement in the hack of the Democratic National Committee server in 2016. 

Those on-camera remarks contradicted repeated statements from officials who had insisted there was never a quid pro quo between Trump and Ukraine involving the aid, which had been help up by the administration. It was eventually delivered.

Schiff, a key player in the impeachment drive by House Democrats who is a frequent target of the president’s, told reporters Thursday that Mulvaney’s “acknowledgment” of such a move “means that things have gone from very, very bad to much, much worse.”