GOP lawmaker: ‘No Intel people on our side’ have corroborated claims of Ukrainian 2016 interference

Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Fla.) countered the Republican argument that Ukraine interfered in the 2016 election Tuesday, saying “no Intel people on our side” have corroborated that narrative.

Rooney told CNN that he was “disturbed by the pre-factual judgement” of his colleagues supporting the Ukrainian interference narrative without facts to back it up.

“No Intel people on our side of things have corroborated any Ukrainian influence in the 2016 campaign,” he said on CNN.

President Trump and other GOP lawmakers have pushed the narrative throughout the impeachment proceedings after Trump asked the Ukrainian president to look into interference in the 2016 election. 

{mosads}The House launched an impeachment inquiry into the president when a whistleblower report alleged Trump asked Ukraine about the unfounded claims of election interference and about investigating former Vice President Joe Biden in exchange for military aid and a White House visit. 

It is widely accepted that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to support Trump, as former special counsel Robert Mueller wrote in his report released earlier this year.

Democrats are recruiting Rooney to vote for impeachment in the House Wednesday. The Florida representative plans to retire after this term.