Fox News host Chris Wallace accused White House senior adviser Stephen Miller of attempting to hide potentially corrupt details of President Trump’s relationship with Ukraine.
Miller appeared on Fox News Sunday, Wallace’s weekend show, to defend the Trump administration’s decision to withhold military aid from Ukraine, as well as Trump’s decision to hire three private attorneys to investigate dealings between the Obama administration and Ukraine.
Miller and Wallace also clashed on the credibility of a CIA whistleblower twho filed a complaint with the Department of Justice inspector general alleging Trump established a quid pro quo deal with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden in exchange for U.S. military aid.
“I have worked in the federal government now for nearly three years. I know what the deep state looks like. I know the difference between a whistleblower and a deep state operative,” Miller said after Wallace pressed him on a claim that the whistleblower is a partisan actor.
Wallace dismissed Miller’s point at “rhetoric” and pointed out that the DOJ inspector general found the whistleblower’s complaint to be credible. Wallace also said that acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire testified that he thought the whistleblower was acting honestly.
Wallace then asked Miller why Trump is choosing to use private attorneys to investigate Biden’s role in getting a Ukrainian prosecutor fired instead of going through the State and Justice departments. Biden held up $1 billion in U.S. loan guarantees to force Ukraine to fire its chief prosecutor for alleged corruption. At the time, the prosecutor was considering launching an investigation of a Ukrainian company of which Biden’s son sat on the board.
“Giuliani, among others, is looking [Biden’s role in Ukraine],” Miller said. “It is proper and natural for, frankly, anybody concerned about the future of Ukraine and the United States to want to know information about corrupt dealings.”
The Fox host accused Miller of evading the question and moved on, asking why Trump originally decided to withhold aid military from Ukraine.
Trump froze the aid package because of his long-held belief that the European Union and others should do more for themselves and Ukraine, Miller said.
“With all due respect, this is an exercise in obfuscation,” Wallace told Miller.
