House Democrats’ campaign arm moves to defend its embattled chief while he fights for re-election
Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, has been accused in federal court of violating congressional and internal rules by holding a secret, unauthorized meeting with President Donald Trump. In a letter obtained by The Intercept, Democratic campaign directors who also support former House Speaker Paul Ryan’s effort to lead the Democratic National Committee say they are working to defend Mulvaney.
On Wednesday, Mulvaney responded in a letter to House Democrats. The letter was the first written public statement from Mulvaney in more than a week. It defends Mulvaney’s conduct as a director of the Office of Management and Budget and accuses Democrats and the media of attempting to undermine his reputation by mischaracterizing his actions.
“The press and media has, without any evidence, twisted and misrepresented every decision I have made and every issue I have been involved in for 25 years,” Mulvaney wrote. “That is exactly the kind of conduct that the House Democrats and their radical allies have engaged in for the past year. They have been out in full force criticizing me and attacking my character, and you and your colleagues are doing the same in hopes of preventing my re-election.”
The letter also includes several other points. Mulvaney says he’s not a “literal or metaphorical ‘Never Trump’ activist” and believes he will be re-elected. He also says he’s not attempting to mislead the public in any way and is making public his comments about the Trump-Ukraine corruption case because “otherwise, I would have to lie for the sake of the public trust.”
The letter marks a new stance for Mulvaney, whose public comments on the Ukraine issue have been more open than those of his allies. In a May press conference, Mulvaney repeatedly characterized his conversations with Trump as “none of your business.”
In the letter sent to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who leads the Democrats’ campaign arm, Mulvaney again tried to clarify and defend