Nov 4, 2019

Conway: I don't know if Trump withheld aid to press Ukraine on Bidens

White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway speaks to journalists outside the White House, Oct. 25. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told CNN’s "State of the Union" Sunday she doesn't know if President Trump withheld Ukraine's military aid to encourage an investigation into his potential 2020 rival. But it's "unimpeachably true that Ukraine has that aid," she said.

Why it matters: The issue of whether Trump pressured Ukrainian President Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden during a July 25 phone call is central to a whistleblower complaint and subsequent impeachment inquiry.

What they're saying: Trump denies any "quid pro quo" took place, and Conway later told "Fox News Sunday" the issue was "hypothetical." "Is it a high crime and misdemeanor? I wouldn’t think so," she said.

Go deeper: Trump-Ukraine scandal: All the key players, dates and documents

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World coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

Countries where novel coronavirus cases are falling may be hit with a "second peak" if they relax restrictions too soon, World Health Organization emergencies chief Mike Ryan warned during a briefing Monday. "We're still very much in a phase where the disease is actually on the way up," he added.

By the numbers: Brazil on Monday recorded for the first time more deaths from the novel coronavirus in a single day than the United States, Reuters notes. Brazil reported 807 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, compared to 620 in the U.S. for the same period.

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Palantir CEO Alex Karp told "Axios on HBO" that there have "absolutely" been moments he wished the company hadn't taken a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

  • "Did I suffer? ... I've had some of my favorite employees leave," Karp told "Axios on HBO."
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Michigan governor won't apologize for coronavirus lockdown

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer defended the strictness of her state's coronavirus lockdown in an interview with "Axios on HBO," saying it was necessary — despite the protests that have drawn national attention — because of how quickly the state's cases were rising.

The big picture: Whitmer, who has been a frequent target of President Trump, insisted that she had to act in the face of a lack of federal leadership — and that thousands more people in her state would have died without the lockdown.

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