But Republicans who believe Ukraine intervened against Trump argue the allegations paint a more accurate picture of what happened three years ago. With the House headed toward impeaching Trump by Christmas, Republicans who are convinced of Ukraine’s intervention in the 2016 race say that a full explanation of what happened, with supporting witnesses, would completely puncture the Democrats’ case for impeachment during a Senate trial.

“A Senate trial done properly, with about a dozen witnesses that Republicans didn’t get to call, is a disaster the Democrats — a total and complete disaster,” Rep. Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, told the Washington Examiner. In House impeachment hearings, the Democrats blocked several witnesses from testifying, witnesses Republicans wanted to hear from to bolster Trump’s defense.

The shift of skeptical Republicans toward a message that accommodates at least the possibility Kyiv inserted itself into the 2016 election is at least in part a tacit acknowledgment that the Democrats’ bid to drive Trump from office over charges of an abuse of power has solidified the president’s grip on Republican voters heading into the 2020 election.