"President Trump told House Republicans that he made his now infamous phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the urging of Energy Secretary Rick Perry — a call Trump claimed he didn’t even want to make.

Behind the scenes: Trump made these comments during a conference call with House members on Friday, according to 3 sources on the call.

Per the sources, Trump rattled off the same things he has been saying publicly — that his call with Zelensky was "perfect"and he did nothing wrong.

But he then threw Perry into the mix and said something to the effect of: "Not a lot of people know this but, I didn't even want to make the call. The only reason I made the call was because Rick asked me to. Something about an LNG [liquefied natural gas] plant," one source said, recalling the president's comments. 2 other sources confirmed the first source's recollection."

Alayna Treene and Jonathan Swan report for Axios October 5, 2019. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Spokeswoman: Perry Encouraged Trump To Focus On Energy, Economy In Ukraine Call" (The Hill) [3]

"Rick Perry's Role In Ukraine Under Scrutiny" (Washington Post) [4]

"AP Sources: Trump Allies Sought Changes At Ukraine Utility" (AP) [5]

"Rick Perry Planning To Step Down As Energy Secretary By Year End" (Washington Post) [6]