Esper: We had to stop Trump team ideas for military action in Venezuela, Iran

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper told CBS in an interview broadcast Sunday he helped prevent a series of "dangerous things that could have taken the country in a dark direction" during his time in the Trump administration.

Driving the news: When CBS' Norah O'Donnell asked Esper during the "60 Minutes" interview for examples, he cited a proposal to "take military action against Venezuela," to "strike Iran" and, "at one point, somebody proposed we blockade Cuba."

Context: O'Donnell noted during the program that Ukraine was an "early source of tension" between Esper and then-President Trump.

• Esper documents in his book, "A Sacred Oath," that two days after his 2019 Senate confirmation, Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a "favor" during a phone call on aid to the country that ultimately led to Trump's first impeachment.
• Esper agreed with O'Donnell that he had to keep pressing Trump to release $250 million in aid to Ukraine. "It would be an argument after an argument. And I'd have to say, "Look, Mr. President, at the end of the day, Congress appropriated. It's the law. We have to do it," he added.