Democrats reached a breaking point on Tuesday and Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House will begin a formal impeachment inquiry of President Trump in response to allegations that he pressured a foreign leader for political gain.
“Today I’m announcing the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry,” Pelosi said at the Capitol after 5 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, setting up a constitutional clash a year before the 2020 presidential election.
“The actions taken to date by the president have seriously violated the Constitution,” Pelosi said after a meeting of House Democrats in the Capitol. Trump “must be held accountable. No one is above the law,” she said.
The Trump administration has withheld a whistleblower complaint from Congress that alleges Trump pressured the president of Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.
Trump allies, especially his attorney Rudy Giuliani, accused Biden of trying while he was vice president to get a Ukrainian prosecutor removed in order to benefit his son, CBS News reported.
No evidence of wrongdoing on Biden’s part has emerged.
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The Trump administration’s actions undermine the country’s national security, intelligence and the protections of the whistleblowers, Pelosi said. “The actions of the Trump presidency revealed dishonorable facts of the president’s betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections.”
Trump said he’ll release the transcript of the call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that is part of the whistleblower complaint.
“You will see it was a very friendly and totally appropriate call. No pressure and, unlike Joe Biden and his son, NO quid pro quo!” the president tweeted Tuesday afternoon.
However, the whistleblower wants to testify before the House Intelligence Committee, said Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff. Schiff tweeted that the whistleblower’s testimony could happen this week.
Comments on social media included “It’s a set-up”, “Second American Civil War”, “Let’s investigate the real criminal here @JoeBiden” (Hillary Clinton’s name was refreshingly absent) and “Thank you Speaker Pelosi for rallying Trump’s base.” Others were more congratulatory including these: “Bravo Nancy,” “It’s about damn time,” and “Hit it out the park!!!”
