All the evidence the Republicans need is written in the reconstructed White House transcript
"...the Trump call with Zelensky took place a day after Robert Mueller testified before Congress about the Russia investigation and about whether Mr. Trump had obstructed justice..."
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| Speaker of the House Nancy D'Alesandro Pelosi |
Read the White House transcript:
Trump left Speaker Pelosi no option but impeachment inquiryRevelations about the president pressuring a foreign government to investigate a political rival crossed a line.
An editorial echo published in The Mercury News, a California newspaper:
Donald Trump’s behavior left House Speaker Nancy Pelosi no choice but to open the fourth impeachment inquiry in the nation’s history.
Congress and the country cannot ignore actions by Trump that have come to light in the past two weeks. They cannot ignore White House stonewalling that eased only after Pelosi on Tuesday announced the formal investigation.
Pelosi had for months resisted calls for an impeachment inquiry. But for Pelosi, and for us, the latest revelations about Trump’s pressuring of a foreign government to investigate his political rival crossed a line, making it essential that the House launch a formal impeachment inquiry.
As Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky requested U.S. assistance to help fend off Russian aggression, Trump replied by pressing for a foreign investigation of unsubstantiated allegations about former Vice President Joe Biden. It’s all there in the reconstructed transcript, released Wednesday, of the July 25 conversation between the two men.
Trump and his allies claim that the president never expressed a clear quid pro quo in his conversation with Zelensky. But Trump didn’t need to explicitly say what was obvious — that Ukraine needs our nation’s support and protection if it has any hope of survival.
What Trump didn’t tell Zelensky was that he was blocking $391 million of security assistance for the country. But, according to the intelligence officer who blew the whistle on Trump’s action, Ukrainian leaders understood that they needed to show willingness to “play ball” before Trump would even talk to Zelensky.
Has Trump gone too far? Has he committed an impeachable offense? Do his actions constitute “high crimes and misdemeanors”? Ultimately that’s a question the House of Representatives must decide as it determines whether to impeach him – and for the Senate to determine if it tries him.
Before they and the nation try to answer that question, the president’s actions must be thoroughly investigated.
Unfortunately, the Trump administration has repeatedly resisted attempts by members of Congress to carry out their oversight responsibilities. In this case, until the impeachment inquiry was formally launched, the White House had balked at releasing the reconstructed transcript and the whistle-blower letter.
The president’s behavior is, as U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, put it, “deeply troubling.” It must be investigated.
After more than two years of national discussion about protecting our elections from foreign influence, the president – personally – solicited outside interference.
Congress and the country cannot ignore actions by Trump that have come to light in the past two weeks. They cannot ignore White House stonewalling that eased only after Pelosi on Tuesday announced the formal investigation.
Pelosi had for months resisted calls for an impeachment inquiry. But for Pelosi, and for us, the latest revelations about Trump’s pressuring of a foreign government to investigate his political rival crossed a line, making it essential that the House launch a formal impeachment inquiry.
As Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky requested U.S. assistance to help fend off Russian aggression, Trump replied by pressing for a foreign investigation of unsubstantiated allegations about former Vice President Joe Biden. It’s all there in the reconstructed transcript, released Wednesday, of the July 25 conversation between the two men.
Trump and his allies claim that the president never expressed a clear quid pro quo in his conversation with Zelensky. But Trump didn’t need to explicitly say what was obvious — that Ukraine needs our nation’s support and protection if it has any hope of survival.
What Trump didn’t tell Zelensky was that he was blocking $391 million of security assistance for the country. But, according to the intelligence officer who blew the whistle on Trump’s action, Ukrainian leaders understood that they needed to show willingness to “play ball” before Trump would even talk to Zelensky.
Has Trump gone too far? Has he committed an impeachable offense? Do his actions constitute “high crimes and misdemeanors”? Ultimately that’s a question the House of Representatives must decide as it determines whether to impeach him – and for the Senate to determine if it tries him.
Before they and the nation try to answer that question, the president’s actions must be thoroughly investigated.
Unfortunately, the Trump administration has repeatedly resisted attempts by members of Congress to carry out their oversight responsibilities. In this case, until the impeachment inquiry was formally launched, the White House had balked at releasing the reconstructed transcript and the whistle-blower letter.
The president’s behavior is, as U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, put it, “deeply troubling.” It must be investigated.
After more than two years of national discussion about protecting our elections from foreign influence, the president – personally – solicited outside interference.
Labels: CBS News, Donald Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Nancy D'Alesandro Pelosi, Robert Mueller, The Mercury News, Volodymr Zelensky
posted by Juliana L'Heureux | 12:57 AM
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