Impeachment probe: Trump seethes, hits out at his critics
Accuses Congressional Democrats of harassing state dept for documents related to probe
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump is seething over an impeachment inquiry into his conduct after Democrats subpoenaed the White House about contacts with Ukraine and he signaled his administration would not cooperate.
In a series of tweets on Saturday, sent as the presidential motorcade ferried him to his Virginia golf course, Trump defended his comments and lashed out at critics. “This is a fraud against the American people!” he tweeted. The inquiry reached deeper into the White House when the House of Representatives sent a letter Friday to Trump’s acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, informing him that the White House was being subpoenaed for documents it had refused to produce. The move capped a tumultuous week that widened the constitutional battle between the executive branch and Congress and heightened the political standoff with more witnesses, testimony and documents to come.
Trump received support from secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who dismissed questions about Trump’s attempts to push Ukraine and China to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden as a “silly gotcha game.”
“The president has every right to have these set of conversations,” Pompeo told reporters while travelling in Greece. He insisted the administration’s foreign efforts were reasonable, responsible and necessary to target graft, ensure aid is spent properly and protect American democracy. “There has been some suggestion somehow that it would be inappropriate for the United States government to engage in that activity and I see it just precisely the opposite,” he said. It is illegal to solicit campaign help from a foreign government.
Trump, who has described his conduct as “perfect,” said on Friday he would formally object to Congress’s impeachment inquiry, even as he acknowledged that Democrats “have the votes” to proceed. Still, he predicted such a move would hurt them politically.
Democrats warned that defying the House subpoena would in itself be considered “evidence of obstruction” and a potentially impeachable offence. Lawmakers are focused on Trump’s efforts to push Ukraine investigate former Vice President Biden and his son Hunter. A whistleblower complaint said Trump sought to use military assistance for Ukraine as leverage to push President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to launch an inquiry into them.