Trump meets Russian official as charges revealed
US President Donald Trump met with the Russian foreign minister at the White House just hours after articles of impeachment were unveiled against him yesterday, and a day after a Justice Department watchdog report said the FBI was justified in opening an investigation into ties between Moscow and Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Washington, his first since May 2017, was overshadowed by the introduction of Ukraine-related impeachment articles by the House of Representatives, and Trump’s complaints about the watchdog’s report.
Lavrov met earlier with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who warned against Russian interference in US elections. Lavrov repeated denials of Russian interference, calling them ‘‘baseless’’.
Special counsel Robert Mueller, who took over the TrumpRussia investigation from the FBI, determined that Russia interfered in the election in an effort to help Trump beat his 2016 Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
‘‘It’s unacceptable, and I made our expectations of Russia clear,’’ Pompeo said. ‘‘The Trump administration will always work to protect the integrity of our elections. Period. Should Russia or any foreign actor take steps to undermine our democratic processes, we will take action in response.’’
Lavrov derided the ‘‘wave of suspicions that has overcome Washington’’, renewing demands that evidence of such activity be given to Moscow.
Lavrov’s last meeting with Trump took place shortly after the president fired then-FBI director James Comey, a move the president later said was made because of the Russia investigation.
House Democrats yesterday announced two articles of impeachment against Trump, declaring that he ‘‘betrayed the nation’’ with his actions towards Ukraine as they push towards historic proceedings that are certain to help define his presidency and shape the 2020 election.
The specific charges aimed at
removing the 45th president of the US are abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, flanked by the chairmen of the impeachment inquiry committees at the US Capitol, said they were upholding their solemn oath to defend the US Constitution. Trump responded angrily on Twitter: ‘‘WITCH HUNT!’’
Voting is expected in a matter of days by the judiciary committee, which will begin deliberations today, and by Christmas in the full House.
The charges, if approved, would then be sent to the Senate, where the Republican majority would be unlikely to convict Trump, but not without a potentially bitter trial just as voters in
Iowa and other early presidential primary states begin making their choices.
In the formal articles, the Democrats said Trump enlisted a foreign power in ‘‘corrupting’’ the US election process, and endangered national security by asking Ukraine to investigate his political rivals, including Democrat Joe Biden, while withholding US military aid as leverage.
Trump then obstructed Congress by ordering current and former officials to defy House subpoenas for testimony, and by blocking access to documents, the charges say.
By his conduct, Trump ‘‘demonstrated he will remain a threat to national security and the constitution if allowed to remain in office’’, the nine-page impeachment resolution says.
Democratic leaders say Trump put his political interests above those of the nation when he asked Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a July phone call to investigate his rivals, including Biden, and then withheld US$400 million in military aid as the US ally faced an aggressive Russia.
–AP