‘OVERWHELMING’
Evidence of Trump misconduct can’t be ignored, report says
THE evidence for impeaching President Donald Trump for misconduct in office and obstruction is “overwhelming”, the final report on the House investigation into the US leader found.
The 300-page report, meant as the basis for articles of impeachment, accuses Mr Trump of endangering national security and of an unparalleled effort to stifle the probe into claims he pressured Ukraine for dirt on a Democratic election rival. “The impeachment inquiry has found that President Trump, personally and acting through agents within and outside of the US Government, solicited the interference of a foreign government, Ukraine, to benefit his re-election” next year, the report says.
“The President placed his own personal and political interests above the national interests of the United States, sought to undermine the integrity of the US presidential election process, and endangered US national security.”
The report spells out two key areas of wrongdoing by Mr Trump. In the first instance, it alleges, he conditioned military aid and a faceto-face meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Kiev opening several politically motivated investigations, including into former vice president Joe Biden, the Democratic frontrunner in the 2020 election race. Secondly, it says, Mr Trump sought to obstruct the congressional probe, refusing to provide documents to investigators, preventing witnesses from appearing and threatening some who did appear.
“The evidence of the President’s misconduct is overwhelming, and so too is the evidence of his obstruction of Congress,” says the report.
“No other president has flouted the Constitution and power of Congress to conduct oversight to this extent.”
In a statement, White House spokesman Stephanie Grisham dismissed both the report and the investigation.
Democrats later voted to approve the report. The second phase of the impeachment inquiry will begin today at the House Judiciary Committee, as politicians publicly consult legal scholars on the constitutional framework for the steps forward.