Trump objects to probe, won’t say he’ll cooperate

WASHINGTON:US President Donald Trump said on Friday the White House is preparing a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi formally objecting to the Democrats conducting their impeachment inquiry without an official vote. The letter is expected to say the administration won’t cooperate with the probe without that vote — but Trump also said he believes it will pass.

Trump acknowledged that Democrats in the House “have the votes” to begin a formal impeachment inquiry, but said he is confident they don’t have the votes to convict in the Gop-controlled Senate. And he also said he believes the move will backfire on Democrats politically. “I really believe that they’re going to pay a tremendous price at the polls,” he said.

In announcing that the House was beginning the probe, Pelosi didn’t seek the consent of the full chamber, as was done for impeachment investigations into former Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. As Republicans search for a response to the fastmoving impeachment inquiry, the absence of the procedural step has been a main attack line against Democrats.

Pelosi swatted it back as unnecessary, saying the House is well within its rules to pursue the inquiry without taking a vote.

“The existing rules of the House provide House Committees with full authority to conduct investigations for all matters under their jurisdiction, including impeachment investigations,” Pelosi wrote on Thursday in a letter to House GOP Leader Kevin Mccarthy after he, too, pressed for a floor vote. The White House, meanwhile, is trying to force the question on Democrats, as it seeks to raise the political cost for their impeachment investigation and to animate the president’s supporters ahead of the 2020 election. Trump allies have suggested that without a formal vote, the House is merely conducting standard oversight.