Impeachment a joke — Trump
NEW YORK: A downbeat Donald Trump on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) dismissed as a “joke” the grounds laid out for the impeachment inquiry
accusing the US president of a “ma
counterpart.
Trump denied claims he abused his
Volodymyr Zelensky to probe his rival
transcript released by the White House.
The next explosive episode in the rapidly unfolding impeachment drama is set for Thursday, when acting director of national intelligence Joseph
“They are getting hit hard on this witch hunt because when they look at the information, it’s a joke,” said the president, who struck an uncharacterconference since Democrats launched
“Impeachment for that? When you have a wonderful meeting or you have a wonderful phone conversation?”
- sisted he exerted “no pressure” on Kiev — a claim echoed by Zelensky, who appeared side-by-side with the US leader at a long-planned meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
But the publication of the transcript sent new shockwaves through Washington, including within the ranks of Trump’s Republican Party, with Senator Mitt Romney calling it “deeply troubling.”
Two competing narratives immediately took hold.
Trump and his allies claimed the July 25 call contained no evidence of a quid pro quo pressuring Zelensky to probe the president’s top Democratic rival for the White House. Democrats, meanwhile, held it up as
boss talks,” charged senior lawmaker Adam Schiff.
“’What have you done for us? We’ve done so much for you but there’s not much reciprocity. I have a favor to ask you.’”
“And what is that favor? Of course, the favor is to investigate his political rival, to investigate the Bidens.”
The call summary — which is not a verbatim transcript — shows Trump saying US Attorney General Bill Barr and the president’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani would be in touch about probing the Ukraine-related activities of Biden and his son.
In announcing the impeachment probe, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Trump’s actions amounted to a
national security.