Impeachment a hoax – Trump
United States President Donald Trump slammed an ongoing impeachment inquiry into him on Monday (Tuesday in Manila), as the next phase of the high-stake investigation was drawing near.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House before leaving for a trip to London to attend a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit, Trump called the impeachment inquiry “a hoax,” while accusing Democrats of doing “an absolute disgrace” to the nation.
“So, the Democrats, the radical-left Democrats, the do-nothing Democrats, decided when I’m going to NATO — this was set up a year ago
— that when I’m going to NATO, that was the exact time,” Trump said. “This is one of the most important journeys that we make as president.”
The impeachment inquiry into the President, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi initiated in late September, will enter a new phase this week as the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Democrat Jerry Nadler, is slated to hold its first hearing on Wednesday on “constitutional grounds for presidential impeachment.”
Legal scholars will provide testimony to the panel on that day as Democrats are considering whether the evidence turned up in their weeks-long impeachment inquiry warrants the drafting of articles of impeachment against Trump.
In a letter to Nadler on Sunday, White House counsel Pat Cipollone said they would not participate in Wednesday’s hearing.
“We cannot fairly be expected to participate in a hearing while the witnesses are yet to be named and while it remains unclear whether the Judiciary Committee will afford the President a fair process through additional hearings,” Cipollone wrote.
“Accordingly, under the current circumstances, we do not intend to participate in your Wednesday hearing.”