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Trump to meet Ukraine president after impeachment inquiry announcement Trump asked Ukraine leader for 'a favor' and to investigate Biden, memo shows
(about 3 hours later)
Donald Trump will meet with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday, as the president finds himself at the center of one of the most extraordinary periods in recent US history. Donald Trump pushed the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Joe Biden in a July phone call, telling Zelenskiy he should work with the US attorney general William Barr on the investigation, according to a memorandum of the call released by the White House on Wednesday.
The timing of the pre-planned meeting with Zelenskiy, in New York City, comes less than 24 hours after Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the House would begin formal impeachment inquiry. Trump is the fourth president in US history to face such an extraordinary investigation. The memo shows Trump asking Zelenskiy to “do us a favor”, before asking Zelenskiy to “look into” Biden and his son Hunter.
At the heart of that inquiry is Trump’s 25 July phone call with Zelenskiy, and whether Trump pressured the Ukraine leader to investigate Joe Biden, the current frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination for the 2020 election.
Pelosi announces impeachment inquiry into Trump over Ukraine scandalPelosi announces impeachment inquiry into Trump over Ukraine scandal
On Wednesday morning Trump accused the Democrats of being “frozen with hatred and fear”, and repeated his claim that he was the victim of a “witch-hunt”. Trump has claimed, without evidence, that Biden improperly used his then position as vice-president to” get Ukraine’s prosecutor-general fired, in order to help his son’s business interests in the country. Trump repeatedly says “the prosecutor” was unfairly treated.
The White House has indicated it may release details of a whistleblower’s complaint, related to the call, on Thursday. Trump, who has denied wrongdoing, has said the administration will release an unredacted transcript of the 25 July conversation on Wednesday. The Trump administration published the memo, which is not a verbatim transcript but is based on notes taken by national security officials as the conversation took place, on Wednesday morning.
“The actions taken to date by the president have seriously violated the constitution,” Pelosi said as she announced the impeachment inquiry on Tuesday evening. “The president must be held accountable. No one is above the law.” Far from exonerating Trump, as the president had promised, the memo will more likely buoy Democrats, who announced a formal impeachment inquiry on Tuesday evening.
The speaker’s announcement follows allegations that Trump pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate the son of Joe Biden, the former vice-president and the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination to compete for the White House in the 2020 presidential election. The most damning passage in the memo shows Trump stressing to Zelenskiy: “We do a lot for Ukraine.” He adds: “I wouldn’t say that it’s reciprocal necessarily,because things are happening that are not good, but the United States has been very, very good to Ukraine.”
In an early morning tweet on Wednesday, Trump said: “There has been no president in the history of our country who has been treated so badly as I have.” Trump continues: “I would like you to do us a favor though, because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it.”
Impeachment: how does it work and what happens next? The president then asks Zelenskiy to investigate a “server”, and suggests Robert Mueller’s Trump-Russia investigation “started in Ukraine” .
He added: “The Democrats are frozen with hatred and fear. They get nothing done. This should never be allowed to happen to another president. Witch Hunt!” The conversation then moves on to Biden, one of Trump’s leading rivals in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump has admitted that he discussed Biden on a call with Zelenskiy, but has denied any suggestion of a “quid pro quo”, despite reportedly freezing $400m in aid to Ukraine days before speaking with Zelenskiy. Trump says on the call: “There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the attorney general would be great.”
The White House is currently reviewing a whistleblower’s complaint against President Trump for possible release to Congress, the Associated Press reported. The acting director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire, refused to release the details of the complaint. Maguire is due to testify on Thursday, his deadline for turning over the whistleblower complaint to Congress. He goes on: “Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it. It sounds horrible to me.”
It adds up to a critical couple of days for Trump. He will meet with Zelenskiy at 2.15pm ET on the sidelines of the United Nations general assembly on Wednesday, before holding a press conference at 4pm. Trump is likely to be grilled on the substance of his phone call with the Ukraine president and the impeachment inquiry.
On Wednesday Trump delivered a bellicose response to the impeachment inquiry, accusing Democrats of “presidential harassment”.
“Such an important day at the United Nations, so much work and so much success, and the Democrats purposely had to ruin and demean it with more breaking news Witch-Hunt garbage,” Trump tweeted from New York as he attended the UN general assembly there. “So bad for our country!”
After months of resistance in the face of calls from many fellow Democrats in Washington, Pelosi appeared to have determined that Trump’s alleged conduct and his administration’s refusal to comply with congressional requests for information and testimony had forced the House’s hand, leaving members no choice but to move forward with a formal impeachment inquiry.
Article 1 of the United States constitution gives the House of Representatives the sole power to initiate impeachment and the Senate the sole power to try impeachments of the president. A president can be impeached if they are judged to have committed "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors" – although the constitution does not specify what “high crimes and misdemeanors” are.Article 1 of the United States constitution gives the House of Representatives the sole power to initiate impeachment and the Senate the sole power to try impeachments of the president. A president can be impeached if they are judged to have committed "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors" – although the constitution does not specify what “high crimes and misdemeanors” are.
The process starts with the House of Representatives passing articles of impeachment. A simple majority of members need to vote in favour of impeachment for it to pass to the next stage. With a full house, that requires 218 of the 435 representatives to vote. Democrats currently control the house, with 235 representatives.The process starts with the House of Representatives passing articles of impeachment. A simple majority of members need to vote in favour of impeachment for it to pass to the next stage. With a full house, that requires 218 of the 435 representatives to vote. Democrats currently control the house, with 235 representatives.
The chief justice of the United States then presides over the proceedings in the Senate, where the president is tried, with senators acting as the jury. For the president to be found guilty two-thirds of senators must vote against them. Republicans currently control the Senate, with 53 of the 100 senators.The chief justice of the United States then presides over the proceedings in the Senate, where the president is tried, with senators acting as the jury. For the president to be found guilty two-thirds of senators must vote against them. Republicans currently control the Senate, with 53 of the 100 senators.
Two presidents have previously been impeached, Bill Clinton in 1998, and Andrew Johnson in 1868, though neither were removed from office as a result. Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 before there was a formal vote to impeach him.Two presidents have previously been impeached, Bill Clinton in 1998, and Andrew Johnson in 1868, though neither were removed from office as a result. Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 before there was a formal vote to impeach him.
Martin BelamMartin Belam
During a meeting with the Democratic caucus on Tuesday, Pelosi said that they must “strike while the iron is hot” as she laid out her case for an impeachment inquiry. Later Trump criticizes “the former ambassador from the United States, the woman” – apparently referring to Marie Yovanovitch, who was recalled from Ukraine in May after being criticized by rightwing media.
“This is a national security issue,” she said, according to a senior aide in the room. “And we cannot let him think that this is a casual thing.” “Well, she’ s going to go through some things. I will have Mr Giuliani give you a call, and I am also going to have Attorney General Barr call and we will get to the bottom of it. I’m sure you will figure it out. I heard the prosecutor was treated very badly and he was a very fair prosecutor so good luck with everything. Your economy is going to get better and better I predict. You have a lot of assets.”
She vowed to move ahead “expeditiously”. The Department of Justice swiftly released a statement asserting that Barr did not speak to Zelenskiy.
In her official announcement, Pelosi noted that the chairs of six key House committees already involved in investigating Trump and his administration would make recommendations to the House judiciary committee, which has the authority to handle impeachment. Their reports could help form articles of impeachment brought against the president. It said: “The president has not spoken with the attorney general about having Ukraine investigate anything relating to former vice-president Biden or his son.
“The president has not asked the attorney general to contact Ukraine – on this or any other matter.”
Trump is due to meet Zelenskiy on Wednesday in New York, at the United Nations, in their first face-to-face meeting.
The timing of the pre-planned meeting with Zelenskiycomes less than 24 hours after Nancy Pelosi announced the US House of Representatives would begin a formal impeachment inquiry. Trump is the fourth president in US history to face such a congressional investigation.
On Wednesday morning Trump accused the Democrats of being “frozen with hatred and fear”, and repeated his claim that he was the victim of a “witch-hunt”.
The White House has indicated it may release details of a whistleblower’s complaint, related to the call, on Thursday.
“The actions taken to date by the president have seriously violated the constitution,” Pelosi said as she announced the impeachment inquiry. “The president must be held accountable. No one is above the law.”
Impeachment: how does it work and what happens next?
Trump had previously admitted that he discussed Biden on a call with Zelenskiy, but has denied any suggestion of a “quid pro quo”, despite reportedly freezing $400m in aid to Ukraine days before speaking with Zelenskiy.
The acting director of national intelligence, Joseph Maguire, is due to testify in public to Congress on Thursday, his deadline for turning over the whistleblower complaint. The hearing comes a week after a closed-door hearing where he refused to reveal details after being blocked from doing so by the White House and the DoJ.
During a meeting with the Democratic caucus on Tuesday, Pelosi, after months of resistance, said her party must “strike while the iron is hot”. She then supported an impeachment inquiry.
Launching an impeachment inquiry does not necessarily mean that the House will vote to charge the president with “high crimes and misdemeanors”, though that is the likely outcome of such a process. If the House does charge the president, the articles of impeachment would then be sent to the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans who rarely break with Trump.Launching an impeachment inquiry does not necessarily mean that the House will vote to charge the president with “high crimes and misdemeanors”, though that is the likely outcome of such a process. If the House does charge the president, the articles of impeachment would then be sent to the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans who rarely break with Trump.
The president continued to defend his actions on Tuesday. Only two presidents have ever been impeached – Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. Neither were convicted by the Senate. Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 before a vote on impeachment in the full House could be taken.
“You will see it was a very friendly and totally appropriate call,” Trump tweeted. “No pressure and, unlike Joe Biden and his son, NO quid pro quo!” There’s no evidence to support Trump’s repeated claim that Biden improperly used his position as vice president to fire a Ukrainian prosecutor to help his son.
But Pelosi said Trump did not have to explicitly threaten aid to be guilty of an impeachable offense. “There is no requirement there be a quid pro quo in the conversation,” she said, adding that the “sequence” of events suggested that the president acted improperly.
Republicans said Pelosi’s announcement was a rhetorical exercise.
“She cannot unilaterally decide we’re in an impeachment inquiry,” the House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, said in brief remarks after Pelosi’s address. “What she said today made no difference with what’s been going on.”
Adam Schiff, the head of the House permanent select committee on intelligence, said on Tuesday that the whistleblower would like to speak to the panel and had requested guidance on how to do so.
Impeachment is a course of action with few precedents. Only two presidents have ever been impeached – Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. Neither were convicted by the Senate. Richard Nixon resigned before a vote on impeachment in the full House could be taken.
Donald TrumpDonald Trump
Nancy PelosiNancy Pelosi
House of RepresentativesHouse of Representatives
US politicsUS politics
Ukraine
Europe
Volodymyr Zelenskiy
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