House impeachment inquiry to intensify; Trump remains defiant
The House of Representatives impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump is set to intensify this week with depositions scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, and testimony expected from multiple witnesses - including the whistleblower - who says Trump asked a foreign power to investigate a domestic political rival.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said he expects the whistleblower to appear before the panel very soon.
On Monday, Trump escalated his attacks against Schiff, suggesting that the man leading the impeachment inquiry against him be arrested for “treason.”
Trump also said he wanted to “meet” the whistleblower, who he called his "accuser."
The whistleblower’s complaint cited a July 25 telephone call in which Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Joe Biden, one of the leading Democratic candidates seeking to challenge him in 2020, and his son Hunter, who sat on the board of a Ukrainian gas company.
The complaint also questioned whether U.S. aid was held up until Ukraine showed it would act on Trump’s request.
The House hearings and depositions could lead to approval of articles of impeachment against Trump and a subsequent trial in the Republican-led Senate. The Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate to ultimately remove the president from office.
On Sunday, Trump quoted a Fox News Contributor who warned that removing Trump from office "will cause a Civil War like fracture in this Nation."
