House to launch Trump impeachment inquiry
(SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI, SAYING:
"The actions of the Trump presidency revealed the dishonorable fact of the president's betrayal of his oath of office, the betrayal of our national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections. Therefore, today, I'm announcing the House of Representatives move forward with an official impeachment inquiry."
And with that, House Democrats formally launched impeachment proceedings against U.S. President Donald Trump, who Democrats accuse of using his office to seek Ukraine's help to smear his political opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden.
The decision on Tuesday marks a stunning reversal for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who for months was reluctant to endorse impeachment, saying it could be politically risky as the 2020 election nears.
(SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI, SAYING:
"The president must be held accountable. No one is above the law."
The move comes after a whistleblower from within the U.S. intelligence community lodged a complaint with an internal watchdog about Trump's conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in which he allegedly pressured Zelenskiy to investigate the Democratic presidential front-runner and his son.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:
"This call was a very nice call."
Trump responded to the announcement on Twitter, calling it "Witch Hunt garbage" and "PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!"
Earlier on Tuesday, the president promised to release an unredacted transcript of the July 25 phone call with the Ukrainian president, said to be the center of the whistleblower complaint.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, SAYING:
"It's nonsense. And when you see the call, when you see the readout of the call, which I assume you'll see at some point, you'll understand. That call was perfect. It couldn't have been nicer."
House Republicans later said they were against Pelosi's opening of impeachment proceedings.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) HOUSE MINORITY LEADER KEVIN MCCARTHY, SAYING:
"Speaker Pelosi happens to be the Speaker of this House, but she does not speak for America when it comes to this issue... she cannot decide unilaterally what happens here."
Meanwhile, Biden - the subject of the phone call in the whistleblower complaint - said he would support impeachment.
(SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN, SAYING:
"If he continues to obstruct Congress and flout the law, Donald Trump will leave Congress, in my view, no choice but to initiate impeachment."
The Republican-controlled Senate on Tuesday approved a resolution calling for the whistleblower complaint to be submitted to Senate and House intelligence committees. That complaint had been blocked by Trump appointed Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire on the advice of the Justice Department.
(SOUND BITE) (ENGLISH) REPUBLICAN SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL, SAYING:
"I agree that the DNI should make additional information available to the committee so it can evaluate the complaint."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wouldn't speculate on how the Senate might deal with articles of impeachment. The Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate to ultimately remove a president from office.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said his panel was communicating with an attorney representing the whistleblower and that the individual would like to testify this week.
