The Latest: OMB official willing to testify, lawyer says

Associated Press
Updated

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump and the House impeachment inquiry (all times local):

9 p.m.

An official with the Office of Management and Budget is breaking ranks with the rest of his agency and is willing to appear in the House impeachment inquiry.

Mark Sandy will testify behind closed doors Saturday if subpoenaed.

That’s according to his lawyer, Barbara “Biz” Van Gelder.

The budget office has so far declined as an agency to participate in the impeachment inquiry into the Trump administration’s interactions with Ukraine.

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11:45 a.m.

President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign raised more than $3 million on the day of the first public House impeachment hearing.

Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale announced the haul on Twitter Thursday. He says the campaign raised $3,144,257 Wednesday and now hopes to raise $5 million within a 24-hour span.

Democrats are investigating whether Trump abused his office when he pressed the Ukrainian government to investigate his political rivals.

But Trump’s campaign has argued the probe is helping Trump, citing a spike in contributions and enthusiasm.

Rick Gorka, a spokesman for the national Republican Party and the campaign says that pushback efforts have generated nearly $10 million in free press in the states.

He’s also reporting a surge in volunteers and says the response “we’re receiving from the field has been tremendous.”

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11:41 a.m.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the president’s actions in the impeachment inquiry amount to “bribery.”

Pelosi told reporters Thursday that while President Donald Trump says his call with Ukraine was “perfect,” she thinks “it’s perfectly wrong.”

Bribery is an impeachable offense spelled out in the Constitution.

The House opened public hearings this week in the impeachment inquiry. It revolves around Trump asking the Ukraine president for a “favor” in a July phone call. Trump wanted an investigation of Democrats and 2020 rival Joe Biden, while withholding military aid, according to the testimony.

Trump calls the inquiry a “hoax” and a “sham.”