Nancy Pelosi accused Donald Trump of committing "bribery" in the Ukrainian plot
The leader of the Democrats in the US House of Representatives said Thursday that the president admitted to bribery, following the testimony, on Wednesday, of the US ambassador in Kiev, William Taylor.
The Democrats' impeachment against Donald Trump is now simplified, in one word: bribery. A crime with indications of corruption, with which his political rivals seek to pave the way for a political trial against the controversial president.
The country's charter states that offenses that can lead to impeachment include "treason and bribery," and Democrats have begun using the latter word to describe Trump's actions. After the first public and televised hearing of the investigation process with a view to the possible impeachment, on November 13, in which the acting ambassador of the United States, in Ukraine, William Taylor, the Democratic leader of the House of Representatives, declared, Nancy Pelosi, said there is no doubt that Trump committed that crime.
The diplomat declared that Trump put his personal interests above his functions as president, in relation to the relationship with Ukraine, since he was much more interested in the Ukrainian government investigating his possible rival at the polls for the 2020 presidential elections, Joe Biden. , that the handling of Washington's foreign policy towards Kiev.
In addition, Taylor said that on July 26 there was a call between Trump and the US ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland in which the White House leader asked about "the investigations" and Sondland would have answered him that the Ukrainians were "ready to move on." According to Taylor, members of his team, who were with Sondland at the time of the communication, could have heard what was said in the call.
"Bribery is the granting or withholding of military assistance in exchange for a public statement of a false investigation into the elections. That is bribery," Pelosi said at a November 14 press conference.
Nancy Pelosi says Trump has already admitted the crime
The focus of the investigation is a July 25 phone call in which Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, who had served as a member of the board of directors. from a Ukrainian energy company called Burisma.
Had he found information that could have been detrimental to the Bidens, it would have been used by Trump and his campaign in the re-election race. An action that is indicated as a way to urge foreign intervention in the democratic exercise of Americans.
According to Democrats, Trump withheld $ 391 million in military aid destined for Ukraine, already approved by the US Congress to help Kiev fight pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country, as a way pressure, in exchange for assistance in your request.
Regarding this telephone communication, the head of state has said that he did not do anything wrong and has described his telephone conversation with Zelenskiy as "perfect". For these words, Pelosi assures that Trump would have admitted the crime during the July 26 call that she had with Sondland.
Republicans point out that Democrats have already decided to approve articles on impeachment, that is, formal charges, but Pelosi assures that the investigation must be developed before making a final decision.
“We did not find anything new. One of the witnesses, in fact, admitted: what I can do here for you today is say what I have heard from people. This lacks the basic fact-witness explanation, "said Kevin McCarthy, Republican Minority Leader in the Lower House.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump took refuge in a campaign rally full of fervent supporters in the state of Louisiana. From his traditional podium, where he encouraged his sympathizers to shout slogans against the Democrats and the press, Trump lashed out at the opposition caucus that he called "crazy, lunatic and corrupt." The president assured that, with the investigations against him, the democrats intend "to overthrow the American democracy." Republicans have repeatedly hinted that Democrats still do not accept the adverse outcome of the 2016 election in which Trump defeated Hillary Clinton.
What are the chances in Congress for an impeachment against Trump?
For now, the hearings in the House Intelligence Committee will continue. This Friday the public statement of another central figure is scheduled: the former US ambassador, in Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch. In private, it would be Saturday the hearing of the official of the White House Budget Office, Mark Sandy, if he is summoned, according to his lawyer said Thursday.
After these statements, the investigation that threatens the Trump presidency and even his re-election intentions in the presidential elections in November 2020, will depend first on whether the House of Representatives approves or not the charges to advance with an impeachment.
If so, the matter will then have to go to the Senate, where Republicans, who represent the majority in this house, have shown little support for the president's impeachment possibilities.
