On Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized Republicans’ main objections and criticisms of the Democrats’ case for impeaching President Donald Trump a day before the chamber begins marathon hearings.
In a letter to House Democrats, Pelosi dismissed the GOP criticisms that pushing for impeachment now is ill-timed because the president faces an election in less than a year.
“That dangerous position only adds to the urgency of our action, because the president is jeopardizing the integrity of the 2020 elections,” she wrote.
The hearings center on allegations that the president pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to open investigations into alleged Democrat-led interference in the 2016 elections under threat of losing military aid.
Trump also allegedly sought Zelensky’s assistance in an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden in connection to a corrupt Ukrainian gas company called Burisma.
Pelosi discounted the GOP’s argument that there could not be a quid pro quo arrangement if the aid money was ultimately delivered to Ukraine and no investigations were opened.
“The fact is, the aid was only released after the whistleblower exposed the truth of the president’s extortion and bribery, and the House launched a formal investigation,” she argued.
House Democrats have called eight people to testify this week. They include former Envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker and Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland ahead of the Thanksgiving break.
Last week, Pelosi accused President Trump of bribery, an impeachable offense, which is most likely what Democrats will focus on this week.
Democrats reportedly changed the terminology to “bribery” from “quid pro quo” because they felt it was more understandable to the American people as opposed to the latin term.