President Donald Trump on Tuesday sent a six-page letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi denouncing the impeachment effort as a “partisan” attempt to negate the results of the 2016 election.
Calling it an “illegal partisan coup,” the president’s letter comes on the eve of an impeachment vote in the House which is expected to pass.
“I write to express my strongest and most powerful protest against the partisan impeachment crusade being pursued by the Democrats in the House of Representatives,” the began.
“This impeachment represents an unprecedented and unconstitutional abuse of power by Democrat Lawmakers, unequaled in nearly two and a half centuries of American legislative history,” the president noted further.
Trump said that the two articles of impeachment being considered by the House do not contain evidence of any actual crimes, let alone impeachable offenses.
“By proceeding with your invalid impeachment, you are violating your oaths of office, you are breaking your allegiance to the Constitution, and you are declaring open war on American Democracy,” he wrote.
Trump lambasted the Speaker and Democrats for allegedly mischaracterizing what he said during phone calls over the summer to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which he called “perfect.”
Democrats have alleged that the president used those calls to extract a “quid pro quo” from Ukraine, in that he would withhold military aid until Zelensky agreed to open investigations into Joe and Hunter Biden, as well as Democrats accused of meddling with Ukrainian officials in the 2016 election.
Democrats pushed back on the president’s claims and accusations.
“This letter is an embarrassment to the office,” tweeted Rep. Don Beyer (D., Va.), saying “no amount of temper tantrums” will discourage the House from what it sees as its constitutional duty.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D., Hawaii) called the letter “completely insane.”
“President Zelensky has repeatedly declared that I did nothing wrong, and that there was No Pressure,” Trump wrote. “He further emphasized that it was a ‘good phone call,’ that ‘I don’t feel pressure,’ and explicitly stressed that ‘nobody pushed me.'”
The president then accused Pelosi and Democrats of using impeachment to distract from his administration’s accomplishments.
“You and your party are desperate to distract from America’s extraordinary economy, incredible jobs boom, record stock market, soaring confidence, and flourishing citizens,” the president said.
“You are the ones interfering in America’s elections. You are the ones subverting America’s Democracy. You are the ones Obstructing Justice. You are the ones bringing pain and suffering to our Republic for your own selfish personal, political, and partisan gain,” he added.