‘President Trump ouster evidence overwhelming’
Washington, Thursday
Evidence for impeaching US President Donald Trump for misconduct in office is “overwhelming”, according to the panel leading the impeachment inquiry.
The president placed personal political interests “above the national interests of the United States”, it states in a key report to House lawmakers.
He did so by trying to “solicit foreign interference” from Ukraine to help his 2020 re-election bid, it says. The report is designed to lay out the case to remove Trump from office.
He denies any wrongdoing, and has described the inquiry as a witch-hunt. Before the draft report was released, the Republican president attacked the Democrat-led investigation as “very unpatriotic”.
Following publication, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said the Democrats “utterly failed to produce any evidence of wrongdoing” and that the report “reflects nothing more than their frustrations”.
The report now goes to the House Judiciary Committee, which will begin proceedings on Wednesday and consider formal impeachment charges against Trump.
The judiciary panel’s hearings will begin with four constitutional scholars, who will explain how impeachment works.
The White House has refused to participate in the hearings, citing a lack of “fairness”. Among formal impeachment charges expected to be considered are abuse of power, obstruction of justice and contempt of Congress. -BBC
