Trump Shrugs Off Democrats' Impeachment Push: 'It's Ridiculous'
President Donald Trump on Tuesday denigrated House Democrats’ increasing calls for impeachment as a “witch hunt.”
House Democrats have been investigating Trump for months in hopes of building a case that he has committed some type of impeachable offense.
Over the past few days, Democrats have focused upon a July phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to media accounts, Trump pressured Zelensky to investigate Hunter Biden, the son of Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden.
Previous media accounts have said Biden pressured Ukraine to dismiss a prosecutor who was investigating an energy company that paid Hunter Biden.
The calls for impeachment increased this week after an account in The Washington Post linked the call to a July decision to temporarily withhold about $400 million in aid to Ukraine. The money was paid earlier this month.
Ukrainian officials have said Trump did nothing wrong, but in the political climate of Washington, the call has reverberated through political circles. As it is, 155 House Democrats want some kind of impeachment action taken, NBC News reported
Trump dismissed the impeachment talk Tuesday.
“I think it’s ridiculous. It’s a witch hunt. I’m leading in the polls. They have no idea how they stop me, the only way they can try is through impeachment,” Trump said as he arrived at the United Nations on Tuesday, The Hill reported.
Trump responds to Congress moving toward impeachment with a pack of lies: “I think it’s ridiculous. It’s a witch hunt. I’m leading in the polls. They have no idea how they stop me. The only way they can try is through impeachment. This has never happened to a president before.” pic.twitter.com/ZSZaZZSR5q
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 24, 2019
“It’s nonsense, and when you see the call, when you see the readout of the call, which I assume you’ll see at some point, you’ll understand. That call was perfect,” Trump said.
Trump said he cannot be accused of withholding money because Ukraine got its aid.
“Those funds were paid. They were fully paid but my complaint has always been – and I’ll withhold again and I’ll continue to withhold until such time as Europe and other nations contribute to Ukraine. Because they’re not doing it,” Trump said.
Trump has also raised concerns about corruption within Ukraine.
“We want to make sure that country is honest. It’s very important to talk about corruption,” Trump said Monday. “If you don’t talk about corruption, why would you give money to a country that you think is corrupt?”
Moreover, the president has lashed out at the controversy on Twitter.
….know the correct facts. Is he on our Country’s side. Where does he come from. Is this all about Schiff & the Democrats again after years of being wrong?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 23, 2019
White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said a feeding frenzy without a fact to chew on should sound familiar.
“The media pushed the Russia lie for almost three years with no evidence, and now they are doing it all over again,” he told Fox News.
“These allegations are completely false, but because the media wants this story to be true so badly, they’ll once again manufacture a frenzy and drive ignorant, fake stories to attack this President,” he said.
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