Face of Nation : Former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday plans to call on Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump if he does not comply with all of Congress’ request for information about a July call he made to Ukraine’s president in which he discussed Biden, according to a senior Biden campaign official.
Biden is scheduled to make his call for Trump to comply with Congress in a scheduled 2 p.m. ET statement from Wilmington, Del.
“He’s going to make the point that Trump’s latest abuses are on top of all of his prior abuses,” said the aide. “He’s going to call on Trump to comply with all of Congress’ outstanding, lawful requests for information – in the Ukraine matter, and in the other investigations — and if Trump does not comply, Congress has no choice but to impeach.”
The former vice president plans to speak out against Trump amid growing calls among House Democrats to impeach the president over allegations that he pressured Ukraine’s president to investigate Joe Biden’s son Hunter’s business dealings in the Eastern European country.
Trump earlier this week admitted that he spoke with Zelensky about Biden. And on Tuesday Trump acknowledged that he slowed military aid payments to Ukraine this summer, but he said it had nothing to do with trying to pressure Ukraine officials. Instead, he said that he slowed the aid because the United States was paying too much while other countries weren’t paying enough.
But Trump also acknowledged talking to the Ukraine leader about Biden, claiming his actions and the Ukraine business interests of his son warrant investigation.
Trump has also said he had concerns about providing aid to Ukraine because of “corruption” in the country. In his brief comments to reporters Tuesday, Trump underscored that he did eventually release the aid to Ukraine this month but denied tying aid to an investigation of Biden. “I didn’t do it,” Trump said. “I did not do that at all.”
House Democrats, meanwhile, stepped up calls for an impeachment investigation of claims that Trump basically tried to extort Ukraine into a political probe of a political rival and his son.
“If these allegations are true, we believe these actions represent an impeachable offense,” seven freshman House Democrats wrote in an op-ed in the Washington Post, signaling a possible shift among potentially vulnerable Democrats.
