House Democrats have decided to concentrate their impeachment efforts on the July 25 telephone call in which President Donald Trump pressured the Ukraine’s president to target former Vice President Joe Biden for investigation.

The whistleblower complaint against Trump led Democrats in Congress to formalize the impeachment procedure. On Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the formal inquiry – Trump could be charged with betraying his oath of office and the nation’s security for pursuing assistance from a foreign power to influence the 2020 election. 

Democratic lawmakers and aides believe the Trump-Ukraine scandal is a slam dunk and are formulating their efforts around the telephone memorandum and possible coercion of military assistance.

The vice president has reacted angrily. 

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The White House-released telephone transcript shows Trump tried to influence the 2020 election by pressuring Zelensky into investigating Biden and his son.  

Trump denied offering a quid pro quo in the telephone call. But the transcript shows Trump specifically referring to Joe Biden and urging Zelensky into contacting Attorney General William Barr to follow up. “There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that, so whatever you can do with the attorney general would be great,” Trump said.

Pelosi spoke sternly about the House moves. “The actions taken to date by the president have seriously violated the Constitution,” she said, “[Mr. Trump] must be held accountable — no one is above the law. His conduct betrayed our national security and the integrity of our elections. The most severe action Congress is able to take upon a sitting president is appropriate. The country wants justice.”

Trump continues to tweet his innocence. 

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Article by Emily Bevacqua