Trump tweets he will ‘strongly consider’ testifying in impeachment inquiry
President Trump on Monday said he will “strongly consider” giving written or in-person testimony in the House impeachment inquiry, despite his repeated refusal to cooperate with the investigation thus far.
Trump responded to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) suggestion on “Face the Nation” a day earlier in which she said the president could “come right before the committee and talk … or he could do it in writing.”
{mosads}”Even though I did nothing wrong, and don’t like giving credibility to this No Due Process Hoax, I like the idea & will, in order to get Congress focused again, strongly consider it!” Trump tweeted.
The White House has directed officials not to comply with the impeachment inquiry, and it’s unclear whether Trump would follow through on testifying himself, particularly under oath.
He previously said during former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation that he would sit for an interview, only to provide Mueller with written answers to several questions. Trump’s attorneys fought against an in-person interview after expressing concerns it could be a “perjury trap” for a president who often exaggerates or makes inaccurate statements.
The House Intelligence Committee last week held its first public hearings in the impeachment inquiry, which are focused on allegations that Trump abused his office by pressuring Ukraine to investigate his domestic political rivals, specifically former Vice President Joe Biden, a top 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, and Biden’s son Hunter.
Three current and former State Department officials testified publicly about their concerns that Trump’s policy toward and conversations about Ukraine had become inappropriate in recent months and detailed efforts by the president’s allies to oust the now-former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.
Eight more officials are scheduled to testify publicly this week. Among the witnesses are U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, who allegedly spoke over the phone with Trump about the desired investigations into Biden and 2016 election interference.
Trump has repeatedly attacked the impeachment inquiry and some of the witnesses who have made damaging allegations in the process.
He ripped a State Department employee detailed to Vice President Pence’s office on Sunday as a “Never Trumper” after she called his July 25 conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “inappropriate” during a private deposition.
The president has insisted that a rough transcript of the July 25 call shows it was “perfect” and serves as exonerating evidence. But Democrats have pointed to passages where Trump urges Zelensky to “look into” the Bidens and “do us a favor though” as evidence of wrongdoing.
Trump has also ridiculed the impeachment proceedings as “rigged” and a “hoax” and complained that the White House has not received proper due process.
Asked about the latter assertion, Pelosi said Sunday that Trump would be welcome to make his case under oath.
“The president could come right before the committee and talk, speak all the truth that he wants if he wants to … take the oath of office or he could do it in writing,” Pelosi said. “He has every opportunity to present his case.”
Updated at 9:26 a.m.