Speier says impeachment inquiry shows ‘very strong case of bribery’ by Trump

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), a member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said the public phase of the impeachment inquiry is more likely to sway Americans than the report from former special counsel Robert Mueller because of what she called the clear nature of President Trump’s bribery. 

ABC “This Week” host Martha Raddatz asked Speier on Sunday how House Democrats will make a “stronger public case” after Mueller’s testimony earlier this year on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election “did not galvanize public opinion.”

“I think for a number of reasons. First of all Bob Mueller’s report was 400 pages long, had a lot of legalese,” Speier responded.

Rep. Jackie Speier on galvanizing public opinion over the impeachment inquiry, compared to Robert Mueller’s report: “This is a very simple, straight forward act: the president broke the law.” https://t.co/zifJCM9ext pic.twitter.com/eqFGqbEQjQ

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) November 10, 2019

“This is a very simple, straightforward act,” she said of Trump’s alleged soliciting of foreign interference in the 2020 election.

{mosads}“The president broke the law. He went on a telephone call with the president of Ukraine and said ‘I have a favor,’ though, and then proceeded to ask for an investigation of his rival.”

Speier, summing up her interpretation of the findings so far, said “this is a very strong case of bribery.”

“Because you have an elected official, the president, demanding action of a foreign country in this case, and providing something of value, which is the investigation, and he is withholding aid, which is that official act,” she said. 

“And the Constitution is very clear: treason, bribery or acts of omission. In this case, it’s clearly one of those.”

Members of three House committees — Oversight and Reform, Intelligence and Foreign Affairs — have been conducting closed-door depositions with witnesses to gather information into the alleged wrongdoing. 

Trump has denied he did anything wrong, and most Republicans, including those who have sat in on the depositions, have defended Trump’s actions. 

The next phase of the inquiry is kicking off this with two key witnesses slated to appear Wednesday and one on Friday.