House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) claimed on Wednesday the impeachment witnesses confirmed wrongdoing by President Trump and alleged the president “put himself above the law, abused the power of his office for personal gain, and is trying to corrupt our elections.”
Pelosi, ahead of the highly-anticipated House vote on the Democrats’ partisan impeachment efforts, proclaimed “all of the witnesses from Trump’s own Administration told the same story.”
“The President put himself above the law, abused the power of his office for personal gain, and is trying to corrupt our elections. We have a duty to the Constitution. #DefendOurDemocracy,” she tweeted alongside cherry-picked clips from the various impeachment testimonies:
All of the witnesses from Trump’s own Administration told the same story. The President put himself above the law, abused the power of his office for personal gain, and is trying to corrupt our elections.
We have a duty to the Constitution. #DefendOurDemocracy pic.twitter.com/HJQlQz5ttH
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) December 18, 2019
Former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker dismissed the existence of quid pro quo.
He said:
At no time was I aware of or knowingly took part in an effort to urge Ukraine to investigate former Vice president Biden. As you know, from the extensive real-time documentation I have provided, Vice President Biden was not a topic of our discussions.
Ambassador Gordon Sondland, who is featured in Pelosi’s clip, admitted his assertions — that a meeting and aid were contingent upon Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announcing investigations into the 2016 elections and Burisma — were based on presumptions rather than facts.
He also testified Trump told him he wanted “nothing” from Ukraine and “no quid pro quo.”
“I mean, you got all three of them wrong. They get the call, they get the meeting, they get the money,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) said at the time. “It’s not 2+2. It’s 0-3. I mean I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Ultimately, none of the impeachment witnesses, most of whom testified based on hearsay, were able to demonstrate an impeachable offense by the president. Despite that, Democrats are pushing two articles of impeachment: Abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
The full House is expected to vote today.
The speaker is reportedly wearing black to signal that it is a “somber day,” according to CNN’s Dana Bash:
Note: @SpeakerPelosi is wearing black. One of her colleagues told me several of the female Democrats did that intentionally to signal it is a somber day #impeachment
— Dana Bash (@DanaBashCNN) December 18, 2019
As she walked into the house chamber @SpeakerPelosi told me she “feels sad” #impeachment
— Dana Bash (@DanaBashCNN) December 18, 2019
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