President Trump says Republicans are being denied 'due process' in impeachment inquiry hearings
Ken Starr and Jordan Sekulow weigh in on former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch’s Capitol Hill testimony.
President Trump said Monday he would “strongly consider” testifying or providing answers in writing as part of the House impeachment inquiry, after Democrats challenged him to appear as part of the probe.
“Our Crazy, Do Nothing (where’s USMCA, infrastructure, lower drug pricing & much more?) Speaker of the House, Nervous Nancy Pelosi, who is petrified by her Radical Left knowing she will soon be gone (they & Fake News Media are her BOSS), suggested on Sunday’s DEFACE THE NATION that I testify about the phony Impeachment Witch Hunt,” Trump tweeted, in a derogatory reference to "Face the Nation."
“She also said I could do it in writing. 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!” he continued.
The president’s tweet comes after Pelosi, D-Calif., challenged him to testify before Congress if he wants to set the record straight.
“The president could come right before the committee and talk, speak all the truth that he wants if he wants. He has every opportunity to present his case,” Pelosi said in an interview that aired Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Pelosi extended the invitation ahead of a week that is expected to be jam-packed with witness testimony in the impeachment inquiry. Pelosi said lawmakers would “look forward” to seeing any information from Trump “that is exculpatory, that means ex, taking away, culpable, blame.”
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also echoed the suggestion.
“If Donald Trump doesn’t agree with what he’s hearing, doesn’t like what he’s hearing, he shouldn’t tweet,” Schumer said. “He should come to the committee and testify under oath. And he should allow all those around him to come to the committee and testify under oath."
The challenge was paired with Pelosi's warning not to go after the whistleblower who sparked the impeachment inquiry — though Democrats initially had indicated that the whistleblower could testify, only to back off and now urge Trump to testify instead.
"I will make sure he does not intimidate the whistleblower," Pelosi said. "I told the president you're in my wheelhouse when you come after the whistleblower."
At the center of the impeachment inquiry, which began in September, is Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. That call prompted a whistleblower complaint to the intelligence community inspector general, and in turn, the impeachment inquiry in the House.
On the call, Trump pressed Zelensky to open an investigation into Ukrainian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden’s dealings in Ukraine.
The president’s request came after millions in U.S. military aid to Ukraine had been frozen, which Democrats and witnesses have claimed shows a "quid pro quo" arrangement.
Fox News' Andrew O'Reilly and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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