Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: 'I was on the phone call' that led to Trump impeachment probe
ROME/WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged on Wednesday that he was on the telephone call between Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart that sparked impeachment proceedings against the Republican president.
Biden is a leading contender for the Democratic nomination to challenge Trump in the 2020 presidential election.He said the call was in the context of U.S. policymaking in Ukraine, including “taking down the Russia threat,” rooting out corruption in government and boosting the economy. In an intensifying battle between Congress and the executive branch, lawmakers have subpoenaed Pompeo and Trump’s personal lawyer Rudolph Giuliani, as well as documents. They will begin depositions of current and former State Department officials this week.
Asked about his concerns, Pompeo said State Department employees had been contacted directly by lawmakers or their staff and told not to talk to the State Department’s legal counsel.“We will of course do our constitutional duty to cooperate with this co-equal branch but we are going to do so in a way that is consistent with the fundamental values of the American system,” he said.
According to a summary of the call released by the White House, Trump asked Zelenskiy during the July call to investigate Biden and his son Hunter in coordination with U.S. Attorney General William Barr and Giuliani.Kurt Volker, who resigned on Friday as Trump’s special representative for Ukraine, was to go to Capitol Hill to give a deposition to House staff on Thursday, the day he had been asked to appear.
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