US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meet in New York on September 25, 2019, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. / Photographer: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
What follows is not my opinion about the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. Whether or not you think Trump should be impeached, here are the facts of the inquiry by Congress. On Sept. 24, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that the House of Representatives would initiate a formal impeachment inquiry against President Trump. President Trump is being charged with betraying his oath of office and the nation’s security by seeking to enlist a foreign power to tarnish a rival for the 2020 presidential election for his own political gain. The charges stem from allegations that President Trump pressured the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, to open a corruption investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden. At the heart of the impeachment inquiry is a nine-page whistleblower complaint submitted to the White House.
The complaint details ongoing communications between President Trump, his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and Zelensky. Specifically, in a phone call that took place on July 25, President Trump asked Zelensky to continue investigations into Joe and Hunter Biden and their involvement in a Ukraine energy company. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by the Biden family. In that same phone call, President Trump implicated Attorney General William Barr. Trump repeatedly suggested that Zelensky work directly with Giuliani and Barr on this matter, and other matters of interest to Trump.
These actions seem to violate campaign finance laws, which state that you cannot solicit foreign aid or interference in U.S. elections. For those of you who do not know, Joe Biden is currently one of the leading Democratic contenders, running against Donald Trump for the 2020 election. Further adding to the complexity of the story, a week before this phone call, Trump ordered the withholding of over $400 million in military aid to Ukraine. In addition, Trump and White House staff made multiple attempts to cover up and shield this information from Congress and the public. Now that Congress has the full whistleblower complaint and transcript from the phone call, it is issuing subpoenas to several members of the White House staff. Through these subpoenas, Trump’s staff will need to testify in front of Congress under oath. By doing so, more facts will be revealed and more truth will come to light.