Trump Rails Against Nadler, Schiff in First Response to Impeachment Articles: ‘WITCH HUNT!’
Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty
President Donald Trump got on the White House Twitter machine to let out his first furious response to the articles of impeachment Democrats announced against him on Tuesday.
“Nadler just said that I ‘pressured Ukraine to interfere in our 2020 Election.’ Ridiculous, and he knows that is not true,” Trump said in his first tweet. “Both the President & Foreign Minister of Ukraine said, many times, that there ‘WAS NO PRESSURE.’ Nadler and the Dems know this, but refuse to acknowledge!”
Nadler just said that I “pressured Ukraine to interfere in our 2020 Election.” Ridiculous, and he knows that is not true. Both the President & Foreign Minister of Ukraine said, many times, that there “WAS NO PRESSURE.” Nadler and the Dems know this, but refuse to acknowledge!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2019
Trump followed up by bellowing his usual refrain about the investigations into him:
WITCH HUNT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2019
And then, Trump called Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff “a totally corrupt politician” and promised “he’ll eventually have to answer” for his paraphrase of Trump call with Ukraine’s president.
Shifty Schiff, a totally corrupt politician, made up a horrible and fraudulent statement, read it to Congress, and said those words came from me. He got caught, was very embarrassed, yet nothing happened to him for committing this fraud. He’ll eventually have to answer for this!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2019
In a final tweet (for now), Trump mounted a recently adopted defense: that when he asked for a favor from Ukraine’s president, he was speaking on behalf of the United States, not himself”
Read the Transcripts! “us” is a reference to USA, not me!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 10, 2019
When House Judiciary chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) confirmed that the House will charge Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, he and his colleagues laid out the reasons why the Ukraine scandal provides grounds for both allegations. In terms of Trump’s claims about the remarks from Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump has repeatedly distorted comments from the Ukrainian leader in order to defend against the allegation that he pressured a foreign government to investigate his political rivals by blocking congressionally-approved military aid.
