U.S. Congress Announces Impeachment Inquiry into Trump

A scandal erupted in the United States over a telephone conversation between the presidents of the United States and Ukraine. The House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Trump’s conversation a violation of his constitutional duties. On Tuesday, September 24, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress Nancy Pelosi announced the beginning a formal impeachment inquiry  into President Donald Trump. The reason for this step was the scandal that erupted after a telephone conversation between Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25. “No one is above the law,” the representative of the Democratic Party emphasized. She said that Trump’s action have seriously violated the constitution. The U.S. President is accused of exerting pressure on his Ukrainian counterpart during the conversation. According to the Democrats, the Trump administration could freeze the transfer of military assistance earmarked as part of the Ukraine Security Support Initiative to increase pressure on Kyiv. In particular, Trump allegedly asked to start an investigation in Ukraine against former Vice President Joseph Biden, who intends to compete with the current president in the next election in November 2020, and his son Hunter. Trump’s lawyer is interested in Joe Biden’s trip to Ukraine A number of American media previously reported that the head of state in a conversation with Zelensky has repeatedly called for the assistance of Trump’s personal lawyer Rudolph Giuliani. According to The New York Times, Trump’s lawyer wants to know, could the trips of the former Vice President of the United States to Ukraine be associated with the business interests of his relatives. Hunter Biden in the spring of 2014 joined the board of directors of the private Ukrainian oil and gas company Burisma. Shortly before Pelosi’s announcement, Joseph Biden said that Trump’s actions are abuse of power, which undermines United States national security. The head of state, who denied allegations of pressure on Zelensky , a few days after the scandal erupted, gave permission to publish a “complete, declassified and unedited transcript” of the telephone conversation. “You will see that the call was very friendly,” he said. DW