House launches Trump impeachment inquiry

The Department of Justice said President Trump has not asked Attorney General William Barr to contact Ukraine.

Here's the full statement from Justice spokesperson Kerri Kupec:

President Trump repeatedly pushed for the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to reopen an investigation of his potential 2020 rival, former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, and asked the Ukrainian leader to work with Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr on the issue, according to a transcript of the July call.

The Intelligence Community Inspector General in late August referred a criminal complaint to the Justice Department to investigate whether the President’s pushing for Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, a potential 2020 rival, was a violation of campaign finance law, the Justice Department said.

The Justice Department’s criminal division last week determined to not open a formal investigation of the president for possible campaign finance violations. 

The meeting today between President Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky at the UN General Assembly was arranged well before the whistleblower controversy exploded into public view, according to people familiar with the plans.

Aides initially did not view the meeting as a major highlight of Trump's UN agenda, which they expected would focus heavily on Iran and not on the questions of abuse of power that are now swirling. 

Now, officials say they view the meeting as an important venue for Trump to counter Democratic accusations of wrongdoing, particularly because they believe the "transcript" that will be released ahead of the meeting won't be the smoking gun that some are expecting. 

One official said there have not been extensive conversations between US and Ukrainian officials about what each leader will say during the open-press part of the meeting, though could not rule out more informal discussions.

Trump signaled Monday he believes Zelensky will back him up: "They don’t know either what the big deal is," he said, referring to the Ukrainians, in a tweet.

Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA officer and moderate, said that she hopes the Democrats take this process seriously, saying they “have a responsibility to be as thoughtful as possible in this process." 

Spanberger, who supports impeachment with the condition that the allegations related to Ukraine are true, said when asked about concerns that Speaker Pelosi announced her support for an impeachment inquiry before the transcript was out, she said "it’s one element of evidence not end all not just one piece of evidence necessary responsibility to be as thoughtful as possible." 

Liberal member Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who famously told a crowd earlier this year that she wanted to impeach that (expletive), said she’s pleased Pelosi is finally there. 

Asked what this really changes, she said "[President Trump] can’t abuse the power he has this is the only option we have left.”

When asked about what the tipping point was for moderate colleagues, she responded that “many of them though they see a national security risk.. I think that’s what pulled them all on board.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this morning declined to offer details of her phone call yesterday with Trump regarding impeachment.

She spoke to reporters as she arrived to this morning’s meeting with her caucus. 

Asked what Democrats need to see beyond the whistleblower complaint in their investigation, Pelosi responded: “There's nothing beyond. The President admits that he made the statement.” 

Senior Trump Administration officials are doing damage control on a call with outside allies, according to a source who was invited and shared the invitation with CNN.  

They are billing it as a call "to discuss news of the day."

House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff has sent a letter to Attorney General Bill Barr demanding information and records about the handling of the whistleblower complaint.

Schiff claims that should the Justice Department’s previously stated position — which said “the disclosure in this case did not concern allegations of conduct by a member of the Intelligence Community or involve an intelligence activity under the DNI’s Supervision” — be allowed to stand, it could have “serious corrosive consequences for whistleblowing within the IC and the Committee’s exercise of its lawful oversight duties”

Schiff gave Barr until this Friday to produce “any legal opinion, legal analysis, or factual analysis” by the Justice Department related to the whistleblower complaint, and until Tuesday to produce additional material requested, including any DOJ communications with the White House regarding the complaint.

The Senate unanimously approved a resolution urging the Trump administration to provide the full whistleblower compliant to Congress.

The measure was authored by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. He said the resolution was "aimed at a recalcitrant executive branch, which has blocked the ability for the committees to see the complaint, even though the law requires it."

McConnell said Republicans would go along with the resolution in the spirit that it would assist the Intelligence Committee conduct its investigation.

About the complaint: The Trump-Ukraine drama was first triggered by a whistleblower, who filed a complaint about Trump's contact with a foreign leader. After that, allegations surfaced that Trump threatened to withhold $400 million in military and security aid from Ukraine to force Kiev to open an investigation into his potential 2020 rival Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.