Page 4 - ARUBA TODAY
P. 4
A4 up front
Monday 18 noveMber 2019
Democrats invite Trump to testify in impeachment inquiry
Continued from Front has blocked others from
cooperating with what
Senate Democratic leader they dismiss as a sham in-
Chuck Schumer echoed vestigation. And testimony
that suggestion. suggests he was intimately
“If Donald Trump doesn’t involved in discussions that
agree with what he’s are at the heart of the in-
hearing, doesn’t like what vestigation into whether
he’s hearing, he shouldn’t Trump held up U.S. military
tweet. He should come to aid to Ukraine to try to pres-
the committee and testify sure the county’s president
under oath. And he should to announce an investiga-
allow all those around him tion into Democrats, includ-
to come to the committee ing former Vice President
and testify under oath,” Joe Biden, a leading 2020
Schumer told reporters. candidate, and his son,
He said the White House’s Hunter. Multiple witnesses
insistence on blocking wit- overheard a phone call in
nesses from cooperating which Trump and Sondland
begs the question: “What is reportedly discussed efforts
he hiding?” to push for the investiga-
The comments come as tions. In private testimony
the House Intelligence to impeachment investi-
Committee prepares for gators made public Satur- President Donald Trump pauses during an event on healthcare prices in the Roosevelt Room of the
a second week of public day, Tim Morrison, a former White House, Friday, Nov. 15, 2019, in Washington.
hearings as part of its in- National Security Council Associated Press
quiry, including with the aide and longtime Repub- held from Ukraine before it tigation.” Burisma is the gas Volker, the former U.S. spe-
man who is arguably the lican defense hawk, said was released. company that hired Hunter cial envoy to Ukraine.
most important witness. Sondland told him he was And he recounted that Biden. Morrison’s testimo- On Wednesday the com-
Gordon Sondland, Trump’s discussing Ukraine matters Sondland told a top Ukrain- ny contradicted much of mittee will hear from Sond-
ambassador to the Euro- directly with Trump. ian official in a meeting that what Sondland told con- land in addition to Laura
pean Union, is among the Morrison said Sondland and the vital U.S. military assist- gressional investigators dur- Cooper, a deputy assist-
only people interviewed to Trump had spoken approxi- ance might be freed up if ing his own closed-door ant secretary of defense,
date who had direct con- mately five times between the country’s top prosecu- deposition, which the am- and David Hale, a State
versations with the presi- July 15 and Sept. 11 — the tor “would go to the mike bassador later amended. Department official. And
dent about the situation weeks that $391 million in and announce that he was Trump has said he has no on Thursday, Fiona Hill, a
because the White House U.S. assistance was with- opening the Burisma inves- recollection of the over- former top NSC staffer for
heard call and has sug- Europe and Russia, will ap-
gested he barely knew pear.Trump, meanwhile,
Sondland, a wealthy donor continued to tweet and
to his 2016 campaign. But retweet a steady stream
Democrats are hoping he of commentary from sup-
sheds new light on the dis- porters as he bashed “The
cussions. Crazed, Do Nothing Dem-
“I’m not going to try to pre- ocrats” for “turning Im-
judge his testimony,” Rep. peachment into a routine
Jim Himes, D-Conn., said partisan weapon.” “That is
on “Fox News Sunday.” But very bad for our Country,
he suggested, “it was not and not what the Founders
lost on Ambassador Sond- had in mind!!!!” he wrote.
land what happened to He also tweeted a doc-
the president’s close asso- tored video exchange be-
ciate Roger Stone for lying tween Rep. Adam Schiff,
to Congress, to Michael the Democratic chairman
Cohen for lying to Con- of the Intelligence Commit-
gress. My guess is that Am- tee, and Republican Rep.
bassador Sondland is going Jim Jordan, in which Schiff
to do his level best to tell said he did not know the
the truth, because other- identity of the whistleblow-
wise he may have a very er whose complaint trig-
unpleasant legal future in gered the inquiry. The clip
front of him.” has been altered to show
The committee will also be Schiff wearing a referee’s
interviewing a long list of uniform and loudly blow-
others. On Tuesday, they’ll ing a whistle.In her CBS in-
hear from Morrison along terview, Pelosi vowed to
with Jennifer Williams, an protect the whistleblow-
aide to Vice President Mike er, whom Trump has said
Pence, Alexander Vind- should be forced to come
man, the director for Euro- forward despite longstand-
pean affairs at the National ing whistleblower protec-
Security Council, and Kurt tions. q
