Former Vice President Joe Biden indicated in a speech on Tuesday that impeachment proceedings against President Trump are warranted if the president does not cooperate with congressional investigations related to a whistleblower complaint.
Speaking from Wilmington, Del. on Tuesday, Biden said if Trump doesn’t cooperate and instead obstructs investigations, that “will leave Congress, in my view, no choice but to initiate impeachment.”
“That would be a tragedy, but a tragedy of his own making,” he added.
JUST IN: Joe Biden: If Pres. Trump refuses to comply with congressional requests, then he “will leave Congress, in my view, no choice but to initiate impeachment.”
“That would be a tragedy, but a tragedy of his own making.” https://t.co/bWmdwHRo4B pic.twitter.com/AC5UxnKhyg
— ABC News (@ABC) September 24, 2019
Biden, who is a current Democratic candidate for president in the 2020 election, was among the few Democratic candidates who had not come out in favor of impeaching Trump
The latest issue spurring calls of impeachment against Trump is his alleged withdrawal of $391 million in aid from Ukraine as a tactic of pressuring Ukraine to investigate Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.
On Tuesday, Trump confirmed he withheld the aid in June, but did so before the call took place in July to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump defended the decision to withhold aid from Ukraine out of a concern for a lack of defense spending from Ukraine from other European countries.
Also on Tuesday, Trump ordered the full transcript of the call with Zelensky.
“You will see it was a very friendly and totally appropriate call. No pressure and, unlike Joe Biden and his son, NO quid pro quo! This is nothing more than a continuation of the Greatest and most Destructive Witch Hunt of all time!” Trump tweeted.
….You will see it was a very friendly and totally appropriate call. No pressure and, unlike Joe Biden and his son, NO quid pro quo! This is nothing more than a continuation of the Greatest and most Destructive Witch Hunt of all time!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019
Support for impeachment has been quickly gaining steam recently.
Several more congressional Democrats have announced their support of impeachment proceedings, with even more expected to publicly back the movement this week. Now 166 Democrats have voiced their support of impeachment action, according to NBC News.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been resistant to calls for impeachment made by her colleagues on Capitol Hill, but is expected to announce a formal impeachment inquiry later today.
White House Press Secretary responded to Democrat calls for impeachment, saying, “Dems do nothing but weaponize politics when they should be working on behalf of their constituents. President Trump is here in NYC working hard on behalf of our country, while the dems continue to stomp their feet & shout the word impeachment. Nothing new here.”
Yes! Dems do nothing but weaponize politics when they should be working on behalf of their constituents. President Trump is here in NYC working hard on behalf of our country, while the dems continue to stomp their feet & shout the word impeachment. Nothing new here. https://t.co/GSOwT9qRXb
— Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) September 24, 2019
