House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announces the House of Representatives will launch a formal inquiry into the impeachment of U.S. President Donald Trump following a closed House Democratic caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
September 25, 2019
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday it would be wrong if President Donald Trump asked Ukraine to launch an investigation into a political opponent, even if he did not tie the request to the release of millions of dollar in U.S. aid.
“There is no requirement that there be a quid pro quo in the conversation,” Pelosi said at an event sponsored by The Atlantic magazine. “If the president brings up, he wants them to investigate something, his political opponent, that is self-evident that it is not right. We don’t ask foreign governments to help us in our elections.”
Pelosi was due to meet with all House of Representatives Democrats later on Tuesday to map out a way forward after the nation’s top spy officials refused to hand over a complaint from an intelligence whistleblower that reportedly deals with a call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Pelosi said it was clear that acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire was breaking the law in withholding the complaint from Congress at the direction of the Trump administration.
“It’s really unfortunate,” she said.
Pelosi, however, declined to say what the next steps might be from the House as Democratic lawmakers try to force the administration to hand over the complaint.
(Reporting by Bryan Pietsch and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Howard Goller and Jonathan Oatis)
