Senate Republicans on Tuesday unanimously approved a measure proposed by Democrats calling on the Trump administration to turn over to Congress the whistleblower complaint against President Trump that has resulted in calls to impeach him.
Every Senate Republican and Democrat voted to pass Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s resolution demanding that the administration “immediately” release the whistleblower complaint detailing allegations against the president to the House and Senate intelligence committees.
During a July 25 phone call with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump repeatedly asked Zelensky to investigate Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, over allegations that the former vice president used his position to help a Ukrainian energy company avoid a corruption probe soon after Hunter was appointed to its board.
On Tuesday, Trump admitted that he temporarily withheld military aid from Ukraine that was intended to help the country ward off Russian aggression, prompting suspicion of a quid pro quo scheme in which Trump is said to have finally released the aid in exchange for the promise that Biden’s conduct would be investigated.
The whistleblower complaint was made by an anonymous member of the intelligence community who lacked direct knowledge of the call, according to reports.
“This is not one of those discretionary moments,” Schumer said from the Senate floor. “The law says this must be transmitted to Congress. Well, we still have not received the whistleblower complaint.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell “hotlined” the non-binding resolution, a process to quick passage that requires no senator object to the measure.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Tuesday that a formal impeachment against Trump is moving forward and said the administration must turn over the whistleblower complaint by Thursday.
“The country’s doing the best it’s ever done, and I just heard she’d like to impeach,” Trump told reporters. “They all say that’s a positive for me in the election. You could also say who needs it. It’s bad for the country.”
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Mairead McArdle
National Review
