President Donald Trump said he would “strongly consider” providing written testimony in the Democrat-run impeachment inquiry in response to a suggestion from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence chairman, hasn’t listed Trump as one of the witnesses in the ongoing impeachment inquiry. Democrats are attempting to find evidence to substantiate the allegation that Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, the frontrunner in the Democratic primary for the 2020 presidential election.
“Our Crazy, Do Nothing (where’s USMCA, infrastructure, lower drug pricing & much more?) Speaker of the House, Nervous Nancy Pelosi, who is petrified by her Radical Left knowing she will soon be gone (they & Fake News Media are her BOSS), suggested on Sunday’s DEFACE THE NATION that I testify about the phony Impeachment Witch Hunt,” Trump wrote, referring to CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”
“She also said I could do it in writing. Even though I did nothing wrong, and don’t like giving credibility to this No Due Process Hoax, I like the idea & will, in order to get Congress focused again, strongly consider it!” Trump added.
Later in the day, an attorney for House Democrats alleged in court in Washington that Trump may have lied in his written answers provided to special counsel Robert Mueller. The Democrats seek to view the grand jury material collected by the special counsel to determine whether any of the answers were untruthful.
Asked about what impeachable offenses the president has committed, Pelosi said on “Face the Nation” that the inquiry is still ongoing and alleged, without evidence, that the president committed “bribery.”
“The president could come right before the committee and talk, speak all the truth that he wants if he wants to take the oath of office or he could do it in writing. He has every opportunity to present his case,” Pelosi said.
Prior to the statement on Nov. 18, Trump has refused to cooperate with the impeachment investigation. In a letter to Democrats, the White House counsel refused to cooperate with the inquiry unless Democrats held a formal vote on impeachment and provided due process protections for the president. The Democrats voted to authorize a formal impeachment inquiry on Oct. 31. Republicans say that the impeachment resolution falls short of the due process protections provided to presidents in prior impeachment inquiries.
A number of executive branch officials, including Jennifer Williams, special adviser to Vice President Mike Pence on Europe and Russia issues, have testified in the impeachment inquiry despite being instructed not to do so.
Trump revealed his willingness to testify as the House Intelligence Committee prepared for the second week of public impeachment hearings. Republicans used the first week of the public testimony to cross-examine witnesses and expose gaps in the narrative created with leaks from closed-door hearings over the course of several weeks. Democrats continue to use closed-door hearings alongside public hearings.
Five more officials are scheduled to testify on Nov. 19, Nov. 20, and Nov. 21, including U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, one of the three officials who took the lead in attempting to remedy Trump’s negative view of Ukraine by working with Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani.
