WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Accusing President Donald Trump of violating the U.S. Constitution, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced on Tuesday that the Democrat-controlled House is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry.
Pelosi said she is directing six House committees to proceed with their investigations under the umbrella of the impeachment inquiry, saying Trump 'must be held accountable' and 'no one is above the law.'
'Our republic endures because of the wisdom of our Constitution, enshrined in three co-equal branches of government, serving as checks and balances on each other,' Pelosi said.
She added, 'The actions taken to date by the President have seriously violated the Constitution - especially when the President says, 'Article II says, I can do whatever I want.'
Pelosi accused Trump of a breach of his constitutional responsibilities by calling upon a foreign power to intervene in the upcoming election.
The announcement by Pelosi comes as Trump faces allegations he threatened to withhold military aid from Ukraine unless Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky conducted an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
Biden, the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, has been accused of improperly pressuring Ukraine to fire then-General Prosecutor Viktor Shokin amid concerns he was investigating a Ukrainian natural gas company whose board Hunter Biden served on.
The president has admitted discussing the issue with Zelensky but has repeatedly claimed there was 'no quid pro quo.'
In an effort to derail what he once again calls a Democratic 'witch hunt,' Trump has authorized the release of the transcript of his controversial call with Zelensky.
Trump said on Twitter on Tuesday that he will release the 'complete, fully declassified and unredacted transcript' of his conversation with Zelensky.
'I am currently at the United Nations representing our Country, but have authorized the release tomorrow of the complete, fully declassified and unredacted transcript of my phone conversation with President Zelensky of Ukraine,' 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!' he added. 'This is nothing more than a continuation of the Greatest and most Destructive Witch Hunt of all time!'
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