'That was an article of impeachment against Richard Nixon,' said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, flanked by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff , the Democrat now leading the chamber's impeachment inquiry, warned President Donald Trump Wednesday that any attempts to further stonewall their congressional investigations will result in obstruction of Congress—something former President Richard Nixon faced as one of his articles of impeachment.
The two Democrats made clear during a roughly 40-minute news conference that while they were expeditiously moving forward with their inquiry, they were doing so methodically and would seek to enforce the administration's compliance when adhering to subpoenas for documents and testimony. "Any efforts by [Secretary of State Mike Pompeo], by the president or anyone else to interfere with the Congress' ability to call before it, relative witnesses will be considered evidence of obstruction of the lawful functions of Congress," Schiff said."That was an article of impeachment against Richard Nixon." Nixon was charged with three articles of impeachment: obstruction of justice, abuse of power and contempt of Congress. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff joins House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a weekly news conference on October 2 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.Pompeo has been subpoenaed by three House committees for documents related to Trump's July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, where Trump pressured the foreign leader to investigate a political opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, according to a transcript of the call. The committees also notified the secretary of state that they scheduled depositions with five current and former State Department officials. However, Pompeo has signaled he will not cooperate, telling the Democratic-led panels in a letter that their requests were"an attempt to intimidate, bully and treat improperly the distinguished professionals of the Department of State, including several career Foreign Service Officers." "Let me be clear: I will not tolerate such tactics, and I will use all means at my disposal to prevent and expose any attempts to intimidate the dedicated professionals whom I am proud to lead and serve alongside at the Department of State," Pompeo added. Schiff also said that if Pompeo or others in the administration refuse to cooperate, they would view such refusals to comply as admissions of guilt regarding the anonymous whistleblower's allegations that the president sought a foreign leader's help with interfering in a U.S. election.Trump immediately tweeted after the Democrats' press conference, deploying his usual tactic of blasting the impeachment inquiry and accusing House Democrats of frivolously pursuing impeachment. "The Do Nothing Democrats should be focused on building up our Country, not wasting everyone's time and energy on BULLSHIT, which is what they have been doing ever since I got overwhelmingly elected in 2016, 223-306," he wrote."Get a better candidate this time, you'll need it!" On Tuesday, Trump falsely claimed in a tweet that"what is taking place is not an impeachment, it is a COUP."
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