House Democrats demand documents on Mike Pence’s interactions with the Ukrainians – including his sudden cancellation of a trip to attend the county’s presidential inauguration amid push for Biden probe
- The lawmakers cite press reports that President Trump used Pence to pressure the Ukrainians to investigate the Bidens
- They seek all documents he has relating to President Trump’s July 25 call with president of Ukraine
- A whistle-blower cited the decision to cancel Pence’s planned trip to Ukrainian President Zelensky’s inauguration
- Seek information on any link between U.S. military aid to Ukraine and policy requests
A trio of House Democratic committees are demanding documentation from Vice President Mike Pence about his calls and meetings with the Ukrainian government – as President Trump fends off an impeachment inquiry.
Pence features prominently in a whistle-blower’s complaint. The person, identified as a CIA officer, cites the sudden cancellation of a planned trip by Pence to attend the inauguration of President Volodymyr Zelenksy in Kiev as part of an alleged pressure tactic to benefit the Trump-Pence reelection campaign.
The inquiry was announced by the chairs of the House Oversight, Foreign Affairs, and Intelligence committees, as well as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
‘Recently, public reports have raised questions about any role you may have played in conveying or reinforcing the President’s stark message to the Ukrainian President,’ the chairmen write in a joint letter.
House Committees are demanding documents related to Vice President Mike Pence’s interactions with Ukraine
‘The reports include specific references to a member of your staff who may have participated directly in the July 25, 2019, call, documents you may have obtained or reviewed, including the record of the call, and your September 1, 2019, meeting with the Ukrainian President in Warsaw, during which you reportedly discussed the Administration’s hold on U.S. security assistance to Ukraine,’ they continue.
‘The Committees are seeking the documents in the attached schedule in order to examine this sequence of events, including the Administration’s attempts to press the Ukrainian President to open an investigation into former Vice President Biden or election interference in 2016, and the reasons behind the White House’s decision to delay critical military assistance to Ukraine that was appropriated by Congress to counter Russian aggression,’ they write.
They are seeking to get all the documents by Oct. 15, although Democrats have gone to court to try to pry administration documents in other matters.
Democrats are investigating the Trump administration’s efforts to get Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., is among three lawmakers who signed the letter
The letter to Pence comes as the Trump White House has been resisting document requests
It includes a request for information about Trump’s July 25 phone call, which Pence reportedly was briefed on
The Trump White House has been resisting requests for documents, and is arguing House Democrats must first take a vote on an impeachment inquiry.
They seek information on Pence’s Sept. 1 meeting with Zelensky, and say there are ‘questions about any role you may have played in conveying or reinforcing the President’s stark message to the Ukrainian President.’
Trump on Thursday publicly asked Ukraine and China to investigate Biden. He also said on Twitter he had an ‘absolute right’ to ask a foreign country to investigate anyone.
The letter cites a Washington Post report that Trump used Pence to ‘pressure’ Ukraine, but states that it ‘remains unclear’ to what extent he had knowledge of ‘specific aspects’ of the plan. It also cites reports that Pence’s national security advisor, Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, was on the call where Trump pushed for a ‘favor’ from the Ukrainian president – investigating Biden as well as his theory of 2016 election hacking.
The letter came hours after Trump predicted he would prevail in the Senate if the House votes to advance articles of impeachment.
The opposition would have to meet the exceedingly high bar of getting a two-thirds Senate vote to remove Trump from office. Were that to happen, Pence would be next in the line of succession.
The letter also cites Pence’s quote backing up the president. ‘I think the American people have a right to know if the Vice President of the United States or his family profited from his position as Vice President during the last administration. That’s about looking backwards and understanding what really happened,’ Pence said Thursday.