Pelosi Invites President to Testify in Impeachment Inquiry, Trump Says He Might Just Do That
Share This article
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has invited President Donald Trump to testify in front of the congressional impeachment inquiry panel as the Democrats' public hearings move into their second week.
Pelosi made the statement on CBS's "Face the Nation" while pushing back against the president's complaints that the process has been stacked against him.
"The president could come right before the committee and speak all the truth that he wants if he wants to take the oath or he could do it in writing," Pelosi said. "He has every opportunity to present his case."
"If he has information that is exculpatory, that means ex, taking away, culpable, blame, then we look forward to seeing it," she said. Trump "could come right before the committee and talk, speak all the truth that he wants if he wants."
Trump has indicated he may be willing to testify at the impeachment hearing. On Monday, he tweeted he might offer written testimony: "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!"
Meanwhile, Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) told Fox News the upcoming report from Inspector General Michael Horowitz on how the Russia collusion investigation got started could be bad news for many in Washington.
"The Democrats are racing to get through this impeachment as quickly as possible," Ratcliffe said. "That's why we had eight witnesses in five hearings this week and we're not doing any of the work is because they know that that inspector general's report is likely to be damning about the origins of the 2016 investigation into the Trump campaign, and the role that the Obama-Biden officials played in that."
Critics of the Russia investigation have argued it originated with a "deep state" attempt to undermine Trump that they believe was initiated under the Obama administration.
That report is expected to be released to the public soon.
Horowitz told Congress in a letter last month that he did not expect a lengthy review period and that he intended to make as much of the report public as possible, with minimal redactions.
"A number of people who were mentioned in the report are having an opportunity right now to comment on how they're quoted in the report," Attorney General William Barr said at a news conference in Memphis, Tennessee last week. "And after that process is over, which should be very short, the report will be issued."
Horowitz's team has reviewed over one million records and conducted more than 100 interviews, including several who were interviewed in the last few months, the inspector general has told Congress.
Share This article