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Democratic members of Congress, grappling with the impeachment issue, spoke with new urgency on Sunday, following reports that President Trump has put pressure on the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will investigate the son of former Vice President Joe Biden during a phone call in July between the two leaders.
The moment comes as some of the 2020 Democratic primary candidates, as well as voters and activists, say they are frustrated by the fact that the Democratic-led House of Representatives has been slow to hold the president to account.
In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Adam Schiff (D-CA), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said the indictment could be the "only recourse" against the president's refusal to make public the whistleblower complaint associated with the call and a transcript of his conversation. with the Ukrainian President.
"If the president essentially refuses military aid at the same time as he tries to convince a foreign leader to do something illegal that defiles his opponent during a presidential campaign, this is perhaps the only Remedy equals the harm that driving accounts for, "said Schiff, while again refraining from calling for the opening of an impeachment proceeding.
Similarly, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) did not join the call for the removal of a growing percentage of her caucus. But on Sunday, she issued a warning that the administration had retained the content of the whistleblower's complaint.
"If the Administration persists in preventing the whistleblower from disclosing to Congress a possible serious breach of the President 's constitutional duties, he will enter a new, serious chapter of lawlessness that will take us to a whole new phase in the world. investigation, "wrote Pelosi.
Pelosi has come under increasing pressure from some Democrats in the House and during the 2020 election campaign, which argue that the inaction of the Democratic majority is in effect a seal of approval for the president's misdeeds.
"At this stage, the most important national scandal is not the president's behavior against the law, it's the Democratic Party's refusal to reject it," said Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). tweeted Saturday evening.
Some of the main candidates for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination expressed similar sentiments, including Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) who tweeted Friday: "After the Mueller report, Congress had the duty to begin the dismissal. By failing to act, Congress is complicit in Trump's latest attempt to solicit foreign interference to help him in the US elections. Do your constitutional duty and dismiss the president. "
On Sunday, Trump confirmed that he had talked about Biden with the foreign leader and defended his actions as appropriate.
"The conversation I had was largely about congratulations, about corruption, about all the ongoing corruption, and especially about the fact that we do not want our people, like Vice President Biden and his son, to create corruption already in Ukraine, "said Trump. journalists.
Mr Biden, for his part, did not openly called for dismissal, but during a campaign stop in Iowa this weekend, he said that the House should investigate the phone call.
"It seems like an overwhelming abuse of power," said Biden. "We have never seen anything like this from a president."
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