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| 2020 Democrats Say Trump’s Ukraine Call Is a ‘Smoking Gun’ for Impeachment | 2020 Democrats Say Trump’s Ukraine Call Is a ‘Smoking Gun’ for Impeachment |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Democrats seeking the party’s nomination for president in 2020 almost unanimously condemned President Trump on Wednesday, saying that the remarks he made to the president of Ukraine during a July phone call constituted an impeachable offense. | |
| At least two candidates used the same phrase: Both Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and the former housing secretary Julián Castro, who have been calling for Mr. Trump’s impeachment for months, labeled the reconstruction of the phone call a “smoking gun.” | At least two candidates used the same phrase: Both Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and the former housing secretary Julián Castro, who have been calling for Mr. Trump’s impeachment for months, labeled the reconstruction of the phone call a “smoking gun.” |
| “If this is the version of events the president’s team thinks is most favorable, he is in very deep jeopardy,” Ms. Warren said. “We need to see the full whistle-blower complaint and the administration needs to follow the law. Now.” | “If this is the version of events the president’s team thinks is most favorable, he is in very deep jeopardy,” Ms. Warren said. “We need to see the full whistle-blower complaint and the administration needs to follow the law. Now.” |
| The call between Mr. Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine is at the center of accusations that Mr. Trump pressured a foreign leader to open a potential corruption investigation tied to a political rival, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who is seeking to challenge Mr. Trump in 2020. | |
| The news of the call — which was first revealed by a whistle-blower who works in the intelligence community — prompted House Democrats to say they would formally open an impeachment inquiry. According to the reconstructed transcript, which the White House released on Wednesday morning, Mr. Trump urged Mr. Zelensky to contact Attorney General William P. Barr about opening an investigation connected to Mr. Biden, saying “whatever you can do with the attorney general would be great.” | |
| The rapid developments in Washington provided a rare chance for most of the 19 Democratic candidates to offer a unified response in a primary that has increasingly seen them draw distinctions with each other in an attempt to stand out. | |
| The candidates’ near-uniform embrace of an impeachment inquiry on Wednesday represents a significant shift from this spring, when, in the lead up to Robert S. Mueller III’s public remarks about his report, only six candidates had explicitly endorsed beginning an inquiry against Mr. Trump. | |
| “Reading the transcript of Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president confirms what we already know: Trump is abusing the powers of the federal government to help his re-election campaign,” Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont said. “Trump’s self-dealing and corruption is limitless, and the House is right to begin impeachment proceedings to hold him accountable.” | |
| Mr. Biden, who has been more reluctant than some of his rivals to discuss impeachment, took a step in that direction on Tuesday, saying that continued efforts by Mr. Trump to stonewall investigations into his conduct would “leave Congress no choice but to initiate impeachment.” | Mr. Biden, who has been more reluctant than some of his rivals to discuss impeachment, took a step in that direction on Tuesday, saying that continued efforts by Mr. Trump to stonewall investigations into his conduct would “leave Congress no choice but to initiate impeachment.” |
| On Wednesday, Mr. Biden released a statement that sought to return attention to what he said were Mr. Trump’s failures to support American families. The statement called on Congress to “pursue the facts and quickly take prompt action to hold Donald Trump accountable,” but it did not make an explicit reference to impeachment. | On Wednesday, Mr. Biden released a statement that sought to return attention to what he said were Mr. Trump’s failures to support American families. The statement called on Congress to “pursue the facts and quickly take prompt action to hold Donald Trump accountable,” but it did not make an explicit reference to impeachment. |
| “The House must do its job and hold Donald Trump to account for his abuse of power,” he said. “I must do mine, and remain focused on making my case for a vision of the American presidency that will mean real help for those in our country who need it most.” | “The House must do its job and hold Donald Trump to account for his abuse of power,” he said. “I must do mine, and remain focused on making my case for a vision of the American presidency that will mean real help for those in our country who need it most.” |
| Poll after poll has shown that Democratic voters’ top priority is beating Mr. Trump in the 2020 general election, and the allegations that he pressured a foreign leader in an effort to hurt a political rival have enabled the candidates to collectively paint him as unfit to occupy the presidency. | Poll after poll has shown that Democratic voters’ top priority is beating Mr. Trump in the 2020 general election, and the allegations that he pressured a foreign leader in an effort to hurt a political rival have enabled the candidates to collectively paint him as unfit to occupy the presidency. |
| Senator Kamala Harris’s campaign used Wednesday as an opportunity to highlight the role of Mr. Barr in the various controversies surrounding Mr. Trump. Ms. Harris’s communications director resurfaced an exchange during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in May about Mr. Muller’s report between Ms. Harris and Mr. Barr, in which she asked the attorney general whether Mr. Trump had ever asked him to open an investigation into anyone else. After much hesitation, Mr. Barr said he did not know. | |
| Ms. Harris, of California, posted a screen shot of the reconstructed transcript on Twitter, writing, “They admit it: Trump pressured the Ukrainian president to work with the U.S. Attorney General to investigate a political opponent. He must be impeached.” Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey said in a statement that the document released Wednesday amounted to “apparent proof that Trump had pressured a foreign nation to meddle in our democracy again.” | Ms. Harris, of California, posted a screen shot of the reconstructed transcript on Twitter, writing, “They admit it: Trump pressured the Ukrainian president to work with the U.S. Attorney General to investigate a political opponent. He must be impeached.” Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey said in a statement that the document released Wednesday amounted to “apparent proof that Trump had pressured a foreign nation to meddle in our democracy again.” |
| “History will remember those who put politics aside at this time of crisis and treated it like the moral moment that it is,” he said. | “History will remember those who put politics aside at this time of crisis and treated it like the moral moment that it is,” he said. |
| Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who has said she supports the impeachment inquiry, said that the record of the call was “deeply disturbing,” adding that Mr. Trump had “violated the public’s trust.” | Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who has said she supports the impeachment inquiry, said that the record of the call was “deeply disturbing,” adding that Mr. Trump had “violated the public’s trust.” |
| “It’s shameful,” she said. “Our country deserves better.” | “It’s shameful,” she said. “Our country deserves better.” |
| Not every candidate in the Democratic primary has embraced impeachment. Representative Tulsi Gabbard, who has long opposed that remedy, argued Tuesday on Fox News that “impeachment at this juncture would be terribly divisive for the country.” And on Wednesday, she said that seeing the reconstructed transcript had not changed her mind. | Not every candidate in the Democratic primary has embraced impeachment. Representative Tulsi Gabbard, who has long opposed that remedy, argued Tuesday on Fox News that “impeachment at this juncture would be terribly divisive for the country.” And on Wednesday, she said that seeing the reconstructed transcript had not changed her mind. |
| “Most people reading through that transcript are not going to find that extremely compelling cause to throw out a president,” she said. | “Most people reading through that transcript are not going to find that extremely compelling cause to throw out a president,” she said. |
| But to some like Tom Steyer, the former hedge fund manager who pledged to spend millions of dollars on a campaign to impeach Mr. Trump before entering the presidential race, the reconstructed transcript made the situation crystal clear. | But to some like Tom Steyer, the former hedge fund manager who pledged to spend millions of dollars on a campaign to impeach Mr. Trump before entering the presidential race, the reconstructed transcript made the situation crystal clear. |
| “There it is,” Mr. Steyer said. “He did it. Donald Trump is a traitor.” | “There it is,” Mr. Steyer said. “He did it. Donald Trump is a traitor.” |