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Trump Denounces ‘Partisan Impeachment Crusade’ on Eve of House Vote Trump Denounces ‘Partisan Impeachment Crusade’ on Eve of House Vote
(about 2 hours later)
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Tuesday denounced what he called a “partisan impeachment crusade” being waged against him by Democrats, calling the effort to remove him an unconstitutional abuse of power and an “attempted coup” that would come back to haunt them at the ballot box next year. WASHINGTON — President Trump on Tuesday angrily denounced the looming House vote to impeach him as a “partisan impeachment crusade” being waged by Democrats, describing the effort to remove him from office as an “attempted coup” that would come back to haunt them at the ballot box next year.
“I have no doubt the American people will hold you and the Democrats fully responsible in the upcoming 2020 election,” Mr. Trump wrote in a rambling, six-page letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent on the eve of House votes to impeach him on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. “They will not soon forgive your perversion of justice and abuse of power.” As the House moved toward votes on Wednesday to impeach Mr. Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, the president — who has stonewalled the inquiry at every turn — used an irate and rambling six-page letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi to try to make his own case, portraying himself as the victim of hostile enemies determined to destroy his presidency with false accusations.
Mr. Trump wrote that he knew his letter would not change the outcome of Wednesday’s votes, expected to occur almost entirely on party lines, to impeach him. But he said the missive was “for the purpose of history and to put my thoughts on a permanent and indelible record.” “This is nothing more than an illegal, partisan attempted coup that will, based on recent sentiment, badly fail at the voting booth,” Mr. Trump declared, describing a process enshrined in the Constitution as an attempted government overthrow.
The president angrily disputed both impeachment charges against him in the letter, saying he had done nothing wrong and asserting that Ms. Pelosi and her allies were using the Constitution to attack him for the successful policies he had implemented. “History will judge you harshly as you proceed with this impeachment charade,” he wrote.
“More due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials,” Mr. Trump wrote. In a missive full of unproven charges, hyperbole and long-simmering grievances against his own government — at one point, Mr. Trump referred to leaders of the F.B.I. as “totally incompetent and corrupt” — the president angrily disputed both of the impeachment charges against him.
“History will judge you harshly as you proceed with this impeachment charade,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Your legacy will be that of turning the House of Representatives from a revered legislative body into a Star Chamber of partisan persecution.” The letter ignored the copious evidence uncovered during a two-month inquiry by the House Intelligence Committee, based in part on the testimony of members of his own administration, that found that Mr. Trump sought to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals while holding back nearly $400 million in military assistance the country badly needed and a White House meeting.
The charges against Mr. Trump assert that he engaged in a corrupt scheme to enlist a foreign power for his own political benefit in the 2020 election, followed by an effort to conceal his actions by blocking congressional investigations. On Wednesday, the House is all but certain to approve them on nearly party-line votes, making him the third president ever to be impeached.
Past presidents have offered contrition as they stared down looming House impeachment votes. President Bill Clinton issued a personal apology from the White House Rose Garden in 1998, biting his lip and saying he was “profoundly sorry” for his actions in the Monica Lewinsky affair days before the House voted to impeach him. President Richard M. Nixon resigned his office in 1974 rather than face the vote at all.
But Mr. Trump was defiant and unrepentant on Tuesday. He accused Ms. Pelosi and her party of fabricating lies against him, saying that the speaker and Democrats were possessed by “impeachment fever” and vowing that he and the Republican Party would emerge stronger after he is vindicated in a Senate trial.
“You are the ones interfering in America’s elections,” he wrote in the letter on stationery embossed with the White House seal. “You are the ones subverting America’s democracy. You are the ones Obstructing Justice. You are the ones bringing pain and suffering to our Republic for your own selfish, political and partisan gain.”
The letter appeared to preview the grievance-filled narrative of his 2020 campaign, echoing the angry rants Mr. Trump delivers at arena-style rallies around the country as he campaigns for re-election.
Mr. Trump wrote that he knew his letter would not change the outcome of Wednesday’s votes. But he said the document was “for the purpose of history and to put my thoughts on a permanent and indelible record.”
Mr. Trump released the letter on Tuesday afternoon as Democrats began taking the final steps toward Wednesday’s final vote by drafting rules for debate on the House floor. Meeting in a tiny hearing room upstairs from the House chamber, the House Rules Committee kicked off the broader House debate over the fate of Mr. Trump’s presidency.
“This scheme to corrupt an American presidential election subordinated the democratic sovereignty of the people to the private political ambitions of one man, the president himself,” said Representative Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland and a member of the House Judiciary Committee. “It immediately placed the national security interests of the United States of America at risk.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.