Files on Ukraine Affair: US Democrats Puts White House Ultimatum

With a so-called subpoena, the US Democrats want to force the White House to release documents on the Ukraine affair. The chairmen of the House's three committees, which are conducting the investigation into a possible impeachment case against President Donald Trump, said in Washington that if the White House did not hand over the required documents by Friday, they would order the release from this.

A subpoena is a legally binding invitation. "The monstrous disregard of the White House for numerous requests for voluntary document release leaves them no choice but to resort to this remedy," said Presidents of the Intelligence Committee, the Committee on Government Supervision and the Foreign Affairs Committee, Adam Schiff, Elijah Cummings and Eliot Angel.

The opposition Democrats, who hold the majority in the House of Representatives, accuse the White House and other government agencies of intentionally withholding material on a controversial phone call that Trump led at the end of July with the new Ukrainian head of state, Volodymyr Selenskyj. In it, Trump urged investigations in Ukraine against the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son. Such investigations could give Trump advantages in the 2020 presidential campaign.

Graphic: How an Impeachment works

THE MIRROR

The Democratic committee chairmen had already issued a subpoena against Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo on Friday. He was given one week to publish material on the Ukraine affair. Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani also had a subpoena.

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In addition, the committees invited five current or former State Department staff members as witnesses. Pompeo branded this as an attempt to "intimidate" and "bully." He would use all the means at his disposal to defend himself, the Foreign Minister warned in a letter to Congress. Trump described the plans of the Democrats for impeachment against him as a "coup d'état".

Pelosi promises Trump faire investigation

Adam Schiff sharply criticized Trump, who had sent informants close to spies and traitors in the Ukraine affair. "This is a blatant attempt to intimidate witnesses," Schiff said. "It's a call to violence." He pledged to preserve the anonymity of the intelligence officer who had started the affair with his complaint. "We will do everything in our power to ensure that the whistleblower is protected."

US House of Representatives spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, has promised Trump a fair trial of possible impeachment. "We have to be fair to the president," she told journalists in the Capitol in Washington. "That's why it's an investigation, not an impeachment process, and we need to give the president a chance to relieve himself."

Trump's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham wrote during Pelosis press conference on Twitter, the promise of a fair treatment is "ridiculous." The Democrats attacked Trump since his election victory.