President Donald Trump is considering testifying in the ongoing impeachment inquiry against him, after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) said she would welcome his testimony in an interview that aired Sunday on CBS’ Face the Nation.
“If he has information that is exculpatory, that means ex, taking away, culpable, blame, then we look forward to seeing it,” she said, adding that Trump “could come right before the committee and talk, speak all the truth that he wants if he wants.”
Trump has criticized the impeachment inquiry as being stacked against him, with the majority of the testifying witnesses being what he calls “never Trumpers.” Pelosi’s offer indicated that she is trying to keep the inquiry as unbiased as possible.
Trump tweeted Monday morning that he would consider Pelosi’s offer of providing written testimony and “liked the idea,” even though he does not want to give credibility to the impeachment inquiry.
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“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!” he tweeted.
The House Intelligence committee is planning to hear more testimony next week, including that of U.S. ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland.
Sondland’s testimony has been highly anticipated by the Democrats, as he is among the only witnesses to have had direct contact with Trump. Multiple witnesses have stated they overheard a phone call in which Trump and Sondland reportedly discussed efforts to push Ukraine to open an investigation that would benefit Trump politically.
In a closed-door testimony that was made public Saturday, Tim Morrison, a former National Security Council aide said Sondland told him he had discussed Ukraine with Trump. Morrison said Sondland and Trump had talked about five times between July 15 and Sept. 11 — the weeks that $391 million in U.S. military aid was withheld from Ukraine.
Sondland’s testimony could provide key evidence that the president inappropriately pressured Ukraine to launch a political probe by withholding military aid in a quid pro quo deal, or what Pelosi has begun to label “bribery.”
