Impeachment inquiry updates

Over the past couple of weeks, Trump and most of his administration have continued to consistently act against the impeachment inquiry undertaken by House Democrats. Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer who helped prompt the Ukrainian government to start an investigation into the Biden family, continues to ignore the House subpoena brought against him. This, along with the federal investigation into two of Giuliani’s associates, has led some to question why Trump’s personal lawyer is so deeply involved with foreign policy.

Republican members of both the House and Senate continue to complain about Democratic mishandling of the impeachment inquiry as an official vote has not yet been administered. The President himself has expressed disbelief and frustration at the House inquiry. He has made accusations in relation to the whistleblower as well as members of the House. Most recently, he described his treatment in the impeachment inquiry as a “lynching” - prompting backlash from both supporters and Democrats.

On Tuesday, acting US ambassador to Ukraine, William B. Taylor Jr., testified to the House. In Taylor’s testimony, he confirmed that to his knowledge the Trump administration was withholding aid money and security assistance from the Ukrainian government until the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, publicly stated his intention to investigate the Biden family. Taylor’s full testimony is not publicly available yet, but it has been described by some House Democrats as “damning” for the Trump administration.

All these events are happening concurrent to and in the aftermath of the US abandonment of Kurdish allies in Syria and the President’s announcement of his intention to hold the next G-7 meeting at one of his company’s own properties - which has since been adjusted.

Suffice to say, the impeachment process so far has been long and complicated, and there doesn’t seem to be any end to the back-and-forth in sight.

Joseph Doner - Political Editor