In rare bipartisan moment, Senate unanimously votes for Trump to release whistleblower complaint to intelligence committees

The Senate voted unanimously in favor of a resolution on Tuesday calling for a whistleblower complaint involving President Donald Trump to be turned over to congressional intelligence committees.

The move is monumental and a rare moment of bipartisanship between Democrats and Republicans in the upper chamber. It also came as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was expected to announce her support of a formal impeachment inquiry into Trump stemming from the whistleblower’s complaint.

According to recent reports, the complaint centers around a phone call Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during which Trump pressed Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden’s dealings in Ukraine ahead of the 2020 election, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump pressured Zelensky to work with his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani on the matter at least eight times during their July 25 phone call. The whistleblower’s complaint also references a “promise” that Trump made to Zelensky, but it’s unclear what it was, The Washington Post reported last week.

Media reports have said it could relate to a nearly $400 million military-aid package that the Trump administration slow-walked until a few days after the complaint was filed.

The Washington Post reported on Monday that Trump decided to slam the brakes on sending the aid roughly a week before his call with Zelensky and released it on September 12 after Schiff requested a full, unredacted copy of the whistleblower’s complaint.

The president confirmed The Post’s reporting on Tuesday and said he decided to withhold the aid days before the call with Zelensky, but he denied that it was part of any quid pro quo effort. Instead, he said his main concern with sending military assistance to Ukraine was that other countries haven’t been paying their fair share as well.

NSP

Article URL : https://www.businessinsider.com/senate-unanimous-vote-trump-whistleblower-complaint-2019-9