News / Politics

Pompeo: State Dept. gives initial response to Congress over documents

Saturday, 05 October 2019 3:08 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 05 October 2019 3:14 PM ]

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers a speech at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens on October 5, 2019. (AFP photo)

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that the State Department has provided an "initial response" to congressional Democrats over a request for documents relating to their impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump

“The State Department sent a letter last night to Congress, which is our initial response to the document request. We will obviously do all the things we are required to by law,” Pompeo said on Saturday at a news conference while traveling in Greece, Reuters reported.

Democrats in the US House of Representatives launched an impeachment inquiry in September after an unidentified whistleblower alleged Trump had unlawfully used his office to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former US Vice President Joe Biden, a leading contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

The rapidly escalating impeachment inquiry against Trump is the latest and perhaps most serious threat to his presidency, and the White House is failing to contain the crisis.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee had subpoenaed Pompeo for the documents last week.

On Friday, the House Oversight, Foreign Affairs and Intelligence committees, demanded that the White House provide documents related to allegations that Trump pressured Ukraine for political favors after Pompeo failed to meet the Friday deadline for documents sought by Democrats.

The committees are probing Trump's dealings with Ukraine as part of an impeachment inquiry, with a focus on a July 25 call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

PressTV-Democrats subpoena White House in impeachment probe

House Democrats issued a subpoena to the White House Friday evening for documents relating to the President Donald Trump’s contact with Ukraine.

During the call, Trump asked Zelenskiy to speak with Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani about whether Ukrainian officials improperly dropped an investigation of a company that hired Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.

Trump's aggressive new strategy to thwart the Democrats' impeachment offensive is already breaking down under the weight of new revelations.

Text messages released on Thursday between US diplomats and a senior Ukrainian aide reveal that Zelensky was told he should open an investigation against Biden if he wanted an invitation to visit Washington.

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