Trump's actions in Ukraine issue worse than Nixon's: Schiff

The chairman of the US House Intelligence Committee says President Donald Trump's actions with regard to Ukraine are far worse than former President Richard Nixon's conduct that led to his downfall.

Adam Schiff, head of the congressional impeachment probe, made the analogy on Thursday as he summed up the case for Trump’s removal at the end of five days of public hearings in the impeachment inquiry.

Democrats have accused Trump of soliciting assistance from Ukraine in a July 25 phone call and via a circle of accomplices to investigate a presidential candidate in the 2020 election race.  

Trump is alleged to have stalled almost $400 million in military aid and a White House visit for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to pressure Kiev — which is at war with Russia — into helping.

"What we've seen here is far more serious than a third-rate burglary of the Democratic headquarters," Schiff said, referring to a Watergate scandal in 1972 when five burglars tied to Nixon’s reelection campaign broke into the Democratic National Committee’s offices, with the former president working to cover up the scandal before resigning two years later and ahead of a House vote on articles of impeachment.

"What we're talking about here is the withholding of recognition in that White House meeting (and) the withholding of military aid to an ally at war. This is beyond anything Nixon did," he added.

Schiff also resembled Trump's insistence that there was "no quid pro quo" to Nixon's infamous proclamation of "I'm not a crook."

US House Democrats moving closer to impeaching Trump

US Democrats say they are actively preparing for the next step in their eight-week-old impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump.

The chairman of the US House Intelligence Committee addressed Republican assertions that much of the testimony was based on "hearsay" by arguing that multiple witnesses provided direct and credible evidence and that their accounts should not be dismissed just because they were not in the room with the president. 

“There is nothing more dangerous than an unethical president who believes they are above the law. And I would just say to people watching at home and around the world … we are better than that," Schiff underlined.

Pelosi: Clear evidence that Trump used office for his personal gain

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said there is clear evidence President Donald Trump used his office for personal gain and undermined America’s national security.

House Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry against Trump in September after a whistleblower alleged the Republican president pressured his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who had served as a director for Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

The impeachment probe shifted to a public phase on November 13 after weeks of closed-door interviews in the House.

An overwhelming 70 percent of US adults think Trump’s action towards Ukraine was wrong, and a slim majority of Americans, 51 percent, believe Trump’s actions were both wrong and he should be removed from office, according to an ABC News/Ipsos poll released on Tuesday.

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