Democratic lawmaker: Trump responsible for ‘greatest crime a president has committed in my lifetime’

Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) on Monday accused President Trump of perpetrating the “greatest crime a president has committed in my lifetime,” calling the allegations that he sought to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into investigating Joe Biden “far worse than Watergate.”

Quigley attacked Trump for allegedly withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid in order to get Ukraine to investigate Biden, a former vice president and currently the Democratic 2020 presidential front-runner, and his son, Hunter Biden, in the midst of Ukraine’s ongoing conflict with Russia.{mosads}

“We muscled a country that was particularly vulnerable using the Justice Department. This is an extraordinary crime. I suspect this is the greatest crime a president has committed in my lifetime,” Quigley said during an interview with CNN’s “New Day.”

“This is far worse than Watergate,” he added.

“This is far worse than Watergate,” says @RepMikeQuigley about why he decided to support the impeachment inquiry. “The President disregarded the constitutional ability of Congress to oversee the executive branch.”https://t.co/CsQpKLFKcp pic.twitter.com/YFrEFKQsNI

— New Day (@NewDay) October 1, 2019

Quigley slammed Trump for the July 25 phone call between the president and Zelensky, which came just one day after former special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The call is at the center of a whistleblower’s complaint that led to House Democrats formally launching an impeachment inquiry into Trump last week.

“It’s the reason I came over the impeachment side, the fact that the president disregarded the constitutional ability of Congress to oversee the executive branch, and, I think more importantly, on the heels of the special counsel’s testimony, the call with Ukraine takes place,” Quigley said.

“The president’s never been held accountable for his wrongdoing. The day after, he says, ‘Well, I dodged that bullet, I can do something even worse. I’m immune. I’m above the law,’” he continued. 

Quigley is a member of the House Intelligence Committee, which on Monday subpoenaed Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, whom he tasked to coordinate with Zelensky, to hand over documents on Ukraine by Oct. 15.

“First of all, what was Rudy’s role in this, and that’s going to affect our legal proceedings as well. Was he indeed the president’s personal attorney? Was he acting under orders from the State Department? Was he self-dealing? Was he working for the political campaign? And all that matters,” Quigley said.

In a tweet on Monday, Giuliani said the subpoena “raises significant issues concerning legitimacy.” He did not indicate whether he would be complying with it.

I have received a subpoena signed only by Democrat Chairs who have prejudged this case. It raises significant issues concerning legitimacy and constitutional and legal issues including,inter alia, attorney client and other privileges. It will be given appropriate consideration.

— Rudy Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) September 30, 2019

Quigley called on the courts to enforce the Intelligence Committee’s subpoena power, saying that if Giuliani did not comply with the committee “that will be a true constitutional crisis.”

“Court’s don’t live in a vacuum. They must understand and appreciate the national security implications here and will force and compel this president and his associates to turn over relevant information and testify truthfully to Congress,” Quigley said.