Rep. Justin Amash (Mich.), an Independent who formally left the Republican Party earlier this year, said Wednesday that a memo of President Trump’s conversation with the leader of Ukraine was a “devastating indictment” of the president.
“Again, it’s not just about a call, but even the call is a devastating indictment of the president,” Amash, who previously argued that the controversy surrounding Trump was more so about his “continuing abuse of the office of the presidency,” said on Twitter just moments after the White House released a memo of Trump’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian president Volodmyr Zelensky.{mosads}
Amash, an outspoken critic of Trump, zeroed in on a portion of the conversation in which the president asked for a “favor” immediately after Zelensky thanked the president for military support.
The lawmaker highlighted sections of the discussion, noting that Trump asked Zelensky to investigate CrowdStrike, a U.S.-based Internet security company that initially examined the breach of the Democratic National Committee’s servers in 2016.
Trump later called on the Ukrainian leader to work with Attorney General William Barr to look into allegations of corruption against Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.
Trump’s phone call with Zelensky is said to be at least part of a whistleblower complaint that has embroiled his administration in controversy over the last week.
Reports first surfaced last week that Trump allegedly pressured the Ukrainian leader to find dirt on a political rival, spawning increasing calls from Democrats to launch impeachment proceedings.
The call occurred around the same time that the Trump administration withheld millions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine, raising additional speculation as to whether the aid was used as leverage in the leaders’ talks.
Trump has acknowledged speaking with Zelensky about Biden, but has denied addressing military aid during their conversations.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday announced the House would initiate a formal impeachment inquiry into Trump in wake of the developments.
Amash has long been a supporter of impeachment. The congressman publicly endorsed launching impeachment proceedings in May, a decision that prompted a simmering feud with Trump and many Republicans. He formally left the party in July.