Published 11:20 IST, November 18th 2019
Nancy Pelosi says Trump did "worse than what Richard Nixon did"
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lashed out and compared US President Donald Trump to fellow Republican Richard Nixon and said he at least cared about the country.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lashed out and compared US President Donald Trump to fellow Republican Richard Nixon and said that the President at least cared enough about the country to leave office before his impeachment. A top Democrat in Congress said that Trump's pressure on Ukraine to investigate one of his potential rivals in the 2020 presidential election is something worse than Nixon. She mentioned about Nixon's resignation after the Watergate scandal involving a break-in at Democratic Party headquarters and subsequently covering it up.
Pelosi compares Trump with Nixon
Pelosi said that what the incumbent President did is much worse than even what Richard Nixon did. She further added that at some point in time Nixon cared about the country and realized that whatever he is doing is wrong for the country. Nixon, whose name becomes synonymous with scandal and public shame, resigned in 1974 after the House Judiciary Committee approved the articles of impeachment against him. He is the only US President who has resigned from office. Pelosi for months waited for the lawmakers to initiate impeachment proceedings but said that Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy impelled her to open the inquiry against the President.
Republicans criticize impeachment process
The proceedings were started on September 24 where Pelosi was not present in the room as the House Intelligence Committee held public hearings on Trump's impeachment. Trump and his supporters refused any wrongdoing and attacked the impeachment probe to be a pure political vendetta. Trump said that his call with Zelensky was perfect. The Republican lawmakers criticize the impeachment process as unfair. Pelosi accused Trump of bribery and called him an imposter as he attacked former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch as she testified in the impeachment inquiry. Republicans at the hearing expressed support for Yovanovitch's public service and some later openly criticized Trump's actions.
Updated 12:08 IST, November 18th 2019