House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) announced she will open an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, saying the president betrayed his oath of office by asking the president of Ukraine to open an investigation into a political rival.
"The actions of the Trump presidency revealed the dishonorable fact of the president's betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security, and betrayal of the integrity of our elections," Pelosi said Tuesday evening. "Therefore, today I'm announcing the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry. I'm directing our six committees to proceed with their investigations under that umbrella of impeachment inquiry."
"The president must be held accountable. No one is above the law," she added.
President Trump tweeted earlier Tuesday he would release the full transcript of his conversation with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, in which Trump allegedly pressured Zelensky into opening an investigation into Vice President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1176559966024556544
Trump described the call as "very friendly and totally appropriate." Trump also said he brought up Biden during the call, but denied any sort of quid pro quo agreement was discussed.
The Washington Post reported that Trump confirmed he withheld military aid from Ukraine prior to the phone call, but the president credited the move to concerns over how the money was being spent.
Last week, Pelosi criticized Democratic lawmakers for trying to press forward with impeachment without having the necessary support from party leaders. However, the whistleblower complaint over Trump's conversation with the Ukrainian president appears to be a turning point for many impeachment-skeptical Democrats.
More than two-thirds of House Democrats have now said they support impeaching the president. At least 45 Democrats have announced their support since Sunday.
The decision to open the impeachment inquiry follows months of Democratic in-fighting over whether or not to impeach the president. House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D., N.Y.) has repeatedly said his committee has already been conducting an inquiry, while Pelosi had been reluctant to proceed until Tuesday.