Democrats’ impeachment report says Donald Trump abused his office

Democrats report accuses Donald Trump of abusing his power by placing his own political interests above those of the US.

Chairman of the US House Intelligence Committee Rep. Adam Schiff speaks during a news conference on the Trump impeachment inquiry. Picture: Alex Wong/Getty Images

The Democrats’ impeachment report has accused Donald Trump of abusing his power by placing his own political interests above those of the United States in his dealings with Ukraine.

“The President placed his own personal and political interests above the national interests of the United States, sought to undermine the integrity of the US presidential election process, and endangered US national security,” the report written by the Democrat-led House Intelligence Committee says.

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The 300-page report accuses the president of abusing his powers in seeking to pressure the government of Ukraine to investigate the activities in Ukraine of Mr Trump’s political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

“The President engaged in this course of conduct for the benefit of his own presidential reelection, to harm the election prospects of a political rival, and to influence our nation’s upcoming presidential election to his advantage,” the report said.

“President Trump’s scheme subverted US foreign policy toward Ukraine and undermined our national security in favour of two politically motivated investigations that would help his presidential reelection campaign.’’

The White House quickly hit back at the Democrat allegations, saying the report read like “the ramblings of a basement blogger’’.

The report will form the basis of impeachment considerations by the house Judiciary Committee.

It said the impeachment inquiry had “uncovered a months-long effort by President Trump to use the powers of his office to solicit foreign interference on his behalf in the 2020 election’’.’

“To compel the Ukrainian President to do his political bidding, President Trump conditioned two official acts on the public announcement of the investigations: a coveted White House visit and critical US military assistance Ukraine needed to fight its Russian adversary,” it said.

It also accused the president of being “engaged in an unprecedented campaign of obstruction of this impeachment inquiry.”

“The damage to our system of checks and balances, and to the balance of power within our three branches of government, will be long-lasting and potentially irrevocable if the president’s ability to stonewall Congress goes unchecked,” the report concluded. “Any future president will feel empowered to resist an investigation into their own wrongdoing, malfeasance, or corruption, and the result will be a nation at far greater risk of all three.”

The House report into President Donald Trump is photographed in Washington.

The committee will vote on the report Wednesday (AEST) and is expected to pass it on party lines.

“It will be up to the Congress to determine whether these acts rise to the level of an impeachable offence,” house Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff said after the report was released.

“With the release of our report, the American people can review for themselves the evidence detailing President Trump’s betrayal of the public trust.”

But the White House immediately attached the report.

“Chairman Schiff and the Democrats utterly failed to produce any evidence of wrongdoing by President Trump.” White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said. She said the report “reads like the ramblings of a basement blogger straining to prove something when there is evidence of nothing.’

The house Judiciary Committee will consider the report and will begin its own public hearings Thursday (AEST).

The report summarises the evidence given in high profile public hearings and private depositions by a diplomats, soldiers and public servants in recent months about Mr Trump’s policy towards Ukraine.

Mr Trump has denied wrongdoing and says he did not improperly pressure Ukraine to investigate the Bidens.

He has also denied claims that he withheld almost $US400 million in US military aid to Ukraine for the purpose of pressuring that country to investigate the Bidens.

President Donald Trump reviews the troops at the Pentagon in Washington.

This week the Republican minority on the house Intelligence Committee released their own report which rebuffed the claims made by Democrats.

“The evidence presented does not prove any of these Democrat allegations, and none of the Democrats’ witnesses testified to having evidence of bribery, extortion, or any high crime or misdemeanour,” the Republican report said.

On Thursday (AEST) the house Judiciary Committee will hear legal arguments from academics about the legal principles involved in impeachment.

The Judiciary Committee will then decide whether to draw up articles of impeachment against the president. If they do so, the full house is likely to vote on the issue before the end of the year. If Mr Trump is impeached by the house there would be an impeachment trial in the Republican-controlled Senate in January.

(Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia)