Donald Trump mulls testifying to impeachment inquiry

The US President says he will seriously consider testifying in writing in order to get Congress ‘focused again’.

Donald Trump says he will seriously consider testifying in writing to the impeachment inquiry in order to get Congress “focused again”.

The US president’s surprise comments were made in response to the suggestion by Democrat house leader Nancy Pelosi that Mr Trump give testimony to the inquiry, which he has dismissed as a witch hunt.

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“Nervous Nancy Pelosi, who is petrified by her radical left … suggested that I testify about the phony Impeachment Witch Hunt,” Mr Trump tweeted. “She also said I could do it in writing. Even though I did nothing wrong, and don’t like giving credibility to this No Due Process Hoax, I like the idea and will, in order to get Congress focused again, seriously consider it.”

....that I testify about the phony Impeachment Witch Hunt. She also said I could do it in writing. Even though I did nothing wrong, and don’t like giving credibility to this No Due Process Hoax, I like the idea & will, in order to get Congress focused again, strongly consider it!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2019

If Mr Trump did choose to give testimony it would almost certainly be in writing rather than in person to reduce any danger of exposing himself to perjury on cross-examination.

During the Russia investigation Mr Trump initially offered to be interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller but backtracked from that position under the advice of White House lawyers. However Mr Trump did provide written answers to Mr Mueller.

The president stepped up his attacks on the Democrat-led impeachment inquiry ahead of two days of crucial testimony from eight US officials.

“Never has the Republican Party been so united as it is now … this is a great fraud being played out against the American people by the Fake News Media and their partner, the Do Nothing Democrats,” Mr Trump tweeted. “The rules are rigged by Pelosi and Schiff, but we are winning, and we will win.”

On Wednesday (AEST) the house Intelligence Committee will hear testimony from Lt Col Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine specialist in the National Security Council. Mr Vindman was listening in on Mr Trump’s 25 July phone call with the Ukraine president in which Mr Trump asked his counterpart to investigate his political rival Joe Biden.

Lt Col Alexander Vindman, director for European Affairs at the National Security Council. Picture: AFP

Mr Vindman said he was so concerned by the call that he reported it to the chief NCS lawyer who then ordered that the record of the call be placed in a highly classified server.

The inquiry will also hear Wednesday (AEST) from Kurt Volker, the former special envoy to Ukraine, who has testified behind closed doors that he was unaware of any so-called quid pro quo between the provision of US military aid to Ukraine and an investigation into the Bidens.

Republicans are hoping that his testimony casts doubt on the Democrat’s claim that there was a clear linkage between the decision to withhold $US400 million in US aid to Ukraine and a request for that country to investigate the activities of Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

The most anticipated testimony will come on Thursday (AEST) from the US ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondland. Mr Sondland, a Trump ally and donor, reversed some of his initial testimony to reveal that he personally told a top aide to Ukraine’s president that the release of US aid to Ukraine was linked to the Biden investigations.

Kurt Volker. Picture: AP

Emails reviewed by the WSJ show that Mr Sondland kept Trump administration officials, including acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, appraised of his efforts to get Ukraine to launch an investigation into the Bidens.

Ms Pelosi claims Mr Trump’s behaviour in dealing with Ukraine was worse than the actions of Richard Nixon in the Watergate scandal. Mr Nixon resigned before Congress had a change to impeach him.

“I mean what the president did was so much worse than even what Richard Nixon did, that at some point Richard Nixon cared enough to recognise that this could not continue,’ Ms Pelosi said.

Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia