Leading 2020 Democratic candidate Joe Biden on Tuesday afternoon, sharing a short message in Wilmington, Delaware, said he can “take the political attacks” during his campaign — but he warned that President Donald Trump’s actions in the Oval Office could have repercussions that may last forever.
“I can take the political attacks. They’ll come and they’ll go, and in time they’ll soon be forgotten,” said Biden in brief remarks in the context of a controversy involving a phone call Trump had with the leader of Ukraine in July.
“But if we allow a president to get away with shredding the United States Constitution, that will last forever.”
Biden suggested Congress may need to initiate impeachment proceedings against Trump.
Related: Trump Admin Pushes Back Hard on Ukraine Aid ‘Quid Pro Quo’ Charges
“The president should stop stonewalling this investigation and all the other investigations of his wrongdoing,” declared Biden. “Using its full constitutional authority, Congress should demand the information it has a legal right to receive.”
“And if the president does not comply — if he continues to obstruct Congress and flout the law — Donald Trump will leave Congress no choice but to initiate impeachment.”
This is as close as Biden has come to speaking about impeachment, though his comment stops short of outright calling for impeachment.
See the tweet just below:
JUST IN: Joe Biden: "I can take the political attacks. They’ll come and they’ll go, and in time they’ll soon be forgotten. But if we allow a president to get away with shredding the United States Constitution, that will last forever." pic.twitter.com/28i7e2lu0R
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 24, 2019
.@SpeakerPelosi accidentally tells the truth here, which is that everything they’re doing is an attempt to stop @realDonaldTrump from getting democratically re-elected: “He can’t win; that is very serious.” pic.twitter.com/uP9zmJY07P
— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) September 24, 2019
In response to Biden’s terse statement — he took no questions and immediately strode from the stage after his remarks — Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel released the following statement: “First it was the Russia hoax. Now it’s the Ukraine hoax.”
“Once again, Joe Biden has shown he is just as extreme as the rest of the 2020 Democrats who are desperate to bring President Trump down,” continued McDaniel in a statement shared with LifeZette.
“Instead of backing a baseless impeachment effort, Biden should be answering for the only scandal that exists: Why a corrupt Ukrainian company paid his son $50,000 a month to lobby the Obama-Biden administration, and why Biden threatened the Ukrainians if they failed to fire a prosecutor investigating the company,” she also said.
Related: Judge Jeanine Pirro: ‘I Think Joe Biden Is Cooked’
“Now that the president has authorized the release of the transcript of his call with President Zelensky, we call on Biden to release the transcripts of his calls as vice president with Ukrainian and Chinese leaders while his son was conducting shady business deals in those countries,” McDaniel concluded.
This drama comes on a day in which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was meeting with House Democratic caucus members — and ahead of her own remarks on the matter, scheduled to come later this afternoon.
Multiple reports emerged suggesting Trump had ordered acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney to freeze roughly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine just days prior to Trump’s discussion with the new Ukrainian president about looking at the business dealings of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
The Democrats are seizing on what appears to be an instance of coincidence, however.
The Wall Street Journal quoted one official as saying, “The request [in the phone call] reflected the president’s concerns about how the U.S. is spending aid money and whether U.S. allies are adequately contributing.”
“No, I didn’t — I didn’t do it,” Trump said when asked if the withholding of aid was linked to a Biden investigation.
“It’s very important to talk about corruption,” stressed the president. “Why would you give money to a country that you think is corrupt?”
House Democrats are now potentially pushing for Trump’s impeachment — while simultaneously supporting Biden as their top candidate for 2020.
See this tweet — and share your thoughts below on this developing story.
I'm glad the President is being transparent about his call with Ukraine
Now I want to see:
Transcripts of Obama's calls with Iran right before he delivered them $150 Billion in cash
Transcripts of Biden's calls with China before his son secured a multi-billion dollar deal
RT!
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 24, 2019
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