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House Democrats to launch impeachment inquiry into Trump

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced Sept. 24 that the U.S. House of Representatives would begin an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump over alleged abuse of power.

The announcement follows reporting of a whistleblower complaint lodged against Trump with the inspector general of the intelligence community. On a July phone call, Trump allegedly repeatedly pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden's son, according to reporting from The Wall Street Journal. Biden is running as a Democrat for president in 2020.

Trump reportedly instructed Mick Mulvaney, his acting chief of staff, to withhold nearly $400 million in military aide for Ukraine a week before the phone call took place, according to The Washington Post.

"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 in a televised speech on Capitol Hill following a meeting with Democratic House lawmakers.

"Therefore, today, I am announcing the House of Representatives moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry," Pelosi added. "The president must be held accountable."

Pelosi directed six House committees to proceed with their ongoing investigations into Trump and his administration under the umbrella of impeachment inquiry.

Trump told reporters at the U.N. General Assembly in New York that the withholding of the military aide was intended to encourage other countries to increase their contributions to Ukraine.

"I'd withhold again and I'll continue to withhold again until such time as Europe and other nations contribute to Ukraine, because they're not doing it," he said.

Trump tweeted Sept. 24 that he has authorized the release of the "complete, fully declassified and unredacted transcript" of his phone call with Zelensky, adding that the transcript would be released Sept. 25. He said in another tweet that the conversation between him and Zelensky was aboveboard.

"You will see it was a very friendly and totally appropriate call," the tweet reads. "No pressure and, unlike Joe Biden and his son, NO quid pro quo! This is nothing more than a continuation of the Greatest and most Destructive Witch Hunt of all time!"

Numerous additional Democrats support an impeachment inquiry, according to The New York Times.