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On Tuesday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House of Representatives will open an official impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.

“An impeachment investigation is absolutely warranted in light of the extraordinary allegations about President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine,” said American Oversight Executive Director Austin Evers. “If true, the president’s conduct may have not only violated criminal laws but transcended into the realm of high crimes and misdemeanors. Congress has a duty to uncover the truth and hold the president accountable, along with anyone inside or outside of government who has abetted these transgressions.”

The impeachment announcement comes as new details continue to be revealed about the president’s contacts with Ukraine and allegations that, a week after freezing nearly $400 million in military aid to the country, he urged Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky to investigate the son of former Vice President Joe Biden. Trump personal attorney Rudy Giuliani has spoken of his own involvement in the effort.

American Oversight is investigating the extent of the administration’s efforts to coerce a foreign government into helping the president politically, and has filed numerous Freedom of Information Act requests at multiple agencies for records related to aid to Ukraine, Giuliani’s actions, and the whistleblower complaint originating in the intelligence community, which the acting director of national intelligence as so far refused to release to Congress. We also recently sued five federal agencies for records of White House efforts to obstruct other congressional inquiries. 

“If the White House continues to engage in unprecedented blanket obstruction of every investigation, Congress should treat that as an independent basis for constitutional accountability,” Evers continued. “Lawlessness and impunity are unacceptable alternatives.”