UPDATE - Pelosi Accuses Trump Of Bribery In US President's Dealings With Ukraine

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th November, 2019) US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a press conference said that President Donald Trump was engaged in bribery in his dealings with Ukraine.

"What the president has admitted to and says it is perfect," Pelosi told reporters on Thursday. "I say is perfectly wrong. It is bribery."

Pelosi's use of the word is significant given House Democrats are trying to build a case to impeach Trump. The US Constitution specifically says a president shall be removed from office "on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors."

In September, US House Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry into a whistleblower complaint that claimed Trump might have abused the power of office in a July 25 telephone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The complaint said Trump pressured Zelenskyy to investigate potential corruption by former Vice President Joe Biden - Trump's political rival in the 2020 election - and his son Hunter Biden.

Trump released the transcript of the telephone call with Zelenskyy and said the call was "perfect" as he did nothing wrong. In addition, Trump characterized the impeachment inquiry as yet another political witch hunt by Democrats to reverse the result of the 2016 presidential election.

Pelosi, however, said on Thursday that the first public impeachment hearing in the House of Representatives on Wednesday "corroborated evidence of bribery."

US acting ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent provided testimonies on Wednesday.