House Votes On Whistle-Blower Complaint
The House overwhelming passed a measure urging the Trump administration to release the whistle-blower complaint that has sparked scrutiny of President Trump's interactions with a foreign power.
The chamber passed the non-binding resolution in a 421-0 vote, with Republicans joining Democrats to request the administration hand over the document filed by a member of the U.S. intelligence community. Two lawmakers voted present.
The House measure had been amended to mirror the resolution that passed the Senate by unanimous consent. The vote came as lawmakers began to receive information about the complaint.
The whistle-blower complaint is expected to contain details on President Trump’s interactions with Ukraine, with media reports indicating that it involves multiple incidents related to the President.
Democrats said they are looking to ensure the administration provides Congress with both the unredacted whistle-blower complaint and an inspector general report surrounding the complaint.
"Once we pass this resolution, the [Director of National Intelligence] will be faced with the choice to honor his responsibility to help preserve the republic or break the law. This passed by unanimous consent in the Senate. Every member, Democratic and Republican, should pass this in the House,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on the floor.
“While we await the release of the full complaint, we reiterate our call for the release of the full transcript of the call between President Trump and Ukrainian president and reiterate our call to protect whistle-blowers from retaliation. I urge a bipartisan vote to defend our national security and to protect our democracy.”
Lawmakers voted on the non-binding resolutions this week amid growing questions over President Trump's July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which the President urged Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden.
Democrats have accused President Trump of abusing his power by asking a foreign power to launch an investigation into Biden, a political rival who is the current frontrunner in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.
The White House released a partial transcript of President Trump's call with Zelensky and a redacted version of the whistle-blower report was expected to be made available to members of the House Intelligence Committee.
The memo released by the White House showed President Trump urging Zelensky to speak with his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani about an investigation into Biden, and showed President Trump telling the foreign leader that Attorney General William Barr would also be in touch with him.
Lawmakers formally called for the administration to release the whistle-blower complaint one day after Pelosi announced that the House would move forward with a formal impeachment inquiry, with several Democrats arguing the partial transcript bolsters their case for impeachment.
While the measure received a sizable amount of GOP support on the floor, Republicans accused Democrats of politicizing the whistle-blower complaint by calling for a formal impeachment inquiry before seeing all of the facts.
House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), one of President Trump’s most vocal defenders in the lower chamber, questioned why lawmakers were voting on the measure when documents were being sent to the Intelligence Committee ahead of the vote.
“Madam Speaker, this complaint has given rise to fevered speculation and frenzied media reporting, much of which is based on the transcript of the President's phone call released today. It appears to be exaggerated, misleading, or outright false," he asserted.
"It's also serving as a linchpin of a long-standing attempt by the Democrats to impeach President Trump and finally, achieve their goal of overturning the results of the 2016 election,” he said during debate ahead of the vote.
"So, therefore, we have to ask ourselves, why are we voting on a resolution that is asking for the very documents that are being sent over that are probably on their way right now, if they are not already here?"
