Biden appeared before reporters at a Wilmington, Delaware, press conference to address Trump’s series of accusations against the Democratic presidential candidate and his “corrupt” son Hunter Biden that came about following allegations of the US president withholding some $400 million in federal aid to Ukraine in exchange for politically damaging information on the Bidens.
According to Trump and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Biden secured his son a well-paying job with Ukrainian gas company Burisma as a result of corrupt dealings with the Ukrainian government during the Obama administration.
"It’s an abuse of power. It undermines our national security. It violates his oath of office,” Biden said in reference to the investigation allegedly requested by Trump in a July 17 phone call with Zelenskyy. “And it strikes at the heart of the sworn responsibility a president has to put national interest above personal interest."
A little over an hour prior to Biden’s presser, Trump announced that he had authorized the Wednesday release of a “fully declassified and unredacted transcript” of his conversation with Zelenskyy to clear his name.
....You will see it was a very friendly and totally appropriate call. 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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019
At the same time, Democratic representatives were meeting with US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to discuss matters related to a formal impeachment inquiry of Trump.
Biden told reporters Wednesday that while he himself can “take a political attack,” he would not sit back and allow the sitting president to “get away with shredding the United States Constitution.”
"It is time for this administration to stop stonewalling and provide the Congress with all the facts that they need, including a copy of the formal complaint made by the whistleblower,” he asserted.
“If he continues to obstruct Congress and flout the law, Donald Trump will leave Congress in my view with no choice but to initiate impeachment proceedings."
