Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call
Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, a Republican, weighed in on the scandal over President Donald Trump's call with Ukraine's new president.
- A scandal has been building over President Donald Trump's call with Ukraine's new president. Trump reportedly pressured Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's son.
- Senator Mitt Romney of Utah just weighed in, becoming the first major Republican politician to do so.
- "If the President asked or pressured Ukraine's president to investigate his political rival, either directly or through his personal attorney, it would be troubling in the extreme," Romney tweeted. "Critical for the facts to come out."
- Romney's remarks come as Democrats, including Biden, have been calling for a transcript of the call to be released. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff said Sunday that if reports are true, it could lead to impeachment.
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A phone call between President Donald Trump and Ukraine's new leader Volodymyr Zelensky, in which Trump reportedly pushed Zelensky to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's son, has been building into a political firestorm.
Now, Senator Mitt Romney of Utah is wading in.
"If the President asked or pressured Ukraine's president to investigate his political rival, either directly or through his personal attorney, it would be troubling in the extreme," Romney tweeted on Sunday. "Critical for the facts to come out."
With those words, Romney, who himself launched unsuccessful presidential bids in 2008 and 2012, became the first major GOP politician to voice concerns about the Ukraine call. It comes as Democrats, including Biden, have demanded that a transcript of the call be released. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff said Sunday that if reports are true, impeachment "may be the only remedy."
Both Trump and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, have alleged that Biden pressured Ukranian officials into ending an investigation into his son, Hunter Biden, back in 2016. Trump has denied that anything improper occurred during the call with Ukraine's Zelensky.
The call in question rose to notoriety after a member of the intelligence community filed a whistleblower complaint last month. According to the Washington Post, the complaint centered on Ukraine and a "promise" Trump made while in contact with a foreign leader.