House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that President Trump committed bribery, adding that his conduct in the Ukraine scandal “makes what [President Richard] Nixon did look almost small,” Politico reports. “The devastating testimony corroborated evidence of bribery uncovered in the inquiry, and that the president abused his power and violated his oath by threatening to withhold military aid and a White House meeting in exchange for an investigation into his political rival—a clear attempt by the president to give himself an advantage in the 2020 election,” Pelosi said.
“I am saying what the president has admitted to and said it’s perfect—it’s perfectly wrong. It’s bribery,” she added. “The bribe is to grant or withhold military assistance in return for a public statement of a fake investigation into the elections. That’s bribery.” Bribery is one of the specific crimes listed as an impeachable offense in the Constitution. However, the House Speaker said lawmakers have not yet decided if they will impeach Trump. “That’s what the inquiry is about,” she said.