Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged on Wednesday that he listened in on the telephone call between Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that prompted a House of Representatives impeachment inquiry against the President. “I was on the phone call,” Pompeo told reporters during a visit to Italy.
The admission by Pompeo, a key Trump ally, moves him closer to the center of the scandal and raised further questions about his role in the administration’s interactions with Ukraine. Last week the House launched its impeachment inquiry, which threatens Trump’s presidency, in the aftermath of a complaint brought by a whistleblower within the U.S. intelligence community over Trump’s request to Ukrainian President Zelenskiy during a July 25 phone call to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden. Biden is a leading contender for the Democratic nomination to challenge Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump, who is seeking a second four-year term as president, has denied wrongdoing and has assailed the impeachment probe.
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