Schumer: If confirmed, whistleblower allegations ‘nothing short of explosive’

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer on Thursday said “explosive” allegations in a newly released whistleblower complaint validated House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to open a formal inquiry into whether articles of impeachment should be brought against President Trump.

“If confirmed, the allegations contained in the whistleblower complaint are nothing short of explosive,” the New York Democrat said in a floor speech. “The complaint unquestionably validated Speaker Pelosi’s decision to open a formal impeachment inquiry into these matters.”

The whistleblower complaint, made public earlier Thursday, alleged that Mr. Trump used the power of his office to try to pressure Ukraine into investigating former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, a top political rival.

It also alleges that White House officials tried to remove the transcript of a July 25 call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from a typical computer logging system and move it into a separate system usually reserved for classified or especially sensitive information.

Mr. Schumer said he read the complaint on Wednesday and came away “even more concerned” than when he had read a memo of the conversation between Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky that was released by the White House.

“If this was all so innocent, why did so many officials in the White House, in the Justice Department and elsewhere make such large efforts to prevent it from being made public?” he said.

He said moving forward, lawmakers have a responsibility not to rush to judgment or overstate the case.

“For if the House, at the end of its inquiry, sees fit to accuse the president of impeachable offenses we in the Senate will act as jury, and our role as the solemn jurors of democracy demands that we place fidelity to country and fidelity to [the] Constitution above all else,” he said.