Politics Sen. John Kennedy slams Pelosi for using impeachment as a 'routine political weapon'

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., on Sunday slammed the House’s impeachment inquiry into President Trump for chasing after a "red herring" when trying to determine whether the president tied foreign aid to Ukraine to an investigation into his political rivals, and he attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for making impeachment proceedings a “political weapon.”

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Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Kennedy dodged a question by Chris Wallace on whether Trump was asking Ukraine to investigate corruption or to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, and instead called out Pelosi for politicizing the impeachment process.

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Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) pushed back against Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) calling President Trump's dealings with Ukraine "bribery," dismissing Pelosi's claim and doubling down on his support of the president. © Aaron Schwartz Jordan calls Pelosi accusing Trump of bribery 'ridiculous' "It's ridiculous, just ridiculous," Jordan told NPR's Audie Cornish on Thursday evening. require(["medianetNativeAdOnArticle"], function (medianetNativeAdOnArticle) { medianetNativeAdOnArticle.

WASHINGTON — Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Tuesday that the House would launch a formal impeachment inquiry in response to the dispute over Mr. Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate his potential 2020 rival, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Sen . John Kennedy , (R-La.), discusses Nancy Pelosi ’s normalizing impeachment as a political weapon , the Senate’s passing a pro-Hong Kong democracy measure, and the effect the Senate’s bill will have on trade with China.

“Speaker Pelosi is acting in a manner that is insincere, even by the standards of Congress,” Kennedy said. “She is turning impeachment into a routine political weapon.”

READ: GORDON SONDLAND'S IMPEACHMENT HEARING OPENING STATEMENT

Kennedy went on to criticize House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff’s move to bar Republicans from calling witnesses in the impeachment inquiry and “not allowing the president to defend himself.”

A number of Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee have commented that the president is welcome to testify before the committee during the impeachment hearings.

Speaker Pelosi, from one Democrat to another, please jump off the impeachment bandwagon

I know it’s been a while, but I just really felt the need to write you this letter. It’s me, Cathy Areu. I interviewed you three times when I worked as a contributing editor at the Washington Post Magazine.We had some really great talks about you being a caring mom, about your many grandkids, about your hobbies and your typical day in Congress.I am not sure if you remember me, or our conversations, but they were great. And we can catch up later.Right now it’s very important for me to beg for you to sway your fellow Democrats and jump off the “Let’s Impeach President Trump” bandwagon.

House Democrats look well-positioned to retake the House majority in the midterm elections, fueled by their base's animosity toward President Donald Trump and absolutely committed to using the vote in 55 days' time to send a message to him.

Vice President Nixon and Sen . John F. Kennedy take part in a televised debate during their 1960 presidential campaign. Democrats have responded by using the threat of impeachment as a fundraising tool. They have blasted out a series of e-mails to supporters asking for money, warning

On the issue of if there was quid pro quo between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky when the president asked his Eastern European counterpart to look into the Ukraine business dealings of Biden and his son Hunter, Kennedy made his feelings clear.

“The quid pro quo is a red herring,” he said. “President Trump asked for an investigation of possible corruption by someone who happens to be a political rival. The matter, if proven, would be in the national interest.”

The impeachment inquiry into Trump began when a whistleblower reported that Trump had pushed Zelensky to launch a public investigation into the Biden family’s dealings in Ukraine — specifically, why the former vice president pressured former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to fire a top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, who was investigating Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings.

Schumer calls on Trump to testify as part of impeachment inquiry

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is calling on President Trump to testify as part of the House's impeachment inquiry in the wake of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) offering to let him speak with the panel. "Speaker Pelosi invited President Trump to come testify, and I think her invitation is correct. If Donald Trump doesn't agree with what he's hearing, doesn't like what he's hearing, he shouldn't tweet -- he should come to the committee and testify under oath. And he should allow all those around him to come to the committee and testify under oath," Schumer said on Sunday during a press conference in New York.

Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body levels charges against a government official. Impeachment does not in itself remove the official definitively from office

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the president "shouldn't use the painful images of 9/11 for a political attack." "The memory of 9/11 is sacred ground, and any discussion of it must be done with reverence," she said in a statement released Saturday while in Germany visiting American troops.

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Hunter Biden worked for a Ukrainian gas company at the same time his father was leading the Obama administration's diplomatic dealings with Kiev. Though the timing raised concerns among anti-corruption advocates, there has been no evidence of wrongdoing by the former vice president or his son.

Kennedy’s comments come two days after his fellow Republican senator, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, sent a letter Thursday to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requesting the release of any documents related to contacts between Biden, his son and Poroshenko.

Graham’s letter, which was released as the final day of public hearings in the House impeachment inquiry into President Trump wrapped up, asked Pompeo to release a series of documents and transcripts of conversations in 2016 between Biden and Poroshenko in relation to an investigation into Burisma Holdings.