Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz repeated a familiar talking point coming from Democratic lawmakers in recent days, suggesting President Trump ordered the killing of a top Iranian general this week to distract the American public from his impeachment.
“This action was taken more in President Trump’s self-interest rather than our national interest,” Wasserman-Schultz said Sunday on CNN. “We had damning developments in just the last day … That is outrageous, and I think it has a lot to do with why the attack was carried out.”
Wasserman-Schultz appeared to be referencing a report by the New York Times from over the weekend, showing the White House sought to conceal a series of e-mails between top Trump administration officials and the Office of Budget Management regarding frozen military aid to Ukraine at the center of impeachment.
House Democrats passed two articles of impeachment late last year: one on abuse of power and another on obstruction of Congress. The impeachment comes as a result of an intelligence community whistleblower report alleging that Trump pressured Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election by investigating his political rival, Joe Biden, and leveraged the military aid as a bargaining chip.
An impeachment trial is expected to start in the coming weeks in the Republican-controlled Senate, where the prosecution is expected to fail.
Trump has called his impeachment a “hoax” and a “witch hunt.” At the same time, he has preached a hard-line message of “America first” on foreign policy and vowed to keep the United States out of “endless wars.”
At the command of Trump, U.S. forces took out top Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani on Thursday after the U.S. government received what Trump described as “very major” and credible intelligence that Soleimani was plotting to kill American diplomats and military personnel in the Middle East.
Some Democrats and media pundits have questioned the decision, which they say could start an all-out war with Iran. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was asked on Sunday if a now-impeached Trump is seen as weak by America’s enemies around the world.
“You should ask Mr. Soleimani,” Pompeo answered.
