国际英语新闻:U.S. House committees seek Ukraine-related documents from Vice President Pence

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Three U.S. House committees investigating President Donald Trump's alleged inappropriate interactions with Ukraine sent a letter on Friday to Vice President Mike Pence, notifying him to submit documents related to the matter.

"Pursuant to the House of Representatives' impeachment inquiry, we are hereby requesting that you produce the documents set forth in the accompanying schedule by October 15, 2019," read the letter sent by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel and Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings.

The action was part of the ongoing impeachment inquiry into Trump stemming from a whistleblower complaint alleging that the president pressured his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky during a July 25 phone call to investigate Joe Biden, Democratic presidential candidate for the 2020 election, as well as issues related to alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The chairmen cited "recent public reports" as saying Pence might have played a role "in conveying or reinforcing the President's stark message to the Ukrainian President."

"Your failure or refusal to comply with the request, including at the direction or behest of the President or the White House, shall constitute evidence of obstruction of justice of the House's impeachment inquiry and may be used as an adverse inference against you and the President," the chairmen warned Pence in the letter.

The committees requested from Pence all documents and communications related to Trump's April 21 and July 25 phone calls with Zelensky.

They also asked Pence to hand in records on meetings with former U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker, who resigned on Sept. 27 under pressure from Congress, as well as with U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland and Ukrainian officials.

Furthermore, the panels asked Pence for documents related to his own call with Zelensky on Sept. 18, and anything he knew about Washington withholding military aid from Kiev.

Volker testified behind closed doors Thursday before House lawmakers, during which he provided text messages involving Trump administration officials -- including Volker himself and Sondland -- and Ukrainian officials. The messages revealed the extent to which the Trump administration pressured Ukraine before and after the July 25 presidential phone call.

Trump on Aug. 29 announced his decision to cancel a planned trip to Warsaw, Poland, and instead let Pence travel in his place. On the following day, Volker and Sondland discussed an alternative plan to let Pence meet Zelensky in Poland on behalf of Trump, according to the document Volker provided to Congress.

In addition, the whistleblower complaint, a redacted version of which has been released by the House Intelligence Committee, claimed that "on or around 14 May, the President instructed Vice President Pence to cancel his planned travel to Ukraine to attend President Zelenskyy's inauguration on 20 May." The whistleblower used an alternative spelling of the Ukrainian president's last name.

Citing U.S. officials, the whistleblower said "the President did not want to meet with Mr. Zelenskyy until he saw how Zelenskyy 'chose to act' in office."

Friday's letter to Pence came as the three committees said earlier on Wednesday that they would issue a subpoena to the White House to compel it to cooperate with the investigation. Trump said he would leave it to his lawyers to decide whether to comply with the congressional order.

At an event in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Thursday, Pence backed Trump's call for Ukraine to investigate the Bidens. "One of the main reasons we were elected to Washington, D.C., was to drain the swamp," he told reporters, using the same phrase Trump used in his tweets.

"My predecessor had a son who was paid 50,000 dollars a month to be on a Ukrainian board at the time that Vice President Biden was leading the Obama administration's efforts in Ukraine, I think (that) is worth looking into," Pence said, echoing Trump's request that Biden and his son Hunter Biden, who once worked for Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings that was accused of corruption, be investigated.

There has been no evidence so far of any wrongdoing by either Biden senior or junior.

In the latest development, the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform issued a subpoena late on Friday to the White House, seeking documents related to Trump's interactions with Ukraine.