Trump says he takes ‘zero’ responsibility for expected impeachment

President Trump on Tuesday said he takes “zero” responsibility for the fact that he is likely to be impeached by the Democratic-led House.

“No, I don’t take any. Zero, to put it mildly,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during a meeting with the president of Guatemala.

“They took a perfect phone call that I had with the president of Ukraine, an absolutely perfect call — you know it, they all know it — nothing was said wrong on that call,” he continued. “To impeach the president of the United States over that is a disgrace and it’s a mark on our country.”

The House is set to vote Wednesday on two articles of impeachment against Trump: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Both are expected to pass in a party line vote, though a few Democrats may vote against the measures.

Democrats launched the impeachment inquiry in September, as the White House released a readout of Trump’s July phone call with the Ukrainian president, which showed Trump asking the foreign leader to launch probes into former Vice President Joe Biden and the 2016 election.

Trump, who has rarely in public shown regret or admitted a mistake, has maintained that his actions were appropriate while ripping the House impeachment inquiry. A few Republicans have said they will not vote to impeach Trump, but characterized his conduct as inappropriate or improper.

The White House on Tuesday released a blistering letter from Trump to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in which the president accused Democrats of “subverting Democracy” with the impeachment process.

The scathing six-page correspondence in many ways echoed Trump’s Twitter feed and public appearances since the inquiry began. He blasted Democrats over process, accused the party of pre-determining his impeachment and complained that “more due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials.”

Updated at 3:05 p.m.