Pelosi says ‘facts are uncontested’ that Trump ‘abused his power’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Monday the “facts are uncontested” that President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine were an abuse of power.

In a “Dear Colleague” letter sent to members of her Democratic caucus, Pelosi slapped down the GOP argument that Trump’s future should be decided through an election, rather than impeachment, arguing it’s the House’s constitutional duty to investigate potential acts of wrongdoing by the nation’s chief executive.

“The facts are uncontested: that the President abused his power for his own personal, political benefit, at the expense of our national security interests. The weak response to these hearings has been, ‘Let the election decide,’” she wrote.   

“That dangerous position only adds to the urgency of our action, because the President is jeopardizing the integrity of the 2020 elections.”

Pelosi went on to slam Republicans’ argument that there was no quid pro quo because Ukraine ultimately received its foreign aid from the U.S. Democrats allege that aid was held up to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to announce investigations that benefited Trump politically.

“The fact is, the aid was only released after the whistleblower exposed the truth of the President’s extortion and bribery, and the House launched a formal investigation,” Pelosi wrote.

Pelosi noted members need to focus on priorities like funding the government, ratifying a new trade deal with Mexico and Canada and infrastructure in addition to impeachment as they approach the Thanksgiving recess. But she also said it was their duty to ensure the Constitution is upheld.

“None of us comes to Congress to impeach a President, but rather to make progress for America’s working families.  However, our first order of business is our oath to support and defend the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic,” she wrote.  

“As such, we are custodians of the Constitution and, For The People, defenders of our democracy.”