WASHINGTON (AP) — A whistle blew, an impeachment inquiry swung into motion and the president at the center of it all rose defiantly to his own defense, not always in command of the facts.
A CIA officer, in a complaint filed under federal whistleblower protections, said President Donald Trump abused his office in pressing for a Ukrainian investigation of his Democratic rival, Joe Biden. That persuaded Democrats to move ahead with an inquiry that could produce articles of impeachment. Trump has reacted with anger, with weekend tweets that made the groundless accusation that Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, the Intelligence Committee chairman taking the lead in the impeachment review, criticized him "illegally."
Here is a look at Trump's recent words on impeachment, Ukraine and other subjects:
UKRAINE
TRUMP: "Liddle' Adam Schiff ... fraudulently and illegally inserted his made up & twisted words into my call with the Ukrainian President to make it look like I did something very wrong. He then boldly read those words to Congress and millions of people, defaming & libeling me." — tweets Saturday
THE FACTS: He is exaggerating Schiff's exaggerations. The California Democrat, in what he said was a parody during a committee hearing, mocked and overstated the president's pleas in his July 25 call to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, as Trump does with his critics routinely. Schiff's remarks are not illegal nor would it be defamatory or libelous, because lawmakers are shielded from liability for comments made in the course of Congress under the "speech or debate" clause in the Constitution, which fosters political debate.
During Thursday's House intelligence committee hearing, Schiff made clear he was providing an account that was in "essence" what he believed Trump was conveying to Zelenskiy when "shorn of its rambling character."
No exact transcript of Trump's comments with Ukraine's president exists, just a rough transcript released by the White House.
TRUMP, describing the July 25 phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart: "Another Fake News Story! See what was said on the very nice, no pressure, call."— tweet Thursday
TRUMP: "My call was perfect." — remarks to reporters Thursday
THE FACTS: It's a big stretch for Trump to say he placed no pressure on Zelenskiy in that phone call — a conversation marked by Trump's blunt remark: "I would like for you to do us a favor," according to the White House account of the call.
Trump repeatedly prodded Zelenskiy to help investigate Biden and son Hunter, and to look into a cybersecurity firm that investigated the 2016 hack of the Democratic National Committee and concluded it was carried out by Russia.
The call followed a months-long campaign by Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, conducted on Trump's behalf to get Ukrainians to scrutinize Hunter Biden's business dealings in Ukraine when Joe Biden was vice president. It also followed Trump's abrupt suspension of military aid for Ukraine that Congress had approved. The aid was recently released.
When Zelenskiy thanked Trump for past U.S. aid and suggested his country might need more, Trump switched the topic to the investigation he wanted Ukraine to do. He asked Zelenskiy to work with Attorney General William Barr and Giuliani on the matter.