UNITED NATIONS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives will launch an inquiry to investigate whether to impeach U.S. President Donald Trump for seeking foreign help to smear a political rival, a senior Democratic lawmaker said on Tuesday. Richard Neal, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, made the comment to reporters after meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Neal did not offer details on how the formal inquiry involving the possible impeachment of the Republican president would be pursued. Meanwhile, Trump promised to release a transcript of his phone call with Ukraine’s president at the center of the controversy. Pelosi, who for months had been reluctant to embrace an impeachment effort to try to remove Trump from office, is scheduled to make a public statement at 5 p.m. ET (2100 GMT). Pelosi’s fellow Democrats control the House. Trump on Tuesday confirmed he had withheld nearly $400 million in U.S. aid to Ukraine but denied he did so as leverage to get Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to initiate an investigation that would damage Joe Biden, the front-runner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. During an appearance at an event sponsored by The Atlantic magazine, Pelosi, the top Democrat […]

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