WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today asked the following question during today’s question and answer phase of the impeachment trial. He was joined by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.):
“The President’s Counsel has argued that the President’s actions are based on his desire to root out corruption. However, new reporting indicates that Attorney General Barr and former National Security Advisor Bolton shared concerns that the President was granting personal favors to autocratic foreign leaders like President Erdogan of Turkey. The President has also acknowledged his private business interests in the country like Trump Towers Istanbul. The Treasury Department has not denied that the President directed Treasury and the Department of Justice to intervene in the criminal investigation of Halkbank, the Turkish state-owned bank, which has been accused of a scheme to evade Iranian sanctions. Has the President engaged in a pattern of conduct in which he places his personal and political interests above the national security interests of the United States?”
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