Washington - Following the public testimony of nine witness in
the ongoing impeachment inquiry, President Donald Trump said he
wanted a trial and sounded convinced he would walk away vindicated.
"I think its very hard for them to impeach you if they have
absolutely nothing," Trump said as part of a phone-in interview
with Fox News on Friday.
"I want a trial," the president said suddenly, but declined to answer
follow up questions on this comment.
The president spent a large chunk of his nearly one-hour interview
bashing several key witnesses and claiming he did not know others,
even Gordon Sondland, who donated 1 million dollars to Trump's
political campaign and then became ambassador to the European Union.
Trump slammed Adam Schiff, the Democratic lawmaker leading the
inquiry, as "corrupt," "shifty," and a "nut job." He accused Speaker
of the House Nancy Pelosi of being "crazy as a bedbug."
The president also seemed hurt the ousted ambassador to Ukraine,
Marie Yovanovitch, had allegedly declined to hang his picture at the
embassy in Kiev.
"This was not an angel, this woman," he said.
Even as his role becomes ever more controversial in the Ukraine
affair, Trump defended his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, calling
him a "great crime fighter" as he explained why he used a private
envoy to conduct diplomacy with Ukraine.
Giuliani's own statements as well as the testimonies from multiple
witnesses have shown that he was keen for Ukraine to investigate
Trump's political rival Joe Biden.
The president is accused of abusing his power to get a foreign
government to dig up dirt on his domestic political competitor.