WASHINGTON: US Pre­si­­dent Donald Trump on Monday said he might be willing to testify in the impeachment inquiry over his dealings with Ukraine “even though I did nothing wrong”.

Democrats leading the impeachment process in the US House of Representatives have not formally called Trump as a witness in the inquiry into whether he used foreign policy to try to get Ukraine to investigate domestic political opponent Joe Biden.

Denying any wrongdoing, the Republican president has railed on Twitter and elsewhere against the inquiry and attacked witnesses by name in recent days.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, said on Sunday in a CBS interview that Trump has every opportunity to present his case, including coming before the intelligence committee holding hearings.

“Even though I did nothing wrong, and don’t like giving credibility to this No Due Process Hoax, I like the idea & will, in order to get Congress focused again, strongly consider it!” Trump said on Twitter.

The public phase of hearings shifts into a higher gear this week when a parade of officials will face questioning by Democratic lawmakers seeking details that could link Trump to a pressure campaign against Ukraine.

Eight more witnesses are due to testify in the second week of the televised hearings. They include Gordon Sondland, the US ambassador to the European Union, whose direct interactions with Trump are likely to be the main focus in the investigation of whether the president made security aid to Ukraine contingent on it agreeing to dig up dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2019