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President Trump’s abuse of power by trying to influence a foreign leader to interfere in an American election — laid out by a whistleblower — has confirmed that he not only lacks presidential ethics but also is incapable of handling national security issues.

In what could be the most incriminating White House document since Watergate, a transcript showed that by misusing the power of his office, he pressured newly-elected Ukrainian President Zelenskiy — by withholding military assistance funds already approved by Congress — to investigate Trump’s political rival Joe Biden and his son in an effort to affect the 2020 presidential election.

And even more disturbing, it became known that after the president’s phone conversation, White House officials engaged in a cover-up, trying to “lock down” records of the talk until the whistleblower came forth with the information.

A day earlier, House speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed an impeachment investigation resulting from the Ukrainian event. Even though most Republicans dismissed criticism of the President’s action, several voiced concern including Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, and Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, a GOP member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who said “there’s obviously a lot that’s very troubling there.”

Another member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Michael Bennet, a Democrat from Colorado, said about his GOP colleagues. “I know these guys, and I know a lot of them know the difference between right and wrong. At some point, everybody’s going to have to step up here and do their jobs.”

JIM RAMSEY

Sandpoint