Donald Trump calls on GOP to ‘close it out’ ahead of key House vote on impeachment probe

President Trump urged Republicans Wednesday to focus on the substance of impeachment allegations against him and “close it out,” a day ahead of a highly anticipated House vote on the inquiry.

“Republicans are very unified and energized in our fight on the Impeachment Hoax with the Do Nothing Democrats, and now are starting to go after the Substance even more than the very [unfair] Process,” the president tweeted.

It was Mr. Trump’s first comments since House Democrats introduced a resolution Tuesday laying out a process for moving ahead with a public investigation, after weeks of hearing testimony behind closed doors. White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said the resolution shows the process is a “sham” and unfair to the president.

The House will vote on the resolution on Thursday.

Mr. Trump said even a “casual reading” of the transcript of his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “leads EVERYBODY to see that the call … was a totally appropriate one.”

Democrats are accusing Mr. Trump of abusing his office by pressuring Ukraine’s leader to investigate Democratic front-runner Joseph R. Biden. Mr. Zelensky has said publicly he didn’t feel pressured in the call.

“This Impeachment nonsense is just a continuation of the Witch Hunt Hoax, which has been going on since before I even got elected,” Mr. Trump said. He urged GOP lawmakers to “go with Substance and close it out!”

Lawmakers heard testimony Tuesday from Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman of the White House National Security Council, who said he was concerned about the July 25th phone call crossing a line into partisan politics. He also said he tried to get a few missing details from the conversation placed back into the White House’s transcript of the call, according to The New York Times.

The president says Col. Vindman, a Purple Heart recipient, is a “Never Trumper” whose testimony didn’t hurt him.

“Yesterday’s Never Trumper witness could find NO Quid Pro Quo in the Transcript of the phone call,” the president tweeted. “There were many people listening to the call. How come they (including the President of Ukraine) found NOTHING wrong with it. Witch Hunt!”