Local members of Congress are weighing in on the controversy over a phone call that President Donald Trump had with the Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Democratic leaders say the call was a "shakedown" because Trump asked the Ukrainian president to investigate political rival Joe Biden and his family.
"The Intelligence Inspector General, who was appointed by President Trump, said that the whistleblower complaint is of both urgent concern and credible, and its public release is the National Intelligence Director’s obligation to the American people," said Rep. Brian Higgins (D-Buffalo). "An Impeachment Inquiry is necessary to protect the values included in our Constitution and to deliver the truth Americans deserve
Rep. Joe Morelle (D-Rochester) said that a memo released based on that conversation shows Trump was engaged in behavior that undermines national security.
But Rep. Chris Collins (R-Clarence) sees things differently.
“The transcript is clear. There was nothing inappropriate; the conversation, the president of one country to another talking about everything from defense to the economy to whatever," Collins said. "and when you see how that conversation went, there’s actually no impropriety, there was nothing done wrong, there’s no smoking gun.”
Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning) echoed Collins' sentiments, saying the memo about the phone call did not turn up anything nefarious.
