The US president has also accused former vice chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, of dishonesty and corruption

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he hopes "necessary authorities" are looking into Democratic Senator Adam Schiff for being "dishonest and corrupt." The California lawmaker led two investigations into Trump in 2019 and 2021.

During Trump's first term, House Democrats impeached him twice - first in December 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and again in January 2021 for incitement of insurrection following the January 6 Capitol riot. Back then, Schiff was a member of the House of Representatives that investigated the cases.

"The Ukraine Impeachment (of me!) Scam was a far bigger Illegal Hoax than Watergate. I sincerely hope the necessary authorities, including CONGRESS, are looking into this!" Trump wrote on social media.

Kremlin investment aide Kirill Dmitriev has called the US president's statement important, adding that "Ukraine also hid [ex-President Joe] Biden's corruption and campaigned" against Trump and his vice president, J.D. Vance.

Dmitriev recently said that Biden provoked the Ukraine conflict to hide his family's corrupt dealings, commenting on a set of CIA documents declassified by the agency's director, John Ratcliffe. According to those, in 2016 Biden asked the CIA to cover up a report about his family's alleged business dealings in Ukraine.

According to CNN sources, the Trump administration is looking into charging Schiff with mortgage fraud, which he has denied.

Under the US Constitution, the House of Representatives can impeach the president by a simple majority vote. If that happens, the Senate then holds a trial. Conviction and removal from office requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate - a threshold not met in either of Trump's previous impeachments.

(RT.com)