'Record High Q4 Donations'... Trump Declares "Impeachment Is a Crime of the Century"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Kim Bong-su] On the 2nd (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump condemned the Democratic Party's impeachment push as a "crime of the century." This came shortly after news emerged that fundraising for his reelection campaign surged around the time the Democrats initiated the impeachment proceedings late last year.

On the morning of the same day, President Trump posted on Twitter, saying, "Many very good people have been brought down by a few dirty and ugly police officers, politicians, government officials, and spying on my presidential campaign, as well as an illegally initiated investigation," adding, "'Witch hunt' (Ukraine scam) is still ongoing despite severe creaking."

President Trump continued, "If this had happened to a Democratic president or presidential candidate, all involved would have been imprisoned for a long time for treason," and claimed, "It would have been treated as a more evil and greater crime of the century than Watergate."

In another tweet, President Trump cited an article from a New York daily reporting a surge in his campaign fundraising immediately after the House impeachment vote, and criticized, "(The Democrats') partisan witch hunt is seriously harming America and dividing it more than ever."

Earlier, the Trump reelection campaign announced in a statement that fundraising in the fourth quarter of last year reached $46 million. Brad Pascale, campaign manager for Trump's reelection, said, "The Democrats and mainstream media were caught up in a shameful impeachment frenzy," adding, "President Trump's campaign has grown bigger and stronger, recording the highest fundraising amount during this quarter." President Trump will hold a fundraising event on the 17th at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Miami, Florida, where attendees must pay $250,000 per couple to enter.

According to the U.S. political media outlet Politico, among Democratic candidates, Senator Bernie Sanders raised the most during the fourth quarter with $34.5 million, followed by Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, with $25 million.

Politico pointed out that the surge in Trump's campaign fundraising "clearly shows how impeachment was used for fundraising," noting, "The Trump reelection campaign sent out dozens of fundraising appeals, worked to stir up grievances among small donors, and portrayed President Trump as a victim of the congressional Democrats."

Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an "impeachment resolution" against President Trump on December 18 last month, charging him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Impeachment would be confirmed if two-thirds of the Senate vote in favor after the trial, but with Republicans holding 53 of the 100 seats, it is virtually impossible. The Democrats are delaying sending the impeachment resolution to the Senate, demanding that the Senate properly schedule the trial, including hearings. On the other hand, Republicans are urging a quick transmission, aiming to conclude the impeachment issue early through a vote without witness questioning or other procedures.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.