Pelosi: Trump Used Taxpayer Money to 'Shake Down' Ukraine Leader

There is no comparison between the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton and the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, as Clinton's investigation involved "personal matters" but the accusations against Trump are a matter of "national security," as Trump used taxpayer money to "shake down' Ukraine, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday. 

"Let me say that this is no cause for any joy," Pelosi told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" in an exclusive interview. "This is a very sad time for our country. The impeachment of a president is as serious as our congressional responsibilities can be, apart from declaring war or something. And so we have to be very prayerful. And we always have to put country before party."

But, Pelosi said, the accusations that Trump pushed the president of Ukraine into investigating political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter, using millions in military aid as leverage, points to Trump being "disloyal to his oath of office," as well as jeopardizing national security and the integrity of  U.S. elections. 

"I think we have to stay focused as far as the public is concerned on the fact that the president of the United States used taxpayer dollars to shake down the leader of another country for his own political gain," said Pelosi. 

Pelosi added that she is concerned about Trump's comments that the whistleblower who exposed his phone call is "almost a spy," and she thinks Attorney General William Barr, who was mentioned in the report, is "going rogue."

"I think where they're going is a cover-up of the cover-up, and that's really very sad for them," said Pelosi. "To have a Justice Department go so rogue, well, they had been for a while. And now it just makes matters worse that the attorney general was mentioned, that the president was mentioned, and yet the Justice Department directed the Director of National Intelligence to take this to the White House."

DNI Joseph Maguire, who testified before the House Intelligence Committee Thursday, is a "person of great reputation," said Pelosi, but she thinks he broke the law by taking the news of the whistleblower to the White House first, rather than conveying the information to Congress. 

• Fred Fleitz: Whistleblower Complaint 'Grievous Violation of Trust'
• NY Times: Whistleblower Is CIA Officer Who Worked at WH