Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the scandal has expanded way beyond the single phone call and now involves statements and actions not only by Trump, but also Vice-President Pence, Attorney General Barr, Secretary of State Pompeo, Energy Secretary Perry, Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Ambassador William Taylor, the special envoy to Ukraine, Kurt D. Volker, the American ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, among others.
Weintraub implied in her various announcements and tweets that federal election law is crystal clear. In June 2019: “Let me make something 100% clear to the American public and anyone running for public office: It is illegal for any person to solicit, accept, or receive anything of value from a foreign national in connection with a U.S. election. This is not a novel concept.” “She also sent the statement with the introductory line: “I would not have thought that I needed to say this.
Thus, while it is not a requirement that conduct be a crime for it to be impeachable, the fact of its being criminal could be seen as supporting evidence that it is impeachable. If the president’s critics can show that his conduct amounts to a felony under federal election finance law, that could strengthen the case that there is also a “high Crime or Misdemeanor” under the Constitution.