President Donald Trump from the White House lawn on Thursday openly discussed the possibility of asking China’s president, Xi Jinping, to investigate Joe Biden and Hunter Biden. Trump said he hadn’t yet asked China to do this, as he was suggesting China should launch an investigation.

Asked if he had requested President Xi of China to do so, Trump said, “I haven’t, but clearly it’s something we should start thinking about.” — Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) October 3, 2019

“I haven’t, but clearly it’s something we should start thinking about,” the president said, once again sending the Twittersphere into overdrive. Trump’s remarks on China, which were apparently unprompted, presumably has to do with the allegation that Hunter Biden “walk[ed] out of China with $1.5 billion in a fund and the biggest funds in the world can’t get money out of China and he’s there with one quick meeting and he flies in on Air Force Two.” Hunter Biden’s lawyer has denied this:

However, George Mesires, lawyer for Hunter Biden, said in an interview earlier this year that his client’s role has been misconstrued. He said Hunter Biden was on the board of the advisory firm that did not directly invest, but instead advised those who did. Moreover, Mesires said, it was not until October 2017 that Hunter Biden acquired a financial stake in BHR. Hunter Biden bought a 10 percent equity interest that was worth $430,000 in July, Mesires said. At least half of the firm’s stake is owned by Chinese entities, according to business records.

Here’s a video of Trump’s comments:

Here's the video: Trump is now openly urging the leaders of Ukraine and China to investigate one of his political rivals.

Via CSPAN pic.twitter.com/xKOSRosyck — Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 3, 2019

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi recently backed an impeachment inquiry against the president, which happened after a whistleblower complaint characterized the president’s July 25 phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky as an attempt to solicit foreign interference in the 2020 election. Joe Biden is one of a slew of Democrats who announced they were running for president.

Reporters, lawyers, law professors and others were quick to point out problems with Trump’s latest remarks.

This is an impeachable offense. https://t.co/lRStZH7aVG — Matt Ford (@fordm) October 3, 2019

As a practical matter, China will now see investigating Trump’s potential political opponent as a bargaining chip in the ongoing trade negotiations. https://t.co/LczYtECSUK — Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) October 3, 2019

I’ve lived in China & covered it for decades. It is an authoritarian country with no credible rule of law which imprisons & kills political opponents. For a US president to call on such a country to investigate an American is incredible. Will Republicans who know this object? — Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) October 3, 2019

Facing impeachment for asking a foreign government to investigate his political rival, Trump says he would do it again with Ukraine – and even ask China to do so as well. “China should start an investigation into the Bidens,” he said — Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 3, 2019

Trump on China trade talks: "If they don't do what we want, we have tremendous power." …

One minute later: "China should start an investigation into the Bidens." — David Nakamura (@DavidNakamura) October 3, 2019

"China, if you're listening… please find some dirt on the Bidens.

I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press.

Or my brand new free trade policy." https://t.co/xs6VO8lkmn — Jed Shugerman (@jedshug) October 3, 2019

Publicly engaging in criminal behavior now. https://t.co/7S9nlyHpJs — Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) October 3, 2019

Again, calling on foreign governments to conduct law enforcement inquiries into his domestic political opponents. https://t.co/tZhotYjb9U — Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) October 3, 2019

The man just renewed his solicitation of a foreign attack on our election and added a second country. This anti-American behavior is not something we can tolerate from a sitting President. His job — his sworn duty — is to defend America, not betray it. Enough. https://t.co/bkra6bYfzS — Walter Shaub (@waltshaub) October 3, 2019

This is impeachable and it’s no longer just about a call or a whistleblower. He’s saying it from the White House lawn. He must be removed from office. Trump is tying US foreign policy to his political interests. https://t.co/l2wPIdtG7D — Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) October 3, 2019

They’ve been working on an impeachment investigation for a whole week… and he just blurted it out. https://t.co/2LtYMneKIS — Peter Sagal (@petersagal) October 3, 2019

Trump is publicly calling for an authoritarian regime to investigate his political rival. The only thing more alarming than his statement is that Senate Republicans will ensure that he will face no consequences for doing so. https://t.co/KdUjDlfY4l — Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) October 3, 2019

Trump, talking about Chinese trade negotiations, less than a minute before he called on China to investigate the Bidens: "If they don't do what we want, we have tremendous power." — Anthony Zurcher (@awzurcher) October 3, 2019

This is a plausible second article of impeachment https://t.co/ed4DVHy97F — Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) October 3, 2019

Bradley P. Moss, a national security attorney and a partner at Mark S. Zaid, P.C. (a law firm that bears the name of Mark Zaid, one of the attorneys representing the Ukraine whistleblower), told Law&Crime that you can bet these latest Trump remarks will be cited “as yet another exhibit in likely articles of impeachment for abuse of power.”

“The president is openly and expressly seeking a foreign government to provide him with assistance in the form of a law enforcement investigation into the president’s primary political opponent for re-election,” Moss said. “Regardless of whether it falls explicitly under campaign finance or bribery provisions, this kind of behavior almost certainly is violative of the president’s oath of office and will be cited as yet another exhibit in likely articles of impeachment for abuse of power.”

[Image via Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]

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