Rep. Joseph Morelle said Tuesday that he now supports moving forward impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.

In his statement Morelle said: “The President’s disturbing pattern of unlawful behavior is an offense to the very principles and ideals our nation was founded upon and clearly demonstrates that he believes the laws of the United States do not apply to him. Therefore, I believe it is in the national interest that the United States House of Representatives moves forward with impeachment proceedings. I took an oath to 'preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic' and, by extension, to safeguard the American people from the President’s contempt for our nation’s rule of law. This is a profoundly sad moment in our nation’s history and I do not make this decision lightly. But with each passing day, it is becoming increasingly and alarmingly evident that Donald Trump sought to use the office of the Presidency to leverage a foreign government for his own political benefit, jeopardizing the security of our nation and demonstrating his continued disdain for the best interests of the United States of America. Our children are watching — for their futures, and the future of our democracy, we must stand up and fight to ensure the soul of our nation remains good, just, and fair.”

Morelle joined growing calls among House Democrats to impeach the president, which have gotten louder after allegations that the president pressured Ukraine’s president to investigate Joe Biden’s son Hunter’s business dealings in the Eastern European country.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump denied that he withheld aid money from Ukraine to try to cajole Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to have his government launch an investigation into Hunter Biden, who sat on the board of the Ukraine energy company Burisma Group.

Trump earlier this week admitted that he spoke with Zelensky about Biden. And on Tuesday Trump acknowledged that he slowed military aid payments to Ukraine this summer, but he said it had nothing to do with trying to pressure Ukraine officials. Instead, he said that he slowed the aid because the United States was paying too much while other countries weren’t paying enough.

But Trump also acknowledged talking to the Ukraine leader about Biden, claiming his actions and the Ukraine business interests of his son warrant investigation.

Trump has also said he had concerns about providing aid to Ukraine because of "corruption" in the country. In his brief comments to reporters Tuesday, Trump underscored that he did eventually release the aid to Ukraine this month but denied tying aid to an investigation of Biden.

"If these allegations are true, we believe these actions represent an impeachable offense," seven freshman House Democrats wrote in an op-ed in the Washington Post, signaling a possible shift among politically vulnerable Democrats.

The issue came to a head after a multiple news reports last week about a whistleblower complaint brought by a member of the intelligence community raised concerns about Trump’s comments to a foreign leader.

The whistleblower complaint remains secret, and Democrats and the Trump administration are in a standoff over demands that the report be turned over to Congress. Tuesday afternoon President Trump tweeted that he has authorized the release of the transcript of his conversation with Selensky.

(Includes reporting from Democrat and Chronicle staff and John Fritze and David Jackson)