US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took part in a phone call between Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

The disclosure brings the State Department closer to the burgeoning impeachment inquiry that was started by Democrats in the House just last week, and has already sparked a political firestorm in Washington.

According to a senior State Department official who spoke with the Journal, Mr Pompeo was among the handful of officials who participated in the 25 July phone call between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky.

During that call, Mr Trump appears to have used American aide to Ukraine in an effort to pressure Mr Zelensky to to start an investigation into a political rival, Joe Biden.

The phone call has now led Democrats in the House to begin an impeachment inquiry into the president, as they seek to determine whether Mr Trump had used the power of his political office for personal gain. That inquiry follows after a whistleblower complaint was made public claiming that over half a dozen individuals knowledgeable about the call between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky had expressed concerns.

Everyone Trump has fired or forced out Show all 13 1 /13 Everyone Trump has fired or forced out Everyone Trump has fired or forced out John Bolton Trump claimed to have fired Bolton, his national security adviser, while Bolton claimed he offered to resign. An anonymous White House source that Bolton's departure came as a result of the national security adviser working too independently of the president AFP/Getty Everyone Trump has fired or forced out Anthony Scaramucci Scaramucci lasted only six days in his role as Trump's communications director before being fired by John Kelly, the incoming chief of staff Getty Everyone Trump has fired or forced out Rick Perry Rick Perry announced his resignation just as he became embroiled in the president's impeachment scandal. The White House said Mr Perry was asked by Donald Trump to work with Rudy GIuliani in regards to Ukraine. AP Everyone Trump has fired or forced out Rex Tillerson Tillerson, Trump's first secretary of state, was fired after a series of clashes with the president over policy Getty Everyone Trump has fired or forced out James Mattis Mattis served as secretary of defense from the beginning of Trump's administration until retiring on 1 January 2019. However, the president later claimed that he had "essentially fired" Mattis Getty Everyone Trump has fired or forced out James Comey Comey was fired as director of the FBI early in Trump's presidency after serving in the role for four years prior. His dismissal is widely thought to have been related to the Russia investigation Getty Everyone Trump has fired or forced out Reince Priebus Priebus, Trump's first chief of staff, was forced out after six tumultuous months AFP/Getty Everyone Trump has fired or forced out David Shulkin Veterans affairs secretary Shulkin claims that he was fired, the White House claims that he resigned Getty Everyone Trump has fired or forced out John Kelly Kelly, Trump's second chief of staff, was forced out after 17 months in office. His departure was a confused affair though it is clear that Trump wanted Kelly out AFP/Getty Everyone Trump has fired or forced out Michael Flynn Flynn lasted 24 days as Trump's national security adviser before being fired for lying to the FBI Getty Everyone Trump has fired or forced out Lee Cisna Cisna served as director of citizen and immigration services between October 2017 and June 2019 before being asked to resign amid a major personnel change in the department of homeland security Everyone Trump has fired or forced out Madeline Westerhout Westerhout served as Trump's personal assistant after leaking private information about his family AFP/Getty Everyone Trump has fired or forced out Mira Ricardel Ricardel was forced out of her role as Deputy National Security Advisor after first lady Melania Trump publicly called for her to be fired

Just before the news that Mr Pompeo had participated in the 25 July phone call, House Democrats issued a subpoena to the president's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, seeking documents related to his work on behalf of the president in Ukraine. Mr Giuliani had sat down for numerous cable news interviews over the weekend, and had openly discussed the case before on live television — including at least one instance in which he confirmed that he had pushed for an investigation into Mr Biden on the president's behalf.

It was also reported on Monday afternoon by the New York Times that the president had pressed the prime minister of Australia in a recent phone call to help attorney general William Barr — who was named by Mr Trump in the 25 July phone call as well — to gather information that he hopes will help him to discredit the Mueller investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and potential obstruction by the president in the ensuing investigation.

As things stand, House Democrats have more than enough members saying they support an impeachment inquiry to pass the measure there, once articles are introduced to the full House, and assuming the 223 members who say they support an inquiry also support actual impeachment. That is a big jump in support in the House since just two weeks ago, and falls in line with public support for the issue, which has been shown in numerous polls to be increasing.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Should the House vote to impeach the president, the measure would then be taken to the Senate, where 69 senators would need to approve the measure in order to remove the president from his office. As things stand, that appears to be an unlikely scenario, as it would require more than 20 Republicans for it to pass.

But, the measure would at least be given a vote, according to Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate who generally has control of what measures go up for a vote.