Trump says House Democrats have votes to impeach him

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday the Democratic-led House of Representatives would vote to impeach him, but he would prevail in the Senate.

"So the Democrats, unfortunately, they have the votes. They can vote very easily, even though most of them, many of them, don’t believe they should do it," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Trump is currently facing a formal House impeachment inquiry on allegations he used his office for political gains by pressing foreign leaders to investigate a political rival.

The inquiry centered on a July 25 telephone call in which Trump repeatedly pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden, who is the leading Democratic candidate heading into next year's presidential polls, and his son, Hunter.

"If they proceed -- and, you know, they'll just get their people. They're all in line," said Trump. "Because even though many of them don’t want to vote, they have no choice. They have to follow their leadership. And then we'll get it to the Senate, and we're going to win."

The president said the Democrats will pay a "tremendous price" at the polls.

As the impeachment investigation widens, however, Trump has gone further, saying Thursday that China too should probe the Bidens. He denied asking Chinese President Xi Jinping to carry out the probe into Biden and his son, but said that "it's certainly something we can start thinking about."