Odds Say President Donald Trump Will Not Testify During Impeachment Inquiry
- US President Donald Trump is the subject of an impeachment inquiry connected to his alleged use of foreign policy for personal political gain
- Trump has suggested he is open to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s invitation to testify at the inquiry
- Polls indicate the inquiry has done little to change the minds of American voters
Damning testimony by a top American diplomat has turned up the heat on Donald Trump at the ongoing impeachment inquiry against the US president.
Gordon Sundland, the American ambassador to the European Union, suggested this week that he was acting on the president’s orders in his communications with Ukrainian leaders relating to a corruption investigation involving former vice president and current Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden.
Despite the mounting evidence that Trump used foreign policy as a means to gain a political advantage ahead of next year’s US presidential election, he remains a betting longshot to provide testimony at the Democrat-led impeachment inquiry, sporting +300 odds.
Will Donald Trump Testify at His Impeachment Inquiry
| Outcome | Odds |
|---|---|
| Yes | +300 |
| No | -500 |
Odds taken November 20th
Trump Open to Possibility of Testifying
Trump turned heads with his unexpected to response to an invitation to testify at the impeachment inquiry, which opened to the public last week.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi extended the invite on Sunday during an appearance on the CBS public affairs program “Face the Nation”, where she discussed the probe into an unnamed whistleblower’s allegations of efforts made to coerce Ukraine into announcing investigations into Trump’s political opponents.
….that I testify about the phony Impeachment Witch Hunt. She also said I could do it in writing. Even though I did nothing wrong, and don’t like giving credibility to this No Due Process Hoax, I like the idea & will, in order to get Congress focused again, strongly consider it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2019
With the odds steadily swinging in favor of Trump eventually being impeached, the president took his adversaries by surprise on Monday, tweeting that he “liked the idea”, and would consider it in an effort to get Congress back focused on day-to-day business.
President Responded to Questions at Mueller Inquiry
The idea of Trump providing testimony is not new, as he’s expressed his willingness to testify under oath early on in the investigation into whether Russia interfered with the 2016 US presidential election with the help of Trump associates.
He subsequently backed away from the risky suggestion that he would make himself available for cross-examination by special counsel Robert Mueller, instead providing written answers to two questions to Mueller in November 2018.
Today, I asked Amb. Sondland a straightforward question: who would benefit from an investigation into the Bidens.
His answer …after some waffling: "President Trump"
Watch my full line of questioning below⬇️ pic.twitter.com/fFgpgpoiy3
— Sean Patrick Maloney (@RepSeanMaloney) November 21, 2019
The Mueller inquiry failed to find the president explicitly guilty of any wrongdoing, but that has not stopped the constant efforts by Democratic forces to dig up dirt on Trump. Indeed, Sundland’s testimony could complicate the president’s efforts to keep the current inquiry from gaining momentum.
Polls Suggest Inquiry is Changing Few Minds
However, with opinion polls suggesting that the impeachment inquiry has had a minimal impact on how Americans view the president, and whether he should be impeached and possibly removed from office, there would appear to be little gain by Trump by participating in a proceeding that he has regularly characterized as a “hoax”.
Polls show impeachment hearings aren't changing much https://t.co/dVx780JXav pic.twitter.com/PFOuGcnvk2
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) November 19, 2019
Plenty of opportunity remains for the president to change his mind. The impeachment inquiry is expected to hear testimony from at least two more witnesses on Thursday before wrapping up public hearings.
But with the witnesses to date failing to produce a smoking gun that would give Trump no choice but to defend himself with written testimony, the likelihood of the president taking Pelosi up on her offer to provide his side of the story appears remote, for now.
Pick: No (-600)
Daniel has been writing about sports and sports betting for over 23 years. The seasoned pro has contributed to the likes of Sports Illustrated, Sportsnet, NESN, Bleacher Report, OddsShark, the Globe and Mail, and The Nation magazine.
