GOP split over impeachment push-back as Dems plow ahead

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are split over how President Donald Trump should respond to impeachment proceedings.

The president’s allies fanned out across the Sunday talk shows espousing different approaches to the rough transcript and whistleblower complaint at the heart of the proceedings.

The whistleblower says Trump tried to pressure the president of Ukraine to investigate the son of Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, tried deflection by insisting that the real story is a debunked conspiracy theory. Senior presidential adviser Stephen Miller said “deep state” figures are to blame. Ohio congressman Jim Jordan said Biden’s son improperly profited from his father’s position. There’s no evidence of that.

Trump himself tweeted that he should be able to meet his accuser. A top House Democrat said he expects the whistleblower to testify “very soon.”