Donald Trump says impeachment has 'UNITED' Republicans as he boasts about Ukrainian president Zelensky's fresh denial of a quid pro quo

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Donald Trump said Monday that the impeachment inquiry could be a 'great thing' to help further unite the Republican Party.

'I think it's going to be a tremendous boost for the Republicans,' Trump told reporters at the White House Monday when talking about impeachment. 'Republicans have never, ever been so committed as they are right now, and so united. So it's really a great thing in some ways, but in other ways, it's a disgrace. It's a disgrace for our country.'

Before leaving for London, where he will attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit, Trump promoted his Ukrainian counterpart's recent comments defending him against the impeachment inquiry.

'If you notice, there was breaking news today, the Ukrainian president came out and said very strongly that President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong. That should be case over,' Trump asserted.

'And that should end everything, but it will never end it because they want to do what they want to do. They're getting killed in their own district,' he said of Democrats.

Donald Trump told reporters Monday that the impeachment inquiry would be the 'boost' that would help unite Republicans even more. 'Republicans have never, ever been so committed as they are right now, and so united. So it's really a great thing in some ways,' Trump said of impeachment

He also tweeted Monday morning another defense against the impeachment inquiry, citing his Ukrainian counterpart's recent comments insisting there was no quid pro quo

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured) said in an interview published Monday, 'I did not speak with U.S. President Trump in those terms: you give me this, I give you that' – which Trump said should make impeachment 'case over'

He also tweeted Monday morning about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's comments.

'Breaking News: The President of Ukraine has just again announced that President Trump has done nothing wrong with respect to Ukraine and our interactions or calls.' Trump tweeted. 'If the Radical Left Democrats were sane, which they are not, it would be case over!'

Zelensky renewed his denial that Trump set any sort of quid pro quo for the U.S. releasing millions in military aid in exchange for Ukraine launching an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden. 

In remarks published in a German magazine, Zelensky said he 'did not understand at all' the accusations heard at the impeachment hearings last month and did not 'want to give an impression that we are beggars' in Ukraine.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced in late September the launch of impeachment proceedings against the president.

The inquiry stems from a whistle-blower complaint that detailed a July 25 phone call between Trump and Zelensky, which the anonymous intelligence agent claimed was improper.

Trump is accused of pressuring Ukraine to launch investigations against his Democratic political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who worked on the board of a Ukrainian gas company from 2014-2019.

The key issue is whether Trump set up a 'quid pro quo' with Zelensky by holding back promised U.S. military aid for Ukraine until the Bidens were investigated. Democrats have also claimed the quid pro quo could be present with the military aid being held for a meeting between Trump and Zelensky in the White House.

Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with European publications including Germany's Der Spiegel magazine: 'I did not speak with US President Trump in those terms: you give me this, I give you that.'

President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met in New York, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September. Their July 25 phone call sparked the impeachment inquiry into Trump 

Trump also told reporters gathered on the South Lawn Monday that Democrats planned a year ago that they would begin the impeachment inquiry when he was preparing to go to the NATO summit.

'So the Democrats, the radical left Democrats, the do-nothing Democrats, decided when I'm going to NATO – this was set up a year ago – that when I'm going to NATO that was the exact time – this is one of the most important journeys that we make as president,' Trump said, insinuated the Democrats wanted to hurt his standing with other world leaders ahead of the meeting.

'And for them to be doing this, and saying this, and putting an impeachment on the table – which is a hoax to start off with,' he continued.

In the interview with Zelensky published Monday, the Ukrainian leader also played down expectations ahead of a summit on December 9 in Paris in which he is set to meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for the first time.

He said that an end to the conflict with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine could not be discussed until three preliminary steps had been taken: a prisoner exchange within a 'reasonable time period,' followed by a genuine ceasefire and the retreat of all armed forces to allow local elections to be held in the region.

'If these three issues are resolved, then we can see if everyone wants to put an end to the conflict,’ Zelensky said of the conflict in Ukraine, which broke out in 2014 after pro-Western politicians took power in Kiev and Russia annexed Crimea, has killed more than 13,000 people.  

On Wednesday, a congressional panel will begin drafting charges against Trump following five days of public hearings before the House Intelligence Committee.

Trump's attorney, however, signaled Sunday night that the White House won't send anyone to the Judiciary Committee’s hearings, which will commence Wednesday.

The committee is expected to consider at least four counts, or articles of impeachment, including abuse of power, bribery, contempt of Congress and obstruction of justice. 

Trump has been unable to quash allegations in the House of Representatives investigation that he illegally sought help from Ukraine to obtain dirt on his domestic political rivals, including possible 2020 challenger Joe Biden.

Officials in Ukraine are said to be in the process of discussing a number of ways to improve their country's standing with President Trump by announcing new investigations into the Bidens.

One of the sources told CNN that Ukrainian officials acknowledged that any investigations would need to look at current issues, rather than just those of the past. 

Following months of relentless controversy, Zelensky has said in recent days that his country is 'tired about Burisma,' the Ukrainian energy company Hunter Biden once sat on the board of.

However, the Ukrainian leader failed to explicitly rule out conducted an investigation into Hunter's appointment to the board.

During public testimony last week, political counselor at the US Embassy in Kiev, David Holmes, said that Zelensky 'withstood pressure for a long time' to refrain from giving the announcement Trump was requesting.