Jimmy Carter urges Trump to 'tell the truth for a change', advises him to 'cut back on Twitter feed'
Former president Jimmy Carter, in an interview on Tuesday, October 8, said that he wants President Donald Trump to "tell the truth", step aside and allow the House impeachment investigation to continue.
"My advice to him would be to tell the truth, I think, for a change," the 95-year-old Carter, in an interview on MSNBC said.
"And also to cut back on his Twitter feeds and give the House of Representatives, the Senate and, I would say, the general public the evidence that we need to form a case, either for or against him."
The White House, on Tuesday, October 8, refused to cooperate with House Democrats in their impeachment inquiry against Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi launched an impeachment inquiry after a whistleblower lodged a formal complaint alleging that the president was abusing his power.
The whistleblower, a CIA agent, had alleged that the president had set a quid pro quo of millions in military aid with Ukraine's president for an investigation into his political rival.
The White House subsequently released a transcript of the call which confirmed that Trump asked the foreign leader to investigate former vice-president Joe Biden, his rival and Democratic frontrunner in the 2020 presidential elections.
Trump administration officials, however, have not complied with lawmakers’ requests for documents and interviews involving Trump’s July 25 call with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Carter, while referring to Trump's refusal to cooperate with the investigation, said that it was "a departure from custom and a departure from what American people expect."
"And I think that one of the main things that Americans are now considering is the fact that the White House is trying to stonewall and not provide adequate information," he told the outlet.
His statement came days after the former president fell at home and sustained an injury, requiring multiple stitches on his forehead.
Carter, in the past, has expressed both approval and criticism for Trump and his administration. The former president, in March 2018, had said that he would prefer if Trump was not impeached over former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
He had made the statement well before an impeachment inquiry was launched against Trump over the Ukraine scandal. Carter, in June, however, expressed his disapproval of the Republican.
He suggested that Trump was an illegitimate president who actually "lost the election and was put into office because the Russians interfered on his behalf." He made the statement after the Mueller report was released.