Impeachment Trial Reportedly Had Impact on Trump's Iran Strike Decision

A pair of new reports this week allege that Trump himself admitted as much.

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A pair of new reports allege that Trump's move to launch a drone strike that ultimately killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani marked a decision made amid pressure from unnamed Republican senators. Those senators, it's further alleged, are ones who would potentially be "important" as he nears an impeachment trial.

A Thursday report from Wall Street Journalincludes talks of that pressure, alleging that Trump told "associates" about these senators following the strike.

"Mr. Trump, after the strike, told associates he was under pressure to deal with Gen. Soleimani from GOP senators he views as important supporters in his coming impeachment trial in the Senate, associates said," reads the report. A separate report from New York Timesincluded a similar assessment, stating that Trump said on a phone call that GOP senators had been putting the heat on him about taking a more aggressive stance on Iran.

While neither report names the senators, an aggregated take from The Hillnotes that Lindsey Graham is among those who have been consistent in their vocal support of Trump's questionable Iran decisions.

On Friday, Trump briefly shifted the headlines focus by falsely claiming credit for reduced cancer rates. In a subsequent statement, an American Cancer Society rep noted that the impact of any Trump administration moves "are not reflected in the data" contained in the report Trump used in his credit-taking tweet.

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