Nancy Pelosi says impeachment leaves ‘spring’ in people’s step
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that people have a “spring in their step” after the House impeached President Donald Trump, but she insisted the Senate must provide more details about the expected trial in that chamber before she agrees to send the House charges over. Pelosi’s unexpected procedural delay — looking for leverage in trial arrangements — was getting a sour response from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and from Trump himself. McConnell said Democrats are “too afraid” to send the charges to the Senate, where Trump would be expected to be acquitted by the Republican majority. Trump tweeted, “Now the Do Nothing Party want to Do Nothing with the Articles.” He claimed that if the Democrats didn’t transmit the articles of impeachment “they would lose by Default,” though there is no constitutional requirement to send them swiftly, or at all. Some White House officials argued that delaying the trial indefinitely actually would play to their advantage and help them make the case that Democrats have manipulated the impeachment process. The trial has been expected to begin in January. Pelosi was upbeat the morning after the historic vote that made Trump only the third president in U.S. history to be impeached. The House impeached Trump on two charges — abusing his presidential power and obstructing Congress — stemming from his pressure on Ukraine to announce investigations of his political rival as Trump withheld U.S. aid. “We’ve been hearing from people all over the country,” Pelosi told reporters at the Capitol. “Seems like people have a spring in their step because the president was held accountable for his reckless behavior.” Pressed about next steps, Pelosi wouldn’t say. Democrats are insisting on more witnesses, testimony and documents than McConnell appears willing to provide before they name the House “managers” who would prosecute Trump in the Senate. “The next thing will be when we see the process that is set forth in the Senate,” Pelosi said. “Then we’ll know the number of managers we may have to go forward and who we would choose.” She said the previous night, “So far we haven’t seen anything that looks fair to us. So hopefully it will be fair. And when we see what that is, we’ll send our managers.” The Democratic speaker and the top Senate Democrat, Chuck Schumer of New York, met privately Thursday at the Capitol after Republican Senate Leader McConnell signaled in the strongest terms yet that his chamber intended to hold a swift trial and acquit the president of both charges. McConnell denounced the “most unfair” House impeachment and reassured Trump and his supporters that “moments like this are why the United States Senate exists.” As for what the Senate would do, he said, “It could not be clearer which outcome would serve the stabilizing, institution-preserving, fever-breaking role for which the United States Senate was created and which outcome would betray it.” McConnell described Trump’s impeachment as “the most rushed, least thorough and most unfair impeachment inquiry in modern history.” Fighting back and using McConnell’s own words, Schumer said the Republican leader was plotting the “most rushed, least thorough and most unfair” impeachment trial in history by declining to agree to call witnesses including former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, who declined to testify before the House. “McConnell claimed the impeachment was motivated by partisan rage,” said Schumer. “This from the man who said proudly, ‘I am not impartial.’” “What hypocrisy.” Pelosi said that McConnell “says it’s OK for the foreman of the jury to be in cahoots with the lawyers of the accused. That doesn’t sound right to us.” McConnell was meeting later Thursday with Schumer to begin negotiations on how to conduct a Senate trial. The two leaders have a tense relationship, and McConnell holds a tactical edge if he can keep his 53-member Senate majority united. Complicating any decision to delay are House Democrats’ arguments in recent weeks that Trump’s impeachment was needed “urgently,” arguing his actions were a threat to democracy and the fairness of the upcoming 2020 election. By Mary Clare Jalonick, Laurie Kellman, and Zeke Miller Associated Press Associated Press writers Alan Fram and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report. Republished with the Permission of the Associated Press.
Democrats lay out case for Wednesday Donald Trump impeachment vote
House Democrats laid out their impeachment case against President Donald Trump on Monday, a sweeping report accusing him of betraying the nation and deserving to be ousted, as key lawmakers began to signal where they stand ahead of this week’s landmark votes. What Democrats once hoped would be a bipartisan act, only the third time in U.S. history the House will be voting to impeach a president, is now on track to be a starkly partisan roll call Wednesday. No Republicans are breaking with the president and almost all Democrats are expected to approve the charges against him. A raucous town hall Monday in the Detroit suburbs put on display the nation’s wrenching debate over the unconventional president and the prospect of removing the him from office. Freshman Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin was both heckled and celebrated as she announced her support for impeachment. “There’s certainly a lot of controversy about this,” Slotkin told the crowd of 400. “But there just has to be a moment where you use the letter of the law for what they were intended.” Trump faces two articles of impeachment brought by Democrats. They say he abused the power of his office by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden and obstructed Congress by aggressively trying to block the House investigation and its oversight duties as part of the nation’s system of checks and balances. The president “betrayed the Nation by abusing his high office to enlist a foreign power in corrupting democratic elections,” says the 650-page report from the House Judiciary Committee. He withheld military aid from the ally as leverage, the report says, and ”Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office.” The report says the president then engaged in an unprecedented attempt to block the investigation and “cover up” his misconduct. “In the history of the Republic, no President has ever ordered the complete defiance of an impeachment inquiry,” it says. Trump, tweeting from the sidelines after instructing the White House not to participate in the House inquiry, insists he has done nothing wrong. He is promoting lawyer Rudy Giuliani’s alternative theory that it was actually Biden and Ukraine that interfered, a conspiracy-laden idea that other most other Republicans are actively avoiding. Sticking to the language he has relied on for months, he tweeted on Monday, “The Impeachment Hoax is the greatest con job in the history of American politics!” As the House prepares for Wednesday’s vote, just a handful of Democrats are expected to break ranks to oppose impeachment as Speaker Nancy Pelosi marches the majority toward a vote she hoped to avoid having Democrats take on their own. One freshman Democrat, Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, lost five key staff members Monday after he said he would vote against impeachment and indicated he was switching parties to become a Republican. Another Democrat, Rep. Collin Peterson, a Minnesota centrist, has not decided how he will vote, his spokeswoman said As the House was detailing its case against the nation’s 45th president, attention was turning to the Senate where the top Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, called anew for fresh evidence and testimony from key White House officials for the Senate impeachment trial. “What is President Trump hiding?” Schumer said Monday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is hoping to avoid a drawn-out spectacle in his chamber, though Trump, a former reality TV show host, has signaled that is what he prefers as he seeks vindication. Republicans, who hold the majority, are expected to acquit Trump of the charges during a trial starting in January. In a letter to McConnell, Schumer proposed hearing testimony from former national security adviser John Bolton, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and two others as part of a detailed offer he made to Republicans as an opening offer for negotiations. Democrats want to hear from Bolton, who once labeled the alternative foreign policy orchestrated by Trump lawyer Giuliani a “drug deal’’ he wanted no part of. Bolton left the White House in September. The Democrats also want to hear from Mulvaney, who has acknowledged the military aid to Ukraine was being held up, as well as two other White House officials who defied House subpoenas to testify. McConnell is facing criticism for saying he’s taking his “cues” from the White House as he ensures Trump there will not be the 67 votes needed in the Senate to convict the president. Democrats complain that he and other Republicans are not operating as impartial jurors. The GOP leader is planning to meet soon with Schumer to discuss the contours of next month’s trial, McConnell’s office said. The report released Monday by the House Judiciary Committee, a historic marker like those produced during impeachment proceedings for Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, formally lays the groundwork for the vote. It outlines the panel’s findings and includes those from the Intelligence Committee’s months-long investigation that was sparked by a still-anonymous government whistleblower’s complaint about Trump’s July phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. It also includes Republican rebuttals. The House Rules Committee will meet Tuesday in what is expected to be a marathon session to set the parameters for Wednesday’s debate. By Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick Associated Press. Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman and Alan Fram in Washington, David Eggert in Rochester, Mich., and Steve Karnowski in Minnesota contributed to this report. Republished with the Permission of the Associated Press.
Panel vote sends Donald Trump impeachment charges to full House
Democrats propelled President Donald Trump’s impeachment toward a historic vote by the full U.S. House on Friday, as the Judiciary Committee approved charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. It’s the latest major step in the constitutional and political storm that has divided Congress and the nation. The House is expected to approve the two articles of impeachment next week, before lawmakers depart for the holidays. The partisan split in the committee vote — 23 Democrats to 17 Republicans — reflects the atmosphere in Congress. The Democratic-majority House is expected to approve the charges against Trump next week, but the Republican-controlled Senate is likely to acquit him after a January trial. Trump is accused, in the first article, of abusing his presidential power by asking Ukraine to investigate his 2020 rival Joe Biden while holding military aid as leverage, and, in the second, of obstructing Congress by blocking the House’s efforts to probe his actions. “Today is a solemn and sad day,” Chairman Jerrold Nadler, Democrat-New York, told reporters after the session, marking the third time in U.S. history the panel had voted to recommend impeaching a president. He said the full House would act ”expeditiously.”‘ After the milestone votes, Trump’s press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, labeled the proceedings a “desperate charade” and said, “The President looks forward to receiving in the Senate the fair treatment and due process which continues to be disgracefully denied to him by the House.” Voting was swift and solemn, with none of the fiery speeches and weighty nods to history that have defined the previous debating, including 14 hours that stretched nearly to midnight Thursday. Nadler abruptly halted that session so voting could be held in daylight, for all Americans to see. Nadler, who had said he wanted lawmakers to “search their consciences” before casting their votes, gaveled in the landmark but brief morning session. Lawmakers responded “aye” or “yes” for the Democrats, and simple:”no’s” from the Republicans. “The article is agreed to,” Nadler declared after each vote. The top Republican on the panel Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia immediately said he would file dissenting views. Minutes after the morning session opened, it was gaveled shut. Trump is only the fourth U.S. president to face impeachment proceedings and the first to be running for reelection at the same time. The outcome of the eventual House votes pose potentially serious political consequences for both parties ahead of the 2020 elections, with Americans deeply divided over whether the president indeed conducted impeachable acts and if it should be up to Congress, or the voters, to decide whether he should remain in office. The outcome came quickly after two days of hearings at the Capitol and the rancorous 14-hour session that was shut down when the Democratic majority refused to be forced, after a long and bitter slog through failed Republican amendments aimed at killing the impeachment charges, into midnight voting. Instead, the impeachment charges against Trump were aired in full view. Trump took to Twitter early Friday to praise the panel’s Republicans, saying “they were fantastic yesterday.” “The Dems have no case at all, but the unity & sheer brilliance of these Republican warriors, all of them, was a beautiful sight to see,” he tweeted. “Dems had no answers and wanted out!” The president has refused to participate in the proceedings, tweeting criticisms as he did Thursday from the sidelines, mocking the charges against him in the House’s nine-page resolution as “impeachment light.” But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the president was wrong and the case against him is deeply grounded. Democrats contend that Trump has engaged in a pattern of misconduct toward Russia dating back to the 2016 election campaign that special counsel Robert Mueller investigated. And they say his dealings with Ukraine have benefited its aggressive neighbor Russia, not the U.S., and he must be prevented from “corrupting” U.S. elections again and cheating his way to a second term next year. “It is urgent,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said late Thursday on Fox News, “There is zero chance the president will be removed from office.” He said he was hoping to have no GOP defections in the Senate trial next year. The Judiciary Committee session drew out over two days, much of time spent in fights over amendments. After lawmakers trudged through two days of hearings, tempers still flared Friday. “My vote is no,” said Rep. Louie Gohmert, Republican-Texas. Then, before the tally was announced, he inquired how his vote was recorded by the clerk. “I want to make sure.” Later he echoed Trump’s criticism of the proceedings: “It was a witch hunt.” Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz said, “For Democrats, impeachment is their drug, it is their obsession, it is their total focus.” Nadler said late Thursday night, after presiding over the two-day session, “I want the members on both sides of the aisle to think about what has happened over these past two days and to search their consciences before they cast their final votes.” The Republicans on the panel, blindsided by the move to Friday, were livid. When Nadler announced it, they started yelling “unbelievable” and “they just want to be on TV.” Congress was to be out of session on Friday, and many lawmakers had other plans, some outside Washington. “This is the kangaroo court that we’re talking about” stormed Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, the top Republican on the panel, who said he had not been consulted on the decision. Debate over amendments had dragged on with familiar arguments: Democrats cited evidence they said showed Trump’s misconduct, while Republicans insisted the entire investigation was bogus. Typical was the first amendment, offered by GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, who tried to delete the first charge against Trump. “This amendment strikes article one because article one ignores the truth,” he declared. Rep. David Cicilline, Democrat-Rhode Island, argued there was “overwhelming evidence” that the president with his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, in pushing Ukraine to investigate rival Biden, was
Donald Trump wants drama, but GOP wants it over
Donald Trump wants more than acquittal. He wants vindication. With impeachment by the House appearing certain, the president has made clear that he views the next step, a trial in the GOP-controlled Senate, as his focus. The president sees the senators not just as a jury deciding his fate, but as partners in a campaign to discredit and punish his Democratic opponents. His Senate allies aren’t so sure that’s a good idea. In recent weeks, Trump has devised a wish list of witnesses for the Senate trial, relishing the opportunity for his lawyers to finally cross-examine his accusers and argue the case that his actions toward Ukraine, including the July 25 call when he asked for a favor, were “perfect.” Trump and his allies have been building up the likely Senate trial, an effort to delegitimize the Democratic-controlled House’s impeachment process by contrast. In the Senate, the Trump team has argued, the president would get the opportunity to challenge witnesses and call some of his own, such as House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, the still-anonymous intelligence community whistleblower, or even Joe Biden and Hunter Biden. He sees that as a chance to embarrass Democrats, including the former vice president and 2020 Democratic rival, and use the friendlier ground to portray himself as the victim of a partisan crusade. “It is pretty clear the president wants a trial,” says Hogan Gidley, the principal deputy White House press secretary. “The president is eager to get his story out.” But it is increasingly clear that Senate Republicans, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have other ideas. McConnell, who is fiercely protective of his 53-47 Senate majority, has signaled that he wants none of the spectacle Trump desires. Instead he wants a swift trial, potentially with no new witnesses called. “Here’s what I would anticipate: The House managers would come over, make their arguments, the president’s lawyers would then respond. And at that point the Senate has two choices,” McConnell told reporters this week. “It could go down the path of calling witnesses and basically having another trial. Or it could decide — and again 51 members could make that decision — that they’ve heard enough.” In other words, the president, who is almost certain to be found not guilty by the Republican-controlled Senate, can win the hard way or the easy way. Senate Trump allies and advisers inside the White House have in recent days urged the president to temper his expectations and choose the path of least resistance. But Trump, according to three people familiar with the conversations, has responded by repeating his desire for a politically charged trial that drags the Bidens and others into the impeachment spotlight. Still, some aides believe Trump will ultimately relent to McConnell’s advice. Trump’s solicitation of Ukraine for investigations into the Bidens — while withholding military aide from the ally nation facing Russian aggression — forms the core of one article of impeachment against the president. His efforts to block the House investigation forms the second. On Capitol Hill, the emerging GOP consensus is that doing Trump’s defense his way would jeopardize a predictable outcome, test GOP’s fragile loyalties to him and open a Pandora’s Box of unanticipated consequences. “People are beginning to realize that could be a pretty messy and unproductive process,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said Wednesday. “If you start opening up to witnesses, you start opening up to all witnesses. And so I think the president’s got to really decide, to what extent does he want to start going down that road versus just making a strong case.” Democrats would be expected to retaliate by trying to call the president’s senior-most advisers, including acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani. Under Senate rules, McConnell’s ability to control the proceedings are limited. The Chief Justice of the United States, John Roberts, presides over the trial and any senator may be able to put a motion on witnesses up for a vote. That means defections by just a few GOP senators could thwart McConnell’s plans. With the Republicans slim majority, it’s not at all clear they want to start down the path of a full-blown trial. Should they try to call the whistle-blower or the Bidens to testify, they may not find enough votes of support from their ranks. At the same time, they would have to consider whether to accept or fend off witness requests from Democrats. McConnell also worries that a prolonged impeachment trial would not benefit the handful of GOP senators setting out in the new year on potentially tough reelection bids. Swing state Sens. Susan Collins in Maine, Cory Gardner in Colorado, Joni Ernst in Iowa and Martha McSally in Arizona are among those whose actions will be closely watched. They would much rather be talking about the economy or the pending U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement than engaging in a prolonged, unpredictable impeachment trial. But Republicans also acknowledge they are unlikely to find the 51 votes needed to dismiss the charges against the president outright. Some vulnerable lawmakers and Trump skeptics, such as Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah who has said he is troubled by Trump’s actions, will insist on some semblance of trial. Comparisons are being made to the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, in which the Senate had to deal at length with allegations of sexual misconduct, though his confirmation by the Republicans was becoming increasingly apparent. “I think the American people are pretty tired of this,” says Sen. Pat Roberts, Republican-Kansas. “I think if we can honor the White House’s concern, OK. But let’s do it in a reasonable time limit. We don’t need six weeks like we did with Clinton.” Around the White House, a divide has emerged between aides and allies embracing the president’s call to use the Senate trial to get back at Democrats and those, particularly in the White House counsel’s office, advising him to heed the warnings of the GOP lawmakers.
Democrats unveil Donald Trump impeachment charges
House Democrats announced two articles of impeachment Tuesday against President Donald Trump, declaring he “betrayed the nation” in his actions toward Ukraine as they pushed toward historic proceedings that are certain to help define his presidency and shape the 2020 election. The specific charges aimed at removing the 45th president of the U.S.: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, flanked by the chairmen of the impeachment inquiry committees, said somberly at the U.S. Capitol that they were upholding their solemn oath to defend the Constitution. Trump responded angrily on Twitter: “WITCH HUNT!” Voting is expected in a matter of days by the Judiciary Committee, and by Christmas in the full House. The charges, if approved, would then be sent to the Senate. The Republican majority in the Senate would be unlikely to convict Trump. But first there would be a trial filled with bitter accusations and recriminations just as voters in Iowa and other early presidential primary states begin making their choices. In the formal articles announced Tuesday, the Democrats said Trump enlisted a foreign power in “corrupting” the U.S. election process and endangered national security by asking Ukraine to investigate his political rivals, including Democrat Joe Biden, while withholding U.S. military aid as leverage. That benefited Russia over the U.S. as America’s ally fought Russian aggression, the Democrats said. Trump then obstructed Congress by ordering current and former officials to defy House subpoenas for testimony — some testified anyway — and by blocking access to documents, the charges say. By his conduct, Trump “demonstrated he will remain a threat to national security and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, ” the nine-page impeachment resolution says. After decrying the Democrats’ announcement, Trump headed to Pennsylvania for a reelection campaign rally. First, he tweeted, “To Impeach a President who has proven through results, including producing perhaps the strongest economy in our country’s history, to have one of the most successful presidencies ever, and most importantly, who has done NOTHING wrong, is sheer Political Madness,.” The outcome, though, appears increasingly set as the House presses ahead toward impeachment as it has only three times in history against U.S. presidents. In outlining the charges, Democrats said they had no choice but to act because Trump has shown a pattern of behavior that, if left unchecked, poses risks to the democratic process ahead of the 2020 election. “Our president holds the ultimate public trust. When he betrays that trust and puts himself before country, he endangers the Constitution; he endangers our democracy; he endangers our national security,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Democrat-New York, the Judiciary chairman, announcing the charges before a portrait of George Washington. “Our next election is at risk. … That is why we must act now.” Nadler said, “No one, not even the president, is above the law.” Chairman Adam Schiff of the Intelligence Committee said, “We stand here today because the president’s abuse of power leaves us with no choice.” Trump’s allies immediately plunged into the fight that will extend into the new year. White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said Democrats are trying to “overthrow” the administration. Campaign manager Brad Parscale said Democrats are “putting on this political theater because they don’t have a viable candidate for 2020 and they know it.” The president’s son, Eric, embraced his father’s penchant for name calling, assailing Pelosi and “her swamp creatures.” In drafting the articles of impeachment, Pelosi faced a legal and political challenge of balancing the views of her majority while hitting the Constitution’s bar of “treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Some liberal lawmakers wanted more expansive charges encompassing the findings from special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Centrist Democrats preferred to keep the impeachment articles more focused on Trump’s actions toward Ukraine. The final resolution attempted to find common ground by linking the findings in the Ukraine inquiry to the Mueller probe in two lines, without specifically mention the Russia investigation. It said the abuse of power was consistent with “previous invitations of foreign interference in United States elections” while the obstruction charge was consistent with Trump’s previous efforts to undermine “United States government investigations into foreign interference.” As the House chairmen arrived at a closed-door meeting of the chamber’s Democrats after the announcement, they were greeted with applause. Democratic leaders say Trump put his political interests above those of the nation when he asked Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a July phone call to investigate his rivals, including Democrat Joe Biden, and then withheld $400 million in military aid as the U.S. ally faced an aggressive Russia. They say he then obstructed Congress by stonewalling the House investigation. The articles say Trump “used the powers of the presidency in a manner that compromised the national security of the United States and undermined the integrity of the United States democratic process.” The first article, on abuse of power, says Trump “corruptly” solicited Ukraine to investigate his political rivals and required the investigations if the country expected the release of military aide that Congress had already approved as well as a White House meeting with Zelenskiy. The second article, obstruction of Congress, says that Trump has “directed the unprecedented, categorical and indiscriminate defiance of subpoenas” issued by the House, and that such behavior was “offensive to, and subversive of” the Constitution. “In the history of the republic, no president has ever ordered the complete defiance of an impeachment inquiry or sought to obstruct and impede so comprehensively the ability of the House of Representatives to investigate ‘high crimes and misdemeanors,’” the second article reads. Trump insisted in a new tweet that when he asked Ukraine’s president “to do us a favor” with the investigations, “’us’ is a reference to USA, not me!” Democrats, however, say Trump’s meaning could not have been clearer in seeking political dirt on Biden, his possible opponent in the 2020 election. When asked Monday night if she had enough votes to impeach the Republican president, Pelosi said House member
Judiciary hearing sets stage for Donald Trump impeachment charges
Pushing ahead with articles of impeachment, the House Judiciary Committee convenes Monday to formally receive the investigative findings against President Donald Trump as the White House and its allies launch an aggressive attack on Democrats and the proceedings. Chairman Jerrold Nadler expects the committee to vote soon, possibly this week, on at least two or more charges against the Republican president. Democrats say Trump’s push to have Ukraine investigate rival Joe Biden while at the same time withholding U.S. military aid ran counter to U.S. policy and benefited Russia. It could result in impeachment charges of abuse of power, bribery and obstruction. “The central allegation is that the president put himself above his country several times, that he sought foreign interference in our elections several times, both for 2016 and 2020, that he sought to cover it up,” Nadler said. “All this presents a pattern that poses a real and present danger to the integrity of the next election, which is one reason why we can’t just wait for the next election to settle matters,” he said. In advance of the hearing, Nadler sent a letter to the White House late Sunday officially forwarding the House Intelligence committee’s report, along with additional evidence supporting impeachment. It also invites White House officials to review sensitive materials in a classified setting. The hearing sets off a pivotal week as Democrats march toward a full House vote expected by Christmas. In drafting the articles of impeachment, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is facing a legal and political challenge of balancing the views of her majority while hitting the constitution’s bar of “treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Trump and his allies acknowledge he likely will be impeached in the Democratic-controlled House, but they also expect acquittal next year in the Senate, where Republicans have the majority. Trump’s team is turning attention elsewhere, including Monday’s release of a long-awaited Justice Department report into the 2016 Russia investigation. “Impeachment Hearing Hoax,” Trump tweeted Sunday. The White House is refusing to participate in the process it calls a sham and the top Republican on the panel, Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia asked to postpone the hearing, criticizing Democrats for moving too swiftly. One legal scholar testified last week it would be the quickest impeachment in modern history. “This is just how desperately they are — desperately focused on impeaching this president,” said Collins who said against Democrats unleashed thousands of pages of documents his side has no time to review before the session. ”This is a show. This is a farce. This is whatever you want to call it. The American people are having their tax dollars wasted on this impeachment of this president.” Trump is heading out for campaign rallies shifting attention away from the House. Over the weekend, Trump was focused on a related matter, the Justice Department Inspector General’s findings into the FBI’s decisions to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election. The president has long called special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe a “witch hunt,” but the Inspector General’s report is expected to reject the president’s claim that it was illegitimate, according to people familiar with its findings. Trump tweeted Sunday, “I.G. report out tomorrow. That will be the big story!” Democrats say Trump abused his power in the July 25 phone call when he asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for a favor in investigating Democrats and engaged in bribery by withholding nearly $400 million in military aide that Ukraine depends on to counter Russian aggression. Trump and his aides have made clear that they now see his impeachment in the House as inevitable and have shifted their focus. A vote to convict requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate, where Republicans hold 53 of 100 seats. It is unlikely that any Republican senators would cross party lines and vote to remove Trump from office. As Democrats draft the articles, Pelosi’s challenge will be to go broad enough to appease her liberal flank, which prefers a more robust accounting of Trump’s actions reaching back to Mueller’s findings, while keeping the charges more tailored to Ukraine as centrist lawmakers prefer. Democratic leaders will meet later Monday evening. Rep. Adam Schiff, Democrats-California, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, said Democrats should approach the question of what to include in the articles the way a prosecutor bringing forward “‘the strongest and most overwhelming evidence and not try to charge everything, even though you could charge other things.” Schiff said, “I think we should focus on those issues that provide the greatest threat to the country. And the president is engaged in a course of conduct that threatens the integrity of the next election, threatens our national security.” Monday’s hearing is to receive the Intelligence panel’s report on the inquiry, with lawyers from both parties testifying in what is expected to be a day long session that will lay the groundwork for the impeachment charges. Nadler, in two television interviews, declined to say ultimately how many articles of impeachment Democrats will present but said they will involve “certainly abuse of power” and likely “obstruction of Congress.” He said final decisions will come after Monday’s hearing following discussions with House leadership and the Democratic caucus. Nadler pointed to a “pattern” of conduct by Trump in seeking foreign interference in elections but would not commit to including the evidence of obstruction of justice in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation as part of the articles of impeachment. In his report, Mueller said he could not determine that Trump’s campaign conspired or coordinated with Russia in the 2016 election. But Mueller said he could not exonerate Trump of obstructing justice in the probe and left it for Congress to determine. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy criticized Democrats for their timeline, which he said was unfairly aimed at preventing the nation’s voters from making their own choices in the 2020 election. “If they do not impeach him, they cannot beat him at the polls,” McCarthy, Republican-California. Trump said over the weekend that his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani wants to take the information gathered from Giuliani’s investigations and
House will draft Donald Trump impeachment articles, Nancy Pelosi says
The U.S. House is pressing forward to draft articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday. ‘’Our democracy is what is at stake,” Pelosi said somberly. “The president leaves us no choice but to act.” Pelosi delivered the historic announcement in solemn tones, drawing on the Constitution and the Founding Fathers, as Democrats push toward a vote, possibly before Christmas. “The president’s actions have seriously violated the Constitution,” she said from the speaker’s office at the Capitol. “He is trying to corrupt, once again, the election for his own benefit. The president has engaged in abuse of power, undermining our national security and jeopardizing the integrity of our elections .” “Sadly, but with confidence and humility, with allegiance to our founders and a heart full of love for America, today I am asking our chairmen to proceed with articles of impeachment,” Pelosi said. At the core of the impeachment probe is a July call with the president of Ukraine, in which Trump pressed the leader to investigate Democrats and political rival Joe Biden as the White House was withholding military aid to the country bordering an aggressive Russia. Pelosi emphasized the Russia angle at a news conference later, saying that it’s Russia and President Vladimir Putin who benefited most from Trump’s actions toward Ukraine “All roads lead to Putin. Understand that,” she declared. “That was the a-ha moment.” Asked as she was leaving if she hates Trump, Pelosi stiffened, returned to the podium and responded sharply that the president’s views and politics are for the voters at elections to judge, but “this is about the Constitution.” She said that as a Catholic, she does not hate the president but rather is praying for him daily. Eager to fight, Trump quickly tweeted back that he didn’t believe her. Earlier, Trump tweeted that if Democrats “are going to impeach me, do it now, fast.” He said he wanted to get on to a “fair trial” in the Senate. The president also said that Democrats have “gone crazy.” At the White House, press secretary Stephanie Grisham tweeted that Pelosi and the Democrats “should be ashamed,”” then she, too, looked past the likely impeachment in the Democratic-majority House to trial in the Republican-controlled Senate. The GOP Leader of the House, Kevin McCarthy, said Pelosi is more concerned about tearing the president down than buílding the country up.”Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican-Kentucky, criticized Democrats for focusing on impeachment over other issues, though many House-passed bills are waiting for action in his chamber. “It’s all impeachment, all the time,” he said. Drafting articles of impeachment is a milestone moment, only the fourth time in U.S. history Congress has tried to remove a president, and it intensifies the deeply partisan undertaking that is consuming Washington and dividing the nation. Once reluctant to pursue impeachment, warning it was too divisive for the country and needed to be a bipartisan endeavor, Pelosi is now leading Congress into politically riskier waters for all sides ahead of an election year. Republican are standing lock-step with Trump, unwilling to be swayed that his actions amount to wrongdoing, let alone impeachable offenses, leaving Democrats to go it alone in a campaign to consider removing the 45th president from office. Trump’s allies argue that voters, not lawmakers, should decide the president’s future. But Democrats say the nation cannot wait for the 2020 election, alleging Trump’s past efforts to have foreign countries intervene in the presidential campaign is forcing them to act to prevent him from doing it again. Pelosi said the still-anonymous whistleblower’s complaint about Trump’s Ukraine call changed the dynamic, creating the urgency to act. The chairmen were meeting privately to swiftly begin the work of drafting the articles of impeachment The number of articles and the allegations they will include will be both a legal and political exercise as lawmakers balance political dynamics while striving to hit the Constitution’s bar of “treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Pulling from the House’s investigation, Democrats are focusing on at least three areas that could result in two to five articles, they say. They argue that Trump abused the power of his office by putting personal political gain over national security interests, engaging in bribery by holding out $400 million in military aid that Congress had approved for Ukraine; and then obstructing Congress by stonewalling the investigation. Some liberal Democrats want to reach further into Trump’s actions, particularly regarding the findings from special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election. That could produce an additional article of obstruction not only of Congress, but also of justice. But more centrist and moderate Democrats, those lawmakers who are most at risk of political fallout from the impeachment proceedings, prefer to stick with the Ukraine matter as a simpler narrative that Americans can more easily understand. The chairmen of the House committees conducting the impeachment inquiry will begin drafting the articles, and some lawmakers are expecting to remain in Washington over the weekend. Members are preparing to vote on the articles of impeachment in the Judiciary Committee, possibly as soon as next week. The committee set a Monday hearing to receive the Intelligence Committee’s 300-page report outlining the findings against the president. The House is expecting a full vote by Christmas. The would send the issue to the Senate for a trial in the new year. By Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick Associated Press Associated Press writers Matthew Daly, Zeke Miller, Alan Fram, Andrew Taylor, Colleen Long, Eric Tucker and Padmananda Rama contributed to this report. Republished with the Permission of the Associated Press.
Fiery disagreements as Donald Trump impeachment hearing opens
The House Judiciary Committee’s first impeachment hearing quickly burst into partisan infighting Wednesday as Democrats charged that President Donald Trump must be removed from office for enlisting foreign interference in U.S. elections and Republicans angrily retorted there were no grounds for such drastic action. The panel responsible for drafting articles of impeachment convened as Trump’s team was fanning out across Capitol Hill. Vice President Mike Pence met behind closed doors with House Republicans, and Senate Republicans were to huddle with the White House counsel as GOP lawmakers stand with the president and Democrats charge headlong into what has become a one-party drive to impeach him. Chairman Jerrold Nadler, Democrat-New York, gaveled open the hearing saying, “’The facts before us are undisputed.” Nadler said Trump’s phone call with Ukraine’s president last July wasn’t the first time Trump sought a foreign power to influence American elections, after Russian interference in 2016, and if left unchecked he could do again in next year’s campaign. “We cannot wait for the election to address the present crisis,” Nadler said. “The president has shown us his pattern of conduct. If we do not act to hold him in check, now, President Trump will almost certainly try again to solicit interference in the election for his personal political gain.” Republicans protested the proceedings as unfair to the president, the dredging up of unfounded allegations as part of an effort to undo the 2016 election and remove Trump from office. “You just don’t like the guy,” said Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, the top Republican on the panel. He called the proceedings a “disgrace” and a “sham.” Several Republicans immediately objected to the process, interjecting procedural questions, and they planned to spend much of the session interrupting, delaying and questioning the rules. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats “haven’t made a decision” yet on whether there will be a vote on impeachment. She also meeting privately with the Democratic caucus. But a vote by Christmas appears increasingly likely with the release of a 300-page report by Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee that found “serious misconduct” by the president. Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, Democrat-California, told The Associated Press. “Americans need to understand that this president is putting his personal political interests above theirs. And that it’s endangering the country.” The Judiciary Committee heard Wednesday from legal experts, delving particularly into the issue of whether Trump’s actions stemming from the July 25 phone call with Ukraine’s president rose to the constitutional level of “bribery” or “high crimes and misdemeanors” warranting impeachment. The report laid out evidence that the Democrats say shows Trump’s efforts to seek foreign intervention in the U.S. election and then obstruct the House’s investigation. Trump told reporters in London, where he was attending a NATO meeting, that he doubted many people would watch the live hearing “because it’s going to be boring.” Trump did phone in to the House GOP’s morning meeting with Pence to talk with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. The California Republican said impeachment didn’t come up. “The unity has been very positive,” he said. New telephone call records released with the report deepen Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani’s known involvement in what House investigators called the “scheme” to use the president’s office for personal political gain by enlisting a foreign power, Ukraine, to investigate Democrats including Joe Biden, and intervene in the American election process. Trump told reporters he really doesn’t know why Giuliani was calling the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, which was withholding $400 million in military aid to the ally confronting an aggressive Russia at its border. “’You have to ask him,” Trump said. “Sounds like something that’s not so complicated. … No big deal.” At the hearing, the three legal experts called by Democrats backed impeachment. Noah Feldman, a Harvard Law School professor, said he considered it clear that the president’s conduct met the definition of “high crimes and misdemeanors/” Pamela Karlan, a Stanford Law School professor and former Obama administration Justice Department official, said the president’s action constituted an especially serious abuse of power “because it undermines democracy itself.” Republican witness Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, said that the Democrats were bringing a “slipshod impeachment” case against the president, but he didn’t excuse the president’s behavior. “It is not wrong because President Trump is right,” according to Turley. “A case for impeachment could be made, but it cannot be made on this record,” he said. The political risks are high for all parties as the House presses only the fourth presidential impeachment inquiry in U.S. history. Based on two months of investigation sparked by a still-anonymous government whistleblower’s complaint, the Intelligence Committee’s Trump-Ukraine Impeachment Inquiry Report relies heavily on testimony from current and former U.S. officials who defied White House orders not to appear. The inquiry found that Trump “solicited the interference of a foreign government, Ukraine, to benefit his reelection,” Schiff wrote in the report’s preface. In doing so, the president “sought to undermine the integrity of the U.S. presidential election process, and endangered U.S. national security,” the report said. When Congress began investigating, it added, Trump obstructed the investigation like no other president in history. Along with revelations from earlier testimony, the new phone records raised fresh questions about Giuliani’s interactions with the top Republican on the intelligence panel, Rep. Devin Nunes of California. Nunes declined to comment. Schiff said his panel would continue its probe. Republicans defended the president in a 123-page rebuttal claiming Trump never intended to pressure Ukraine when he asked for a “favor” — investigations of Democrats and Biden and his son. They say the military aid the White House was withholding was not being used as leverage, as Democrats claim — and besides, the $400 million was ultimately released, although only after a congressional outcry. For Republicans falling in line behind Trump, the inquiry is simply a “hoax.” Trump criticized the House for pushing forward with the proceedings while he was overseas, a breach of political decorum that traditionally leaves partisan
House committee’s report on impeachment could land next week
The witnesses have spoken, the politics are largely settled. Now impeachment investigators will make the case for public opinion. On Monday, hundreds of pages from Democratic Chairman Adam Schiff’s intelligence committee were being compiled into an exhaustive report that will begin to outline whether President Donald Trump engaged in “treason, bribery or high crimes and misdemeanors” by withholding $400 million in aid as he pushed Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden. The report may come as soon as next week. There are rising political stakes for all sides. Americans remain deeply split over the impeachment question, despite hours of sometimes riveting testimony, and the country’s polarization now seems to foreshadow an outcome: Democrats are poised to vote to impeach the president while Republicans stand firmly with him. Sending the case on to the Judiciary Committee, which is ready to start its own round of hearings in December, provides another chance to sway public opinion before a House vote expected by Christmas and a Senate trial in 2020. “The evidence of wrongdoing and misconduct by the President that we have gathered to date is clear and hardly in dispute,” Schiff told colleagues in a letter Monday. “What is left to us now is to decide whether this behavior is compatible with the office of the Presidency, and whether the Constitutional process of impeachment is warranted.” Republicans are not necessarily disputing the evidence but insist the president did nothing wrong. While Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani pursued the political investigations with Ukraine in what witnesses described as an irregular foreign policy channel, Republicans argue it’s not clear the president directly intervened to withhold the money to Ukraine. Besides, they say, the military aid for the Eastern European ally countering Russian aggression was eventually released. Trump gave Giuliani a vote of confidence Monday. “Rudy is the best mayor in the history of New York. In my opinion, the strongest mayor, the best mayor,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. However, in a setback for the administration, a federal judge late Monday ordered former White House counsel Donald McGahn to appear before Congress. The president has tried to keep top aides from testifying, which Democrats say amounts to obstruction of Congress and potential grounds for impeachment. The administration will appeal the ruling. Some Republicans, led by Sen. Lindsey Graham, prefer to keep digging into unfounded claims that Ukraine was involved in 2016 election interference, a theory that contradicts the findings of U.S. intelligence. They also see reason to scrutinize the work of Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, for a gas company in Ukraine. “The whole Ukraine issue, particularly the way the House of Representatives is doing it, is a joke,” Graham tweeted Monday. “We’re less than a year away from the 2020 election. If you don’t like Trump — vote against him.” When Congress resumes next week, Schiff is expected to send the report, compiled from 17 closed-door depositions and five public sessions, to the House Judiciary Committee, where Chairman Jerrold Nadler will soon begin hearings that are expected to result in articles of impeachment against Trump. Rather than gather additional testimony, Nadler’s panel is likely to drill down into the questions surrounding impeachment and whether Trump’s actions toward Ukraine meet the bar. For many Democrats, Trump already proved the case when he released a rough transcript of a July call in which he asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for a “favor” — the investigations of Biden and the Democrats. “The unusual fact about this inquiry is that the most explosive evidence is the first evidence we got: It was the President’s transcript,” said Rep. Peter Welch, Democrat-Vermont. “All the other evidence is confirming it and showing how elaborate and sustained the effort was to put the squeeze on Ukraine to get the Biden investigations.” Republicans are just as insistent the end result will not remove Trump from office. “The only prediction I can make is that I can’t imagine a scenario under which 67 members of the Senate would remove the president from office in the middle of a presidential election,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said during an event Monday in Kentucky. Even as investigators race to compile the report, Democrats aren’t ruling out more testimony. The Intelligence Committee still could hear from John Bolton, the president’s former national security adviser, who left the White House after saying he didn’t want to be involved in whatever “drug deal” Giuliani was cooking up, according to testimony from a top aide, Fiona Hill. Schiff said Sunday he’s also in discussions with counsel for Lev Parnas, the Giuliani associate who was arrested with business partner Igor Fruman on campaign finance charges. Bolton has so far declined an invitation to testify. The panel has issued a subpoena to Parnas for documents about the matter. “We are open to the possibility that further evidence will come to light,” Schiff said. If other witnesses agree to testify, he said, “We are prepared to hear from them.” One witness Schiff does not expect to hear from is the still anonymous government whistleblower whose complaint about Trump’s phone call with Ukraine sparked the impeachment probe. Schiff said over the weekend that the panel initially wanted to hear from the person, but Trump’s attacks have put the person’s life in danger. The committee is now trying to protect the whistleblower from retaliation. By Lisa Mascaro and Mary Clare Jalonick Associated Press Associated Press writers Mark Sherman and Jonathan Lemire in Washington and Bruce Schreiner in Manchester, Kentucky contributed to this report. Republished with the Permission of the Associated Press.
White House officials to kick off big Donald Trump impeachment week
Two top national security aides who listened to President Donald Trump’s July call with Ukraine’s president are preparing to testify Tuesday at House impeachment hearings as the inquiry reaches deeper into the White House. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, an Army officer at the National Security Council, and Jennifer Williams, his counterpart at Vice President Mike Pence’s office, say they had concerns as Trump spoke on July 25 with the newly elected Ukraine president about political investigations into Joe Biden. After they appear Tuesday morning, the House will hear in the afternoon from former NSC official Timothy Morrison and Kurt Volker, the former Ukraine special envoy. In all, nine current and former U.S. officials are testifying as the House’s impeachment inquiry accelerates. Democrats say Trump’s pressure on Ukraine to investigate his Democratic rivals as he withheld U.S. military aid Ukraine needed to resist Russian aggression may be grounds for removing the 45th president. Trump says he did no such thing and the Democrats just want him gone. Vindman and the other witnesses have testified in earlier, closed-door sessions. Their depositions have been publicly released, and they’ll face direction questions from lawmakers on Tuesday. “I did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen,” said Vindman, a decorated Iraq War veteran. He said there was “no doubt” what Trump wanted from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. It wasn’t the first time Vindman, a 20-year military officer, was alarmed over the administration’s push to have Ukraine investigate Democrats, he testified. Earlier, during an unsettling July 10 meeting at the White House, Ambassador Gordon Sondland told visiting Ukraine officials that they would need to “deliver” before next steps, which was a meeting Zelenskiy wanted with Trump, the officer testified. “He was talking about the 2016 elections and an investigation into the Bidens and Burisma,” Vindman testified, referring to the gas company in Ukraine where Hunter Biden served on the board. “The Ukrainians would have to deliver an investigation into the Bidens,” he said. “There was no ambiguity.” On both occasions, Vindman said, he took his concerns about the shifting Ukraine policy to the lead counsel at the NSC, John Eisenberg. Williams, a longtime State Department official who is detailed to Pence’s national security team, said she too had concerns during the phone call, which the aides monitored as is standard practice. When the White House produced a rough transcript later that day, she put it in the vice president’s briefing materials. “I just don’t know if he read it,” Williams testified in a closed-door House interview. Pence’s role throughout the impeachment inquiry has been unclear, and the vice president’s aide is sure to be questioned by lawmakers looking for answers. Trump has already attacked Williams, associating her with “Never Trumpers,” even though there is no indication the career State Department official has shown any partisanship. The president wants to see a robust defense by his GOP allies on Capitol Hill, but so far so far Republicans have offered a changing strategy as the fast-moving probe spills into public view. They’re expected to mount a more aggressive attack on the witnesses as they try to protect Trump. In particular, Republicans are expected to try to undercut Vindman, suggesting he reported his concerns outside his chain of command, which would have been Morrison, not the NSC lawyer. Under earlier questioning, Republicans wanted Vindman to disclose who else he may have spoken to about his concerns, as the GOP inch closer to publicly naming the still anonymous whistleblower whose report sparked the inquiry. GOP Sen. Ron Johnson, who was deeply involved in other White House meetings about Ukraine, offered a sneak preview of this strategy late Monday when he compared Vindman, a Purple Heart veteran, to the “bureaucrats” who “never accepted Trump as legitimate.” “They react by leaking to the press and participating in the ongoing effort to sabotage his policies and, if possible, remove him from office.” It is entirely possible that Vindman fits this profile, said Johnson, Republican-Wisconsin. The White House has instructed officials not to appear, and most have received congressional subpoenas to compel their testimony. The witnesses are testifying under penalty of perjury, and Sondland already has had to amend his earlier account amid contradicting testimony from other current and former U.S. officials. Sondland, the wealthy donor whose routine boasting about his proximity to Trump has brought the investigation to the president’s doorstep, is set to testify Wednesday. Others have testified that he was part of a shadow diplomatic effort with the president’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, outside of official channels that raised alarms. Morrison has referred to Burisma as a “bucket of issues” — the Bidens, Democrats, investigations — he had tried to “stay away” from. Sondland met with a Zelenskiy aide on the sidelines of a Sept. 1 gathering in Warsaw, and Morrison, who was watching the encounter from across the room, testified that the ambassador told him moments later he pushed the Ukrainian for the Burisma investigation as a way for Ukraine to gain access to the military funds. Volker provided investigators with a package of text messages with Sondland and another diplomat, William Taylor, the charge d’affaires in Ukraine, who grew alarmed at the linkage of the investigations to the aid. Taylor, who testified publicly last week, called that “crazy.” A wealthy hotelier who donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, Sondland is the only person interviewed to date who had direct conversations with the president about the Ukraine situation. Morrison said Sondland and Trump had spoken about five times between July 15 and Sept. 11 — the weeks that $391 million in U.S. assistance was withheld from Ukraine before it was released. Trump has said he barely knows Sondland. The committee will also hear on Wednesday from Laura Cooper, a deputy assistant secretary of defense, and David Hale, a State Department official. On Thursday, David Holmes, a State Department official in Kyiv, and Fiona Hill, a former top NSC staff member for Europe and Russia, will
