WASHINGTON – Today is going to be a busy day in impeachment news. The House is debatinga major resolutionon the rules going forward and a key witness testifies about what he knows.
National Security Council official Timothy Morrison plans to testify Thursday before congressional committees conducting animpeachment investigationof President Donald Trump as the House of Representatives plans to vote on rules and procedures for the inquiry.
The committees are expected to ask Morrison, who served as the NSC senior director for Europe and Russia, about the withholding of military aid to Ukraine.
Another witness in the inquiry had described Morrison as having a “sinking feeling” when he learned military aid had been withheld while the Trump administration had urged an investigation of Trump’s political rival former Vice President Joe Biden.
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Follow along for the latest impeachment updates on Thursday:
House resolution passes with some drama
The House erupted into brief chaos as Republicans shouted “OBJECTION! ”As the resolution passed on a 232 – (vote.
) No Republicans voted in favor of the resolution but two Democrats did vote against it – Collin Peterson, who represents a Minnesota district that went to Trump by 31 points and New Jersey’s Jeff Van Drew, who has criticized the impeachment inquiry and represents a district that went to Trump by nearly 5 points.
Rep. Justin Amash, an Independent and frequent critic of the president, voted in favor with Democrats.
Republicans just came out to tout the unity among its caucus. Scalise says it also signals “strong unity for the president and his policies“ domestic and foreign.
He again called it a “Soviet-style” process.
McCarthy gets praise for his criticism of the resolution
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Was met with a standing ovation, handshakes and pats on the back after offering a scathing rebuke of the resolution, calling the process unprecedented, undemocratic and unfair.
“This is the moment that history will write,” he said.
House debates impeachment resolution
The House began debating a resolution that establishes procedures for the impeachment inquiry as the investigation moves into the next phase, which will happen in public. The full House will vote on the measure later this morning.
Only a handful of Republicans had gathered on the House floor as the debate began, a stark contrast to the large group of Democrats who sat together to defend it and their work.
“This is a sad day for our country,” House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said opening the debate . “If we don’t hold this president accountable, we could be ceding our ability to hold any president accountable.”
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, who has led the impeachment investigation into President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, noted “the task before us is a solemn one,” but one that was forced before them because “no one is above the law.”
Democrats gathered on the House floor applauded House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as she concluded her speech on the resolution. She started off by quoting the US Constitution and the Founding Fathers but noted that the “times have found us” and thrust the House to take the next step in impeachment.
“This is very solemn, this is very prayerful,” she said, explaining no one comes to Congress to impeach a president.
One-by -one, lawmakers stepped up to discuss the resolution. Democrats defended their work and noted their dismay of mov ing forward with impeachment against Trump. Each Republican denounced the resolution, calling it a sham and unfair. Some specifically noted a meeting Wednesday where Democrats rejected more than a dozen possible changes posed by Republicans, who argued the additions could instill bipartisan support for the processes.
“This is a travesty. This is a sad day, ”Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.
“Trying to put a ribbon on a sham process doesn’t make it any less of a sham,” Rep. Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee.
Morrison has been ‘corroborating the testimony’
Lawmakers coming out of the secure room in the Capitol basement said Morrison had corroborated previous witnesses’ statements, including that of Ambassador William Taylor. Taylor had described Morrison as the key witness to a conversation between European Union Ambassador Gordon Sondland and Ukrainian presidential adviser Andriy Yermak.
“Ambassador Sondland told Mr. Yermak that the security assistance money would not *** until President Zelenskyy committed to pursue the Burisma investigation, “Taylor said of Morrison’s description of the conversation.
Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., Said Morrison had concluded giving his opening statement, and while she did not comment on the details of it, she said “it did” confirm parts of Ambassador William Taylor’s testimony.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., Said, “like other witnesses, he has been corroborating the testimony.”
When asked if she believed there was a quid pro quo in which security assistance was held up in exchange for the opening of investigations, she replied, “throughout the testimony I was listening to, there has been a lot of puzzle pieces filled into what is like a 1, 000 piece puzzle, and some of it has drew [sic] a direct line more clearly. ”
Morrison was subpoenaed and is now answering questions
An official working on the impeachment inquiry tells USA TODAY that Morrison was subpoenaed to compel his testimony “in light of an attempt by the White House to direct Timothy Morrison not to appear. “
” In light of an attempt by the White House to direct Timothy Morrison not to appear for his scheduled deposition, and efforts to also limit any testimony that does oc cur, the House Intelligence Committee issued a subpoena to compel his testimony this morning, “the official said.
The official adds that Morrison complied with the subpoena and is now “answering questions from both Democratic and Republican Members and staff.”
Morrison arrives for his interview
Morrison arrived for his closed -door interview with the House Foreign Affairs, Oversight, and Intelligence Committees. Morrison would soon be leaving his position after more than a year of service, according to a senior administration official.
He did not answer questions or make remarks as he walked into the secure room in the Capitol basement for his interview.
Morrison is the first Whtie House political appointee to testify in the impeachment inquiry. His name was mentioned repeatedly in Ambassador William Taylor’s Oct. 22 testimony, and Morrison appears to be a key witness in some of Taylor’s allegations against the Trump administration.
House of Representatives to vote on rules for public hearings
The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Thursday on a Democratic resolution mapping out rules for public hearings in the impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump, after weeks of Republicans criticizing the inquiry for holding closed -door meetings in the basement of the Capitol.
The vote will be the first of the full House under the formal impeachment inquiry and will put medium lawmakers from both parties under scrutiny heading into the 2020 election. The resolution formalizes the public phase of the investigation with hearings and evidence-sharing with the president’s counsel, even as Republicans continue to criticize the process as a “sham.”
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