Three law professors who testified were summoned by the Democrats, while another was tapped by Republicans. The GOP-picked witness cautioned against moving too quickly with impeachment, while the other three argued that Trump’s behavior is impeachable.
The inquiry has moved into a new phase after the House Intelligence Committee voted along party lines Tuesday to approve a 300 – page report that concluded Trump had “compromised national security to advance his personal political interests.”
At the heart of the Democrats’ case is the allegation that Trump tried to leverage a White House meeting and military aid, sought by Ukraine in the face of Russian military aggression, to pressure President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch investigations of former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter, as well as an unfounded theory that Kyiv conspired with Democrats to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
● House Democrats release a report charging thatTrump abused his officeas impeachment inquiry enters new phase.
● Phone call recordsshow frequent contactbetween Trump personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani and White House.
December 4, (at 8: 00 PM EST
Biden says he would not voluntarily appear as witness in Senate trial
Biden told a reporter Wednesday that he wouldn ‘ t voluntarily appear as a wi tness in a Senate impeachment trial if called to testify.
“No, I’m not going to let them take their eye off the ball,” Biden said, accordingto video postedby an ABCNews reporter. “The president is the one who has committed impeachable crimes. And I’m not going to let them divert from that, I’m not going to let anyone divert from that. ”
Biden added that he ‘ d released 21 years of his tax returns, so if Trump is worried about corruption, “let him release some of his.”
(********************** ByColby Itkowitz
White House says hearing showed ‘political bias’ against Trump
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham released a statement after the Judiciary Committee hearing, calling it a “good day for President Trump and a bad day for the Democrats.”
“The only thing the three liberal professors established at Chairman Nadler’s hearing was their political bias against the President. It did nothing to change the fact that, despite weeks of hearings in this sham process, the President did nothing wrong. Congress should get back to working for the American people, ”Grisham said.
She listed several legislative issues like trade and drug pricing that they should work on instead and accused Democrats of ignoring “their constituents by focusing on this pathetic and desperate charade.”
ByColby Itkowitz
December 4, 2019 at 6: PM EST
Democrats say there’s enough evidence to impeach, while the GOP remains unconvinced
Nadler concluded the hearing saying that “ all three parts ”of his test for whether Trump should be impeached had been met – he committed an impeachable act, that the offense represented a“ direct threat ”to the constitutional order, and that at least some of Trump’s supporters would be with them.
In Nadler’s estimation, “the majority of this country is clearly prepared to impeachand remove President Trump, ”though no poll has shown that to be the case.
The panel seems all but guaranteed to issue articles of impeachment against Trump on the grounds of obstruction of Congress and obstruction of justice – though it is still unclear whether it will add charges of bribery to that list. Wednesday’s hearing also made clear that when the panel ultimately votes on articles, they will do so along party lines, as Republicans believe the impeachment proceedings are about “simply getting to an end that we want,” ranking Republican Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) Said.
“This is about a clock and a calendar… They’re so obsessed with the election next year that they just gloss over things, ”Collins said, noting that“ none of the fact witnesses identified a crime ”and that“ this committee can’t do our jobs if none of the witnesses testify before our committee. ”
Collins said that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) “Must appear before this committee” to testify about the intelligence committee’s findings, as Ken Starr did during the impeachment probe. According to the rules the House passed for the impeachment proceedings, it will be Schiff’s counsel who does the presentation, expected next week.
ByKaroun Demirjian
December 4, At 5: (PM EST)
Karlan apologizes for remark mentioning Barron Trump
Pamela Karlan, the Stanford law professor who attracted GOP criticism for mentioning the name of Trump’s young son Barron during her testimony, made an apology late in the hearing.
Under questioning from Rep. Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.), Karlan paused to respond to the uproar led by the White House, the Trump campaign and first lady Melania Trump.
“If I can just say one thing, I want to apologize for what I said earlier about the president’s son,” she said. “It was wrong of me to do that. I wish the president would apologize, obviously, for the things that he’s done that are wrong. But I do regret having said that. ”
The hearing continued without further commentary on the matter.
ByMike DeBonis
December 4, 2019 at 5: 00 EST EST
Hands up if you voted for Trump
Several GOP members have accused the constitutional law experts picked by Democrats of being too biased to be credible impeachment witnesses. Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) Took that criticism even further when he requested that the witnesses raise their hands if they voted against Trump in 2016.
“I don’t think we’re obligated to say anything,” Karlan interjected heatedly.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (DN. Y.) interjected to say that while McClintock had a right to ask the question, the witnesses did not need to answer it. So McClintock rephrased: “How many of you supported Donald Trump in 2016? ”
Harvard Law School professor Noah Feldman responded:“ Not raising our hands is not an answer, sir. ”
Of the four witnesses, only one – George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley, the legal witness called by the GOP – volunteered how he voted in the last presidential election. He said at the outset that he had not voted for Trump – and yet Republicans deferred to his testimony opposing impeachment repeatedly.
Turley insisted that he was not testifying that the evidence against Trump would not ultimately be a convincing case for impeachment, just that Democrats had “burned two months… two months that you could have been in court” to determine whether the president’s actions were simply “obnoxious” or “impeachable.”
ByKaroun Demirjian
December 4, 2019 at 4: 50 PM EST
First lady says Karlan should be ‘ashamed’ after joke about her son
First lady Melania Trump scolded Pamela Karlan , of Stanford University law school, for making a joke that invoked her son, Barron.
“A minor child deserves privacy and should be kept out of politics . Pamela Karlan, you should be ashamed of your very angry and obviously biased public pandering, and using a child to do it, ”Trump tweeted.
Earlier in the hearing, Karlan, making a point about President Trump not being king, said, “While the president can name his son Barron, he can’t make him a baron.”
(By) Colby Itkowitz
December 4, 2019 at 4: (PM EST)
Hearing resumes
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (DN.Y.) gaveled the hearing back into session.
ByFelicia Sonmez
December 4, 2019 at 4: 15 PM EST
Hearing in recess
Nadler announced a brief recess, with dozens of lawmakers still expected to question the witnesses once the proceedings resume.
ByFelicia Sonmez
December 4, 2019 at 4: 10 PM EST
Gaetz attacks impeachment witnesses for donating to Democrats
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), One of Trump’s most aggressive attack dogs on Capitol Hill, used his time to go after the three constitutional experts who testified that Trump had committed “high crimes and misdemeanors,” the threshold for impeachment.
He asked professor Michael Gerhardt, of the University of Northy Carolina, to confirm that he donated to President Barack Obama and Karlan to confirm that she gave to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) And Hillary Clinton. Then he turned his fire on Harvard Law School professor Noah Feldman for writing that Trump could be impeached for a series of tweets.
But Gaetz reserved most of his scorn for Karlan, pulling up an old quote in which she suggested “liberals tend to cluster more; conservatives, especially very conservative people, tend to spread out more, perhaps because they don’t even want to be around themselves. ”
“ Do you understand how that reflect contempt on people who are conservative? ”Gaetz asked, seeking to discredit Karlan as partisan.
When Karlan tried to respond, Gaetz stopped her and continued to chide her for her earlier joke about how Trump named his son “Barron” but couldn’t bestow the title “baron” because he is not a king.
“When you invoke the president’s son’s name here, when you try to make a little joke out of referencing Barron Trump… it makes you look mean,” Gaetz said. “It makes you look like you’re attacking someone’s family – the minor child of the president.”
ByRachael Bade
December 4, (at 4: 00 EST EST
GOP congressman suggests subpoena of Schiff, Biden phone records
Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) Wrote a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey O. Graham (RS.C.) Wednesday urging him to subpoena the phone records of several individuals related to the impeachment inquiry.
Banks wants Graham to seek the call records of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), Former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter, and lawyer Mark Zaid, who is representing the intelligence agency whistleblower.
Banks, who is in his second term in Congress, noted that Schiff had obtained call records of conversations between Giuliani and the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), Among others.
“The public has a right to know with whom Rep. Adam Schiff has coordinated his impeachment effort and if America’s national security is at risk in any way as a result of Rep.
Banks went on to argue that the impeachment process is a risk to national security because it has diverted lawmakers’ attention away from funding the government, putting federal programs at risk of another shutdown.
In response to Banks’s letter to Graham, Zaid
tweetedthat many of his phone records “would be protected by attorney-client privilege, ”but that he could disclose his“ direct contact with a specific Member of Congress, as well as his senior staff – Devin Nunes. ”
Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) Wrote a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey O. Graham (RS.C.) Wednesday urging him to subpoena the phone records of several individuals related to the impeachment inquiry.
Banks wants Graham to seek the call records of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), Former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter, and lawyer Mark Zaid, who is representing the intelligence agency whistleblower.
Banks, who is in his second term in Congress, noted that Schiff had obtained call records of conversations between Giuliani and the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), Among others.
“The public has a right to know with whom Rep. Adam Schiff has coordinated his impeachment effort and if America’s national security is at risk in any way as a result of Rep.
Banks went on to argue that the impeachment process is a risk to national security because it has diverted lawmakers’ attention away from funding the government, putting federal programs at risk of another shutdown.
In response to Banks’s letter to Graham, Zaid
tweetedthat many of his phone records “would be protected by attorney-client privilege, ”but that he could disclose his“ direct contact with a specific Member of Congress, as well as his senior staff – Devin Nunes. ”
(By)Colby Itkowitz
GOP Rep. Buck suggests Democrats’ impeachment standard would have put FDR, Kennedy, Obama at risk
Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) Accused the legal experts called by Democrats of setting a standard for impeachment that is so low – abuse of power for personal or political gain, as he defined it – that virtually no recent Democratic president could avoid it.
“When Franklin Delano Roosevelt, when he was president, directed the IRS to conduct audits of his political enemies … would that be impeachable conduct?” Buck asked Turley, citingclaims by conservative scholars.
“I think it all would be subsumed into it,” Turley replied.
“How about when President Kennedy directed his brother, Robert Kennedy, to deport one of his mistresses as an East German spy?” Buck asked, in an apparent reference to Ellen Rometsch, a woman linked to JFK.
Turley said he couldn’t rule it out, nor could he do so when Buck asked about allegations that PresidentLyndon Johnson used the CIAto plant a spy in the campaign of his 1964 Republican opponent, Barry Goldwater.
Buck ultimately landed on Obama, pointing to his interpretation of the recess appointments power that was laterrejected by a unanimous Supreme Court, as well as his response to the 2012 Benghazi attack.
“Can you name a single president in the history of the United States – save President [William Henry] Harrison, who died 32 days after his inauguration – that would not have met the standard of impeachment for o
“I would hope to God James Madison would escape,” said Turley, a Madisonian scholar. “Otherwise, a lifetime of academic work would be shredded. But once again, I can’t exclude many of these acts. ”
(ByMike DeBonis)
December 4, (at 3: 30 PM EST
White House official suggests Trump preparing to wage aggressive effort in Senate trial
A top White House official said Wednesday that Trump would like to see a full trial and witnesses in the Senate chamber, should the impeachment fight shift to the other side of the Capi tol in the coming weeks.
The comments from Eric Ueland, the White House director of legislative affairs, signal that the White House is preparing for an aggressive trial with live witnesses on the Senate floor, rather than the videotaped depositions of witnesses that were ultimately entered into evidence during former president Bill Clinton’s Senate impeachment trial in 1999.
“The president wants his case made fully in the Senate,” Ueland said after meeting with GOP senators on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
“In this instance, we believe very strongly – given the fatally flawed process in the House – that if they were to elect against our better advice [and] send over impeachment to the Senate, that we need witnesses as part of our trial and a full defense of the president on the facts, ”added Ueland, pointing to the S enate chamber as he spoke to reporters.
When asked whether his hand gesture meant witnesses should testify in the actual Senate chamber, Ueland responded: “Thank you counsel . I have no objection. ”
White House officials present at the Republican lunch on Capitol Hill – Ueland, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, and impeachment strategy advisers Pam Bondi and Tony Sayegh – did not delve into details of whom they would like called in the chamber as witnesses nor other details of the impending Senate trial, according to senators.
“All the issues remain the same: Sham process, the fight doesn’t deserve to even come over here but if it does, we’ll have to deal with it,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (RN.D.) said, summing up the White House’s message to GOP senators.
BySeung Min Kim and Paul Kane
December 4, 2019 at 2: 50 PM EST
‘While the president can name his son Barron, he can’t make him a baron,’ Karlan says
Karlan sought to distinguish a president from a king after Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) Prompted her to articulate how Trump’s power is different from a monarch’s, if at all.
The president has said Article II of the Constitution allows him to do, essentially, whatever he wants.
Karlan said that was not so and gave one example that won her applause: The Constitution says there can’t be any noble titles in the United States.
“While the president can name his son Barron, he can’t make him
“Classless move by a Democratic ‘witness,’” Grisham wrote. “Prof Karlan uses a teenage boy who has nothing to do with this joke of a hearing (and deserves privacy) as a punchline. And what’s worse, it’s met by laughter in the hearing room. What is being done to this country is no laughing matter. ”
Trump’s presidential campaign also issued a statement criticizing the comment and calling on Karlan to apologize.
“Only in the minds of crazed liberals is it funny to drag a 13 – year-old child into the impeachment nonsense. Pamela Karlan thought she was being clever and going for laughs, but she instead reinforced for all Americans that Democrats have no boundaries when it comes to their hatred of everything related to President Trump, ”Trump campaign spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said.
ByRachael Bade
December 4, 2019 at 2: 30 EST EST
Senate 2020 ca lendar leaves out January due to uncertainty over impeachment trial
The 2020 floor schedule for the Senate, released Wednesday with dates of when senators are expected to be in Washington vs. at ***, begins in February.
That’s because, according to the Senate whip’s office, no one knows what the Senate will be doing the first month of the year.
“Unfortunately due to uncertainty on the floor schedule for start of the year, the Senate is unable to establish a schedule for January at this time. When we have clarity on a date to convene and what January will look like we will get that information out as soon as possible, ”the whip’s office said in a statement.
The House is expected to vote on articles of impeachment by the end of 2019. If Trump is impeached, the Senate would likely begin its trial in January.
(ByColby Itkowitz
December 4, (at 2: (PM EST)
(Judiciary hearing resumes)
Nadler gaveled the hearing back into session following House votes, with members of both parties expected to resume questioning the witnesses.
(By)Felicia Sonmez
December 4, at 2: 25 PM EST
Katyal accuses Republicans of misrepresenting his writing on Biden
Neal Katyal, a law professor at Georgetown University who was previously acting US solicitor ge neral, accused Republicans of misrepresenting an excerpt of his book during Wednesday’s hearing.
Paul Taylor, the Republican counsel, read aloud a passage about the Bidens from Katyal’s book, “Impeach: The Case Against Donald Trump.”
“Is what Hunter Biden did wrong?” the passage reads. “Absolutely. Hunter Biden had no real experience in the energy sector, which made him wholly unqualified to sit on the board of Burisma. The only logical reason the company could have had for appointing him was his ties to Vice President Biden. This kind of nepotism isn’t only wrong; it is a potential danger to our country, since it makes it easier for foreign powers to buy influence. … No politician, from either party, should allow a foreign power to conduct this kind of influence peddling with their family members. ”
But Katyal noted on Twitter that where Republicans inserted an ellipsis, his book includes a paragraph in which he focuses on the actions of Trump’s children and son-in-law and states that Hunter Biden’s conduct was “not illegal.”
“Wow. I just watched Republicans lie about my book in the impeachment [hearing], ”Katyalsaid in a tweet. “Compare what they said my book said w / what I actually said. They’re trying to distract from their cowardice re a lawless president who tried to cheat to win reelection. They omitted the yellow highlighted. ”
“ If a lawyer did this, they may face disciplinary action for such a misleading representation of what a source said, ” headded (**********.
ByFelicia Sonmez
December 4, (at 1: 45 PM EST
In announcing retirement, Rep. Heck says he is ‘discouraged’ by Republicans on impeachment
Rep. Denny Heck (D-Wash.) Announced his retirement from Congress in a statement in which he also voiced disappointment with how his Republican colleagues have responded to the impeachment inquiry.
Heck, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, has served in Congress since 2013.
“In the spirit of complete openness, part of me is also discouraged, ”Heck said in thestatement, which was posted on the website Medium. “The countless hours I have spent in the investigation of Russian election interference and the impeachment inquiry have rendered my soul weary.”
“I will never understand how some of my colleagues, in many ways good people, could ignore or deny the President’s unrelenting attack on a free press, his vicious character assassination of anyone who disagreed with him, and his demonstrably very distant relationship with the truth. … There are simply too many hyperbolic adjectives and too few nouns. Civility is out. Compromise is out. All or nothing is in, ”he added.
ByFelicia Sonmez
December 4, 2019 at 1: 30 PM EST
Hearing in recess
Nadler announced a recess in the hearing so that panel members could take part in votes scheduled on the House floor.
By(John Wagner)
December 4, 2019 at 1: (PM EST)
Professors at odds on whether courts must weigh in
Legal experts were at odds Wednesday about whether Trump had broken written laws and whether the courts have to weigh in before Congress could legitimately conclude he was guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors.
Turley had argued that the evidence against Trump fell short of proving he had committed an act of bribery, and that Democrats should have taken their subpoenas to the courts to enforce
Gerhardt rejected the latter argument, saying Trump’s “refusal to comply with the subpoenas is an independent event that is apart from the courts. ”
“ It’s a direct assault on the legitimacy of this inquiry, ”he said.
Feldman, meanwhile, argued that Turley’s point about bribery discounted the fact that the Constitution is the highest law in the land and it defines bribery as a crime.
“If the House believes that the president solicited something of value, then that would constitute bribery under the meaning of the Constitution, and it would not be lawless,” Feldman said.
Turley disagreed, arguing that it was a “circular argument to say ‘well, the Constitution is law.’”
“It doesn’t define the crime, it references the crime,” he said.
ByKaroun Demirjian
December 4, 2019 at 1: 15 PM EST
Nadler notes absence of lawyer for Trump
After an extended period of questions by Rep. Douglas A. Collins (Ga.), The top Republican on the panel, and a GOP lawyer, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (DN.Y.) noted that a lawyer for Trump would be permitted to ask questions at that point if he were
Trump declined an invitation from Nadler to participate in the hearing.
(By)John Wagner
December 4, 2019 at 1: 05 PM EST
‘If you rush this impeachment, yo u’re going to leave half the country behind, ‘Turley says
George Washington University professor Jonathan Turley warned House Democrats against moving too fast on impeachment, moving ahead on a partisan basis and moving to oust Trump on a “narrow” set of issues only focused on Ukraine.
“Impeachments require a certain period of saturation and maturation,” Turley told lawmakers. “That is, the public has to catch up… If you rush this impeachment, you’re going to leave half the country behind. And certainly, that’s not what… the Framers wanted. ”
He added:“ You have to give the time to build a record. This isn’t an impulse buy item. You’re trying to remove a duly elected president of the United States. And that takes time. It takes work. ”
He comments, which came on the 71 st day of the impeachment, might strike a nerve for some House Democrats who have privately expressed frustration about how quickly they’re moving toward impeachment. Most, however, have kept their concerns private out of respect for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Whose leadership team appears intent on finishing impeachment before the holiday break.
Turley also warned Democrats about impeaching Trump on a “narrow” set of facts, another sore subject for the party, which has been privately debating whether to include other misdeeds by the president in a more robust set of articles of impeachment .
Turley argued that the Founders wanted impeachment to be such a rare effort that they didn’t even use it at a time when they were actually trying to
ByRachael Bade
December 4,
at 12: 50 PM EST
Turley says impeaching Trump for going to the courts is a congressional abuse of power
In the opening minutes of Republican questioning, Rep. Douglas A. Collins (Ga.,) The top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, gave free rein to George Washington University professor Jonathan Turley to lay out his objections to the Democratic arguments for impeachment.
In particular, Turley took aim at what he called a “boundless” definition of bribery and Democrats’ apparent determination to impeach Trump for challenging the legitimacy of House subpoenas.
“President Trump has gone … to the courts. He’s allowed to do that – we have three branches, not two, ”Turley said. “If you impeach a president, if you make a high crime and misdemeanor out of going to the courts, it is an abuse of power. It’s your abuse of power. You are doing precisely what you’re criticizing the president for doing. ”
Turley, in attacking the Democratic interpretation of bribery, cited the recent Supreme Court decision in the case of former Virginia governor Robert McDonnell (R), whose conviction was overturned by the high court, which held that the facts of the case did not meet the definition of bribery.
He argued the controlling legal definition of bribery should matter, even if impeachment isn’t a legal proceeding.
“You can ‘t accuse a president of bribery and, then, when some of us note that the Supreme Court has rejected your type of boundless interpretation, say,’ Well, it’s just impeachment; we really don’t have to prove the elements, ’” Turley said. “This isn’t improvisational jazz. Close enough is not good enough. If you’re going to accuse a president of bribery, you need to make it stick, because you’re trying to remove a duly elected president of the United States. ”
ByMike DeBonis
December 4, 2019 at 12: 35 PM EST
(Hearing resumes with GOP questioning)
The Judiciary Committee hearing has resumed with questions by Rep. Douglas A. Collins (Ga.), The top Republican on the panel, and the GOP counsel.
Chairman Jerrold Nadler (DN.Y.) granted A 10 – minute “humanitarian recess” that stretched closer to
ByJohn Wagner
December 4, (at (****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************: 25 PM EST
Trump leaves London en route to United States
Trump has left London on Air Force One and is en route to the United States. He is scheduled to return to the White House on Wednesday night.
Before departing, Trump canceled a planned news conference. Earlier, he told reporters that he had answered plenty of questions already while at the NATO gathering.
(By) (John Wagner) ***********************
December 4, 2019 at (****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************: 15 PM EST
White House press secretary criticizes ‘sham’ hearing
Grisham weighed in during a break in the hearing, claiming that three of the law professors testifying were biased against Trump and that the president was being afforded “no rights.”
“3 of 4 ‘experts’ in this sham hearing have known biases against @ realDonaldTrump, ”Grisham tweeted. “Not only is @POTUS given no rights in this process, the Dems’ ‘witnesses’ made up their minds long before today.The people of this country are being cheated of a Congress who works for them.”
Trump declined an invitation by Nadler to have a lawyer participate in the hearing.
ByJohn Wagner
December 4, (at) : 10 PM EST
Expert invited by Democrats quotes Kavanaugh on avoiding foreign influence on elections
A law professor invited to testify by Democrats quoted an unexpected source in support of the idea that foreign nationals should not be allowed to interfere in US elections: conservative Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh.
Karlan paused her testimony to quote the 2011 decision in Bluman v . FEC. Kavanaugh wrote the opinion as a judge onthe U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where he served before Trump nominated him to the Supreme Court last year.
In the case, the court upheld the ban on foreign nationals spending money to influence American politics; the suit was brought by a Canadian citizen and a dual Canadian-Israeli citizen who were living in the United States at the time.
Reading from the opinion, Karlan said: “It is fundamental to the definition of our national political community that foreign citizens do not have a constitutional right to participate in, and thus may be excluded from, activities of democratic self-government.” She added that Kavanaugh was “so correct ”in his conclusion that the Supreme Court summarily affirmed the lower court’s decision.
“ Our Framers were committed to the idea that we as Americans decide our elections , ”Karlan said. “We don’t want foreign interference in those elections … because we’re a self-determining democracy.”
This item previously misstated an element of Kavanaugh’s career history; he served onthe U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, not the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
ByElise Viebeck
‘If what we’re talking about is not impeachable, then nothing is impeachable,’ professor says
Gerhardt delivered one of the most memorable lines of the hearing so far in response to Democratic questioning – a line that quickly took off on social media.
“I just want to stress that if what we ‘ re talking about is not impeachable, then nothing is impeachable, ”Gerhardt said. “This is precisely the misconduct that the Framers created a Constitution including impeachment to protect against.”
Gerhart added that if Congress takes “no action, if Congress concludes they’re going to give a pass to the president here … every other president will say, ‘Okay, then I can do the same thing,’ and the boundaries will just evaporate. ”
He called this possibility a “danger to all of us.”
The remark came in response to a question about whether Trump committed bribery, which Gerhardt and the other experts invited by the Democrats agreed that he did.
ByElise Viebeck
December 4, 2019 at 12: (PM EST)
Professors say Trump guilty of bribery, obstruction of Congress
Law professors invited to testify by Democrats agreed that Trump was guilty of a number of impeachable offenses, including bribery and
Under questioning from Norm Eisen, the Democrats’ top committee counsel, Karlan said that if you conclude that Trump “asked for the investigation of Vice President Biden and his son [by Ukraine] for political reasons … then, yes, yo u have bribery here. ”
She said the most“ chilling ”line of testimony from the first phase of the impeachment inquiry came from Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, when he said Zelensky had to announce investigations but not necessarily carry them out.
“This was about injuring somebody who the president sees as a particularly hard opponent, ”Karlan said.
The experts agreed that even attempting to abuse the office of the president is an impeachable offense after Eisen noted that military aid to Ukraine was ultimately released.
“Everyone who has been impeached has failed, failed to get what they wanted,” Gerhardt said.
He gave the example of a bank robber dropping the money and aborting his attempt when caught by police.
“We’ve got somebody caught in the middle of it – that doesn’t excuse the person from the consequences,” Gerhardt said.
The professors also agreed that Trump had obstructed Congress, though Karlan said she could draw that conclusion only as a citizen because the issue was out side her area of expertise.
Eisen largely avoided posing questions to Jonathan Turley, the George Washington University Law School professor invited by Republicans.
ByElise Viebeck
December 4,
at 11: 50 AM EST
Experts make th e case for ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’
Three of the four witnesses laid out the case for why the Judiciary Committee should charge Trump with high crimes and misdemeanors in a back-and-forth with the Eisen.
“Ultimately the reason the Constitution provided for impeachment was to anticipate a situation like the one that is before you today,” Feldman testified. “If we cannot impeach a president who uses his power for personal advantage, we no longer live in a democracy, we live in a monarchy or a dictatorship.”
Eisen asked the law professors to explain whether it was necessary for Trump to have committed a statutory crime to be impeached. University of North Carolina law professor Michael Gerhardt said no. The scale of Trump’s obstruction was an abuse, he stressed, because it “torpedoes” the separation of powers in the Constitution.
“If what we’re talking about is not impeachable, then nothing is impeachable, ”he said.
Karlan shared that view and stressed that giving Trump a pass would encourage future presidents to undermine elections and US national security for personal benefit.
“Because this is an abuse that cuts to the heart of democracy, you need to ask yourselves, if you don’t impeach a president who has done what this president has done… then what you’re saying is, it’s fine to go ahead and do this again, ”Karlan said. “It’s your responsibility to make sure that all Americans get to vote in a free and fair election next November.”
ByKaroun Demirjian
December 4, 2019 at 11 : 45 AM EST
Pelosi makes clear to Democrats impeachment is coming
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Schiff left little doubt with fellow Democrats Wednesday that they plan to move swiftly to impeach Trump as soon as this month.
According to multiple Democratic lawmakers who attended a closed-door Capitol meeting before the Judiciary Committee hearing , Pelosi (D-Calif.) Announced no firm decision or timeline in moving toward Trump’s impeachment. But, a day after Schiff delivered a 300 – page report detailing charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress against Trump, she made clear what lay ahead in the House.
“Are you ready?” Pelosi asked her colleagues, after describing the grave constitutional circumstances posed by Trump’s alleged wrongdoing surrounding his dealings with Ukraine and his subsequent decision to stonewall the House investigation into it. The caucus, according to multiple members, erupted with shouts of approval.
“We’re moving forward,” said one member, summarizing the thrust of Pelosi’s remarks and speaking on condition of anonymity to candidly describe a private meeting. “We’ve got a job to do whether people want to testify or not.”
Pelosi then turned the room over to Schiff, who received a standing ovation before saying a word, the members said.
ByMike DeBonis and Rachael Bade
December 4, 2019 at 11: (AM EST)
Committee rejects Republican motion to subpoena whistleblower
In the third roll-call vote of the day, the Judiciary Committee voted to table a motion by Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.) To subpoena the anonymous whistleblower whose complaint about Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine led to the impeachment inquiry.
The motion, like the two others before it, was rejected on a party-line vote. The vote came shortly after the four witnesses wrapped up their opening statements.
A Republican Judiciary Committee aide noted that the motion would have subpoenaed the whistleblower to appear in a closed executive session of the committee, reflecting the fact that the panel “has the procedural means to accommodate the whistleblower’s interest in protecting his / her identity while accommodating Congress’s need to investigate the facts of this impeachment case.”
ByFelicia Sonmez
December 4, (at 11: 20 AM EST
Opening statements conclude
The opening statements of the four law professors have concluded. Questions from panel lawyers and lawmakers are expected to begin shortly.
ByJohn Wagner
December 4, 2019 at (*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************: 05 AM EST
Stanford professor says she was insulted by Collins
During her opening statement, Karlan pointedly responded to a claim by Collins that there was no way the law professors could have read the entire House Intelligence Committee report and other materials relevant to the inquiry.
“Here, Mr. Collins, I would like to say to you, sir, that I read transcripts of every one of the witnesses, ”Karlan said. “I would not speak about these things without reviewing the facts. I’m insulted by the suggestion that as a law professor I don’t care about those facts. ”
ByJohn Wagner
December 4, 2019 at 11: 00 AM EST
‘Impeachment’ is a ‘dirty word,’ Trump says
After a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on the sidelines of the NATO summit in London, Trump answered a few questions from reporters about the Judiciary Committee hearing and the Intelligence Committee’s impeachment report.
He also harshly criticized the use of
“The word ‘impeachment’ is a dirty word that should only be used in special occasions,” Trump said.
He argued that it was a bad thing for the country for Democrats to hold Wednesday’s hearing, and he questioned their love for the United States.
“You almost question whether or not they love our country, and that’s a very serious thing: Do they love our country?” He asked.
Trump also called the Intelligence Committee’s report a “joke” and said that “everybody is saying it.”
“It is a uniform statement pretty much right down the road that what they’re doing is a very bad thing for our country, ”he said.
ByFelicia Sonmez
December 4, 2019 at 10: 50 AM EST
Judiciary panel rejects GOP effort to move hearing to Dec. 11
Republicans again sought to delay the hearing, and yet again Democrats blocked their efforts.
The Judiciary panel tabled a motion by Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) That would have postponed the hearing to Dec. 11. The motion was rejected on a party-line vote.
ByFelicia Sonmez
December 4, 2019 at (******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************: 40 AM EST
Nadler swears in witnesses
ByJohn Wagner
December 4, 2019 at 10: 35 AM EST
Judiciary Committee rejects motion for Schiff to testify
The House Judiciary Committee voted to table a motion by Republicans to call House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) To testify.
Republicans have repeatedly argued Schiff should be forced to testify on his and his panel’s contacts with the anonymous whistleblower whose complaint launched the impeachment inquiry. Democrats have countered that such efforts are an attempt by Republicans to divert attention away from the allegations against Trump.
After the Judiciary Committee voted to table the motion, there was a further back and forth as Republicans once again sought to impede the hearing. Then **********
ByFelicia Sonmez
December 4, 2019 at (******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************: 30 AM EST
‘This is just a simple railroad job,’ Collins says in opening statement
top Republican on the Judiciary Committee defended Trump in a blistering opening statement that called the impeachment inquiry a “sad story” that is being driven by partisan hostility, “not the facts.”
“We have just a deep-seated hatred of a man who came to the White House and did what he said he was going to do,” said Rep. Douglas A. Collins (R-Ga.). “This is not an impeachment. This is just a simple railroad job. ”
Collins said the Democratic-led inquiry was being led by the“ clock and the calendar ”and accused the majority party of being committed to impeachment starting with Trump’s election.
“You just don’t like the guy,” he said. “The chairman has talked about impeachment since last year when he was elected chairman.”
Echoing previous White House talking points, Collins accused Democrats of being committed to impeachment starting with Trump’s election. “You know where this started? It started with tears in Brooklyn in November 2016, ”he said, referring to the location of Hillary Clinton’s campaign headquarters.
ByElise Viebeck
December 4, 2019 at 10: 20 AM EST
Nadler hints at potentially impeaching Trump on all constitutional grounds
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (DN.Y.) opened his panel’s first impeachment hearing by dropping a hint that he would seek multiple charges against Trump, covering “all of the acts that most concerned the Framers.”
The list of impeachable offenses envisioned in the Constitution has been repeated by several Democratic leaders in recent days, including: “treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”
“Never before in the history of the republic… has the president engaged in a course of conduct that included all of the acts that most concerned the Framers, ”Nadler said.
Nadler argued that there was ample “precedent for recommending impeachment” on the grounds of obstruction of justice and obs truction of Congress, noting that President Richard Nixon had given Congress recordings during his impeachment, and “former president Clinton his blood.” (Clinton provided a blood sample during the investigation that ultimately led to his impeachment.)
Trump’s “level of obstruction is without precedent,” Nadler argued.
On Tuesday, House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) said he believed Trump’s efforts to hold back official acts until Ukraine’s president committed to conduct investigations into a political rival constituted “bribery.”
But Nadler stressed that Trump had “directly and specifically invited” the “one threat above all” that the Framers envisioned: “foreign interference in our elections” – suggesting that Trump may have “betrayed his country for private personal gain. ”
According to Nadler,“ The facts before us are clear: President Trump did no t merely seek to benefit from foreign interference in our elections, he directly and specifically invited foreign interference in our elections. … He was willing to compromise our security and his office for personal political gain. ”
ByKaroun Demirjian
December 4, 2019 at 10: 10 AM EST
Republicans demand their own day of hearings, attempt to delay N Adler
The hearing opened with polite but obvious tensions between the two parties.
As Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (DN.Y.) gaveled the room to order, Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) Interrupted with a formal request for a day of hearings to be run by Republicans without input from the Democratic majority.
“I am furnishing you with a demand for a minority day of hearings on this subject signed by all of the Republican members of the committee, and I would request that you set this date before the committee votes on any articles of impeachment, ”Sensenbrenner said.
“We will confer and rule on this later,” Nadler said.
A Republican Judiciary Committee aide speaking on condition of anonymity to speak candidly about GOP strategy, said the request is not subject to Nadler’s discretion and that if the chairman declines to schedule the hearing, a point of order could be raised on the House floor against articles of impeachment.
A letter sent to Nadler by GOP members of the committee, circulated by the Republican side, cited part of a House rule that allows members of the minority pa rty to “call witnesses selected by the minority to testify with respect to that measure or matter.”
“While the Chairman of the committee schedules the minority hearing , ‘his responsibility to invite the minority’s witnesses is ministerial. A Chairman cannot refuse to invite a witness because he believes the witnesses ‘testimony would be impertinent,’ ”the letter stated.
ByElise Viebeck
December 4, 2019 at 10: (AM EST
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Trump campaign mockingly calls impeachment witnesses ‘the Three Stooges’
Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign manager Brad Parscale mocked the three witnesses called by Democrats Wednesday, labeling them “the Three Stooges” and “liberal Democrats” in a tweet.
Parscale also sent out a video featuring footage of the three professors making critical comments about Trump and his administration.
“Meet the Three Stooges, the new impeachment ‘witnesses’ the Democrats are trotting out today to continue their impeachment hoax,” Parscale said. “They’re liberal Democrats who oppose President Trump and support impeachment. Just more of the same old sham! ”
ByFelicia Sonmez
December 4, 2019 at 10: AM EST
Nadler gavels open the impeachment hearing
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (DN.Y.) has gaveled open the panel’s first hearing on impeachment.
(By) (John Wagner) ***********************
December 4, 2019 at 9: 30 AM EST
Democrats huddle behind closed doors
House Democrats are holding a members-only caucus meeting ahead of the planned Judiciary Committee hearing, according to a Democratic aide.
The l awmakers are hearing from Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (Calif.) about the report his panel released Tuesday that detailed Trump’s conduct toward Ukraine, according to the aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.
ByMike DeBonis
December 4, 2019 at 9: 10 AM EST
Collins says the hearing will tell the American people ‘not hing ‘
Rep. Douglas A. Collins (Ga.), The top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, sought Wednesday to play down the significance of the panel’s first hearing on impeachment, noting that none of the witnesses have firsthand knowledge of Trump’s conduct.
“Really what these witnesses are going to tell us is they watched TV over the last couple of weeks, they read some articles, and they’re going to confirm what they ‘ ve already thought, ”Collins said during an appearance on Fox News. “That’s why this process today and this hearing today is basically a sham, because you’re getting predetermined answers from predetermined witnesses. What does that actually tell the American people? Nothing. ”
ByJohn Wagner
December 4, 2019 at 8: 45 AM EST
Professors tapped by Democrats say Trump’s conduct rises to level of impeachment
The three scholars tapped by Democrats will testify Wednesday that Trump’s conduct toward Ukraine rises to the level of an impeachable offense, according to written testimony submitted to the Judiciary Comm
In his written testimony, University of North Carolina law professor Michael Gerhardt says that Trump’s conduct is “worse than the misconduct of any prior president, including what previous presidents who faced impeachment have done or been accused of doing. ”
According to Gerhardt,“ the record compiled thus far shows that the president has committed several impeachable offenses, including bribery, abuse of power in soliciting a personal favor from a foreign leader to benefit his political campaign, obstructing Congress, and obstructing justice. ”
“ President Trump’s conduct described in the testimony and evidence clearly constitutes an impeachable high crime and misdemeanor under the Constitution, ”Feldman says.
Meanwhile, in her written testimony, Stanford University professor Pamela S. Karlan says “what has happened in the case before you is something that I do not think we have ever seen before: a president who has doubled down on violating his oath to ‘faithfully execute’ the laws and to ‘protect and defend the Constitution.’ ”
) “The evidence reveals a President who used the powers of his office to demand that a foreign government participate in undermining a competing candidate for the presidency,” Karlan says. “If we are to keep faith with the Constitution and our Republic, President Trump must be held to account.”
ByJohn Wagner and Donna Cassata
December 4, (at 8: 30 AM EST
GOP witness Turley to caution committee against impeachment on Ukraine controversy
Turley, the sole witness called by Republicans on Wednesday, will tell the Judic iary Committee that impeaching Trump would be a historic mistake, according to written testimony provided to the committee.
In his testimony, Turley notes that he voted against Trump in 2016 and has been critical of many of his policies.
Yet, in his 53 – page submission to the committee Turley argues that the Ukraine controversy does not provide a robust reason to impeach Trump.
“If the House proceeds solely on the Ukrainian allegations, this impeachment would stand out among modern impeachments as the shortest proceeding, with the thinnest evidentiary record, and the narrowest grounds ever used to impeach a president, ”Turley says. “That does not bode well for future presidents who are working in a country often sharply and, at times, bitterly divided.”
ByJohn Wagner and Mike DeBonis
December 4, 2019 at 8: 25 AM EST
Trump declines to discuss Giuliani’s contacts with White House
Trump declined to say why phone call records released by the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday show extensive contact between Giuliani and the White House and the Office of Management and Budget during key moments of the Ukraine saga.
“I really don ‘t know. You’d have to ask him. Sounds like something that’s not so complicated. You’d have to ask him. No big deal, ”Trump said when asked about it during a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of the NATO summit in London.
Trump also threw into doubt plans for a full news conference before he departs for Washington, saying he had taken ample questions from th e news media over the last two days.
“Unless you’re demanding a press conference and then, we’ll do one,” he added.
ByJohn Wagner
December 4, 2019 at 8: 10 AM EST
Bondi predicts GOP questioning of scholars about political bias
Pam Bondi, the former Florida state attorney general hired to assist T rump with impeachment messaging, predicted Wednesday that Republicans on the Judiciary Committee would question the constitutional scholars about political bias.
“I think you’re going to hear a lot of great cross-examination from Republicans talking about their bias to begin with, ”Bondi said during an appearance on Fox Business Network.
Bondi also explained
“We have great members of the House Judiciary who are going to be there,” she said. “You know, this is a sham process from day one, and why would we participate in it?”
Bondi also echoed criticism from Trump and his allies of Democrats for holding impeachment proceedings while he is meeting with NATO leaders overseas.
“To do this when a president is in foreign land meeting with world leaders, doing some of the most important work he can do for our country – they are holding impeachment hearings, ”Bondi said. “It’s outrageous. It should outrage every American. ”
ByJohn Wagner
December 4, 2019 at 7: 40 AM EST
Nunes files lawsuit against CNN for Ukraine story
Nunes has filed a lawsuit against CNN , seeking $ 435, 350, 00 0 in damages and claiming that the news outlet defamed him last month when it published a “demonstrably false hit piece.”
The Nov. 22 story reported that in December 2018, while serving as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Nunes traveled to Vienna and met with Ukrainian former prosecutor general Victor Shokin to discuss digging up dirt on Biden – which Nunes’s complaint says is untrue.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court, alleged violations of Virginia’s law against insults and said CNN reporter Vicky Ward, who wrote the article, and anchor Chris Cuomo, who discussed its details on air, conspired with the network “to boost CNN’s ratings and further the House Democrats’ impeachment ‘inquiry.’”
“In promoting fake news about secret meetings in Vienna with a corrupt former Ukraine pr osecutor, CNN pandered to lurid curiosity, ”the complaint said.
ByDeanna Paul and Hannah Knowles
December 4, 2019 at 7: 30 AM EST
Judiciary Committee to hear from four constitutional scholars
The spotlight shifts Wednesday to the House Judiciary Committee, which is scheduled to convene at 10 am for a hearing on the underpinnings of impeachment.
Four law professors – three chosen by Democrats and one by Republicans – have been summoned to testify on the “constitutional grounds for presidential impeachment ”before the 41 – member panel.
The three witnesses chosen by Democrats: Harvard Law School professor Noah Feldman, Stanford University professor Pamela S. Karlan and University of North Carolina law professor Michael Gerhardt.
The one invited by Republicans is George Washington University professor Jonathan Turley.
After two weeks of public hearings by the House Intelligence Committee, it will be up to the Judiciary Committee to weigh articles of impeachment against Trump.
Wednesday’s hearing will be similar in format to those he ld by the Intelligence Committee, with lawyers for the Democrats and Republicans questioning witnesses for an extended period of time before committee members have the opportunity to ask questions in five-minute rounds.
ByJohn Wagner
December 4, 2019 at 7: 15 AM EST
Committee members seek to shape expectations ahead of hearing
Democrats and Republicans on the Judiciary Committee took to morning television Wednesday in an attempt to shape expectations for the panel’s first impeachment hearing.
Rep . Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), A staunch defender of Trump, dismissed the planned hearing as “lectures from professors” who have no direct knowledge of Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.
“It will be the law review coming to life,” Gaetz said on the Fox Business Network during an appearance in which he also claimed the impeachment inquiry “seems to be losing steam by the hour.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) Predicted Republicans would seek to create chaos during the proceedings.
“I hope that Republicans don’t treat this as a game, but I am afraid they might, ”she said during an appearance on CNN. “We are taking this extremely seriously.”
ByJohn Wagner
December 4, 2019 at 7: (AM EST)
Trump has full schedule at NATO as Washington focuses on impeachment
As Washington focuses on impeachment, Trump continues to meet with other NATO leaders on Wednesday in London. His schedule at the gathering of the venerable military alliance affords several opportunities to weigh in on what’s happening back home.
Trump has scheduled a news conference shortly after the Judiciary Committee hearing is scheduled to begin. Before that, he has several one-on-one meetings with world leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
On Tuesday, Trump welcomed the press to witness long stretches of similar meetings and fielded questions on an array of topics, including the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry.
Trump is scheduled to leave London shortly after noon Eastern and return to the White House on Wednesday evening.
ByJohn Wagner
December 4, 2019 at 6: (AM EST)
Republicans ramp up attacks on Nadler ahead of his hearing
Republicans stepped up attacks early Wednesday morning on House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (DN.Y.), seeking to undermine him in much in the same way they targeted House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) When his panel was in the spotlight.
“On January 16, 2017 – days before @realDonaldTrump was even sworn in – Jerry Nadler called his victory in 2016 ‘Illegitimate,’ ”Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a tweet. “Could Pelosi have chosen anyone more biased to lead Round 2 of this charade ??”
Meanwhile, Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh sought to play down the significance of what was about to unfold in front of Nadler’s committee.
“Today’s ‘hearing’ is pretty much what you’d see on any @MSNBC panel, “He tweeted. “Liberal academics hyperventilating about their hatred of Trump. They’re former Obama & Clinton staffers AND donors. They’ve floated or backed impeachment for years already. ”
“ All that’s missing is Maddow, ”he added, referring to MSNBC host Rachel Maddow.
ByJohn Wagner
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