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Impeachment hearings live updates: Nadler says scholars ’testimony is‘ clear and compelling evidence ’that Trump abused his power – The Washington Post, The Washington Post

Impeachment hearings live updates: Nadler says scholars ’testimony is‘ clear and compelling evidence ’that Trump abused his power – The Washington Post, The Washington Post


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.

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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

ByRachael Bade

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

ByElise Viebeck

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

‘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

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