The House Judiciary Committee on Friday quickly approved two articles of impeachment against President Trump accusing him of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
The panel began deliberations shortly after am following an abrupt halt late Thursday night. The full House is expected to vote to impeach Trump next week, though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Has said there is “no chance” his chamber will vote to remove him from office.
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 to combat Russian military aggression, to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch an investigation of former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, as well as a probe of an unfounded theory that Kyiv conspired with Democrats to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
● Thelatest guessing gameis figuring out Pelosi’s picks to prosecute impeachment trial.
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A businesslike vote after two days of high drama
It took less than minutes for the House Judiciary Committee to make history.
Unlike the rancor and emotion of the previous two days, the vote to impeach the president was formal and businesslike. Republicans offered curt “nos.” Rep. Martha Roby (R-Ala.) Cast her votes with her son sitting on her lap.
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) Said, “My vote is no.” Then, after the Article 1 roll call, Gohmert asked the clerk to confirm he was recorded as “no,” as if there was any doubt.
When Democrats voted “aye” or “yes,” they did so without joy or fanfare. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) Held up a pocket-size copy of the Constitution while she voted.
ByColby Itkowitz
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After two votes in short order, House Judiciary Committe Chairman Jerrold Nadler (DN. Y.) has gaveled the proceedings closed. A full House vote is expected next week.
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December 14, (at) : (AM EST
House Judiciary panel passes second article of impeachment against Trump
The House Judiciary Committee approved a second article of impeachment against Trump, charging him with “obstruction of Congress” for response to the impeachment inquiry.
The article, which was approved along party lines, accused the president of using the powers of his office to direc t “the unprecedented, categorical, and indiscriminate defiance of subpoenas issued by the House of Representatives pursuant to its ‘sole Power of Impeachment.’”
The full House is expected to vote on both articles of impeachment next week. If passed, a trial in the Senate would begin in early January.
Congress has impeached only two presidents: Andrew Johnson in and Bill Clinton in 1998. President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 before the House could vote on articles of impeachment in the Watergate scandal. Lawmakers drafted three articles against Nixon, including charges of “high crimes and misdemeanors” that mirror the abuse-of-power and obstruction allegations Trump now faces.
By************** (John Wagner) ****************
December
House Judiciary panel approves first article of impeachment against Trump, ‘abuse of power’
The House Judiciary Committee approved a first article of impeachment against Trump, charging him with “abuse of power” for his cond uct toward Ukraine.
The article, which was approved along party lines, 26 to (****************************************************************************, accuses the president of using the powers of his office to solicit “the interference of a foreign government, Ukraine, in the United States Presidential election. ”
The committee is expected to vote shortly on a second article accusing Trump of “obstruction of Congress.”
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Nadler gavels the proceedings to order
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (DN.Y.) has gaveled the proceedings to order and the panel is resuming deliberations over two articles of impeachment against Trump.
ByJohn Wagner
December 15, (at
Bondi says White House work ing ‘hand in hand’ with McConnell ahead of trial
Shortly before the impeachment votes, Trump spokeswoman Pam Bondi said that the White House been working “hand in hand” with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to prepare for an expected Senate trial.
“We have been in very close contact with Leader McConnell and all of Republican leadership in the Senate. We are all united. We are on the same side, ”Bondi, a former Florida state attorney general said during an appearance on Fox News. “We’re working hand in hand, and we will be well prepared if and when this gets to the Senate.”
Bondi said reports that White House counsel White House counsel Pat Cipollone will take the lead in defending Trump before the Senate are premature.
“No decisions have been made,” Bondi said, adding that she considers Cipollone to be “a genius.”
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Trump insists again that he has done nothing wrong
Trump returned to Twitter a little more than an hour before the Judiciary Committee was sche duled to reconvene to make the case that he doesn’t deserve impeachment.
Among his now-familiar claims: There was nothing wrong with the July call in which he pressed Zelensky for investigations that could benefit him politically.
“How do you get Impeached when you have done NOTHING wrong (a perfect call), have created the best economy in the history of our Country, rebuilt our Military, fixed the VA (Choice!), Cut Taxes & Regs, protected your 2nd A, created Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, and soooo much more? Crazy! ”Trump
Tweet.
Trump returned to Twitter a little more than an hour before the Judiciary Committee was sche duled to reconvene to make the case that he doesn’t deserve impeachment.
Among his now-familiar claims: There was nothing wrong with the July call in which he pressed Zelensky for investigations that could benefit him politically.
“How do you get Impeached when you have done NOTHING wrong (a perfect call), have created the best economy in the history of our Country, rebuilt our Military, fixed the VA (Choice!), Cut Taxes & Regs, protected your 2nd A, created Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, and soooo much more? Crazy! ”Trump
ByJohn Wagner
Deutch says impeachment votes ‘ought to take place in the light of day’
Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), An outspoken member of the House Judiciary Committee, defended the decision by the panel’s chairman to put off final votes on impeachment until Friday morning.
“The American People deserve to see it, ”Deutch said during an appearance on CNN. “It ought to take place in the light of day.”
Deutch said it was hard to understand why Republicans were so upset by the delay, since they have accused Democrats of rushing the impeachment process .
He said he suspects if the panel had proceeded at midnight Republicans would have asked “how we could cast a vote like that in the dead of the night.”
ByJohn Wagner
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Judiciary Committee to resume deliberations after abrupt halt late Thursday night
The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to reconvene at am on Friday to vote on two articles of impeachment against Trump alleging abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
The committee had planned to vote on Thursday night, but after more than hours of debate, Democrats made an abrupt decision before midnight to hold off on the history-making vote until the light of day.
Thursday’s all-day debate ended as it began, with angry exchanges, personal insults and recycled arguments about process and propriety as the committee moved toward voting to impeach Trump for “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Congress has impeached only two presidents: Andrew Johnson in and Bill Clinton in 1998. President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 before the House could vote on articles of impeachment in the Watergate scandal. Lawmakers drafted three articles against Nixon, including charges of “high crimes and misdemeanors” that mirror the abuse-of-power and obstruction allegations Trump now faces.
By************** (John Wagner) ****************
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Trump praises House GOP members who defended him as ‘warriors’
In a burst of early morning tweets, Trump praised the performance of Republicans who defended him during Thursday’s marathon meeting of the House Judiciary Committee, calling them “warriors. ”
“ The Republicans House members were fanta stic yesterday, ”he. “It always helps to have a much better case, in fact 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. Dems had no answers and wanted out! ”
In another tweet, Trump claimed that poll numbers“ have gone through the roof in favor of No Impeachment especially with Swing States and Independents in Swing States. ”
It was not clear what polls Trump was citing. Two national polls released this week showed a bare majority opposed to ousting Trump from office.
Forty-five percent of Americans say that Trump should be impeached and removed from office, while 58 percent disagree, according to aMonmouth University poll.
A Quinnipiac University pollshowed that 50 percent of registered voters say Trump should be impeached and removed, while percent say he should not be.
Some other recent polls have shown a somewhat different picture.
An Economist-YouGov pollreleased this week, for example, showed that 44 percent of Americans support the Senate removing Trump if he is impeached by the House, while 45 percent are opposed.
In his tweets, Trump also repeated a claim that his job approval stands at 95 percent among fellow Republicans. That claim is not supported by any public polling.
ByJohn Wagner
Trump to host president of Paraguay at White House
As House Republicans resume debate on his impeachment Friday morning, Trump is scheduled to host Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez at the White House.
Earlier this year, Benítez faced calls for impeachment from a group of legislators after a secret energy deal with Brazil surfaced.
Trump is also scheduled to attend a Christmas reception Friday evening.
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Pelosi references Trump and impeachment in award. speech, though not by name
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D -Calif.), In accepting the Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award on Thursday night, said Americans “need hope, in the face of all the challenges of our time.”
She said one of those challenges is “the assault on our Constitution” and then added, “and thank you Adam Schiff, Jerry Nadler and Eliot Engel.”
Schiff (Calif.), Nadler ( NY) and Engel (NY) are three committee chairmen who have been instrumental in the impeachment inquiry.
Earlier in her spe ech, Pelosi quoted the historian Arnold Toynbee.
“In some nations, leaders became a ‘dominant minority’ of ‘exploiters,’ focused on their own wealth and power,” Pelosi quoted Toynbee as saying. “Those competing mindsets – hopeful, exploitive – those competing mindsets and motivations create ‘schisms in the body social’ and ‘schisms in the soul’ of the body politic.”
“Does that sound familiar? ”Pelosi asked, to laughter.
(ByColby Itkowitz
December (**************************************************************************************, at 6: 30 AM EST
‘No chance’ Trump will be removed from office, McConnell says
McConnell said Thursday night that “there’s no chance ”Trump will be removed from office after a trial in his chamber.
“ The case is so darn weak coming ove r from the House, ”McConnell told host Sean Hannity in a Fox News interview. “We all know how he’s going to end: There’s no chance the president’s going to be removed from office. My hope is that there won’t be a single Republican who votes for either of these articles of impeachment. ”
Removal requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate.
During the interview, McConnell reiterated his intention to work closely with the White House’s legal team on the impeachment trial, pledging “total coordination.”
“There will be no difference between the president’s position and our position, ”McConnell said.
When asked whether the Senate trial would involve witnesses, McConnell said,“ I’m going to take my cues from the president’s lawyers . ”
He has previously said the trial could end after opening arguments from House managers and lawyers for the president.
“ If you know you have the votes, you’ve listened to the arguments on both sides, and you believe the case is so slim, so weak that you have the votes to end it, that might be what the president’s lawyers would prefer, and you can certainly make a case for making it shorter rather than longer since it’s such a weak case, ”McConnell said.
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A moderate congresswoman went all-in for Trump
GLENS FALLS, NY – When Rep. Elise Stefanik ran for reelection in 2016, investigate here dubbed her “the tightrope walker” for the way she delicately tiptoed around the question of Trump.
She had once insisted he could never win the Republican nomination. When he did, she kept him at a careful distance – acknowledging, when pressed, that she supported the man at the top of her party’s ticket while generally avoiding any mention of his name.
Three years later, with Trump’s presidency on the line, Stefanik (RN.Y.) shot to his defense with all the subtlety of a human cannonball.
Given a national platform during the impeachment hearings, the Harvard graduate leveraged her post on the House Intelligence Committee to do battle with Trump antagonists over their “crumbling” case and to present herself as “the 35 – year-old Republican congresswoman standing between Democrats and our American Democracy. ”
ByGriff Witte
Pelosi releases video featuring former House Republicans critical of Trump
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Released a video Friday highlighting former House Republicans who have spoken out against Trump’s conduct toward Ukraine.
“Former Republican House members know the oaths they took,” the
It features news clips of Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, Joe Scarborough of Florida, David Jolly of Florida, Bob Inglis of South Carolina and Justin Amash of Michigan . (Unlike the others, Amash remains in Congress, having changed his affiliation from Republican to independent in July.)
Among the clips highlighted is Inglis suggesting a double standard in Republican minds between Trump and President Barack Obama.
“I just ask my Republican friends, if Barack Obama had done any of these things, would we have impeached him?” Inglis asks. “And the answer’s pretty clearly yes. In fact, we would have impeached him and removed him from office very quickly if he’d done any of these things. So it’s important in a republic to keep in mind that you’ve got to follow principles. … You can’t just decide that, oh no, for our team, we have a different rule. ”
(ByJohn Wagner
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Schiff rips Republicans for ‘willfully blinding themselves’ to defend Trump in impeachment hearings
Toward the end of Thursday’s marathon debate in the House of Representatives about approving two articles of impeachment against Trump, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) Lashed out against Republicans for blinding themselves in defending Trump’s conduct amid a defining moment for the country.
“For some of our members who are defending the Constitution, it is their finest hour,” Schiff said in a Thursday interview on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert . ”“ But for others who are willfully blinding themselves to this president’s misconduct, it is the most shameful hour. ”
Then, Schiff, a frequent target of Trump’s, lowered his head and laid out what the years ahead might look like for Republicans. They are united in supporting a president who faces the prospect of the House Judiciary Committee voting Friday morning to send the two articles of impeachment against him – “abuse of power” and “obstruction of Congress” for his dealings with Ukraine – to the house floor next week.
By Timothy Bella
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