WASHINGTON (AP) 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 Trumps 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 cant 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 committees 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 constitutions 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. Trumps team is turning attention elsewhere, including Mondays 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 Generals findings into the FBIs decisions to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election. The president has long called special counsel Robert Muellers Russia probe a witch hunt, but the Inspector Generals report is expected to reject the presidents 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, Pelosis challenge will be to go broad enough to appease her liberal flank, which prefers a more robust accounting of Trumps actions reaching back to Muellers findings, while keeping the charges more tailored to Ukraine as centrist lawmakers prefer. Democratic leaders will meet later Monday evening.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., 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.
