Tag: Trump impeachment

With an impeachment trial looming, new evidence that Trump sought personal benefit in Ukraine

Washington Post logoIf one were simply to read the transcript, as President Trump has insisted we do, the point made obvious in new documents released by the House Intelligence Committee would be apparent.

In that transcript — the rough transcript of the July 25 call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — Trump cajoles his counterpart to start investigations focused on former vice president Joe Biden and an unfounded theory about Ukrainian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Zelensky agrees to the probes with alacrity, in part, no doubt, because it had already been made clear to his team that agreement was a necessary criterion for a much-sought meeting with Trump at the White House. To move the probes forward, Trump then suggests that Zelensky work with two people: Attorney General William P. Barr, head of the Justice Department — and Rudolph W. Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney.

The inclusion of Giuliani in the conversation has long made it hard for Trump to argue that he was seeking Zelensky’s aid only insofar as it would benefit the United States generally. When he asked Zelensky to “do us a favor,” he has argued, he meant “us” as in the United States. That he then suggested Zelensky work with Giuliani, who is not an employee of the United States, and that his request in that specific case focused on his efforts to undermine the investigation into Russian interference that he saw as a cloud over his presidency make it particularly hard to take Trump’s claims at face value. Continue reading.

‘Documents don’t lie’ — the other fight over evidence at Trump impeachment trial

With trial to begin next week, it’s unclear Democrats have the votes to issue subpoenas

The high-profile fight over potentially dramatic witness testimony at an impeachment trial of President Donald Trump has overshadowed the Senate’s possible demand for a different type of revealing cache of new evidence — withheld documents.

Senate Democrats have pushed to include in the trial documents that the Trump administration refused to turn over during the House investigation. But they need at least four Republicans to vote with all Democrats and independents for the Senate to subpoena witnesses or documents, and it’s not clear they have those votes.

The trial is expected to begin next week, after Wednesday’s House vote to transmit the articles of impeachment. Continue reading.

More bad news for McConnell: Two-thirds of voters want to see John Bolton testify

AlterNet logoIn the wake of multiple polls showing strong majorities of Americans believe the Senate impeachment trial should include witnesses and documents, a Quinnipiac survey finds that 66% of voters want to hear from one person in particular: former Trump national security adviser John Bolton. That 66% includes 39% of Republicans, 71% of independents, and 91% of Democrats.

Bolton’s willingness to testify in the Senate if subpoenaed is among the biggest prizes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi acquired while delaying transmission of the articles of impeachment. Along with being quoted by his subordinates as calling Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani a “hand grenade,” Bolton had unique proximity to Trump during some of the most critical episodes in the Ukraine scandal. His testimony could send shockwaves through the GOP, based on his outsized stature within the party and all the information he was privy to. Continue reading.

McConnell knocks call for additional impeachment witnesses

The Hill logoSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday knocked talk of calling additional impeachment witnesses, arguing that Democrats want the Senate to go “fishing” during the soon-to-start impeachment trial.

“If the existing case is strong, there’s no need for the judge and the jury to reopen the investigation. If the existing case is weak, House Democrats should not have impeached in the first place,” McConnell said from the Senate floor.

McConnell’s comments come as his caucus is locked in an increasingly public fight over impeachment witnesses. Continue reading.

Pelosi’s impeachment team represents the diversity of the Democratic caucus

Speaker hand-picked seven managers with a broad swath of backgrounds

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has chosen a small but diverse group of managers to make the House’s case for convicting President Donald Trump on two charges when the Senate impeachment trial begins next week, a move that reflects the membership of her own caucus.

Pelosi announced the managers, which include three women and three minorities, Wednesday morning, just hours before the House is expected to approve them and formally send the two articles of impeachment to the Senate.

The group, who flanked Pelosi during the announced, stands in stark contrast to the 13 white Republican men who managed the articles of impeachment for the House during the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, almost exactly 20 years ago. Continue reading.

Pelosi names impeachment managers

The Hill logoSpeaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tapped seven impeachment managers on Wednesday, ending weeks of speculation over who in the House will step into the political spotlight and make the case before the Senate to remove President Trump from office.

Some of the newly named managers were considered shoo-ins, including House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), whom Pelosi named as lead manager, and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler(D-N.Y.). Both lawmakers had leading roles during the months-long impeachment inquiry last fall into Trump’s contacts with Ukraine.

Others picked for the high-profile role were also widely considered to be leading candidates, including Democratic Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus; Val Demings (Fla.), a member of both the Judiciary and Intelligence panels; and Zoe Lofgren (Calif.), a senior member of the Judiciary panel and the only member of Congress to have participated in both the Nixon and Clinton impeachments. Continue reading.

How impeachment differs from court trials

The Hill logoHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is poised to send the articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate, setting in motion his long-awaited trial. 

But don’t expect the Senate proceedings to mirror what happens in a court of law. 

The Constitution gives the Senate “the sole Power to try all Impeachments” but is silent about the trial’s mechanics. In practice, Senate proceedings have come to differ dramatically from court trials on everything from the admissibility of evidence, the form of punishment and the possibility of appeal. Continue reading.

Parnas Lawyer Delivers Documents To House Intelligence Committee

On Monday, attorney Joseph A. Bondy made an announcement concerning his client, Lev Parnas — an associate of Rudy Giuliani (President Donald Trump’s personal attorney and former mayor of New York City) who is facing federal campaign finance charges: Parnas-related communications, Bondy announced, have been handed over to Rep. Adam Schiff and the House Intelligence Committee, which Schiff chairs.

The communications, according to Law & Crime reporter Matt Naham, include text messages, WhatsApp messages and photos.

On Twitter, Bondy announced, “After our trip to DC, we worked through the night providing a trove of Lev Parnas’ WhatsApp messages, text messages & images — not under protective order — to #HPSCI, detailing interactions with a number of individuals relevant to the impeachment inquiry.” Continue reading.

Impeachment articles’ path to Senate governed by rules and precedent

Before trial starts, expect pomp, circumstance and ceremony

The expected House vote this week to name impeachment managers for the Senate trial and authorize them to spend House funds will set in motion a set of established steps that will guide the articles of impeachment from the House to the Senate.

The resolution, which won’t be released until Speaker Nancy Pelosi meets with her caucus Tuesday morning, will appoint managers who will act as prosecutors during the Senate trial that will determine whether the impeached President Donald Trump is removed from office. They will present the case for the House impeachment articles, approved in December, which charge the president with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

The transfer of the articles of impeachment between the chambers has been delayed by a weekslong standoff between Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell regarding the parameters of the Senate trial. While Pelosi has agreed to relinquish her grip on the articles, there will not be a tense photo op of a handoff between the two congressional leaders. Continue reading.

Republicans face reckoning on impeachment witnesses

Some GOP senators are at odds over how to handle a key part of Trump’s trial.

Republican Sen. Rand Paul offered a warning to his colleagues as they began debating whether to hear from witnesses like John Bolton in President Donald Trump’s imminent impeachment trial.

“Don’t think you can just vote for Bolton and not the witnesses Trump wants,” Paul told senators at a party lunch last week, according to two attendees and two people briefed on the meeting. He advised that incumbent senators’ conservative base would be enraged if vulnerable lawmakers were seen as undercutting Trump.

The blunt advice from Paul laid bare the GOP’s perilous task in handling Trump’s impeachment trial in an election year, all while the president delivers stage directions on his Twitter account. Trump over the weekend first requested that House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and even Speaker Nancy Pelosi appear as witnesses, then argued a few hours later that the trial should be dismissed summarily before it begins. Continue reading.