Tag: Trump impeachment

Trump ousts impeachment witness Gordon Sondland

The Hill logoPresident Trump on Friday ousted Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, making him the second official of the day who testified in the House impeachment inquiry to be dismissed.

“I was advised today that the president intends to recall me effective immediately as United States Ambassador to the European Union,” Sondland said in a statement.

“I am proud of our accomplishments,” Sondland added, thanking Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “Our work here has been the highlight of my career.” Continue reading.

How Mitch McConnell Delivered Acquittal for Trump

New York Times logoThe majority leader — who has proved adept at the hand-to-hand procedural combat of the Senate, frustrating Democrats at every turn — had been preparing for a trial for nearly a year.

An explosive report detailing how John R. Bolton, the former national security adviser, had confirmed a central allegationagainst Mr. Trump had roiled the Capitol and upended his push to block new witnesses, and if Mr. McConnell did not corral restive Republicans into submission, the trial could be blown wide open.

“We can be smart or we can be stupid,” Mr. McConnell warned his rank and file during a closed-door lunch of halibut, fried chicken and pecan pie in the Capitol, steps from the Senate floor where the trial was to convene shortly. “The choice will be up to us.” Continue  reading.

House managers: Trump won’t be vindicated. The Senate won’t be, either.

Washington Post logoReps. Adam Schiff (Calif.), Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), Zoe Lofgren (Calif.), Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Val Demings (Fla.), Sylvia Garcia (Tex.) and Jason Crow (Colo.) were the Democratic House managers in the impeachment trial of President Trump.

Over the past two weeks, we have argued the impeachment case against President Trump, presenting overwhelming evidence that he solicited foreign interference to cheat in the next election and jeopardized our national security by withholding hundreds of millions of dollars in security assistance to pressure Ukraine to do his political bidding. When the president got caught and his scheme was exposed, he tried to cover it up and obstruct Congress’s investigation in an unprecedented fashion. As the trial progressed, a growing number of Republican senators acknowledged that the House had proved the president’s serious misconduct.

Throughout the trial, new and incriminating evidence against the president came to light almost daily, and there can be no doubt that it will continue to emerge in books, in newspapers or in congressional hearings. Most important, reports of former national security adviser John Bolton’s forthcoming book only further confirm that the president illegally withheld military aid to Ukraine until Kyiv announced the sham investigations that the president sought for his political benefit. Continue reading.

Romney shocks GOP with vote to convict

The Hill logoSen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) shocked his fellow Republican senators and surprised much of the nation on Wednesday with a dramatic floor speech announcing he would vote to convict President Trump on the impeachment charge of abuse of power.

Romney announced his decision in a nearly empty Senate chamber just hours before the Senate voted to acquit Trump and after fellow GOP colleagues such as Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) had already announced they would not vote to convict Trump.

Just as surprising as his vote was the intensity of the 2012 Republican presidential nominee’s language. Continue reading.

 

Like McCain before him, Romney rebukes President Trump

2008 and 2012 presidential nominees have been most forceful GOP critics in the Senate

The greatest rebukes of Donald Trump’s presidency from the Republican side of the aisle have come from the two previous standard-bearers for the GOP.

When Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, a freshman senator best known for being the 2012 Republican nominee for president, announced Wednesday on the Senate floor that he would vote to convict Trump of abuse of power, it evoked memories of the time when the late Arizona Sen. John McCain voted in 2017 to thwart the president’s desired repeal of the 2010 health care law.

McCain, a hero of the Vietnam War and the 2008 Republican nominee for president, cast his vote with a dramatic thumbs-down that the current occupant of the Oval Office has not forgotten. Trump has continued to allude to the vote, which doomed GOP plans to nix the health care law, particularly during campaign rallies. Continue reading.

Out of the impeachment, into the fallout

The trial ended Wednesday with acquittal, but investigations and court fights continue

The acquittal of President Donald Trump ended his impeachment trial Wednesday the way it always appeared it would, but the battle’s lasting fallout is just beginning for congressional power, the nation’s political landscape and ongoing legal fights between Trump and House Democrats.

The Senate voted 48-52 to reject the House’s abuse of power charge and 47-53 to reject the obstruction of Congress charge.

The trial’s ultimate result was never seriously in doubt, since at least 20 Republicans would have needed to cross Trump and party lines to get the supermajority of 67 votes needed to convict him for abuse of power or obstruction of Congress. Most of the drama ended with a 49-51 vote last week to reject a motion to subpoena more witnesses and documents. Continue reading.

End of impeachment trial to leave deep scars in Senate

The Hill logoThe bruising battle over President Trump’s impeachment will come to an end Wednesday afternoon, and senators who have clashed for weeks over trial procedures say it will leave deep scars that may take months to heal.

Former President Clinton’s 1999 impeachment trial was an intensely divisive affair, but senators say Trump’s trial has set a new standard for partisan warfare in a chamber once known for its collegiality.

The Senate is scheduled to vote at 4 p.m. Wednesday on two articles of impeachment, with every Republican expected to vote for acquittal. However, the votes of three centrist Democrats — Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Doug Jones (Ala.) and Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) — remain up in the air. Continue reading.

Susan Collins said the president learned his lesson. Trump just set her straight

AlterNet logoRepublican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine earned mockery and derision on Tuesday when she defended her upcoming decision to vote for acquitting President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial.

“I believe that the president has learned from this case,” Collins told CBS News. “The president has been impeached. That’s a pretty big lesson.”

She added: “I believe that he will be much more cautious in the future.” Continue reading.

Beyond the Partisan Fight, a Wealth of Evidence About Trump and Ukraine

New York Times logoRegardless of the Senate’s verdict, the impeachment inquiry, President Trump’s own words and other revelations yield a narrative establishing his involvement in the pressure campaign.

As the Senate moved toward acquitting President Trump on Wednesday, even some Republicans stopped trying to defend his actions or dispute the evidence, focusing instead on the idea that his conduct did not deserve removal from office, especially in an election year.

Mr. Trump’s “behavior was shameful and wrong,” and “his personal interests do not take precedence over those of this great nation,” Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said on Monday. She went on to declare that she would nonetheless vote to acquit. Continue reading.

Senate votes to acquit Trump on articles of impeachment

The Hill logoThe Senate on Wednesday voted to acquit President Trump on impeachment charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over his dealings with Ukraine, marking the end of the months-long saga that has dominated Washington.

Senators voted 48-52 on abuse of power and 47-53 on obstruction, falling well short of the two-thirds requirement for convicting Trump and removing him office.

But, in a blow to Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell‘s (R-Ky.) efforts to keep Republicans unified, Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah), the party’s 2012 presidential nominee, announced less than two hours before the vote that he would vote to convict Trump on the abuse of power charge, while acquitting him on the second article.  Continue reading.