The House Judiciary Committee on Monday heard closing arguments for and against President Donald Trump's impeachment, setting off a busy two weeks on Capitol Hill expected to end with a House floor vote on the charges ahead of Christmas. As they prepare to release articles of impeachment against
The House Judiciary Committee on Monday heard closing arguments for and against President Donald Trump's impeachment, setting off a busy two weeks on Capitol Hill expected to end with a House floor vote on the charges ahead of Christmas.
"President Trump violated his oath to the American people and placed his own private interests ahead of our national security, and constitutes a threat to our election and government. House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler adjourns hearing close to 10 hours after it began: 4:35 p.m.Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican and strong ally of the president, said Democrats were pursuing impeachment and ignoring the needs of the American people.
"We were also elected to hold this president accountable," he said."That’s what we’re engaged in today." "You're here without a pin because your chairman will not testify. That says all we need to hear. He doesn't stand behind his report so he sends you," Collins said, referencing the pins worn by members of Congress.
1:18 p.m.ABC News' Katherine Faulders and Benjamin Siegel in the hearing room note more fireworks during the first round of questioning. “Do you have an explanation, sir, where you said Ms. Williams said that the call was unusual when, in fact, she said it was unusual and inappropriate and of a political nature?” Berke asked.After a number of contentious exchanges with Castor, Berke has periodically returned to Goldman to underscore his points.
— ABC News Politics December 9, 2019 In another testy back-and-forth, Castor suggested Trump wasn't asking for a Biden investigation."I don't think the president was asking for an investigation into Joe Biden. It was just a comment," Castor said dismissively. After Castor's presentation, the committee has started the extended round of questions. Nadler and Collins, along with their counsels, will have up to 45 minutes each to question the witnesses.
"The inquiry has returned no direct evidence that President Trump withheld a meeting or security assistance in order to pressure President Zelenskiy to investigate former Vice President Biden. Witnesses who testified in the inquiry have denied having awareness of criminal activity or even an impeachable offense," Castor says.
"President Trump directed a months-long scheme to solicit foreign help in his 2020 reelection campaign, withholding official acts from the government of Ukraine in order to coerce and secure political interference in our domestic affairs," he begins."As part of the scheme, President Trump applied increasing pressure on the president of Ukraine to publicly announce two investigations helpful to his personal reelection efforts.
"Overall, at best, the impeachment inquiry record is riddled with hearsay, presumptions, and speculation. There are conflicting and ambiguous facts throughout the record—facts that could be interpreted in different ways," Castor says in his opening statement. — ABC News Politics December 9, 2019 Castor also cites testimony from legal experts last week, specifically from George Washington University Law School professor Jonathan Turley, who raised concerns Democrats are pushing for impeachment too quickly to fully build a case and pursue more information.
"The scheme by President Trump so brazen, so clear, supported by documents, actions, sworn testimony, uncontradicted, contemporaneous records, that it's hard to imagine that anybody could dispute those acts, let alone argue that conduct does not constitute an impeachable offense or offenses. This is a big deal. President Trump did what a president of our nation is not allowed to do," he says.
Berke played multiple clips of the president, including one where Trump said:"Then I have an Article 2, where I have the right to do whatever I want as president," referring to the Constitution. "For anyone to think that this was not a baked deal is not being honest with themselves," he says in his opening statement.
"At the end of the day, all this is about is about a clock and a calendar. Because they can't get over the fact Donald Trump is president of the United States and they don't have a candidate that they think can beat him. It's all political. And as we have talked about before, this is a show," he adds.
"The debates around the framing make clear that the most serious such offenses include abuse of power, betrayal of the nation through foreign entanglements and corruption of public office," he continues. Republicans raise an objection within seconds of Nadler beginning his opening statement, setting the stage for more objections to come.
ABC's Mary Bruce reports this might the last chance Democrats have to persuade the American public on such a nationally-televised scale before a vote on articles of impeachment. 8:35 a.m.As members start to take their seats in the hearing room, ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Mary Bruce reports House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is facing a difficult challenge making the final call on how broad articles of impeachment will be.GOP Rep. Debbie Lesko of Arizona, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, tells ABC News' Tom Llamas that there is no evidence of any impeachable conduct, that Democrats can't point to any"crimes committed.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
House Democrats lay out case for formal Trump impeachmentWASHINGTON (AP) — The House Judiciary Committee received a detailed summing up of the impeachment case against President Donald Trump Monday as Democrats prepare formal charges against him. Trump...
Read more »
Democrats And Trump White House Reportedly Near New NAFTA AgreementPoliticians from both parties want to vote on the deal before Christmas.
Read more »
House Democrats Preparing Two Impeachment Articles Against President Donald TrumpHouse Democrats plan to unveil two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, the Associated Press and other news outlets reported on Monday. One article will be for abuse of power and…
Read more »
House Democrats Expected To Unveil Articles Of Impeachment Against TrumpHouse Democrats are expected to unveil two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump early Tuesday morning ― one focused on abuse of power and another related to obstruction of Congress ― multiple media outlets reported late Monday
Read more »
House Democrats announce abuse of power and obstruction of Congress articles of impeachment against TrumpJUST IN: The House Judiciary Committee announced two articles of impeachment today, charging President Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The committee will vote on the articles this week.
Read more »