Here's a recap of the article of impeachment House Democrats unveiled yesterday
The resolution states Trump pressured Ukraine’s president to open an investigation targeting former Vice President Joe Biden — as well as other Democratic adversaries — and withheld a crucial White House meeting and military aid to extract a public announcement of the probes.
Democrats’ announcement Tuesday was a moment that, at times, seemed both inevitable and impossible amid the party’s battles with the president. It will also close the first year of the Democratic House majority with a call for the president's removal from office — just the third time in history the House will have taken such a step. The next few days will likely feature a frenetic vote-counting effort and debate among Democrats about the form and scope of the articles of impeachment, particularly among vulnerable Democrats who have been wary of taking the impeachment plunge. The announcement also came as Democrats attempt to end the year with a flurry of legislating and dealmaking with a president whom they are calling to oust — including a major agreement on a North American trade pact that is one of Trump’s top priorities. Nadler said the articles of impeachment outline how Trump “compromised our national security and threatened the integrity of our elections,” and subsequently “attempted to conceal evidence” when he sought to block investigators’ access to key witnesses and documents as part of their investigation. Nadler added Trump “engaged in unprecedented, categorical and indiscriminate defiance” of the impeachment inquiry, summarizing the article charging Trump with obstruction of Congress. It was a nod to the third article of Richard Nixon’s impeachment — a process that was halted when Nixon resigned. “Without lawful cause or excuse, President Trump directed executive branch agencies, offices and officials not to comply with subpoenas,” the impeachment resolution states. It names specific departments and agencies that have refused to produce subpoenaed documents, including the Office of Management and Budget, the State Department and the Pentagon. The resolution also names the senior officials who defied subpoenas seeking their testimony — including acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, acting OMB Director Russell Vought, and National Security Council attorney John Eisenberg. Members of the Judiciary Committee previewed some of the language of the articles during their public questioning of witnesses throughout the impeachment inquiry. For example, Rep. Joe Neguse pressed witnesses about the administration’s blanket defiance of demands for testimony and documents. “In the history of the republic, no president has ever ordered the complete defiance of an impeachment inquiry or sought to obstruct and impede so comprehensively the ability of the House of Representatives to investigate ‘high crimes and misdemeanors,’” the resolution states. Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff said the facts uncovered by impeachment investigators are “overwhelming and uncontested,” even as Republicans continue to assert there is no direct evidence tying Trump to the Ukraine scheme that Democrats have portrayed.In a statement, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said Democrats are engaging in a “baseless and partisan attempt to undermine” Trump. “House Democrats have long wanted to overturn the votes of 63 million Americans,” Grisham said. “They have determined that they must impeach President Trump because they cannot legitimately defeat him at the ballot box.” Democrats sought to use the articles to outline a “pattern” of Trump’s alleged misconduct, including his efforts to thwart special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. The resolution states that Trump’s refusal to comply with the inquiry was “consistent with President Trump’s previous efforts to undermine United States government investigations into foreign interference in United States elections” — a veiled reference to allegations that Trump sought to shut down the Mueller investigation. Schiff said that despite ongoing court battles that could yield substantial testimony from key witnesses, the House should not delay its proceedings. “Despite everything we have uncovered, the president’s misconduct continues to this day, unapologetically and right now,” Schiff said. “The argument, ‘Why don’t you just wait,’ amounts to this: Why don’t you just let him cheat in one more election?” Though the Judiciary Committee began pursuing impeachment in July based on Mueller’s findings, the effort appeared to sputter at times amid resistance from the White House. But the push was quickly revived in September when the Ukraine allegations burst into view. Pelosi and other Democratic leaders did not respond to questions after their announcement Tuesday, including shouted inquiries about why they chose not to pursue an obstruction of justice charge against Trump.
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