Democrats are expected to announce on Tuesday two articles of
impeachment against Donald Trump, US media reported, after laying out
their case at a hearing against a president they branded a “clear and
present danger” to national security.
The articles will focus on abuse of power and obstruction of
Congress, The Washington Post reported Monday, citing three officials
familiar with the matter.
It added that the full House of Representatives will vote on the articles next week, ahead of a trial in the Senate.
CNN said a third article on obstruction of justice was still being
debated, and the network’s sources cautioned that plans were still being
finalized.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement Monday night that
high-ranking Democrats, including Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry
Nadler and Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, would hold a
press conference the next day to “announce the next steps” in the
impeachment process.
Four months after a whistleblower sparked the investigation of Trump
for seeking illicit political favours from Ukraine, Democrats said at
Monday’s hearing there was abundant evidence he had committed bribery,
abused his power and obstructed the investigation.
“President Trump’s persistent and continuing effort to coerce a
foreign country to help him cheat to win an election is a clear and
present danger to our free and fair elections and to our national
security,” said Daniel Goldman, counsel for the Democrats.
Facing an almost certain vote to make Trump the third American leader
impeached and placed on trial, top Republican Doug Collins countered
that the effort was simply “a good PR move” for Democrats ahead of next
year’s presidential elections.
“It’s all political,” Collins said. “Where’s the impeachable offence? Why are we here?”
The allegations came in a contentious House Judiciary Committee
hearing in which Republicans repeatedly punched back, while Trump
himself denounced the inquiry as a “disgrace” and a “hoax.”
Fueling the partisan divisions in Washington, the Republicans
marshalled a Department of Justice report released Monday as ammunition
for a counteroffensive.
The DoJ’s inspector general said its review of investigations into
four Trump aides did not find evidence of “political bias” in the
decisions to open the probes.
The report effectively rebutted Trump’s repeated claims that the FBI
illegally spied on his campaign — but Republicans seized on its findings
that the bureau committed “numerous serious factual errors” related to
the investigations.
Tempers erupt
Tempers flared as Republicans tried to derail the hearing with procedural moves.
A lone protester was ejected after shouting in the president’s
defence — the first time such an outburst has occurred over the last
month of public impeachment hearings.
“We voted for Donald Trump (and) Americans are sick of your
impeachment scam,” he shouted as he was removed by police. “Trump is
innocent!”
The president is accused of abusing his powers by pressuring Ukraine
to announce an investigation into former vice president Joe Biden, his
potential challenger in the 2020 election.
Trump also pressed Kiev to investigate a widely-dismissed allegation
that the Ukraine government helped the Democrats in the 2016 election.
Barry Berke, an attorney for the Democrats, said there was
“significant proof” of wrongdoing as he laid out the evidence collected
by the House Intelligence Committee in a 10-week investigation.
“In the scheme to pressure Ukraine… the person at the center of that scheme was President Donald Trump,” he told the hearing.
Berke played videos of testimony by top US diplomats involved with
Ukraine supporting the charges and footage of Trump claiming he has “the
right to do whatever I want as president.”
Witnesses produced documents “that provide uncontroverted, clear and
overwhelming evidence that President Trump did this scheme,” Berke said.
‘Baloney’
Republican attorney Stephen Castor, tasked with disputing the evidence,
said Democrats were simply attacking Trump for policies they do not
agree with.
“Democrats are obsessed with impeaching the president,” he said,
calling evidence from the transcript of a July 25 phone call between
Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky “baloney.”
In that call, Trump told Zelensky he wanted “favour,” including an investigation of Biden and the 2016 conspiracy theory.
While Democrats have cried foul over the Biden attacks, Republicans
said it was a conflict of interest at best that Biden’s son Hunter
served on the board of a Ukrainian energy firm while his father was US
vice president.
“On this record, there is a legitimate basis for President Trump to
have a concern about Hunter Biden’s role on Burisma’s board,” Castor
said.
Castor also argued that Democrats needed to take more time to accumulate evidence and build their case.
Democrats rejected that argument, noting Trump has blocked his top
advisors from testifying and refused to hand over White House records.
“There is a constitutional remedy for a president who undermines our
national security and our elections, who puts his own interest before
those of the country — that remedy is impeachment,” said Judiciary
Committee chairman Jerry Nadler.
Democrats appear determined to push through to a full House vote on formal articles of impeachment before year-end.
That could see Trump stand trial in the Senate in January.
Given the solid Republican majority in the Senate and a two-thirds
threshold for conviction, it is almost certain he will be acquitted.
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