Tag: House impeachment

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.

Trump demands ‘fast’ impeachment in House

The Hill logoPresident Trump said Thursday that if House Democrats are going to impeach him they should do it “now” and “fast” so he can have a “fair” trial in the Republican-controlled Senate.

In a series of tweets, Trump also said he wanted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and the Bidens to testify at a Senate trial. 

“The Do Nothing Democrats had a historically bad day yesterday in the House. They have no Impeachment case and are demeaning our Country. But nothing matters to them, they have gone crazy,” Trump tweeted.

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Why the first 3 impeachment witnesses to publicly testify are too credible for Trump supporters to attack: GOP strategist

AlterNet logoHouse Democrats’ impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump is entering a new phase this week, with three witnesses set to publicly testify (all of the previous testimony took place in closed-door hearings). Inevitably, Trump supporters will do everything they can to try to discredit their testimony, but according to GOP activist and Never Trump conservative Susan Del Percio, the witnesses are too credible for Trump allies to successfully discredit.

The three witnesses are diplomat William Taylor, who handled Ukraine-related matters for the Trump Administration; George Kent, an official for the U.S. State Department; and Marie Yovanovitch, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. Taylor and Kent are both scheduled to testify on Wednesday, while Yovanovitch’s testimony is set for this Friday, November 15.

Appearing on MSNBC, Del Percio told host Ayman Mohyeldin, “We’ve seen some of what the Republicans have up their sleeves. They are going to try and discredit the witnesses. But as (journalist) Sam Stein said, they are unimpeachable witnesses. These are all government servants, people who have dedicated their lives not just to their post, but in Taylor’s case, he served in Vietnam. These are very accomplished people.”

View the complete November 11 article by Alex Henderson on the AlterNet website here.

Top 5 Revelations From Ukraine Transcripts Portend Trouble For Trump

It’s been reported for weeks now that Trump wanted Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee in exchange for $400 million in military defense funds that Congress promised the country for its fight against Russia. A meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky was also predicated on Ukraine announcing the investigations.

The rough phone transcript Trump released, text messages between top Trump administration officials, and even an explicit admission from acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney all confirmed the existence of a quid pro quo.

The four witness depositions released last week by the House Intelligence Committee add further direct confirmation of that arrangement.

View the complete November 10 article by Emily Singer on the National Memo website here.

Democrats release Sondland, Volker transcripts

The Hill logoHouse Democrats on Tuesday released the transcripts of testimony from U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland and former special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker as part of their impeachment inquiry. 

Democrats are investigating whether Trump pressured Ukraine to open investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, and whether military aid was withheld from the country to convince Ukraine to open the probe. Volker helped set up the July 25 phone call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that is at the center of the inquiry.

Sondland and Volker were involved in texts with another diplomat that have been publicly released. In the texts, Sondland said the president had been clear to him there had been no quid pro quo of any kind with Ukraine, before suggesting the men end the conversation over texts.

View the complete November 5 article by Olivia Beavers on The Hill website here.

Trump fumes amid impeachment furor

The Hill logoPresident Trump on Wednesday grew testy with a reporter who pressed him about what he was seeking from Ukraine in relation to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, demanding that the reporter ask a question to Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.

“Listen, are you ready? We have the president of Finland, ask him a question,” Trump shot back to Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason. “Did you hear me? Ask him a question.”

The exchange came toward the end of a combative press conference that was unusually heated even by Trump standards. It seemed to exemplify the growing anger the president has over the impeachment effort in the House against him.

View the complete October 2 article by Brett Samuels and Morgan Chalfant on The Hill website here.