Tag: House Judiciary Committee

Scholar rains hell on Republican who questioned her integrity at impeachment hearing: ‘I’m insulted!’

AlterNet logoStanford Law School professor Pamela Karlan hammered Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) on Wednesday after he had questioned whether she and other House Judiciary Committee witnesses had bothered to read transcripts and reports about the House impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.

In her opening statement, Karlan immediately took issue with Collins’ claim that witnesses called before today’s hearings did not have time to read and digest all the relevant information about Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political opponents.

“Here Mr. Collins, I would like to say to you, sir, that I read transcripts of every one of the witnesses who appeared in the live hearing because I would not speak about these things without reviewing the facts,” she said. “So I’m insulted by the suggestion that, as a law professor, I don’t care about those facts.”

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The GOP’s only impeachment witness on Wednesday contradicted his own previous testimony

  • Jonathan Turley, a law professor who appeared as a Republican witness in Wednesday’s impeachment hearings, made a number of claims that directly contradicted his previous statements and testimony.
  • On Wednesday, Turley argued there was no proof that President Donald Trump broke a specific law related to the Ukraine scandal and therefore should not be impeached.
  • But in 1998, Turley made the opposite case, telling Congress during former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment hearings that Clinton’s actions didn’t need to violate any laws in order to be impeachable conduct.
  • “While there’s a high bar for what constitutes grounds for impeachment, an offense does not have to be indictable,” he wrote in a 2014 op-ed for The Washington Post.

Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University Law School, testified on Wednesday that he didn’t see any proof that President Donald Trump committed a crime and that Trump therefore should not be impeached.

Turley was one of four legal experts — and the only one invited by the Republicans — who testified in the House Judiciary Committee’s first public impeachment hearing about Trump.

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Nadler hints Trump impeachment inquiry could expand beyond Ukraine

House Judiciary’s first impeachment hearing punctuated by partisan bickering

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler on Wednesday raised the possibility that the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump could be expanded beyond its current narrow scope of a July 25 phone call between Trump and the Ukrainian president.

In his opening remarks at his panel’s first impeachment hearing, the New York Democrat invoked former Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

“The Russian government engaged in a sweeping and systematic campaign of interference in our elections. In the words of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, ‘the Russian government perceived it would benefit from a Trump presidency and worked to secure that outcome,’” Nadler said. “The president welcomed that interference.”

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House Intelligence Committee sends report on Trump and Ukraine to judiciary panel, paving way for possible articles of impeachment

Washington Post logoThe House Intelligence Committee sent its report on President Trump and Ukraine to the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, paving the way for possible articles of impeachment.

The report, which states that the president “sought to undermine the integrity of the U.S. presidential election process, and endangered U.S. national security,” was approved on a party-line vote.

The report also hints strongly at charges of obstruction of justice, among other crimes, but does not recommend specific articles of impeachment.

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Schiff: Judiciary Committee to receive impeachment report ‘soon after’ Thanksgiving recess B

The Hill logoHouse Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) told Democratic lawmakers on Monday that the committees overseeing the impeachment inquiry are preparing a report for the House Judiciary Committee that they hope to send shortly after members return from their one-week Thanksgiving recess.

In a “Dear Colleague” letter sent to members of the House Democratic Caucus, Schiff said the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight and Reform committees continue to investigate President Trump. He did not rule out the possibility of additional hearings or depositions.

But he also said investigators did not want to allow the administration to delay their probe through court challenges.

View the complete November 25 article by Juliegrace Brufke on The Hill website here.

Lewandowski hearing descends into chaos

The Hill logoCorey Lewandowski jumped to President Trump‘s defense on Tuesday during his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, blasting “Trump haters” and making it clear he will not answer questions the White House wants him to avoid. 

Lewandowski, a former campaign aide to Trump who is close to the White House, took aim at Democrats and former special counsel Robert Mueller‘s investigation in his opening statement, describing the probes as “harassment” while alleging that some critics sought to bring down the president.

“Sadly, the country spent over three years and 40 million taxpayer dollars on these investigations. It is now clear the investigation was populated by many Trump haters who had their own agenda — to try and take down a duly elected president of the United States,” Lewandowski said in his opening statement.

View the complete September 17 article by Olivia Beavers on The Hill website here.

Judiciary approves new investigative powers with eyes on impeachment

The Hill logoThe House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines Thursday to broaden the panel’s powers to investigate President Trump as Democrats seek to build their case for impeachment — and clean up their oversight message amid a month of mixed signals.

The move does not launch a formal impeachment process, but marks the first time a Democratic panel has voted on language that explicitly lays out how the party’s ongoing investigations into alleged presidential misconduct could lead to drafting — and eventual votes on — impeachment articles.

The partisan 24-17 vote followed more than two hours of feisty debate, as Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) made Democrats’ case for securing disputed information from an uncooperative administration, and Republicans rushed to Trump’s defense with accusations that Democrats are pretending to pursue impeachment without actually doing so. 

View the complete September 12 article by Mike Lillis and Olivia Beavers on The Hill website here.

House Judiciary issues subpoena for information on Trump offer of pardons

The Hill logoThe head of the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday subpoenaed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for documents related to allegations that President Trump promised pardons to officials who carry out orders connected to construction of a wall at the southern border that could be illegal.

Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) asked Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan in the subpoena to provide documents related to two meetings in March and April of this year between Trump and DHS officials where the topic of pardons reportedly came up, giving him a deadline of Sept. 17.

“The dangling of pardons by the President to encourage government officials to violate federal law would constitute another reported example of the President’s disregard for the rule of law,” Nadler said in a statement.

View the September 4 article by Olivia Beaver on The Hill website here.

Nadler tees up post-recess showdown with Trump

The Hill logoHouse Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler is teeing up a post-recess showdown with President Trump as the New York Democrat pushes for impeachment behind the scenes.

Nadler has fired off a wave of new subpoenas compelling former administration and Trump campaign officials to testify shortly after the House returns to Capitol Hill in September.

He’s also seeking to challenge the White House’s claims of executive privilege as he pursues witness testimony from former White House counsel Don McGahn.

View the complete August 28 article by Olivia Beavers on The Hill website here.

House Judiciary Committee subpoenas ex-White House aide Rob Porter

The House Judiciary Committee on Monday issued a subpoena to former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, a key witness in former special counsel Robert Mueller’s obstruction of justice investigation into President Donald Trump, as the panel weighs whether to recommend articles of impeachment.

Porter, who resigned his post last year amid allegations that he abused his two ex-wives, was at the president’s side during several episodes of potential obstruction chronicled in Mueller’s 448-page report on Russian interference in the 2016 election and Trump’s attempts to thwart the probe.

“The committee intends to hold hearings and obtain testimony over the coming months as part of its efforts to hold the president accountable as we move forward with our investigation into obstruction, corruption and abuse of power by Trump and his associates,” Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said in a statement announcing the subpoena, which was first reported by POLITICO.

View the complete August 26 article by Andrew Desiderio and Eliana Johnson on the Politico website here.