Tag: Trump obstruction

Judiciary Committee sends Trump impeachment articles to the House floor

After three days of contentious debate, the panel voted along party lines to recommend impeachment

The House came one step closer to impeaching President Donald Trump after the Judiciary Committee on Friday morning approved charges that Trump obstructed Congress and abused his power.

Next week, for the first time in more than two decades, and only the third time in U.S. history, the full House will consider articles of impeachment against a sitting president.

On the third calendar day of considering the articles of impeachment, the Judiciary Committee quickly advanced the two articles on separate 23-17 party-line votes.

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Senate gears up for battle over witnesses in impeachment trial

The Hill logoRepublican and Democratic senators are gearing up for an intense battle over witnesses at an impeachment trial likely to set the tone for the 2020 elections.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) have yet to start negotiating on the parameters for the trial, but lawmakers are already jockeying over key questions such as how long a trial should last, whether witnesses will be called and if the White House will be subpoenaed for documents.

Democrats and Republicans appear to be on the cusp of trading rhetorical places.

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Most Republicans on impeachment committees aren’t showing up, transcripts reveal

Freedom Caucus members have taken lead role in questioning, foreshadowing public hearings

Republicans have for weeks blasted the closed-door impeachment process, but transcripts released this week of private depositions show most GOP lawmakers on the three panels at the center of the probe have simply not shown up.

The low attendance for most committee Republicans paints a very different picture of a party that recently stormed the secure room where the depositions have been conducted, demanding to participate in the process. Republican questioning during these private interviews have been driven by a handful of President Donald Trump’s allies and GOP staff.

Conservative Republicans, many closely tied to Trump from the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, have led the GOP questioning, a preview of the coming tumultuous public impeachment process. What is unclear is what role, if any, other Republicans will play.

View the complete November 5 article by Michael Macagnone and Patrick Kelley on The Roll Call website here.

Mueller on obstruction: Evidence prevents ‘conclusively determining no criminal conduct occurred’

Special counsel Robert Mueller said in his long-awaited report that he was unable to “conclusively determine” during the course of his investigation that no criminal conduct occurred in regards to whether President Trumpobstructed justice.

Mueller’s investigators wrote that they were “unable” to say definitively that Trump did not commit an obstruction of justice offense because of “difficult issues” presented by the evidence collected over the course of their nearly two-year probe, as stated in a redacted version of the special counsel’s closing documentation released by the Justice Department on Thursday.

“[I]f we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the President clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, however, we are unable to reach that judgment,” the report states.

View the complete April 18 article by Morgan Chalfant on The Hill website here.