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The Impeachment of President Donald J. Trump

Pelosi says she knows ‘exactly when’ to send impeachment articles

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she knows “exactly when” she’ll be transmitting the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, brushing back Democratic comments that the time has come to start the Senate trial.

Pelosi told reporters at the Capitol she had no concerns about the anxiety some House and Senate Democrats are showing over the standoff with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell about the terms of the delayed trial. It’s now more than three weeks since the House impeached Trump on charges of abuse and obstruction.

“Same thing I’ve said before,” Pelosi told The Associated Press as she entered the Capitol. “We’d like to see how we’re going to proceed, and then we’ll know who to send. I have an obligation to my members, especially those on the committees, to do justice to their work.”

Asked later as she headed for a morning meeting if she had any concerns about losing support from Democrats for her strategy, she said: “No.”

Pelosi told reporters, “I know exactly when” she plans to send the impeachment articles over, but, “I won’t be telling you right now.”

One top lawmaker, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, told CNN on Thursday “it’s time” to send over the charges. But shortly afterward, he tweeted that he misspoke: “If the Speaker believes that holding on to the articles for a longer time will help force a fair trial in the Senate, then I wholeheartedly support that decision.”


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Meanwhile back at the White House,

McConnell and Trump talk impeachment at White House meeting

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Donald Trump met Wednesday at the White House anddiscussed the upcoming Senate impeachment trial, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

McConnell, one of the sources said, walked Trump through the trial format and discussed how Senate Republicans were reacting to the developments around the trial.

McConnell was at the White House to introduce Trump to a judge, and later the Senate leader and the President met privately.

The senator from Kentucky has not shared with the White House the text of the resolution that would set up the trial, according to one of the sources, who insists there’s no negotiation with the GOP leader’s office on how the language should be drafted. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has demanded to see the resolution before sending the two articles of impeachment to the Senate.

McConnell’s interactions with Trump are sure to fuel Democratic accusations that the majority leader is improperly coordinating with the President before the trial, which will determine whether Trump should be removed from office.

The White House has been engaged in a discussion with the leader’s office for weeks and has reacted to various ideas and proposals about how they believe the trial should be set up. The White House also has been reviewing how the 1999 Senate resolution to set up the Bill Clinton trial was drafted, sources said.

McConnell wants a quick trial – and White House officials confirmed to CNN that they are on the same page with the leader.

"We want this to start as quickly as possible," said Eric Ueland, the White House legislative director. "We want the President to be acquitted as quickly as possible."

"We want the President to be acquitted as quickly as possible."

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:eyes: This guy usually rails at Pelosi on Twitter. :woman_shrugging:t2:

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Totally normal. Just like how a jury foreman will get together with an accused murderer to go over their defense.

Wait.

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Just FYI,

The Senate has conducted 15 impeachment trials. It heard witnesses in every one.

The Senate has heard testimony from witnesses at every trial it has completed in its 231-year history. If the current Senate takes seriously its constitutional responsibility to conduct an impeachment trial of Trump and the oath its members will take to “do impartial justice,” then it must not depart from this unambiguous body of precedent. It must hear from witnesses to the president’s misconduct.

Only 19 other individuals besides Trump have been impeached by the House of Representatives. The Senate completed a trial in 15 of those cases, and in every single one of them, it heard testimony from witnesses. Those cases include the only two prior instances in which a president was impeached. At the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton, the Senate permitted House managers to obtain trial depositions of three witnesses — Monica Lewinsky, Clinton confidant Vernon Jordan and White House aide Sidney Blumenthal — and the full Senate viewed video excerpts of those depositions. At the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, the Senate heard testimony from 41 witnesses.

The Senate has obtained testimony from a large number of witnesses in every impeachment trial conducted in the last 50 years: 21 in the 1986 trial of Judge Harry Claiborne; 55 in the 1986 trial of Judge Alcee L. Hastings; 10 in the 1999 trial of Judge Walter Nixon, and 26 in the 2010 trial of Judge Thomas Porteous. Although at least one senator has suggested that the Senate has no duty to go beyond testimony obtained by the House, that has happened on multiple occasions. The Senate heard from seven witnesses at Walter Nixon’s trial who had not testified before the House; three at Clinton’s trial who also had not testified before the House; and 17 at Porteous’s trial who had not testified before the House.

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‘Stunning line of attack’: Andrea Mitchell immediately calls out Trump after he lies about Democrats supporting terrorism

President Donald Trump, once again, lied about Democrats “loving terrorists.”

In a press conference around getting rid of environmental standards set up by former President Richard Nixon, Trump said that because Democrats are questioning his ability to wage war, it means they support terrorism.

“You know what bothers me?” Trump said. “When I see a Nancy Pelosi trying to defend this monster from Iran. When Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats want to defend him, I think that’s a very bad thing for this country. I think that’s a big losing argument politically too.”

MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell called it a “stunning line of attack.”

She then played a video of Pelosi’s comments just a few minutes prior to Trump’s.

“It’s not that we have any confidence in the goodness or the good intentions of Iran and we certainly do not respect — and I know just how bad Gen. Qasem Suleimani was. It’s not because we expect good things from them. But we expect great things from us.”

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Yeah, the President is just flat out lying about what’s being said by Democrats. :woman_shrugging:t2: Per usual.

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Speaking of investigations… this relates since Barr’s bias has had a direct effect on this whole process.

NYC Bar Association Asks Congress to Investigate AG Barr for Bias

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-09/investigate-barr-for-bias-n-y-bar-association-tells-congress

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McConnell tells Republicans he expects impeachment trial next week

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday told Republican senators that he expects Speaker Nancy Pelosi to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate as soon as Friday, setting up an impeachment trial that begins early next week.

While senators and aides cautioned that McConnell does not have inside intelligence, the remarks serve as key scheduling advice for senators. Most Republicans are now gearing up for the relentless pace of the impeachment trial to start on Monday or Tuesday.

“At lunch, we all heard that. And he says: ‘That’s my best guess,’” said Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.). “Which means that we’d get started next week.”

Most senators immediately left the chamber after voting on Thursday afternoon, a signal that the trial will not start until after the weekend. McConnell also discussed the contours of the trial with President Donald Trump on Wednesday during a meeting at the White House that was first reported by CNN.

“He expects them at some point here very soon,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). “The sense is that even if they got here at this very moment right now, there’s still a process involved to notify the White House and chief justice and turning it all around. So it sounds like to me the earliest we can get on that would be the Monday when we get back.”

“I’m not sure he has any specific knowledge, but the gut feeling is that it will come over there tomorrow and set up for a Monday start,” he added.

Pelosi on Thursday told reporters that she would transmit the articles “soon” but wouldn’t provide a timeline.

McConnell (R-Ky.) plans to begin the trial with arguments from Trump’s counsel and the House impeachment managers, and make decisions on witnesses later. Democrats have sought to get an agreement on new evidence before the trial begins, but McConnell spurned them and locked up the votes to pass a trial blueprint without Democratic support.

Democrats can still force those votes on key administration witnesses and documents, but Republicans are likely to retaliate with votes to subpoena Hunter Biden and others.

:woman_shrugging:t2: Something happened at lunch today and now Republicans are saying the trial starts next week. I guess we’ll find out if this actually happens?

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This is worrisome. As soon as Friday? Is this bluster or did something happen? It says here McConnell has no inside knowledge.

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We’ll find out more tomorrow?

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Ah here we go,

McConnell backs changing Senate rules over Pelosi impeachment delay

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has signed onto a resolution by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) seeking to change the rules of the Senate to dismiss articles of impeachment if they are not transmitted within 25 days of their approval — in this case, Jan. 12.

Why it matters: The constitutionality of such a move, which 12 other co-sponsors have signed onto, is not clear. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reiterated on Thursday that she is waiting to see what the Senate trial will look like before she names impeachment managers and transmits the articles.

  • McConnell has said he has the GOP votes to approve a resolution on trial rules without support from Democrats, and has repeatedly criticized Pelosi for attempting to interfere with the Senate process.
  • The Senate would require a two-thirds majority in order to change the rules, unless McConnell were to invoke the “nuclear option” and decide the issue by a simple majority vote.

Between the lines: A senior Democratic aide told Axios last week that aside from the procedural and constitutional questions it raises, Hawley’s resolution would likely be politically damaging for moderate Republicans — noting that polling showsa majority of Americans want Trump to let his top aides testify in the Senate trial.

Here’s the original text for comparison,

Here’s the Clinton Impeachment Trial Senate Rules.

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It is absolutely incredible how far they are willing to go to avoid a real trial and protect Trump, even to undermining the Constitution.

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House Votes to Restrain Trump’s Iran War Powers

The House voted on Thursday to force President Trump to go to Congress for authorization before taking further military action against Iran, in a sharp rebuke of his decision to ratchet up hostilities with Tehran without the explicit approval of the legislative branch.

The vote was 224 to 194, almost entirely along party lines, to curtail Mr. Trump’s war-making power. It followed a bitterly partisan debate in which Democrats insisted that the president must involve Congress in any escalation against Iran, and Republicans — following Mr. Trump’s lead — accused Democrats of coddling the enemy by questioning the commander in chief at a dangerous moment.

Democrats, joined by two Republican senators, have raised questions about Mr. Trump’s rationale and justification for ordering the drone strike last weekthat killed Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, casting doubt that there was an imminent threat that warranted a deeply provocative action.

In pressing forward with the War Powers Resolution, they reignited a bitter dispute that pits presidential power against congressional prerogatives and voiced grave concern that if they did not step in to check Mr. Trump, he could careen toward war with Iran without consulting Congress.

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Cross-post :pray:

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This is just oversight but it’s happening in the middle of his impeachment so now it’s just become part of the impeachment story. :woman_shrugging:t2:

House Passes and Votes 224-194 to Limit President’s Military Actions Against Iran

The U.S. House of Representatives passes and votes 224-194 on a War Powers Resolution, to limit the President’s military actions against Iran. In this clip, House members debate the issue before the recorded vote takes place.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4844447/house-passes-votes-224-194-limit-presidents-military-actions-iran


Featured Clips:

Nancy War Powers


Schiff WPR floor speech


Gaetz War Powers Resolution Floor Speech

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Schiff throws cold water on bringing Bolton to House committee before Senate trial

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff told CNN on Thursday that his committee has no plans to hear testimony from former national security adviser John Bolton before President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate, arguing there’s “little to be gained” by going that route at this moment.

Schiff, a California Democrat, said “we have not” had discussions with Bolton or his team since the former White House aide announced this week that he’d be willing to testify before the Senate if subpoenaed.

With Republican senators resisting calls to bring him in before their chamber, some have suggested that House Democrats should instead compel testimony from Bolton, who previously warned the House Intelligence Committee he’d fight any subpoena in court.

But Schiff said Thursday that Bolton should testify before the Senate – not the House.

"We haven’t taken anything off the table," Schiff said, leaving a meeting in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. "But if we are proceeding in a rationale way where we are trying to be fair to the President and fair to the American people, he should testify before the triers of fact, which are the senators."

Schiff added: "There’s little to be gained by having him testify separately and then have the Senate get the stale records. If we’re doing this rationally and we’re trying to achieve a fair trial, he should testify before the Senate."

Whether Schiff later calls in Bolton if senators ultimately decline to subpoena him remains uncertain.

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His sycopahnts are getting really out of control.

Senator Roberts Introduces Resolution Praising Successful Mission to Eliminate Qasem Soleimani

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‘We’ve Upped the Ante.’ Why Nancy Pelosi Is Going All in Against Trump

On Dec. 17, the night before the full House would debate and vote on Trump’s impeachment, Pelosi met behind closed doors with top caucus members on the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. She hinted, for the first time, that she was contemplating a curveball: declining to immediately transmit the impeachment articles to the Senate after the House passed them. “The rule empowers the Speaker to be able to decide how to send the articles and when to send the articles over to the Senate,” she said, according to an aide who was in the room. “My view is we don’t know enough about what they are going to do. We want to see what [is] their level of fairness and openness and the rest.”

Pelosi, according to an aide, had been mulling the tactic since she heard former Nixon White House counsel John Dean float the idea on CNN on Dec. 5. In the committee meeting, she added that she believed McConnell would be motivated to move. “Somebody said to me today that he may not even take up what we send. [But] then [Trump] will never be vindicated,” she said, according to the aide in the room. “He will be impeached forever. Forever. No matter what the Senate does.”

The following day, Pelosi presided over the floor vote on impeachment, wearing a striking black suit to project solemnity, accessorized with a large gold brooch of the Mace of the Republic, a symbol of the House. When scattered cheers broke out inside the chamber after the first article was approved, she sternly and silently shushed them with a glare and a sharp gesture. After the vote, she announced that she did not plan to transmit the articles right away, saying she could not determine how to appoint House impeachment managers until the Senate decides on its rules for the trial.

McConnell has mocked the idea that Pelosi or Schumer can shape the Senate trial to their liking. But he’s also said he won’t start it until Pelosi sends the articles, and it’s clear from Trump’s tweets and statements that the unresolved situation bothers him. Moreover, the delay is allowing facts to emerge. Over the two-week holiday break, newly unredacted emails showed Pentagon officials worrying about the legality of Trump’s effort to withhold military aid from Ukraine. And on Jan. 6, former National Security Adviser John Bolton, potentially a key witness to Trump’s alleged actions toward Ukraine, announced he would testify before the Senate if subpoenaed. On Jan. 7, McConnell announced that he had enough Republican votes to begin the trial, and Democrats in both chambers appeared to be getting restless–but still Pelosi refused to budge.

The gambit is reminiscent of another Pelosi maneuver designed to exploit Trump’s insecurities. Pelosi retook the speakership a year ago amid a government shutdown triggered by Trump’s demand for border-wall funding. She refused to negotiate on the matter until the government reopened. As the stalemate dragged on, Pelosi seized on an unexpected source of leverage: she postponed Trump’s State of the Union address to Congress, knowing that he prized it as a televised set piece showcasing his power.

Then she stubbornly waited out her adversary. “The President tried to break us in January [2019] by throwing us into a government shutdown at the same time we were transitioning into the majority,” says Hakeem Jeffries, a Democratic Congressman from New York who serves as caucus chairman. “We held together, and instead of breaking us, we broke him. It ended in unconditional surrender.”

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Dear Colleague on Next Steps on Impeachment

JANUARY 10, 2020

PRESS RELEASE

Dear Democratic Colleague,

For weeks now, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has been engaged in tactics of delay in presenting transparency, disregard for the American people’s interest for a fair trial and dismissal of the facts.

Yesterday, he showed his true colors and made his intentions to stonewall a fair trial even clearer by signing on to a resolution that would dismiss the charges. A dismissal is a cover-up and deprives the American people of the truth. Leader McConnell’s tactics are a clear indication of the fear that he and President Trump have regarding the facts of the President’s violations for which he was impeached.

The American people have clearly expressed their view that we should have a fair trial with witnesses and documents, with more than 70 percent of the public stating that the President should allow his top aides to testify. Clearly, Leader McConnell does not want to present witnesses and documents to Senators and the American people so they can make an independent judgment about the President’s actions.

Honoring our Constitution, the House passed two articles of impeachment against the President – abuse of power and obstruction of Congress – to hold the President accountable for asking a foreign government to interfere in the 2020 elections for his own political and personal gain.

While the House was able to obtain compelling evidence of impeachable conduct, which is enough for removal, new information has emerged, which includes:

  • On December 20, new emails showed that 91 minutes after Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky, a top Office of Management and Budget (OMB) aide asked the Department of Defense to “hold off” on sending military aid to Ukraine.
  • On December 29, revelations emerged about OMB Director and Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney’s role in the delay of aid, the effort by lawyers at the OMB, the Department of Justice and the White House to justify the delay, and the alarm that the delay caused within the Administration.
  • On January 2, newly-unredacted Pentagon emails, which we had subpoenaed and the President had blocked, raised serious concerns by Trump Administration officials about the legality of the President’s hold on aid to Ukraine.
  • And on January 6, just this week, former Trump National Security Advisor John Bolton announced he would comply with a subpoena compelling his testimony. His lawyers have stated he has new relevant information.

I am very proud of the courage and patriotism exhibited by our House Democratic Caucus as we support and defend the Constitution. I have asked Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler to be prepared to bring to the Floor next week a resolution to appoint managers and transmit articles of impeachment to the Senate. I will be consulting with you at our Tuesday House Democratic Caucus meeting on how we proceed further.

In an impeachment trial, every Senator takes an oath to “do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws.” Every Senator now faces a choice: to be loyal to the President or the Constitution.

No one is above the law, not even the President.

Thank you for your leadership For The People.

Sincerely,

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