{"id":9035,"date":"2020-01-15T23:14:36","date_gmt":"2020-01-16T07:14:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=9035"},"modified":"2020-01-16T06:25:37","modified_gmt":"2020-01-16T14:25:37","slug":"post1-80","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=9035","title":{"rendered":"“House delivers historic impeachment case against Trump to Senate”, The Washington Post"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Elise Viebeck<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>Rachael Bade<\/span> and\u00a0<\/span>Seung Min Kim,\u00a0<\/span>Jan. 15, 2020<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

The House delivered two articles of impeachment to the Senate on Wednesday, laying the groundwork for President Trump\u2019s trial as Republicans rallied behind the idea of parity between the two parties in possibly calling witnesses.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The impeachment managers\u2019 brief ceremonial journey across the Capitol \u2014 a month after the House voted to impeach Trump \u2014 relinquished Democratic control over a process that is expected to end in the president\u2019s election-year acquittal by the Republican-led Senate. The procession, which solemnly set in motion the third presidential impeachment trial in U.S. history, capped a rancorous day of partisan conflict and heightened the pressure on Senate moderates, whose views on seeking additional evidence after unmitigated stonewalling by the White House will define the scope of Trump\u2019s trial.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) declared that Trump was guilty of \u201can assault on the Constitution of the United States\u201d and rejected criticism that his impeachment was politically motivated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\u201cWe take it very seriously,\u201d Pelosi said in remarks on the House floor. \u201cIt\u2019s not personal. It\u2019s not political. It\u2019s not partisan. It\u2019s patriotic.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
\n

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) attacked the House\u2019s inquiry as \u201cunprecedented and dangerous\u201d and accused Democrats of \u201cpure factionalism.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cThis has been naked partisanship all along,\u201d McConnell said on the Senate floor. \u201c.\u2009.\u2009. We had a 230-year tradition of rejecting purely political impeachments. It died last month.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

As tensions increased across the Capitol, new evidence of Trump\u2019s pressure campaign toward Ukraine for his political benefit added urgency to Democrats\u2019 push for more witness testimony and documents during the trial phase.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Records from Lev Parnas, an associate of Trump personal attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani, showed Ukraine\u2019s top prosecutor offering damaging information related to former vice president Joe Biden if the Trump administration recalled the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. They also revealed claims from a Republican congressional candidate that he had the then-ambassador, Marie Yovanovitch, under physical and electronic surveillance.<\/p>\n

The impeachment charges \u2014 abuse of power and obstruction of Congress \u2014 center on the allegation that Trump withheld military aid and a White House meeting to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals, including Biden.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

Pelosi argued that the revelations proved the wisdom of her decision to withhold the articles for a month \u2014 a gambit that did not fulfill her primary goals of ensuring witness testimony or forcing McConnell to outline terms for the trial.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

\u201cTime has been our friend in all of this, because it has yielded incriminating evidence, more truth into the public domain,\u201d the speaker said at a Capitol Hill news conference.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), one of the moderates whose views on further evidence could shape the trial, held a different view.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cDoesn\u2019t that suggest that the House did an incomplete job, then?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

The records were released Tuesday night by the four House committees that ran the impeachment inquiry \u2014 just as Senate Republicans began coalescing around the idea of each party having the opportunity to call witnesses, should enough moderates agree with Democrats that more evidence is needed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Ukraine prosecutor offered information related to Biden in exchange for ambassador\u2019s ouster, newly released materials show<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

A day after Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) proposed the idea of \u201creciprocity\u201d \u2014 which would enable Trump\u2019s legal team to call Hunter Biden if Democrats get enough votes to summon former national security adviser John Bolton, for example \u2014 two moderate Republicans signaled they were open to the idea.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cThe idea that only the House managers should be able to call witnesses is one I reject,\u201d said Collins, who has insisted on a vote on whether to call witnesses. \u201cIt clearly should be both sides, both sides should have the opportunity. But as far as approving specific witnesses, I haven\u2019t heard the case yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said Wednesday that he would be amenable to each side choosing \u201cwhich witnesses they want to appear, as opposed to going in and saying, \u2018Well, I want that one, I want that one.\u2019 .\u2009.\u2009. I think I expect both sides to be able to put together their own list of demands.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Should moderates decide witnesses are necessary, it would require four Republicans to join with all members of the Democratic caucus to vote in favor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Privately, McConnell and other senior Republicans still hope a majority of senators will think they have heard enough \u2014 after days of arguments from the House impeachment managers, the president\u2019s defense counsel and several rounds of questioning \u2014 to move to a vote to determine whether Trump should be removed from office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Several closely-watched Republican senators declined to say whether they believed Hunter Biden was worthy of summoning to the impeachment trial.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

Biden served on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma, and Trump and Giuliani have promoted an unfounded theory that Joe Biden, while vice president, tried to stop a corruption investigation of the company to protect his son. Hunter Biden is no longer on Burisma\u2019s board.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to opine on that at this stage,\u201d Romney said of whether Hunter Biden\u2019s testimony is warranted. \u201cI think each side should be able to choose the people they want to hear from.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cYou\u2019re asking me to prejudge the evidence,\u201d Collins said. \u201cI don\u2019t know which witnesses we\u2019re going to need until I hear the case.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m just going to print a sign \u2014 I don\u2019t know whether I\u2019m going to have it on my back or on my chest \u2014 saying there will be a time in the process where we will have an opportunity to make a determination as to what further information we need, whether it is from Hunter Biden or Ambassador Bolton or Lisa Murkowski,\u201d said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). \u201cSo until that point in time, I\u2019m not thinking about each individual witness.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n

Democrats were unanimous in their view that Hunter Biden\u2019s testimony would be irrelevant.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cAny trial judge in this country would rule such a witness as irrelevant and inadmissible,\u201d said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), one of the impeachment managers approved by the chamber Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cIf someone is accused of robbing a bank, witnesses who say, \u2018We saw him run into the bank. We saw him someplace else,\u2019 are relevant,\u201d Nadler said. \u201cA witness who says, \u2018He committed forgery on some other document,\u2019 is not relevant to the bank robbery charge. That\u2019s the distinction.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cThe Senate is on trial, as well as the president,\u201d with impeachment, Nadler said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

The transmission of the articles marked the end of the four-week standoff between Pelosi and McConnell \u2014 though an array of proxy battles over timing and protocol highlighted the lingering resentments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

Impeachment live updates: House managers deliver impeachment articles to Senate; McConnell\u2019s office says Senate will formally accept them Thursday<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The House voted Wednesday to send the Senate the two articles and to approve seven Democratic lawmakers to serve as impeachment managers, or prosecutors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

That group is notably smaller and more diverse than the team of lawmakers tapped by House Republicans to present the case during President Bill Clinton\u2019s impeachment trial in 1999, when all 13 managers were white men. Pelosi\u2019s team includes three women and two African Americans.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The resolution was approved 228 to 193, breaking largely along party lines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The procedural formalities of the trial are expected to begin Thursday with the reading of the articles; the swearing-in of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who will preside; and the swearing-in of the senators as jurors. After that, the Senate is expected to recess for the weekend; the trial will begin in earnest Tuesday, according to McConnell.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
The White House signaled Wednesday that it does not expect the Senate impeachment trial to last longer than two weeks, casting acquittal as a foregone conclusion and arguing that Trump\u2019s team will present \u201ca very strong case for the president.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

Asked whether Trump would go ahead with plans to deliver his State of the Union address on Feb. 4 even if the impeachment trial hasn\u2019t concluded by then, a senior administration official told reporters, \u201cI think it\u2019s extraordinarily unlikely that we\u2019d be going beyond two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cWe think that this case is overwhelming for the president, and the Senate\u2019s not going to be having any need to be taking that amount of time on this,\u201d said the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about internal White House deliberations and discussed the matter on the condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

In the House, debate was animated over the resolution to send the articles and approve managers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Pelosi emphasized that Trump is \u201cimpeached for life,\u201d regardless of what happens in the Senate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cThe president is not above the law,\u201d the speaker said. \u201cHe will be held accountable. He has been held accountable. He has been impeached. He has been impeached forever. They can never erase that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Mike DeBonis, Paul Kane, John Wagner, Colby Itkowitz and Felicia Sonmez contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n

Impeachment: What you need to read<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

Updated January 15, 2020<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Here\u2019s what you need to know to understand the impeachment of President Trump.<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s happening now: <\/b>Trump is now the third U.S. president to be impeached<\/a>, after the House of Representatives adopted both articles of impeachment against him.<\/p>\n

What happens next: <\/b>Impeachment does not mean that the president has been removed from office. The Senate must hold a trial to make that determination<\/a>. The House voted Wednesday to appoint impeachment managers<\/a> and transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate, meaning a trial will start this week. Here\u2019s more on what happens next. <\/a><\/p>\n

How we got here: <\/b>A whistleblower complaint<\/a> led Pelosi to announce the beginning of an official impeachment inquiry on Sept. 24.<\/a> Closed-door hearings and subpoenaed documents related to the president\u2019s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a> followed. After two weeks of public hearings in November,the House Intelligence Committee wrote a report<\/a> that was sent to the House Judiciary Committee, which held its own hearings. Pelosi and House Democrats announced the articles of impeachment against Trump on Dec. 10. The Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment against Trump: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.<\/p>\n

Stay informed: <\/b>Read the latest reporting and analysis on impeachment here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Listen: <\/b>Follow The Post\u2019s coverage with daily updates from across our podcasts.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\"Headshot<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Elise Viebeck<\/a><\/div>\n

Elise Viebeck is a political enterprise and investigations reporter. She joined The Washington Post in 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Headshot<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Rachael Bade<\/a><\/div>\n

Rachael Bade is a Congress reporter for The Washington Post, primarily focusing on the House. Her coverage areas include House Democrats\u2019 oversight of the Trump administration as well as policy clashes with the White House, the dynamics animating the historic freshman class and the inner workings of the Democratic leadership team.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\"Headshot<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Seung Min Kim<\/a><\/div>\n

Seung Min Kim is a White House reporter for The Washington Post, covering the Trump administration through the lens of Capitol Hill. Before joining The Washington Post in 2018, she spent more than eight years at Politico, primarily covering the Senate and immigration policy.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The Washington Post\u00a0<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Elise Viebeck,\u00a0Rachael Bade and\u00a0Seung Min Kim,\u00a0Jan. 15, 2020 The House delivered two articles of impeachment to the Senate on Wednesday, laying the groundwork for President Trump\u2019s trial as Republicans rallied behind the idea of parity between the two parties in possibly calling witnesses. The impeachment managers\u2019 brief ceremonial journey across the Capitol \u2014 a month […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001004,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9035"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1001004"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9035"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9054,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9035\/revisions\/9054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}