House Will Vote on Impeachment Thursday
On Thursday, House Democrats will hold a vote to formalize procedures for the next phase of the impeachment inquiry into President Trump, with a specified goal of “ensur[ing] transparency and provid[ing] a clear path forward.” This comes on the heels of Charles Kupperman declining to appear for his scheduled deposition on Monday claiming he needed to seek a ruling from a judge after the White House told him not to participate in the hearings. The White House response to the Thursday vote was limited as Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said they would wait to comment until the full resolution was released, but she did attempt to frame the move by Democrats as rogue by claiming they were, “conducting an unauthorized impeachment proceeding.”
“We won’t be able to comment fully until we see the actual text, but Speaker Pelosi is finally admitting what the rest of America already knew — that Democrats were conducting an unauthorized impeachment proceeding, refusing to give the president due process, and their secret, shady, closed door depositions are completely and irreversibly illegitimate.” — statement by White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham
The House Rules Committee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday afternoon to further mark up the resolution to formalize impeachment procedures before it is presented to the chamber for a vote on Thursday. Rules Chairman Jim McGovern (D-MA) maintains that the purpose of this vote is to maintain transparency for the American people as the process continues.
The final resolution will outline the procedure for public hearings, the disclosure of deposition transcripts, the transfer of evidence to the Judiciary Committee as it considers potential articles of impeachment, as well as setting due process rights for Trump and anyone else who may be charged. Senior Democratic aides have confirmed that the resolution will be released on Wednesday and a House vote is expected on Thursday.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi further explained the reasoning behind a House leadership’s decision to hold a vote formalizing impeachment procedures in a letter to Democratic lawmakers on Monday afternoon. In her letter, Pelosi told Democrats, "We are taking this step to eliminate any doubt as to whether the Trump Administration may withhold documents, prevent witness testimony, disregard duly authorized subpoenas, or continue obstructing the House of Representatives."
This Thursday vote signals a move by Democrats to make the impeachment inquiry more public and after the procedures are agreed upon, it is expected that public hearings will begin within the next two weeks — as soon as mid-November. Republicans are feeling the pressure, especially considering that Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, National Security Council Director for European Affairs, is scheduled to testify today and has already released his public statement.
(Alexander Vindman, far left, at the inauguration of Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on May 20.)
Vindman has first hand knowledge of Trump’s intention to pressure Ukraine to launch an investigation into Burisma and former Vice President Joe Biden and he reported what he saw to others, including John Bolton. Vindman was also present for Trump’s July 25 phone call with Zelensky and his statement denotes that he was concerned by the call, did not think it was proper and was worried about the implications and how a partisan investigation into Burisma could undermine U.S. national security. Vindman has also detailed improper actions by Ambassador Sondland and given an account of those dealings that directly contradicts Sondland’s own testimony to Congress earlier this month.
Republicans continue to maneuver within the press to paint Democrats as hypocritical and secretive, despite the fact that the very procedure being followed now was established by a Republican majority in 2015 for the Benghazi hearings.
Other GOP leaders are trying to sabotage the process by claiming that the impeachment inquiry is rigged and furthering the attacks of legitimacy Trump began against Rep. Adam Schiff. Another tactic from the Republican minority hinges on a “backtracking” concept: essentially that the time for impeachment has passed and any attempts to move forward with establishing procedures is pointless due to a random expiration date. All of it makes little sense, but serves to distract a base of loyal Trump supporters.
All of the attempts to deflect the forward momentum from Democrats make it very clear that impeachment pressure has infiltrated the Republican Party. Just ahead of Vindman’s scheduled testimony this morning, Fox News ran a segment last night where pundit John Yoo made baseless allegations that Colonel Vindman is really a spy for Ukraine and acting to serve their interests rather than those of the United States. (See video below.)
With the vote on impeachment procedures and the testimony of Tim Morrison both taking place on Thursday, Halloween is shaping up to really deliver this year. The only thing that might make it better is if Nancy Pelosi gets a pair of those plastic fangs with fake blood and a fabulous cape and said, “mwahhh-haaa-haaa” all day as she walks the halls of Congress. Fingers crossed.
Update: An eight page resolution has been finalized and released and lays out the general format for the impeachment investigation and calls for public hearings and allows for the President or his counsel to participate in impeachment hearings held by the House Judiciary Committee. This final version specifically permits staff counsels of both Democrats and Republicans to question witnesses for periods of up to 45 minutes per side, giving the minority the same rights to question witnesses that the majority has. A vote by the House of Representatives on this resolution will occur on Thursday.
"The House impeachment inquiry has collected extensive evidence and testimony, and soon the American people will hear from witnesses in an open setting. The resolution introduced today in the House Rules Committee will provide that pathway forward." — Chairman Adam Schiff
The Judiciary Committee is responsible for ultimately deciding whether to report Articles of Impeachment to the full House for a vote. Democrats have said that if the president refuses to cooperate unlawfully with congressional requests, the chair shall have the discretion to impose appropriate remedies, including by denying specific requests by the President or his counsel.
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Amee Vanderpool writes the “Shero” Newsletter and is an attorney, contributor to Playboy Magazine, analyst for BBC radio and Director of The Inanna Project. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @girlsreallyrule.
Thank you for your great reporting. You are absolutely my Shero!
I was tempted to dress as Nancy Pelosi for Halloween at our company party, but you have given me a better idea...I’ll dress as Nancy as you described her...fangs, cape, etc. I’ll probably be searching for a job on Nov 1 as I work in a pretty conservative company. Trump supporters abound, so it’s like Halloween here every day.