House Dems to Finally Clarify Their Efforts to Impeach Trump

By David Boddiger | September 7, 2019 | 7:52pm

Congress

After months of sending mixed
signals and adopting confusing
messaging, House Democrats may soon provide some clear answers about
whether or not they will vote to impeach President Donald Trump.

According to Politico, the House Judiciary Committee will
take its first formal vote next week—possibly on Wednesday—to define the
impeachment investigation. This is meant to make the House’s impeachment probe
official, according to Politico.

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Until now, it was widely believed that an impeachment probe already
was underway, reflected in various court filings by Democrats. Those court
actions seek to obtain grand jury testimony and other evidence related to
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian influence in U.S.
elections, possible links to the Trump campaign, and accusations of obstruction
of justice against the president.

Several Democratic members of the committee acknowledged
earlier in July that an impeachment probe had started, although with lawmakers
on summer recess, talk of formal impeachment proceedings had briefly waned, at
least in Washington. Additionally, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has
clearly opposed such a move, saying it would be too divisive for the
country and that most
Americans oppose it.

But a majority of House Democrats—more than 130 out of 235—now
support impeachment, according to CNN. That includes more than 35 Democrats
who have publicly backed an impeachment inquiry since Congress went to recess.

Some Democrats also seized on two emoluments scandals this
week involving the administration to push for Trump’s impeachment. One
situation involved Vice President Mike Pence staying at Trump’s
golf resort in Doonbeg, Ireland, during a recent overseas trip, despite his
meetings being held on the other side of the country.

In the second incident, reports on Friday noted that the House
Oversight Committee is investigating stopovers at Trump’s Turnberry golf
resort in Scotland by members of an Air National Guard crew earlier this
spring. That would mean that taxpayer and military funding are going directly
to benefit Trump properties.

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded to those
reports by tweeting that Trump “is corrupt and must be impeached.”

Rep. Ilhan Omar
called the latest scandal “insanely corrupt,” adding that “we don’t need
Muller report for impeachment.”

“Though the language
of the resolution is still in flux, some sources said it could incorporate
elements of traditional impeachment probes, such as offering access to the
president’s attorneys or providing for more time to question witnesses,”
Politico reported.

Lawmakers on the
committee also plan to revisit hush
money payments Trump allegedly ordered for several women during the presidential
campaign to hide extramarital affairs, a crime that sent
his former fixer, Michael Cohen, to prison.