US House Formalises Trump Impeachment Process In Landmark Vote

US Congress formally opened a new, public phase of its presidential investigation Thursday as US lawmakers voted for the first time to advance the impeachment process against Donald Trump.

“Today, the House takes the next step forward as we establish the procedures for open hearings conducted by the House Intelligence Committee so that the public can see the facts for themselves,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said shortly before the vote.

The chamber voted largely along party lines, 232 to 196, to formalize the process, which also provides for opportunities for Trump’s counsel to cross-examine witnesses.

Two presidents – Andrew Johnson in 1868 after the Civil War and Bill Clinton in 1998 – were impeached by the House, but acquitted by the Senate. Former President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 before he was impeached.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said the Congress has produced more subpoenas than signed laws.

“Democrats are continuing their permanent campaign to undermine his legitimacy,” McCarthy said.

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said Democrats have an “unhinged obsession” with impeachment and were engaged in a partisan effort to “destroy the president.”

“The president has done nothing wrong, and the Democrats know it,” Grisham said. “The Democrats want to render a verdict without giving the Administration a chance to mount a defense. That is unfair, unconstitutional, and fundamentally un-American.”

Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the second-ranking Republican in the House, said unified GOP opposition to the “Soviet-style investigation” signaled support for Trump and his policies. Two Democrats broke ranks and opposed the resolution: Reps. Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Jefferson Van Drew of New Jersey.

The focus of the investigation has been Trump’s urging Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, while withholding nearly $400 million in military aid from that country. Three committees – Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, and Oversight and Reform – have been holding closed-door depositions for weeks with State Department and national security officials to learn more about Trump’s July 25 call with Zelensky, under a policy that witnesses have testified was guided by the president’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, rather than government professionals.

_

(AFP)