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    Saturday, May 18, 2024

    House Judiciary Committee releases report on impeachment

    WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee early Monday released its report on the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, setting the stage for a historic week in Washington that will likely see Trump to be the third U.S. president impeached.

    The 658-page, four-part report lays out the case against the president and the charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

    In part one, the committee explains how the House Intelligence Committee conducted its investigation of the allegations against Trump. Part two explains the standards of impeachment in the Constitution.

    The third part details the committee’s conclusion that Trump abused the power of the presidency.

    “President Trump has realized the Framers’ worst nightmare,” the committee wrote. “He has abused his power in soliciting and pressuring a vulnerable foreign nation to corrupt the next United States Presidential election by sabotaging a political opponent and endorsing a debunked conspiracy theory promoted by our adversary, Russia.”

    And the fourth part addresses the charge of obstruction of Congress, concluding that while other presidents have provided information to Congress under similar circumstances, “President Trump’s stonewall, by contrast, was categorical, indiscriminate, and without precedent in American history.”

    The House Ways and Means Committee will set the rules on Tuesday for the debate in the House on Wednesday, when it is expected to vote to impeach Trump.

    Here is the latest on the impeachment inquiry:

    Witness list: In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer indicated he’s looking for a full hearing of the charges against Trump when it takes up impeachment next year after the Senate’s holiday break.

    Schumer wants to call acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, former national security adviser John Bolton, senior Mulvaney adviser Robert Blair and Michael Duffey, a political appointee at the Office of Management and Budget who oversaw the process for releasing foreign aid funds. The White House blocked the four from testifying before and providing documents to House committees in their inquiry.

    McConnell and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham have indicated they prefers an expedited trial in the Senate, but Schumer’s letter starts negotiations far from that.

    Schumer said he some Senate Republicans might support a fuller trial.

    “I expect some of my Republican colleagues when they see this letter will say ‘That’s fair.’ They don’t want to be a part of a coverup,” Schumer told CNN Monday morning.

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