“It is a matter of fact that the president is an ongoing threat to our national security and the integrity of our elections, the basis of our democracy.”
— Speaker Nancy Pelosi, quoted by Axios, calling for the impeachment of President Trump.
“It is a matter of fact that the president is an ongoing threat to our national security and the integrity of our elections, the basis of our democracy.”
— Speaker Nancy Pelosi, quoted by Axios, calling for the impeachment of President Trump.
“The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday open debate on articles of impeachment against President Trump, clearing a key procedural hurdle that moved Democrats a step closer to final votes to charge the president with committing high crimes and misdemeanors,” the New York Times reports.
“The vote paved the way for six hours of what promises to be fierce debate about whether Mr. Trump should be impeached on two articles accusing him of abuse of power and obstructing Congress.”
The Washington Post notes the measure passed, 228 to 197, with two Democrats breaking with their party: Reps. Jeff Van Drew (D-NJ), who has signaled he is about to become a Republican, and Collin Peterson (D-MN). Rep. Justin Amash (I-MI), a former Republican, voted with the Democrats.
If the debate goes according to schedule — which is a big if — the final vote should take place around 7:30 p.m. ET.
Eight staffers, two advisors and the entire re-election campaign team serving freshman Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-NJ) have resigned ahead of his expected switch to the Republican Party over the impeachment inquiry, Axios reports.
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When CNN asked “a senior GOP official” whether it was a good idea for President Trump to send his letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the official responded: “Of course not.”
The official also acknowledged it didn’t go over well among some Republican senators.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg implied in an interview with the Razia Iqbal of the BBC that senators who have already expressed their verdict in the president’s likely impeachment trial should be disqualified.
GINSBURG: Should a trial be impartial? Of course. That’s the job of a judge to be impartial.
IQBAL: So if a senator says, ‘I’ve already made up my mind and the trial doesn’t exist at the moment,’ there is no accountability, is there?
GINSBURG: If a judge said that, a judge would be disqualified from the case.
In his 6-page letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, President Trump claimed those accused in the Salem Witch Trials had “more due process” than him.
Let’s fact check that with History.com:
Twenty people were eventually executed as witches, but contrary to popular belief, none of the condemned was burned at the stake. In accordance with English law, 19 of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials were instead taken to the infamous Gallows Hill to die by hanging. The elderly Giles Corey, meanwhile, was pressed to death with heavy stones after he refused to enter an innocent or guilty plea. Still more accused sorcerers died in jail while awaiting trial.
As bad as impeachment is, it appears Trump is still getting a better deal than the accused witches.
Paul Manafort’s fraud case in New York was dismissed, blocking local prosecutors’ effort to undercut a potential pardon from President Trump, the Washington Post reports.
New York Times: “Mr. Manafort had been charged in Manhattan with mortgage fraud and more than a dozen other state felonies. But Justice Maxwell Wiley of State Supreme Court dismissed the indictment, saying the charges violated the legal principle of double jeopardy, which holds that a defendant may not be tried twice for the same conduct.”
Walking to House of Representatives chamber, Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she’s feeling “sad” about the upcoming impeachment vote but wouldn’t comment further, telling ABC News that she will be taking the highly unusual step of speaking on the House floor.
Former Rep. Katie Hill (D-CA) told Playboy she wouldn’t rule out running for office again.
Said Hill: “Obviously I’m going to need some time away, but it’s almost something I want to do on principle.”
She added: “Every single bit of my dirty laundry will be out there – the most private things I didn’t ever think would come out. I’ll be quite literally fully exposed to the voters. So judge me for what I’ve got.”
“When Pelosi first got in and was named speaker, I met her. And I’m very impressed by her. I think she’s a very impressive person, I like her a lot. But I was surprised that she didn’t do more in terms of Bush and going after Bush. It just seemed like she was really going to look to impeach Bush and get him out of office. Which personally I think would have been a wonderful thing.”
— Donald Trump, in a 2008 CNN interview.
Quinta Jurecic on President Trump’s 6-page letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi:
“Reading the full letter vs. reading the news alerts and headlines is as good a demonstration as any of the distance between what Trump actually sounds like vs. the massively more coherent person media coverage makes him out to be.”
After President Trump’s fiery six-page letter lashing out at impeachment, House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) told CNN the president “appears not well.”
He added: “I’m not sure of any other way to describe it.”
When asked about the letter, Speaker Nancy Pelosi just shook her head and called it “ridiculous” and “really sick.”
“President Trump abused his power to cheat in the next election, then obstructed Congress to cover it up. The only question is: Will Members honor their oath to uphold the Constitution? History will remember the vote we take today.”
— House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA), on Twitter.
A new Gallup poll finds President Trump’s job approval rating “has inched up again and is now at 45%. The president’s ratings have increased six percentage points since the House of Representatives opened an impeachment inquiry against him in the fall.”
“Trump’s latest job rating is on the high end of the relatively tight range of 35% to 46% approval he has received since taking office, and marks the fifth time he has reached 45% or higher during his presidency.”
The FiveThirtyEight polling average also shows Trump’s approval rising.
A new CNBC poll finds 45% of Americans disapprove of Congress impeaching President Trump and 44% approve, little changed from September.
Of those who have an opinion, 10% say they are open to changing their minds and 11% are unsure.
“Overnight, the number of registered voters in Georgia shrank by more than 300,000 in a contested but court-sanctioned action that could redefine the 2020 election,” the Washington Post reports.
“State officials have downplayed the mass cancellation, arguing it is routine ‘list maintenance.’ Others say the practice amounts to a large-scale and undemocratic voter purge, which comes just over three months before Georgia’s presidential primaries.”
President Trump has nothing on his public schedule today until he leaves for a campaign rally in Michigan later this afternoon. But he’s already lashing out at Democrats ahead of today’s impeachment vote.
Said Trump: “Can you believe that I will be impeached today by the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, AND I DID NOTHING WRONG! A terrible Thing. Read the Transcripts. This should never happen to another President again. Say a PRAYER!”
The Daily Show had an amusing take on Trump’s call to “read the transcript.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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