December 16, 2019: The Full 658 page House Judiciary Committee Impeachment Report Released ...
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usatoday.com
The House Judiciary Committee released the full report early Monday from the inquiry that led it to approve two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump in a party-line vote last week.
The 658-page report was made public days before articles of impeachment accusing Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress are to come before the House floor for a vote. The Democrat-led House is likely to approve the articles.
The report outlines the process that led the committee to approve the articles of impeachment, the constitutional grounds for the impeachment and the evidence for the two charges against the president.
"The first article charges that the President used the powers of his office to solicit and pressure a foreign government, Ukraine, to investigate his domestic political rival and interfere in the upcoming United States Presidential elections," the report's introduction says. "The second article charges that the President categorically obstructed the Congressional impeachment inquiry into his conduct."
The report says Trump is "engaged in a pattern of misconduct that will continue if left unchecked"; therefore, the committee had to act before the 2020 election.
"We cannot rely on the next election as a remedy for presidential misconduct when the President is seeking to threaten the very integrity of that election. We must act immediately," it says. "His actions warrant his impeachment and trial, his removal from office, and his disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States."
The Judiciary Committee Democrats said the obstruction charge was warranted because by refusing to cooperate with congressional investigators, Trump "sought to write the Impeachment Clause out of the Constitution."
"In the history of our Republic, no President has obstructed Congress like President Trump. If President Nixon’s obstruction of Congress raised a slippery slope concern, we now find ourselves at the bottom of the slope, surveying the damage to our Constitution," they concluded. "That damage is extraordinary."
The Judiciary Committee Democrats said the obstruction charge was warranted because by refusing to cooperate with congressional investigators, Trump "sought to write the Impeachment Clause out of the Constitution."
"In the history of our Republic, no President has obstructed Congress like President Trump. If President Nixon’s obstruction of Congress raised a slippery slope concern, we now find ourselves at the bottom of the slope, surveying the damage to our Constitution," they concluded. "That damage is extraordinary." <<
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- Eric L. - |
