U.S. House tees up first Trump impeachment vote
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[October 31, 2019]
By Lawrence Hurley
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers are
scheduled on Thursday to cast their first vote in the impeachment
investigation of President Donald Trump as the Democratic-controlled
House of Representatives takes up a measure that sets up the next steps
in the fast-moving effort.
The vote will be the first formal test of support for the inquiry.
Democrats, who control 224 seats in the 435-seat chamber, need a simple
majority to approve the resolution.
The measure calls for public hearings and the release of transcripts
from closed-door proceedings. It also outlines what rights Republican
lawmakers and Trump himself would have to participate as the process
moves ahead.
Republicans have accused Democrats of trampling on Trump's rights and
keeping the process too secret.
The U.S. Constitution gives the House broad authority to set the ground
rules for an impeachment inquiry and Democrats say they are following
House rules on investigations. They have promised to hold public
hearings on the case against Trump.
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Lawmakers leading the investigation also plan to hear closed-door
testimony from Tim Morrison, the top Russia specialist on Trump's
National Security Council. Morrison resigned from his position on
Wednesday, a senior administration official said.
Members of the three committees conducting the investigation expect
Morrison to fill in more of the details about Trump's dealings with
Ukraine. As someone directly involved in the negotiations, Morrison's
testimony could combat charges by Trump's fellow Republicans that the
inquiry to date has largely relied on second-hand accounts.
Committee members have asked a far more prominent player, former
national security adviser John Bolton, to appear next week. Others have
testified that Bolton was alarmed by a White House effort to pressure
the president of Ukraine to investigate Trump's political rivals.
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People walk past the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, U.S.
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If the House pursued impeachment, it would require a simple majority
in the 435-member House to trigger a trial in the
Republican-controlled Senate. Conviction requires the support of a
two-thirds majority in the 100-member body.
The impeachment inquiry focuses on a July 25 telephone call in which
Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy to investigate
Democratic political rival Joe Biden, a former U.S. vice president,
and his son Hunter, who had served as a director for Ukrainian
energy company Burisma. Trump has denied wrongdoing and called the
inquiry a sham.
The investigation is probing whether Trump misused the power of his
office for personal political gain and, if so, whether that rises to
the level of "high crimes and misdemeanors" that merit impeachment
and removal from office under the Constitution.
Trump made his request to Zelenskiy for an investigation into the
Bidens after withholding $391 million in security aid approved by
Congress to help Ukraine fight Russian-backed separatists in eastern
Ukraine. Zelenskiy agreed to Trump's requests. The aid was later
provided.
Also on Thursday, a federal judge in Washington will hear arguments
as Democrats seek to force former White House counsel Don McGahn to
testify about Trump's efforts to undermine Special Counsel Robert
Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016
presidential election.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Additional reporting by Patricia
Zengerle and Jan Wolfe; Editing by Andy Sullivan and Peter Cooney)
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