Judiciary takes over impeachment probe
House intelligence committee releases last transcripts
WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee is set to take over the impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump, Democrats said Tuesday, scheduling a hearing for next week as they push closer to a possible vote on actual charges of “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
The Judiciary panel scheduled the hearing as the separate Intelligence Committee released two last transcripts from its depositions, including from a White House budget official who detailed concerns among colleagues as Trump ordered them, through intermediaries, to put a hold on military aid to Ukraine.
Trump ordered the hold as he was pressuring Ukraine’s president to investigate Democrats — the issue at the heart of the impeachment probe. Multiple government witnesses testified in impeachment hearings held by the Intelligence panel this month that Trump directed his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to take the lead on Ukraine policy and that Giuliani pushed an “irregular” diplomatic channel.
The Intelligence Committee
is wrapping up the investigative phase of the probe and preparing its report for the next. Committee Chairman Adam Schiff has said the report could be released soon after the House returns from its Thanksgiving break.
The initial Judiciary hearing on Dec. 4, the day after lawmakers return, will feature legal experts who will examine questions of constitutional grounds as the panel decides whether to write articles of impeachment against Trump — and if so what those articles will be.
Trump, meanwhile, tried to put distance between himself and Giuliani in a radio interview Tuesday. Asked by host Bill O’Reilly what Giuliani was doing on his behalf in Ukraine, Trump said, “I don’t even know,” adding that Giuliani had canceled one trip and had other clients as well.
Asked directly if he had directed Giuliani to go to Ukraine on his behalf, Trump said, “No.”
In a phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on July 25, Trump had said several times he would have Giuliani contact Zelenskiy. “Rudy very much knows what’s happening and he is a very capable guy,” Trump said to Zelenskiy, according to a rough transcript released by the White House.