Republicans fight back by attacking process
WASHINGTON » Republicans in Congress struggled for a second consecutive day Thursday to defend President Donald Trump against Democrats’ impeachment inquiry amid a steady stream of damaging revelations about his conduct.
One day after House lawmakers tried to block an impeachment witness with a protest in the Capitol’s secure meeting rooms, Senate Republicans joined the fray by offering a resolution condemning the House investigation and demanding Democrats hold a formal vote authorizing the inquiry.
But the move left the president’s allies in the same awkward place: unable or unwilling to mount a vigorous defense on the substance of the allegations and focused instead on trying to shake the public’s faith in the House’s impeachment process.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a lead sponsor of the Senate resolution, dodged questions Thursday about the president’s dealings with Ukraine.
Sensing their advantage, Democrats have moved with remarkable speed to investigate in closed- door sessions the president’s actions. Now, the party’s leaders in the House are preparing for the next stage: high-profile public hearings.
Democrats may call a string of diplomats and administration officials, including William Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, who testified in detail about a quid pro quo in which Trump and his allies held up security aid and a White House meeting in exchange for an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.
People close to Trump said the coming weeks will by marked by an increased assault on the integrity of the inquiry.
White House aides are planning to add communications aides dedicated to impeachment.
The Senate resolution accuses Democrats in the House of conducting an unfair, secret inquiry that “ignores the procedural rights given to the investigating committee’s minority in previous presidential impeachments.”
Senior Republican aides said the resolution could come to the Senate floor as early as next week. It is an attempt by Republicans supportive of Trump to make a show of support for him even as polls show that a majority of the public now supports the impeachment inquiry — if not the president’s removal.
In the meantime, Democrats are shrugging off the Republican complaints about the process as they march forward with at least another week of closed- door depositions.