The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
D.C. braces for impeachment as partisan battle lines harden
WASHINGTON — As Washington braces for this week’s expected vote to impeach President Donald Trump, partisan battle lines hardened on Sunday, with Democrats defending impeachment even if Trump isn’t removed from office and Republicans denouncing the integrity of the constitutional process.
The Democraticcontrolled House planned to vote Wednesday on two articles of impeachment against the Republican president, and the decision whether to make Trump the third U.S. president in history to be impeached was expected to play out along party lines. There is some debate between the White House and GOPrun Senate about the contours of the Senate trial anticipated in January, but there seems little doubt the Senate would acquit Trump.
But a seemingly predetermined result has not convinced Democrats that their impeachment effort, which was prompted by Trump’s push to have Ukraine investigate a Trump political foe, was in vain. Framing the matter as a national security issue, the chairman of the House committee that led the investigation insisted it was “not a failure in the sense of our constitutional duty in the House.“
“This misconduct goes on, the threat to our election integrity coming up goes on,” said Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California, who heads the House Intelligence Committee. “It’s a clear and present danger, I think, to our democracy, and not something that we can turn away from simply because the Republicans in the House refuse to do their duty, and continuing to put the person of the president above their personal obligation.“
Democrats expect support for impeachment from all but a few of their members; no Republicans are expected to join them. From the beginning of the inquiry, Trump has tried to cast it as a purely political effort by Democrats to undo the result of the 2016 election.
Trump is accused of abusing his presidential power by asking Ukraine to investigate his 2020 rival Joe Biden while holding American military aid as leverage, and obstructing Congress by blocking the House’s efforts to investigate his actions.
Trump has lashed out repeatedly against impeachment and has told confidants that even if he is acquitted in the Senate as expected, it will be a stain on his legacy.
“The Impeachment Hoax is just a continuation of the Witch Hunt which has been going on for 3 years. We will win!“Trump tweeted Sunday.
But he also has said he believes impeachment could be a political winner, citing reelection campaign data that shows his fundraising, rally attendance and poll numbers in battleground states have all increased since the inquiry began.
The White House has showcased a series of recent victories, including the new trade deal with Mexico and Canada, as evidence that the president is focused on governing while drawing a contrast with Democrats they claim are focused on impeachment. Cabinet officials have been advised to be prepared to roll out events early next year to highlighting accomplishments while the Senate trial is expected to be going on.
Falling back on his reality TV roots, Trump has mused about pushing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, RKy., to hold a lengthy, showy trial, complete with witnesses, that could sway voters and fully exonerate him. Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general hired by the White House to help with impeachment strategy, said Sunday that the matter “goes to the
Senate, and these senators — the president deserves to be heard. We should be working hand in hand with them. The rules of evidence will apply.“
McConnell said last week that the Senate was coordinating trial strategy with the White House, a statement that drew sharp criticism from Democrats, but he has expressed a preference for a short trial.
Sen. Ted Cruz, RTexas, said Sunday that Trump should be able to call witnesses, including Biden’s son Hunter and the whistleblower who reported Trump’s July telephone conversation with Ukraine’s president that is at the heart of the impeachment investigation.
Hunter Biden was on the board of a Ukrainian energy company while his father was vice president, and Trump has alleged without evidence that Joe Biden got a Ukrainian prosecutor fired because the prosecutor was looking into the energy company.