House Judiciary Committee sets Dec. 4 impeachment hearing

WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee is set to take over the impeachment probe of President Donald Trump next week, scheduling a Dec. 4 hearing on the question of “high crimes and misdemeanors” set out in the Constitution.

The opening hearing will feature legal experts who will examine the constitutional grounds as the Judiciary panel decides whether to write articles of impeachment against Trump — and if so what those articles will be.

Democrats are aiming for a final House vote by Christmas, which would set the stage for a likely Senate trial in January.

Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, DN.Y., said Tuesday that his panel’s hearing will “explore the framework put in place to respond to serious allegations of impeachable misconduct.”

Meanwhile, the House Intelligence Committee will be submitting the report on its probe into Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.

Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff has said his committee will finish that report “soon after Congress returns from the Thanksgiving recess.” The panel held two weeks of impeachment hearings this month examining Trump’s requests for Ukraine to investigate Democrats as the U.S. withheld military aid to the country.

Trump and his lawyers are invited to attend the Judiciary hearing and make a request to question witnesses, according to Democratic rules approved by the House last month. The committee released a letter from Nadler to the president, saying that he hopes Trump will participate, “consistent with the rules of decorum and with the solemn nature of the work before us.”

It’s unlikely that the president himself will attend, as Trump is scheduled to be overseas on Dec. 4 to participate in a summit with NATO allies outside London — a split screen showing leadership that Trump’s allies may find favorable. The Judiciary panel gave the White House until the evening of Dec. 1 to decide whether Trump or his lawyers would attend.