More Dems join push to impeach
Defying subpoena, McGahn skips hearing
Post-Gazette wire services
WASHINGTON — A bloc of liberal Democrats began pressing on Tuesday for an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, underscoring party divisions and the growing difficulties that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi faces as she tries to chart a more methodical course.
Mr. Trump’s latest defiance of congressional oversight demands precipitated the break among rank-and-file Democrats. The former White House counsel Don McGahn, who had been called to testify on Tuesday before the House Judiciary Committee about the president’s attempts to obstruct the Russia investigation, skipped the scheduled hearing after Mr. Trump ordered him to ignore lawmakers’ subpoena.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, the committee chairman, promised to hold Mr. McGahn in contempt of Congress and warned other potential witnesses to expect new hardball tactics — like changing House rules to allow fines for people held in contempt — but he stopped short of publicly endorsing impeachment. He later issued subpoenas for testimony to Mr. McGahn’s former chief of staff,
Annie Donaldson, and Hope Hicks, the former White House communications director, both key figures in the special counsel investigation.
House Democrats also continued to negotiate this week with the staff of the special counsel, Robert Mueller, over his own potential testimony, according to two people familiar with the conversations.
“We will not allow the president to stop this investigation, and nothing in these unjustified and unjustifiable legal attacks will stop us from pressing forward with our work on behalf of the American people,” Mr. Nadler said during a brief hearing of an emotionally raw Judiciary Committee. “We will hold this president accountable, one way or the other.”
The Democrats’ divisions over how to get the administration to cede to their oversight demands grew out of their fears that Mr. Trump is succeeding not only in evading accountability himself but also in permanently rewriting the rules of engagement between the legislative and executive branches. He could set a precedent that frees future presidents from one of the Constitution’s most potent checks on their power.
“We can focus on McGahn. We can focus on Barr. We can focus on Michael Cohen. We can call the roll,” Rep. Val Demings, a Florida Democrat on the Judiciary Committee who supports impeachment, said in an interview. “But the problem here is the president of the United States.”
Their concerns that Mr. Trump might be permanently weakening Congress’ powers prompted prominent liberal Democrats to declare privately and publicly in the past day and a half that they saw no choice but to initiate an impeachment inquiry.
The supporters of impeachment now number roughly two dozen. The new advocates included Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas, the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus; Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, a chairman of the influential Congressional Progressive Caucus; Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania, the vice chairwoman of the Judiciary Committee; and Rep. Donald S. Beyer Jr. of Virginia.
They argued that an impeachment inquiry would streamline disparate House inquiries and empower the chamber’s committees as they conduct oversight of the executive branch. And they expressed hope that it would show the public that the fight over documents and witnesses is not just another partisan Washington squabble, but a showdown with historic implications.
“Congress has patiently tried to work within traditional means to get to the bottom of this extraordinary situation,” Ms. Scanlon said. “The time has come to start an impeachment inquiry because the American people deserve to know the truth and to have the opportunity to judge the gravity of the evidence and charges leveled against the president.”
Democrats are not getting help from House Republicans, who remain opposed to any additional investigation — despite the abdication of Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, who came out in favor of impeachment over the weekend.
“Here we go again — the theater is open,” Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said at the outset of Tuesday’s hearing. He accused Mr. Nadler of abusing his subpoena power to make unreasonable demands of the White House and witnesses to “get a headline.” Mr. Trump has made similar arguments, posting Tuesday on Twitter that Democrats are merely trying for a “do-over” after Mr. Mueller did not accuse him of committing a crime.
For their parts, Ms. Hicks and Ms. Donaldson were sent document requests from Mr. Nadler on March 4, but the requested materials were never furnished.
It is unclear whether Ms. Hicks and Ms. Donaldson fall into the category of former Trump administration officials who have requested “friendly subpoenas” from Mr. Nadler in order to comply with the committee’s document demands.