Democrats prepare for their next phase
House Democrats are preparing a flurry of subpoenas in the face of the Trump administration’s stonewalling of their impeachment investigation, amid a new debate within their caucus over holding a vote to formally authorize the inquiry in order to call the White House’s bluff, according to Democratic sources.
In the face of the blistering White House letter refusing to cooperate with their probe, Democrats expect they are likely done with any voluntary interviews for most witnesses, according to multiple Democratic sources. And Democrats are now threatening subpoenas to associates of Rudy Giuliani and considering them for current State Department officials, including former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. She is scheduled for an interview Friday, but there are new concerns she won’t appear given that she is still a State Department employee and could face backlash internally if she were to appear voluntarily.
Discussions about Yovanovitch’s testimony continued into Wednesday, and it remained unclear how it would it shake out by Friday. An official working on the impeachment inquiry said the committees, at the moment, expect Yovanovitch to appear Friday.
Negotiations are also intensifying over bringing in for an interview the whistleblower whose complaint has upended Trump’s presidency, with new discussions about holding the interview in secret or off site and not disclosing that it happened until after the fact, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.
At the same time, a small but influential group of Democrats privately and publicly tell CNN that it makes sense to hold an impeachment inquiry vote — something House Republicans have demanded — arguing it would derail the White House’s declaration that the impeachment inquiry is “invalid” because there’s been no House vote formally authorizing the probe.
A respected voice within the caucus told CNN Wednesday that it makes sense to hold a vote imminently.
“I think it’s time for us to put a vote on the floor, a resolution for the inquiry structured in such a way that it can move forward with full power of the Congress behind it,” said Rep. John Garamendi, a California Democrat. “They want to fight, OK, let’s arm ourselves completely and totally with the full power of Congress. The votes, I am sure, are there for an impeachment inquiry, structured in such a way we have the full opportunity to get all the information, call in the witnesses, get the details, get the emails and all the rest.”
But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is still resisting calls for a vote — with her allies arguing it is not required under House rules or the Constitution, while contending a vote in the full chamber would do little to change the Trump administration’s posture toward the investigation.
The uptick in conversations underscores the crucial moment Democrats find themselves in during their impeachment push. There is growing pressure to vote on impeaching Trump as soon as Thanksgiving, but at the same time House Democratic leaders want to appear to be methodically collecting evidence over what they view as an abuse of power by the President in urging the Ukrainian government to investigate his potential political rival, Joe Biden, at the same time as U.S. aid to the country had been stalled.
The White House’s stonewalling presents a new challenge to their efforts to gather evidence but Democrats say defying subpoenas could also bolster their case that Trump is obstructing Congress, an impeachable offense. A number of Democrats believe that if they hold a vote to formally authorize an impeachment inquiry and the White House continues to defy their demands, it will make it even easier to convince the public that Trump should be impeached.
The prospect of voting on an impeachment inquiry will be a key topic of conversation next week when House Democrats return from Congress’ two-week recess.
The caucus is expected to have a number of meetings throughout the week to get on the same page in confronting the White House’s offensive against their investigation. House Democratic leaders will hold a conference call this Friday, where the impeachment debate is likely to come up.
Moreover, Democrats plan to soon take up legislation, offered by Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Calif.-D, that would in part require disclosure of offers of campaign assistance from foreign governments.
Yet the debate over next steps will continue. In particular, Garamendi’s comments resonated with some Democratic members and aides, who said it’s time to put the White House back on the defensive.
A senior Democratic aide involved in strategy discussions, who asked not to be identified, said there’s been no official change in the House Democratic leadership’s posture against holding a vote at this time, but added: “There is no reason we shouldn’t call their bluff. The votes are there. Some moderates may not want to take a vote, but they are there.”
Another Democratic member on a committee leading the impeachment charge said: “I think John is probably correct. POTUS is pushing us to the point, and we will see next week when folks get back on our measured approach.”
A Democratic aide familiar with ongoing conversations told CNN that rank-and-file members pushing for it could be enough to convince leaders to hold a floor vote authorizing the probe.
“I think it’s time for us to put a vote on the floor, a resolution for the inquiry structured in such a way that it can move forward with full power of the Congress behind it. They want to fight, OK, let’s arm ourselves completely and totally with the full power of Congress.”
— Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif.