The Trump Impeachment Hearings – House Judiciary Committee – Day 2

Hearing details. The House Judiciary Committee meets today at 9 a.m. ET/6 a.m. PT. to hear arguments for and against impeachment. It will be a daylong event.

• First: Two 30-minute presentations by House Judiciary staff, one by Democrats and one by Republicans.  Each side will lay out how it defines “impeachable” offenses and how they see historical precedent.
• Second: Two 45-minute presentations by House Intelligence staff, again one each by Democrats and Republicans.  These will focus on the heart of the matter - the evidence for and against impeaching Trump.
• Third: Staff members from House Judiciary may question the House Intelligence staff. 45 minutes for each party.
• Fourth: Members of the committee each get five minutes of questions for the House intelligence staff. 
• Total time: At least 8 hours, possibly ten hours, depending on the amount and length of breaks or procedural questions. 

Nadler says articles of impeachment will “presumably” be this week

• Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler told NBC Sunday that his committee will bring up articles of impeachment “presumably” later this week. 
• His statement came three days after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced she was directing committee chairmen to move to articles of impeachment.

President Trump implies he will not participate in House process

• White House counsel Pat Cipollone wrote House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler Friday, charging that Democrats’ impeachment inquiry has violated the president’s due process rights.
• Cipollone stressed that the president wants the House to move quickly to impeach so he can have  a “fair trial in the Senate.”. 
• The letter arrived at the deadline for the president to tell Democrats whether he would accept their invitation to participate in the House impeachment process. 
• While the letter does not directly answer that question, many believe it is meant to signal he will not participate.

Democrats conclude the president does not have due process rights yet

• Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee released a 55-page report Saturday outlining how they see the legal and historic parameters for impeachment. 
• The report contends that presidents do not have guaranteed “due process” rights during the House impeachment process, because it is akin to a grand jury investigation which seeks to determine if charges should be filed.  
• Committee Democrats wrote that they have offered for the president to participate out of a sense of tradition, but that if any “due process” rights exist, they would be part of a Senate trial. 

Republicans request their own witnesses

• The top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, sent a letter to Democrats on Friday requesting subpoenas for additional impeachment witnesses.
• The GOP’s requested witnesses include: Hunter Biden, son of former vice president Joe Biden; the unnamed whistleblower who first raised concerns about Ukraine; and one former staff member for the Democratic National Committee.

Giuliani may be putting together his own report

• President Trump told reporters on Saturday that his personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, gathered some material in a recent trip to Ukraine and wants to put together a report for Congress and Attorney General William Barr.