The House impeachment inquiry is set to enter its third phase this week as the investigation shifts over to the House Judiciary Committee and lawmakers prepare to review and vote on a report being produced by the House Intelligence Committee.
The week represents one of the most crucial of the House Democrats’ impeachment efforts and one that could help move the process along toward a trial in the Senate more than two months after kicking off the inquiry into President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. The report will become the basis for any and all articles of impeachment that are drafted by the Judiciary panel and brought before the full House for a vote. A vote to impeach the president is still expected to take place before Christmas (The Hill).
Here’s a look at this week’s packed schedule:
> Today: The House Intelligence Committee will review an impeachment investigation report.
> Tuesday evening: The Intelligence panel will hold a committee vote after lawmakers return to Washington from recess.
> Wednesday: House Judiciary Committee hearings officially kick off, with the first titled “The Impeachment Inquiry into President Donald J. Trump: Constitutional Grounds for Presidential Impeachment.”
Adding another layer to the impeachment battle, White House counsel Pat Cipollone informed House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) that it will not participate in Wednesday’s hearing.
"We cannot fairly be expected to participate in a hearing while the witnesses are yet to be named and while it remains unclear whether the Judiciary Committee will afford the President a fair process through additional hearings," Cipollone wrote. “More importantly, an invitation to an academic discussion with law professors does not begin to provide the President with any semblance of a fair process.”
Cipollone, however, said he did not rule out potential participation in future hearings.
Sunday Talk Shows: Focus shifts to Judiciary impeachment hearing.
Axios: What to expect from the next phase of impeachment.
The Washington Post: Republicans to mount aggressive campaign against impeachment as spotlight turns to Judiciary panel.
The Associated Press: July 25 forecast: Sunny, with cloud of impeachment for Trump.
While hearings at Judiciary kick off on Wednesday, it still remains an open question whether the Intelligence panel will continue to interview witnesses as part of the impeachment probe. The administration continues to stonewall the investigation, and others who could potentially testify are being held back due to lawsuits or the appeals process in federal court.
Cristina Marcos took a look this weekend at some of those who could provide key information and help fill in the gaps for investigators. Among those listed: the president’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, and former national security adviser John Bolton, who remains the most likely of the seven officials on the list to talk with investigators.
Along with those who may testify, there also remains a horde of unanswered questions, some of which Niall Stanage examines in a recent memo. One key unknown is how polls may shift, even as public opinion has remained split and relatively static since the inquiry launched in September. Stanage writes that partisans can argue that some change in public opinion is just around the next corner, but there is sparse evidence to back up that argument.
Another key question: What happens once the dust settles on impeachment and the process ends in a Senate trial that does not convict the president? If anything, some expect that the proceedings will rally the GOP around Trump even further.
“I don’t see a lot of evidence that public opinion has moved in one direction or the other,” said GOP strategist Matt Mackowiak. “I’m not sure it is doing very much except rallying the base of both parties. I think, if anything, it is rallying Republicans around Trump.”
The Hill: Rep. Adam Schiff's (D-Calif.) star rises with impeachment hearings.
The New York Times: Sidelined for months, Judiciary panel will reclaim impeachment drive it once led.
https://thehill.com/homenews/morning-rep...ing-report