Democrats on Monday sought to bolster the case for impeaching President Donald Trump, describing his pressuring of Ukraine to investigate a political rival as a “clear and present danger” to free and fair elections and national security, Reuters informs.
In a hearing, the top Democrat on the panel said there was extensive proof of Trump’s wrongdoing.
“The evidence shows that Donald J. Trump, the president of the United States, has put himself before his country. He has violated his most basic responsibilities to the people. He has broken his oath,” Representative Jerrold Nadler, the panel’s Democratic chairman, said in his opening statement.
Republicans fired back, branding the impeachment inquiry as a fanciful but not factual effort by Democrats to unseat a president who had done nothing to merit being removed from office, Reuters added.
“Presumption has now become the standard instead of truth,” said Representative Doug Collins, the ranking Republican on the panel. “They’re desperate to have an impeachment vote on this president.”
The hearing on Monday is a key step before determining charges, known as articles of impeachment, that the full Democratic-controlled House is likely to vote on before Christmas. The Republican-controlled Senate will then conduct a trial on whether to remove Trump from office.
The heart of the issue is whether Trump abused his power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to face Trump in the 2020 election, and then obstructed Congress’ investigation.
Trump denies having done anything wrong and has called the impeachment probe a hoax. The House Judiciary panel is expected to vote by the end of the week on whether to send formal charges to the full House, Reuters noted.
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