Trump's Impeachment One Step Closer to Reality After House Judiciary Committee Sets Guidelines

By Jay Connor, The Root

12 September 19

f only Operation Trump Gotta Go was as easy as signing a Change.org petition and changing all the locks in the White House. Sadly, impeachment proceedings are a bit more arduous than that—though it would appear that the Lord heard our cry and he pulled a few strings to expedite the process.

From CNN:

The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved a resolution defining the rules of the panel’s impeachment investigation, the first vote the committee has taken related to the potential impeachment of President Donald Trump.

The party-line vote came as House Democrats have struggled to define the committee’s probe, with Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler saying the committee is conducting an impeachment inquiry, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders are refraining from calling it that.

“This Committee is engaged in an investigation that will allow us to determine whether to recommend articles of impeachment with respect to President Trump,” Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said. “Some call this process an impeachment inquiry. Some call it an impeachment investigation. There is no legal difference between these terms, and I no longer care to argue about the nomenclature. But let me clear up any remaining doubt: The conduct under investigation poses a threat to our democracy. We have an obligation to respond to this threat. And we are doing so.”

Well alrighty.

Thursday’s vote does not require the approval of the full House and clarifies the rights and responsibilities of many of the key players involved:

• Nadler now has the ability to regard committee hearings as impeachment hearings.


• Staff can question witnesses at these hearings for up to an hour after members conclude.


• Trump’s lawyers can respond in writing to public testimonies.


• The committee can collect and examine information in a contained setting.

With the 2020 election season looming, the House Judiciary Committee is on borrowed time if they want to kick Trump to the curb by Christmas morning. So instead of focusing solely on former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, they’ll be broadening their investigation to include hush-money payments over his alleged extramarital affairs, whether he’s in violation of the Constitution’s emoluments clause by padding his pockets while in office, and reports he offered pardons to those willing to carry out his immigration agenda.

“The Judiciary Committee’s investigation will be broadening out. It is not all about Russian interference in the 2016 election and the President’s efforts to cover up his role in it,” Rep. Jamie Raskin told CNN. “The central sin, the original sin of the Trump administration, is the decision to convert the presidency into a money-making operation for the President and his business and his family.”

As to be expected, Trump ain’t feeling none of this shit and took to Twitter to deliver a tangerine temper tantrum:

No word yet on if 45 will finally be served his eviction notice, but let us hope and pray that the House Judiciary Committee gives us something to really celebrate on New Year’s Eve.