Posted on 10/29/2019 10:39:19 AM PDT by Liz
House Democratic leaders are walking back a planned vote Thursday that would officially endorse impeachment proceedings and say that the resolution would merely address the process of holding public hearings on the matter.
“This is not an impeachment resolution,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters Tuesday morning. “I don’t know what an impeachment resolution is.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Monday that the planned vote was “not an impeachment resolution.”
Earlier in the day, Pelosi announced the House would vote on a resolution that “affirms the ongoing, existing investigation,” and “establishes the procedure for hearings that are open to the American people, authorizes the disclosure of deposition transcripts, outlines procedures to transfer evidence to the Judiciary Committee as it considers potential articles of impeachment, and sets forth due process rights for the president and his Counsel.”
Pelosi characterized the vote as one that would put to rest accusations by President Trump and the GOP that the impeachment proceedings are not legitimate because they were not sanctioned by an official House vote.
“We are taking this step to eliminate any doubt as to whether the Trump Administration may withhold documents, prevent witness testimony, disregard duly authorized subpoenas, or continue obstructing the House of Representative,” Pelosi said Monday.
But Democrats are suddenly wary of calling it an official vote to open an impeachment hearing and aren’t even promising a vote on Thursday.
Hoyer said the resolution “addresses moving from the investigatory phase to the hearing phase,” of the impeachment proceedings, entering the public phase. Hoyer, who controls the floor schedule, would not fully commit to holding the vote on Thursday. “We are going to have to consider whether or not it is ready to go on Thursday,” Hoyer said. The resolution will be drafted and advanced Wednesday by the House Rules Committee, whose Democrats operate as an essential arm of the speaker.
Hoyer described the resolution as one that would establish a process for ending the closed-door investigatory phase of the impeachment proceeding, which has so far involved depositions taken in a secure room in the basement of the U.S. Capitol.
The House Intelligence Committee has been running the proceedings since late September, and lawmakers from Foreign Affairs and Oversight and Government Reform have been invited to attend and ask questions. The resolution expected Thursday would “address the process,” of ending the closed-door depositions “into a phase when we have public hearings.”
Hoyer added, “That is what this is: No more, no less.” The resolution is expected to provide the Intelligence panel with sole authority to conduct the public hearings, which departs from precedent.
Past presidential impeachment hearings involving both judges and presidents have always been conducted by the House Judiciary Committee.
The resolution is expected to provide minority Republicans with an opportunity to call witnesses and for Trump to defend himself against Democrats who accuse him of abusing power and obstructing Congress.
Hoyer said he didn’t know when public hearings would begin.“We still want to do this expeditiously, but we are not bound by any time deadline, Hoyer said.
The bigger issue is that vulnerable democrats don't want to be on the record.
This is what is going to happen..in a few months Schiff will come out, say that President Trump is guilty as sin, but since its an election year he will let the voters decide..that way this whole impeachment BS hurts Trump and the Dems can say “See he lost fair and square”
This is the Impeachment version of “Deem it passed”.
They’re done, then. Because they know nothing new or damaging will come out in public testimony.
They may also have put their pathetic little brains together and realized that the vote may promptly be taken to the Supreme Court which would say the resolution means nothing legally binding/compelling.
Everyone should really think twice about clicking on the Washington Examiner after their “off the record” bait and switch with Kellyanne Conway. They were a sister company of The Weakly Standard and are packed to the gills with Never Trump stooges besides Byron York.
Nanners does not want any discovery.
“Maybe they realized that all of the witnesses that they have already interviewed, including the deep state operatives they call “whistle-blowers”, will be called back in to testify again but in public. Cannot have that.”
OMG....she must be comatose right now.
Alternate narrative:
Hoyer, one of the last Dems with his finger on the pulse of what remains of the moderate wing of that party, has gotten an absolute arse-ripping from his people in purple districts warning him that such a vote will end all of their careers.
HA HA
Just wait until the idiot dems see next Tuesday’s election results.
What they are doing is trying to “impeach” the President in the court of public opinion.
It isn’t working.
That’s a pretty good ‘take’!
They will carry it for a whole a year 2020 with the help of the mediapukes!! Meanwhile our representatives are sucking their thumb in a corner somewhere in their offices ... if they don’t fight now and get their asses in gear you are going to see the Republicans lose big 2020!
do we have standing?
What this really means is they’re getting a lot of push back from the voters.
I’ll bet you their secret polling is not looking good; especially the charge of conducting the whole thing behind doors where no one can see it.
I also think the GOP attempt to go in the “Star Chamber” room was effective, also.
Why have they stopped?
The GOP needs to do this EVERY morning and afternoon session.
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