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Hoover:
This process is DOUBLE-SECRET RESOLUTION/PROBATION IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS, whatever the hell that is."
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.
I think most on this forum have missed the significance. It sounds like Pelosi is planning on deeming the impeachment inquiry as already in progress. The Thursday vote is simply to "address the process". Thus, the Democrats in problem districts can claim that their vote of assent was to put a proper process in place in order to protect the President. This "spin" will convince the squeamish Democrats in problem districts to go along with the charade and assure Pelosi that she has the votes.
I think Representative Jerry 'OoompaLoompa' Nadless, the feckless and clueless Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, is the newest version of "FREDO".....weak and stupid.
+1
I think you're right.
As announced in Wilkinson v. United States,[7] a Congressional committee must meet three requirements for its subpoenas to be "legally sufficient." First, the committee's investigation of the broad subject area must be authorized by its chamber; second, the investigation must pursue "a valid legislative purpose" but does not need to involve legislation and does not need to specify the ultimate intent of Congress; and third, the specific inquiries must be pertinent to the subject matter area that has been authorized for investigation.
as in the constitution it requires the House not a committee to authorize the investigation. Chamber = whole house or whole senate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contempt_of_Congress
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lol
That may be giving them a little too much credit.
I saw a similar post (perhaps also yours) yesterday. It was a little vague on first reading, but on second reading, I take that to say that the investigation being authorized by the chamber must have a declared ‘area’, ie a charge, and not be an open ended fishing expedition. Is that a correct reading?
They didn’t walk back anything.
Nasty Nancy’s new political party name: Congressional Coup Caucus Party. CCCP for short
R’s need to keep pushing them to vote
I’ve seen those letters before in some place very red hmmm.
She doesn’t have the votes and she knows it.
actually they must authorize an area of inquiry and how wide they make it may be up to them this wilkinson case had to do with the house un-american activities committee asking if people were members of the communist party. first amendment issues also as well as “pertinecy” of the questions. found not guilty of contempt of congress.
some more info
https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/354/178
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Hoover:
This process is DOUBLE-SECRET RESOLUTION/PROBATION IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS, whatever the hell that is."
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Very good ..........
Translation: Pelosi doesn’t want the vote to happen and get turned down, which would end the story. The “impeachment” is better if it’s a never-ending media narrative.
Translation: No reason for the House Dems to hold the impeachment vote just yet because the do-nothing GOP Senate continues to green light their gaslighting beltway theater in the House.
I expect around New Years the Dems will vote on impeachment authorization and actual impeachment on the same day. Ram the coupist impeachment garbage straight through the House and send it on to the Senate.
“This is the Impeachment version of “Deem it passed”.”
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You know this. I know this. All FRiends know this. However, the rat party is trying hard to hide that fact. ....Midnight, Christmas Eve. ..I will never forget that vote.
Ms. Cheney was great that day.
There is no reason for the Dems to hold an impeachment vote right now. They want to drag this out for a few more months before they impeach President Trump and set up a trial circus in the Senate.
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