Posted on 12/10/2019 2:05:54 PM PST by jazusamo
Top Republicans in the House are vowing to use every procedural tool available to them to strong-arm Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee and get them to hold a minority hearing on impeachment.
In a letter led by House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), sent to Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday, the conservative members noted Republicans had previously requested a minority hearing be held before articles of impeachment were introduced. The group argued that while Democrats did not comply with their requested timeline, under current rules they are entitled to a hearing.
“During the open hearing on December 4, 2019, Congressman Sensenbrenner, on behalf of all of the Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee, presented you with a request for a minority hearing in compliance with Clause 2(1)(1) of Rule XI. To date, you have ignored the request and failed to respond to repeated questioning on the matter,” they wrote.
The lawmakers went on to allege the Democrats’ probe has been conducted at an “unprecedented speed,” adding that while they do not control the panel’s schedule, they feel the minority hearing should be held before the articles are voted on in the committee in coming days.
“The House rules do not afford you the ability to deny this request. Though scheduling is left to your discretion, when considering the unprecedented speed at which the majority is moving towards impeaching a duly elected president, a delay under these circumstances is tantamount to a denial of our right to a minority hearing,” they continued.
“Until our procedural rights as Members of the United States House of Representatives are respected, we will avail ourselves of every parliamentary tool available to us in committees and the House floor in order to highlight your inaction,” it reads.
In addition to Biggs, 71 GOP lawmakers including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), GOP Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo,) signed onto the letter.
Republicans have been highly critical of the impeachment process since it kicked off early this fall calling it a "sham" and a process that has been shrouded in secrecy. Democrats have adamantly defended it, arguing they have pursued a thorough and fair probe into potential corruption.
“The Democrats haven't thrown out the rule book, they lit it on fire, and you know danced around it. There is no mechanism for us to be able to put on our case given Adam Schiff's veto of our witnesses and Jerry Nadler's rejection of our entitled evidentiary hearing,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) told The Hill. “This would be like a criminal trial where the prosecution put on their case, and the defense wasn't allowed to admit evidence, unless the prosecution agreed to it.”
The House Judiciary Committee could hold a markup on the two articles of impeachment unveiled on Tuesday as soon as Wednesday evening, with some projecting a floor vote before Christmas.
Nadler declined to comment on whether the minority hearing will take place.
The Dems do have two solid impeachable offenses:
Article 1: We hate you Donald Trump.
Article 2: We can’t beat you any other way Donald Trump.
President Trump is obviously guilty oin both counts.
Article 3. ORANGE MAN BAD
Yep, that’s exactly what the RATs have to go on and the backlash is going to be beautiful.
The dems may schedule the minority hearing after the 1st of the year and AFTER the House impeaches Trump.
Republicans are correct, however, it doesn’t matter. We are in a state of lawlessness. The rules are whatever the Democrat majority says they are. At best, this is a delaying tactic by the Republicans. They are impeaching the President without cause anyway. It’s all a Stalinesque show trial.
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
So far the Dems have used raw power to rule however they want. The Republicans will have to disrupt and stop the operation of the House in some manner to slow the steamroller.
I wish some pubs would challenge some rats to duels.
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MAGA!
Payback is a bitch, so I don’t envy the Democrats. Of course, first we’d have to elect some legislators with cajones to make that a reality.
From what I can tell there are only a few who are fighting this battle. I am ticked that my congresscritter - Jody Hice is not fighting at all.
If the GOP is able to retake the House next year, I don’t suppose they’ll be able to take disciplinary action against the actions of this bunch, will they? I kind of assume they can only do that for whatever session/term during which the violations occur.
You have too much faith in the GoPee.
They will NOT do a damn thing.
The problem with the GOP is a lack of good candidates. Sure, if the GOP has good candidates, they should regain the House, but I question the quality of their candidates.
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“Top Republicans in the House are vowing to use every procedural tool available to them to strong-arm Democrats”
“Strong arm” is a pejorative. Thank you so much for trying to shape my belief system.
They brought this up each day of the hearings. Nads ignored them.
There have been several procedural “irregularities” including my spelling, but the worst problems are the constitutional processes which should be followed. Examples republicans not being able to call all witnesses. Schiff not allowing the whistleblower to appear. When the first serious rejection occurred, the republicans should have walked out. At this point, they are condoning this illegal process by participating in it.
The time has come for the repubs to just get up and leave. Let the dems do this without our participation.
The dems aren’t following any of the rules anyway. the entire thing is a sham. Get up and go home to your constituents.
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