The House of Representatives will vote to formalize impeachment proceedings against President Trump, Nancy Pelosi announced in a letter Monday.
The inquiry into the president’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set for Thursday, senior House Democratic aides told NPR. The GOP has expressed frustration with Democrats for not holding such a vote.
The resolution, which will be introduced in the House Rules Committee, will be the first vote the House takes as a whole regarding the authorization of the proceedings.
JUST IN: @SpeakerPelosi says the House will vote Thursday to formalize the impeachment inquiry that “establishes the procedure” for the ongoing investigation. Letter to colleagues obtained by @RebeccaRKaplan: pic.twitter.com/KnDCQnVntc
— Ed O’Keefe (@edokeefe) October 28, 2019
“This week, we will bring a resolution to the Floor that affirms the ongoing, existing investigation that is currently being conducted by our committees as part of this impeachment inquiry, including all requests for documents, subpoenas for records, and testimony, and any other investigative steps previously taken or to be taken as part of this investigation,” Pelosi’s letter reads.
“The resolution 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,” it continues.
A number of House committees have been conducting interviews and hearing testimony from individuals related to the president’s phone call with Zelensky in which he requested the foreign leader investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter for the younger Biden’s work with a Ukrainian company.
House Democrats now suddenly saying they’ll vote on an impeachment resolution to “ensure transparency” is rich—considering they’ve spent weeks conducting interviews in secret, leaking their own talking points while locking down any and all information that benefits the President
— Mark Meadows (@RepMarkMeadows) October 28, 2019
Republican North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows, one of Trump’s most ardent backers, called the upcoming vote “rich” because Democrats have “spent weeks conducting interviews in secret, leaking their own talking points while locking down any and all information that benefits the President.”
