Top House Democrats, rushing to conclude their impeachment effort by Christmas, will unveil articles of impeachment against President Trump on Tuesday that will center on abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Party lawmakers have scheduled a 9 a.m. announcement to announce “the next steps” in the impeachment inquiry. It follows round-the-clock deliberations to decide which articles to draft and vote on by next week’s Dec. 20 target adjournment date.
Democrats staged a marathon hearing Monday featuring the 300-page impeachment report authored by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, a California Democrat.
The report, which included weeks of closed and public testimony, determined Trump abused his power by withholding security aid in order to get Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and the Democrats.
The report also concluded Trump obstructed Congress by refusing to turn over hundreds of pages of documents related to the matter and blocking testimony from former and current administration officials.
“In abusing his office in this manner, and in obstructing the investigation that followed, we know that President Trump has put himself before his country,” Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, a New York Democrat, said following Monday’s hearing.
Democrats have put impeachment on an accelerated schedule in an effort to put the investigation behind them by the time they convene in January for the second session of the 116th Congress.
The Judiciary Committee will consider and vote on the articles this week, clearing the way for a House floor vote before the 20th.
Republicans have condemned the entire process and said Democrats are using impeachment to unseat a president they deeply oppose. They argued Monday that Trump hasn’t committed any impeachable acts.
Trump has declined to participate in the House impeachment proceedings.
The House is likely to approve the impeachment articles with a few defections from Democrats and unanimous opposition from Republicans. House Democrats would present their impeachment case in the GOP-led Senate in January when Congress reconvenes.
House Democratic leaders are eager to show they are passing important legislation and not just working on impeachment.
The House this month has a packed agenda that includes a critical bill authorizing Defense Department spending and legislation to fund the government that is set to expire at the end of next week.
The House is slated to vote this week on a major measure addressing the high cost of prescription drug prices and is nearing a deal on a trade deal with Canada and Mexico.
