Democrats who want to oust President Donald Trump and Republicans battling to save him are braced for the most momentous phase yet in the battle of impeachment that is rocking Washington.
The showdown that could result in Trump becoming only the third US president to suffer such a fate will resume in the House Intelligence Committee at 9 a.m. ET with appearances by senior national security officials.
Dramatic televised hearings featuring what is expected to be occasionally stunning testimony over the next three days could decide whether Trump’s accusers can establish that he abused his power to pressure Ukraine for political favors. Democrats have simplified their charge against the President — arguing now that he may be guilty of the impeachable crime of bribery after holding up military aid for Ukraine.
The coming days will also be crucial for Republicans hoping to confound a difficult pattern of facts to show Trump did nothing more than exercise his vast authority to set foreign policy.
Democrats who want to oust President Donald Trump and Republicans battling to save him are braced for the most momentous phase yet in the battle of impeachment that is rocking Washington.
The showdown that could result in Trump becoming only the third US president to suffer such a fate will resume in the House Intelligence Committee at 9 a.m. ET with appearances by senior national security officials.
Dramatic televised hearings featuring what is expected to be occasionally stunning testimony over the next three days could decide whether Trump’s accusers can establish that he abused his power to pressure Ukraine for political favors. Democrats have simplified their charge against the President — arguing now that he may be guilty of the impeachable crime of bribery after holding up military aid for Ukraine.
The coming days will also be crucial for Republicans hoping to confound a difficult pattern of facts to show Trump did nothing more than exercise his vast authority to set foreign policy.
Should they fail to undermine Democratic claims that Trump offered a quid pro quo, the GOP may have to fall back on a defense that Trump deplores — that his conduct was unpresidential but does not reach an impeachable standard.
Days of packed testimony will also test Trump — who is unable to restrain himself from unloading Twitter blasts against witnesses that Democrats warn could themselves be impeachable acts.
The President sought to remind Republicans on Monday of what he sees as their duty to protect him, in a tweet that claimed that the impeachment probe represented the height of unfairness.
“Never has the Republican Party been so united as it is now,” he wrote.
“The rules are rigged by Pelosi & Schiff, but we are winning, and we will win!”
Source: CNN
