Pelosi asks House to proceed with articles of impeachment
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Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday that she will ask the chairmen heading the House committees handling the impeachment inquiry to proceed with articles of impeachment against President Trump.
Why it matters: Pelosi's statement means that House Democrats are continuing full speed ahead on impeachment — and will ultimately bring a full House vote.
The big picture: As Axios' Alayna Treene reported, House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) signaled during Wednesday's impeachment hearing that the committee is broadening the scope of the impeachment inquiry to include Robert Mueller's findings.
- The committee's Democrats displayed three impeachable offenses on screens during the hearing: abuse of power and bribery, obstruction of Congress, and obstruction of justice.
- That marked the clearest sign yet that those charges could be part of the articles of impeachment when drafted.
What she said:
- "The president's actions have seriously violated the Constitution. ... His wrongdoing strikes at the very heart of our Constitution."
- "Our democracy is what is at stake. The president leaves us no choice but to act."
- "The facts are uncontested. The president abused his power for his own personal political benefit at the expense of our national security."
- "If we allow a president to be above the law, we do so surely at the peril of our republic."
The other side: Trump dared House Democrats to impeach him "now" in a series of tweets earlier this morning.
- He added that he wanted the process completed "fast, so we can have a fair trial in the Senate, and so that our Country can get back to business."
House Republican leadership and key staffers on the impeachment committees will brief Senate Republican staff behind closed doors Thursday afternoon on how to best prepare for the upcoming Senate trial, two sources familiar with the briefing tell Treene.
- This is the first briefing of its kind and signals how Republicans are saving their energy and strategy for the Senate, as a successful impeachment vote is viewed as inevitable.
What's next: Democratic and Republican counsels from both the House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee will present impeachment evidence at a hearing on Monday at 9 a.m.
- Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) told Axios: “Intel wrote a report based on factually what they found. And then we'll write a report based on how you apply the Constitution to the facts.”
- The Judiciary Committee will also have a hearing to mark up the articles of impeachment.
Go deeper: House Judiciary Committee tees up likely articles of impeachment
