House formalizes its inquiry as probe on Trump goes on

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sounds the gavel Thursday after the House approved the resolution on its impeachment inquiry process. Before the vote, Pelosi called the inquiry effort “solemn” and “prayerful,” and “not cause for any glee or comfort.” More photos at arkansasonline.com/111impeach/
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sounds the gavel Thursday after the House approved the resolution on its impeachment inquiry process. Before the vote, Pelosi called the inquiry effort “solemn” and “prayerful,” and “not cause for any glee or comfort.” More photos at arkansasonline.com/111impeach/

WASHINGTON -- A divided House approved a resolution Thursday formally authorizing and articulating guidelines for the next phase of its impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.

The 232-196 vote hewed closely to party lines. Nearly all Democrats backed the resolution, and House Republicans opposed it.

All four members of Arkansas' delegation voted against the measure.

At issue is whether Trump abused the power of his office to pressure a foreign leader to investigate Trump's domestic political rivals.

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In remarks before the vote, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., described the impeachment inquiry as a "solemn" and "prayerful" process, "not cause for any glee or comfort."

At the same time, Pelosi said, "I don't know why Republicans are afraid of the truth."

"Every member should support the American people hearing the facts for themselves," she said in a floor speech. "That is what this vote is about. It's about the truth. And what is at stake in all of this is nothing less than our democracy."

The White House blasted Democrats' "unhinged obsession with this illegitimate impeachment proceeding" in a statement after the vote.

"The Democrats are choosing every day to waste time on a sham impeachment -- a blatantly partisan attempt to destroy the president," press secretary Stephanie Grisham stated.

Trump tweeted: "The Greatest Witch Hunt In American History!"

House Republicans echoed the White House in their criticism, describing the inquiry as an effort aimed at removing Trump from office.

"Democrats are trying to impeach the president because they are scared they can't defeat him at the ballot box," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said on the floor before the vote, calling the opposing party's approach a "disaster for democracy."

"To my colleagues on the other side, I say this: Give the people back their power. Let them choose the next leader of the free world. Follow the principles of our Constitution. And do not dilute our democracy by interfering in elections from Washington," McCarthy said.

Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., likened Democrats to a "cult," accusing them of bouncing from "one outlandish conspiracy theory to another." Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said she looked forward to Republicans "prioritizing country over party, just as we took an oath to do."

The House's resolution clears the way for nationally televised hearings as Democrats look to make their case to the American people that Trump should be impeached.

At the same time, House investigators were hearing testimony from Tim Morrison, the top Russia and Europe adviser on the National Security Council.

Democratic leaders expected that two to four of their members would vote against the resolution. In the end, Reps. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., and Jeff Van Drew, D-N.J., who represent Republican-leaning districts, opposed it.

Rep. Joe Cunningham, D-S.C., one of the few Trump-district Democrats who has been reluctant about backing an impeachment inquiry, voted yes.

"It's about transparency in the process. I like the fact that the transcripts will be made public and the American public will get the chance to understand what's going on," he said Wednesday, adding that he still is not convinced Trump needs to be impeached. "I am not prejudging anything ... until I see all the evidence."

Rep. Anthony Brindisi, D-N.Y., who had been undecided as of Wednesday night, also supported the resolution.

"I think the vote will allow a fair and open process and will finally let Americans judge for themselves," Brindisi said Thursday morning.

Joining the Democrats in voting for the resolution was Rep. Justin Amash, I-Mich., who abandoned the Republican Party in July and has been sharply critical of Trump.

The resolution allows the president and his counsel to request and question witnesses, and participate in impeachment proceedings once they reach the Judiciary Committee, which has the task of writing any articles of impeachment that will be voted on by the House. It also authorizes the House Intelligence Committee to release transcripts of its closed depositions to the public, and it directs the committee to write and then release a report on that investigation in the same fashion.

The resolution gives the Republican minority on the Intelligence and Judiciary committees a chance to subpoena documents and testimony -- provided that either the Democratic chairman or a majority of the committee agrees. And it establishes special procedures under which the chairman and top Republican on the panel can take up to 90 minutes to make their cases or defer to a staff lawyer to do so.

No. 2 House GOP leader Steve Scalise, R-La., accused Democrats of imposing "Soviet-style rules."

[RELATED: Arkansas' 4 House members all 'no' on impeachment inquiry vote » arkansasonline.com/news/2019/nov/01/state-s-4-house-members-all-no-on-inqui/]

The House is at least weeks away from deciding whether to vote on actually impeaching Trump. If it does, the Republican-controlled Senate would hold a trial on whether to remove him from office.

Democrats said the procedures are similar to rules used during the impeachment proceedings of Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.

Pelosi decided to have the vote after GOP criticisms that the inquiry was tainted because lawmakers hadn't voted to formally begin the work. The rules direct House committees "to continue their ongoing investigations" of Trump.

Democrats hope Thursday's vote will undercut GOP assertions that the process has been invalid. Democrats have noted that there is no constitutional provision or House rule requiring such a vote.

As the final minutes of debate ticked by, Republicans loudly jeered Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., chairman of the Rules Committee, when he defended the process and argued that Democrats remain focused on the legislative agenda.

When the impeachment resolution vote occurred, Pelosi took the chair to read the final vote tally in a sign of the formal nature of the proceedings.

Before the roll call Thursday morning, partisan tensions were visible on the floor of the House, as Democrats called attention to mounting evidence against Trump while Republicans decried the process as secretive and unfair.

"If we don't hold this president accountable, we will be ceding our ability to hold any president accountable," McGovern said in a speech. "The obstruction from this White House is unprecedented. It's stunning. We don't know if Trump will be impeached, but the allegations are as serious as it gets."

[RELATED: Trump aide verifies key testimony » arkansasonline.com/news/2019/nov/01/trump-aide-verifies-key-testimony-20191/]

"It's a sad day for all of us," said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., McGovern's GOP counterpart. "It's not a fair process. It's not an open process."

Leading Republicans were adamant that not a single GOP member would back the measure -- and they leaned heavily on Republicans who have openly criticized the president in the past.

"It is still not a fair process in my mind," said Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., who voted against the resolution. "It is still a process where the Democrats call all the shots, and we were not consulted along the way... . So, no. I'm a no."

The resolution does not deal with the merits of impeaching the president, just procedure. But even Republicans who have expressed concern about points of Trump's conduct held the party line Thursday.

Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Fla., who like Walden recently announced his coming retirement and has refused to rule out voting to impeach Trump, also voted against the measure.

Information for this article was contributed by Karoun Demirjian, Rachael Bade, Mike DeBonis and Elise Viebeck of The Washington Post; and by Alan Fram, Matthew Daly, Andrew Taylor and Lisa Mascaro of The Associated Press.

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The New York Times/T.J. KIRKPATRICK

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (right) leads a news conference Thursday with fellow House Republicans after the House vote on the impeachment inquiry resolution. “Democrats are trying to impeach the president because they are scared they can’t defeat him at the ballot box,” McCarthy said on the House floor before the vote, calling the approach a “disaster for democracy.”

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The New York Times/ERIN SCHAFF

Votes go up on the board Thursday in the House. The 232-196 tally fell mostly along party lines, with all Republicans voting no and two Democrats who represent Republican-leaning districts joining them.

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The New York Times/ANNA MONEYMAKER

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, D-N.J., discusses with reporters his decision Thursday to vote against the House impeachment inquiry resolution.

A Section on 11/01/2019

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