House intelligence panel releases Trump impeachment report
The House Intelligence Panel has released its Trump impeachment report. In it it says Pres. Trump
- Used office to solicit foreign interference
- Compromise security, intimidated witnesses
- Tampered with witnesses
- Abused power's for political gain
- Obstructed the impeachment inquiry by instructing witnesses and government agencies to ignore subpoenas
- July 25 call between Trump and Ukraine president Zelenskiy was a dramatic crescendo of a months long campaign to extract personal political benefits
- Conditioned a White House meeting and military aid to Ukraine on a public announcement of investigations that would benefit his reelection campaign
- Publicly attacked and intimidated congressional witnesses; says witness intimidation is a federal crime
- Investigation must continue even as intelligence committee transmits report to judiciary panel
- Intelligence committee could not wait until it's efforts to obtain additional testimony and documents go through courts, before making referral to judiciary
- does not appear to believe that there are limits to his power to use White House meetings, military aid or other official asked to be cured foreign help in his reelection
Members of the panel will vote on this report at 6 PM ET/2300 GMT. If passes, they will send to the House Judiciary Committee which is responsible for drafting the formal articles of impeachment.
A minority report was released on Monday evening by Republican Devin Nunes. That report said that Trump:
- was within his authority to act in the way he did
- that Democrats have improved that Trump committed bribery or any other impeachable crime as charged
- that Democrats are simply acting out a partisan animus
- that Democrats have a difference of worldviews and a discomfort with Pres. Trump's policy decisions
- that aid to Ukraine, although frozen, was never cut off and Zelenskiy never committed to any investigations
