Section: Reason.com (USA)
At House Impeachment Hearing, Legal Scholars Disagree on the Meaning of ‘High Crimes and Misdemeanors’
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday held an impeachment inquiry hearing with four legal scholars, who were asked to offer their perspectives on the potential charges facing President Donald Trump. Despite the presence of “experts,” the hearing proved to be yet another partisan back-and-forth that likely changed very few minds....
Devin Nunes Sues CNN for Reporting Claims He Helped Meddle in Ukraine
Rep. Devin Nunes (R–Calif.) is making a name for himself as the most litigious doofus in Congress. His ranty lawsuits reveal a dangerous disrespect for the First Amendment and a willingness to censor legitimate criticism to advance his political goals. In addition to pursuing lawsuits against Twitter, GOP strategist Liz Mair, the Twitter accounts...
Impeachment Report: Democrats Accuse Trump of Soliciting Ukraine to ‘Benefit His Reelection’
House Democrats on Tuesday released their impeachment report, which directly accuses President Donald Trump of inappropriately pressuring Ukraine into helping to advance his 2020 reelection efforts. “President Trump and his senior officials may see nothing wrong with using the power of the Office of the President to pressure a foreign...
The House GOP Impeachment Report In Brief: Democrats Are Bad, Trump Is Good
House Republicans on Monday evening released their impeachment report, dismissing allegations against President Donald Trump as unsubstantiated and politically motivated. “The Democrats’ impeachment inquiry is not the organic outgrowth of serious misconduct; it is an orchestrated campaign to upend our political system,” the...
Trump Once Again Falsely Claims That Ukraine’s President Has Exonerated Him of Abusing His Powers for Personal Gain
President Donald Trump is once again claiming that Ukraine’s president has exonerated him of improperly using foreign policy for personal ends, conduct that is at the heart of the impeachment that the House Judiciary Committee will begin to consider on Wednesday. “The President of Ukraine has just again announced that President Trump...
Republicans Struggle To Find a Coherent Defense During Trump Impeachment Hearings
The public impeachment hearings in the House of Representatives reached their conclusion last Thursday, capping off a contentious two weeks during which Republicans defended President Donald Trump from allegations that he improperly pressured Ukraine into announcing corruption investigations that served to benefit him politically. For the most...
Trump Team Plotted Post-Hoc Justification for Withholding Ukraine Aid, Emails Suggest
Budget office says “procedures were followed.” After the talk of a “quid pro quo” with Ukraine started, President Donald Trump’s team may have sought to reverse-engineer some legitimate reasons for withholding military aid. A review by the White House Counsel’s Office found emails in which Acting Chief of Staff...
The Evidence That Trump Abused His Powers Is Clear and Convincing
As someone who has found Donald Trump’s presidency to be equal parts hilarious and horrifying but is still not convinced that whoever the Democrats end up nominating would be better, everything considered, on the issues I care about, I have mixed feelings about the impeachment inquiry. On one hand, I tend to agree with Gene Healy that the...
As Impeachment Moves Forward, Trump’s Story Changes
“I want nothing. I want nothing. I want no quid pro quo.” Those were Donald Trump’s words this week, as members of the House of Representatives grilled various ambassadors and other officials about the president’s dealings with Ukraine. One by one, they portrayed a pretty damning situation for Trump. The Republican...
House Republicans Are Spreading ‘Fictional Narrative’ on Ukrainian Election Interference, Says Former Top White House Adviser
Fiona Hill, a former top White House expert on Russia, told congressional investigators today that allegations of Ukrainian election interference are not based in fact. By continuing to promote this theory, she argued, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee are emboldening Russian aggression. “Based on questions and statements I...
