Following a Pivotal Vote in the House, Impeachment Will Go Public

Former national security adviser John Bolton was summoned by House Democrats for testimony in the move toward the impeachment of President Donald Trump. Bolton resigned from the White House in September following reports that he was thoroughly displeased with the efforts of individuals close to the President, including his personal attorney and former mayor of NYC, Rudy Guiliani, as well as other lawyers, to pressure Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Biden and his son, Hunter. 

It is suspected, however, that despite his displeasure, Bolton will not appear in front of any committees leading the probe without a subpoena. Tim Morrison, declared a key witness in the Ukraine affair, announced on Wednesday he would step down from his position as a Russia expert for the National Security Council prior to his testimony in front of lawmakers last Thursday, Oct. 31.

Additionally, House Democrats revealed on Tuesday, Oct. 29, proposed rules for a public chapter of the impeachment inquiry, in which the President’s lawyers would have the opportunity to present an official defense, as well as cross-examine other witnesses who have testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee. Democrats announced that a subsequent vote on these proposed rules would occur on Thursday, Oct. 31, the first time the full House would go on record approving or disapproving of the impeachment inquiry. Despite the rejection of this proposal by House Republicans and a select few moderate Democrats, those who proposed the rules suspected that there would still be enough votes for the rules to pass- they suspected right.

The rules for a public phase of the impeachment inquiry passed in the House with a 232 to 196 vote. In short, this vote secured a House endorsement for public investigation of the President- and potential subsequent impeachment.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi moderated the vote in the House chamber in what could be described as notably crowded. In the chamber, Speaker Pelosi recited portions of the preamble to the Constitution, and was quoted saying, “What is at stake in all of this is nothing less than our democracy.” Oppositely, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California quoted Alexander Hamilton’s warning of impeachment as a “partisan tool” in the Federalist Papers.

Just moments after the resolution with the rules on public investigation passed, current White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham declared that Trump had “done nothing wrong,” and that Democrats knew that to be true, and instead took the opportunity to “destroy the president.”

Shortly after that, POTUS took to Twitter to state his own disdain, tweeting, “The Greatest Witch Hunt In American History!”

Not only did the rules that passed on Thursday outline the ability for Republican lawmakers, as well as Trump’s legal team, to defend the President, but it also did much more than that. After Speaker Pelosi announced last month that a private investigation would begin following a whistleblower complaint detailing Trump’s apparent abuse of power, the resolution and subsequent passing of the resolution Thursday, indicated that House Democrats are confident in their support from the public as well as the severity of the facts found throughout closed-door investigation into the President’s interactions with Ukraine, to make a public case for impeachment ahead of the American people.

Moreover, at the same time, Timothy Morrison testified that Gordon D. Sondland, the United States ambassador to the European Union, communicated to a top Ukrainian official that the U.S. would withhold aid and assistance until the Ukrainian government confirmed they would investigate Trump’s opposition in the 2020 election.

With fierce opposition by House Republicans to the rules for public impeachment, House Democrats are quick to note that the rules are almost identical to the rules Republicans agreed upon in their impeachment inquiry against former President Bill Clinton in 1998. Democrats, even those facing a struggle for re-election come 2020, voted in favor of moving the impeachment inquiry forward.

The House will take a week-long recess, which began on Nov. 1st. Representatives will return to the floor come Nov. 11, 2019. Throughout the upcoming week, lawmakers intend to gather more evidence through the final closed-door testimony from government officials concerning Ukraine.

This is an ongoing and developing story.