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Modeling steps taken during the Watergate era in the '70s, Judiciary Committee Democrats plan to formalize impeachment procedures this week that they believe will expedite their work and strengthen their investigative hand. The procedures were leaked to several outlets, including The New York Times and Politico, suggesting Democrats are proactively publicizing their strategy and signalizing a heightened sense of urgency.
Judiciary Democrats expect to vote on the resolution Thursday, putting committee members on record for the first time and building the panel's legal argument that they are already in the midst of a impeachment inquiry. The "Resolution for Investigative Procedures" would allow Donald Trump's lawyers to review some of the evidence Congress has obtained and would also empower smaller groups within the committee to do micro-targeted inquiries without the heft of the full body. Both Democratic and Republican staffers would also have the ability to interview witnesses for an extra hour in order to make the interviews more fruitful. Importantly, it would also give lawmakers the authority to review sensitive grand jury materials in a classified setting—materials most House members have been prevented from seeing.
“The adoption of these additional procedures is the next step in that process and will help ensure our impeachment hearings are informative to Congress and the public, while providing the president with the ability to respond to evidence presented against him," Judiciary chair Jerry Nadler said in a statement.
Republicans are accusing Democrats of pulling a "fast one" by not bringing the resolution to the floor for a full House vote.
In the meantime, Democrats have opened inquiries into multiple new areas of potential corruption by Trump, including his hush money payments to silence women, dangling of pardons to allies, self-enrichment through patronage of government agencies and officials at his properties, and a newly reported scheme to extort the Ukrainian government into launching an inquiry into Joe Biden that could benefit Trump in the general election.