TODAY IN CONGRESS (TIC):
Your One Stop Shop For Learning What Our Congress Critters Are Up To!
NOTE: Before we get started, I just wanted to announce a little format change. I have moved the “Impeachment/Subpoena Headlines” up to the beginning of the TIC Diary so you can get your BREAKING Congressional news without having to scroll down past the “READ MORE” sign. As usual you can get the details on each headline by scrolling to the “COMMITTEE ACTIVITY” section.
Today’s Impeachment/Subpoena HeadlineS:
IMPEACHMENT COMMITTEES ANNOUNCE ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT TODAY
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Kupperman (Bolton) Case Hearing TODAY in DC Circuit Court
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Judiciary Committee Impeachment Hearing Recap
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Details below under “COMMITTEE ACTIVITY”.
Here’s today’s schedule with the events I think may be the most interesting in bold. You can watch C-Span HERE. NOTE: Sometimes C-Span posts additional Congressional events not on my list, later in the day.
Today’s Events:
House —
9:00 am — House Democrats News Conference on Impeachment Inquiry (House Democrats hold a news conference to announce specific articles of impeachment against President Trump.)
10:00 am — House Oversight Committee Hearing on Paid Family & Medical Leave (The House Oversight and Reform Committee holds a hearing on paid family and medical leave.)
10:00 am — House Morning Session (The House will work on a bill to protect U.S. coastal and Great Lakes communities impacted by climate change. Also, a bill extending the requirement that cable/satellite distributors negotiate transmission agreements in good faith with broadcast stations.)
12:00 pm — House Session (The House will work on a bill to protect U.S. coastal and Great Lakes communities impacted by climate change. Also, a bill extending the requirement that cable/satellite distributors negotiate transmission agreements in good faith with broadcast stations.)
2:00 pm — House Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing on Iraq (The Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa and International Terrorism holds a hearing on Iraq and the Middle East with Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Joey Hood.)
Senate —
10:00 am — Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Hearing about oversight of the SEC (Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Jay Clayton, testifies before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee about oversight of the SEC.)
10:00 am — Senate Session (The Senate meets for legislative business with work expected on nominations for U.S. Ambassador to Russia and FDA Commissioner.)
Monday’s Votes:
House — No significant votes.
Senate — No significant votes.
Comments:
Today’s Events – You should be watching the Articles of Impeachment announcement going on right now!
COMMITTEE ACTIVITY:
Introduction:
NOTE #1: Before I get started with today’s long list of subpoena and impeachment activity, let me say that I have decided to do away with posting the repetitive “Background” section here on each Committee activity, in an effort to shorten an already too long post. Instead each background section will include a link to my September 26 Diary containing the full backgrounds for those who need to get up to speed. I will keep editing that Diary as time goes on to keep the background up to date. Below, I will post only recent developments (stuff that happened the day before) and any new developments.
NOTE #2: Because of all the impeachment stuff happening all at once, these TIC diaries are getting way too long. So in a somewhat futile attempt to shorten things a bit, I have removed the Committee subpoenas that have been inactive for weeks. You can still find out about them in my September 26 Diary (CLICK HERE). Also, I will still keep a check on them and if something new happens in any of them, I will post it in future TIC diaries.
NOTE #3: Well my September 26 Diary containing the full backgrounds on each of the subpoena and impeachment activities has gotten too long, so the character limit has made it impossible for me to use this diary to post new background information. So starting November 22, I have posted background information from November 22 going forward in this November 22 Background #2 Diary and I will keep it updated until I run out of space again. I have put in a new link to the November 22 TIC for you to access it in each Committee Activity below. I have also kept the old link to the September 26 Diary so you can obtain the pre-November 22 background information. I hope this makes sense? If not, just send me any questions you have in the comment section.
Now on with the show. (New and Important stuff in bold)
House Judiciary Committee Barr Subpoena for Unredacted Mueller Report —
Background — Pre-Nov. 22 CLICK HERE. Post Nov. 22 CLICK HERE.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — None, awaiting Jan. 3 Appeals Court Hearing.
House Judiciary Committee McGahn Subpoena —
Background —Pre-Nov. 22 CLICK HERE. Post Nov. 22 CLICK HERE.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — None, waiting for Jan. 3 Appeals Court Hearing.
House Oversight Committee Files Lawsuit to Enforce its Subpoenas to Wilbur Ross (Commerce Secretary) and AG William Barr —
Background — Pre-Nov. 22 CLICK HERE. Post Nov. 22 CLICK HERE.
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — None, waiting on Court date for House subpoena lawsuit.
House Intelligence, & Judiciary Committees’ Impeachment Investigation —
NOTE #1: This used to be the “House Intelligence Committee’s Whistleblower Investigation”, but I have changed the heading to include the other committees involved and to allow for a broadening of the scope of the investigation.
Background —Pre-Nov. 22 CLICK HERE. Post Nov. 22 CLICK HERE.
Recent Developments — Here are some recent developments:
- Judiciary Committee Holds Monday Hearing to Begin Scoping Out Impeachment Articles — On Sunday [Dec. 8] the House Judiciary Committee released a report setting the stage for its Monday [Dec. 9] Hearing. The House Judiciary Committee on Saturday released a report ahead of Monday's impeachment hearing laying out historical arguments for impeachment. The report does not accuse President Donald Trump of committing impeachable offenses, but it lays the groundwork for Monday's hearing, where evidence against Trump will be presented by the House Intelligence and Judiciary committees, as well as the possible introduction of articles of impeachment next week.
But the Big Question as to whether Obstruction of Justice charges as documented in the Mueller Report will be included in Articles of Impeachment. Those of you have read my TIC Posts know where I stand on this question (You can read my detailed arguments for a “Shotgun” rather than a “Single Bullet” approach to Articles of Impeachment in
My Special Edition TIC Post). But even if we don’t get the full list of Trump’s crimes (e.g., Emoluments Clause violations, Campaign Finance violations, etc.) which seems unlikely at this point, there is still hope Mueller Report crimes will be included.
In a nutshell, I don’t see how you can include “Obstruction of Congress” charges related to Congress’s Ukraine investigation, and NOT include “Obstruction of Justice” charges related to the Mueller investigation. Is the evidence of Mueller obstruction in the Trump/Russia case somehow less solid than the evidence of Congressional obstruction in the Ukraine case? I Think Not! Is Obstructing a criminal investigation somehow less important or less egregious than Obstructing a Congressional investigation. That just sounds crazy to me.
- Intelligence Committee Requests VP Pence to Declassify Additional Witness Evidence — As evidence that the Intelligence Committee’s Ukraine Impeachment investigation is still ongoing, on Friday [Dec. 7] Chairman Schiff has sent a letter to VP Pence in pursuit of additional evidence. According to this report from POLITICO:
In a letter to Pence, Schiff (D-Calif.) asked the vice president to declassify supplemental testimony from the aide, Jennifer Williams, about Pence’s Sept. 18 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, arguing that there is no “legitimate basis” to keep it secret.
“The Office of the Vice President’s decision to classify ‘certain portions’ of the Sept. 18 call … cannot be justified on national security or any other legitimate grounds we can discern,” Schiff wrote to Pence, requesting a response by Dec. 11.
Schiff indicated that Williams recalled the relevant information about Pence’s phone call after her closed-door deposition on Nov. 7 and wished to convey it to impeachment investigators. The letter indicates Williams submitted the supplemental filing on Nov. 26, a week after she testified publicly.
And on Saturday [Dec. 8], Pence provided a response according to this story from The Hill:
Vice President Pence rejected House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)’s request Saturday to declassify more material from an aide’s testimony in the ongoing House impeachment investigation, saying that his office is unsure what information the lawmaker is requesting.
What a load of BS!
New Developments — As usual, the BREAKING Impeachment News just keeps BREAKING:
- Articles of Impeachment to be Announced TODAY (9:00 am) — According to POLITICO:
House Democrats plan to unveil two articles of impeachment Tuesday, charging President Donald Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, according to multiple lawmakers and aides.
The Judiciary Committee plans to vote on the articles on Thursday, setting up a vote on the House floor next week to make Trump the third president in history to be impeached. The markup will be the last major step before the House votes to formally impeach Trump.
According to the latest reports I have heard this morning, these two Articles will solely focus on Ukraine, there will be no others from Mueller’s investigation and they will not include BRIBERY which is the Ukraine crime Trump actually committed.
SHORT COMMENTARY — Well, although I should be celebrating the announcement of Articles of Impeachment, I have to say my worst fears have come true. Pelosi has chosen the “Single Bullet” over the “Shotgun” approach to drafting Articles of Impeachment, focusing only on abuse of power and congressional obstruction related to Ukraine. Letting Trump off on the more serious BRIBERY charge (the specific crime he committed) as spelled out in the Constitution, and worst of all she has flushed all of the Obstruction crimes pointed by Mueller in his report and testimony down the toilet. There will not be an impeachment attempt on any of these crimes, making it easier for the GOP Senate to acquit Trump since they can more easily blow off a single offense. I won’t bore you with more about this now. You can read my past commentaries on the topic HERE, HERE and HERE. I will also try to do a post over the weekend on this topic covering what I see as the problems this will cause going forward. Sorry, this is not making me happy today!
- Kupperman Case (With Bolton ties) Goes to Hearing TODAY — The case brought by Charles Kupperman (a Bolton Aide) goes to Hearing Today in front of a DC Circuit Court Judge. This case involves Kupperman’s (sort of) challenge to a Congressional subpoena. I say sort of because his filling is more of a question to the court as the whether he should honor the Subpoena or honor the will of his boss, President Trump, who has told him not to testify. He is basically saying he will do whatever the court directs him to do. The same goes for John Bolton who has not yet been subpoenaed, but said he will abide by the decision in the Kupperman case. Its highly likely that the Court will rule in favor of the Congressional subpoena, the only questions are when?, will Trump interject and file an Appeal?, and if Appealed, will Kupperman and Bolton wait for the outcome of said Appeal before agreeing to testify? Stay Tuned!
- Monday’s Judiciary Committee Impeachment Hearing — Since many of you probably watched some or all of the Hearing or have read the highlights, I am not going to waste a lot of keystrokes on it. However, I will direct you to this TPM Article which has a very nice chronological summary of the Hearing Highlights. The only think I’ll say is for those of you who picked the phrase “Point of Order” in my non-alcoholic drinking game, you probably had the most trips to the bathroom during the Hearing.
House Financial Services Committee and House Intelligence Committee Deutsche Bank and Capital One Subpoenas (Trump’s Banking Records) —
Background — Pre-Nov. 22 CLICK HERE. Post Nov. 22 CLICK HERE.
Recent Developments — SCOTUS Justice Ginsburg issues stay of Appeals court ruling compelling Deutsche Bank and Capital One to comply with a Congressional subpoena to turn over Trump’s Banking Records. According to this POLITICO Story:
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg temporarily blocked a lower court ruling ordering two banks to release President Donald Trump's financial records to House Democrats.
Trump had asked Ginsburg to consider the emergency request earlier Friday. The temporary stay sets the issue on hold pending full consideration by the high court, it does not reflect how judges will rule in the underlying case.
The stay is ordered until 5 p.m. on Dec. 13, and the court ordered that a response must be filed on or before Dec. 11 by 11 a.m.
The House will have to respond by this Wednesday to Trump’s request for a longer stay, and SCOTUS will have to rule by FRIDAY THE 13th whether to grant a longer stay in order to consider an Appeal. BTW — This also includes Banking Records of two (2) Trump family members.
New Developments — None.
House Ways & Means Committee & Manhattan DA Subpoenas (Trump’s Tax Returns) —
Background — Pre-Nov. 22 CLICK HERE. Post Nov. 22 CLICK HERE. BTW — I know this gets confusing but there are really three (3) cases going on aimed at Trump’s tax returns. One is the case brought by the House Committee to get the IRS to turn over Trump’s taxes as required BY LAW. The second is the case brought by Trump against the Manhattan DA to block the DA’s subpoena of Mazars, Trump’s former accounting firm, to provide the DA with Trump’s tax returns as a part of a State criminal investigation. The third is a case brought by Trump against NYS to block his State tax returns from being turned over to Congress in accordance with a recently passed NYS Law. I hope this helps keep things straight!
Recent Developments — None.
New Developments — None, waiting for SCOTUS to decide if they will hear 2 of Trump’s tax cases.
That’s All Today!