impeachment subpoenas Archives - Iran News Daily

Trump impeachment trial holds soon

reporter 1222 — Tue, 21 Jan 2020 12:01:25 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Historic impeachment trial of President Donald Trump begins in earnest Tuesday in the Senate, with Democrats calling for his removal from office and Republicans determined to acquit him — and quickly, if possible.

Four months after the Ukraine scandal exploded and went on to overshadow the end of Trump’s term, and 10 months before Americans go to the polls to decide whether to re-elect him, the 100 members of the Senate will gather at 1 PM (1800 GMT) with chief justice John Roberts presiding over the trial.

The job of these lawmakers, sworn in last week as jurors, is to decide if Trump abused his office and obstructed Congress as charged in two articles of impeachment approved last month by the House of Representatives.

Part of the scandal centers on a July 25 telephone call in which Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to announce an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden, Trump’s potential opponent in the November vote.

Democrats, who control the House of Representatives and led the investigation, accuse Trump of manipulating Ukraine by withholding nearly $400 million in military aid for its war against Russian-backed separatists and a White House meeting for Zelensky until the latter announced a Biden probe.

“President Trump abused the power of his office to solicit foreign interference in our elections for his own personal political gain, thereby jeopardizing our national security, the integrity of our elections, and our democracy,” the House managers said Saturday in a memorandum.

They said the president’s behavior “is the Framers’ worst nightmare,” referring to the authors of the US Constitution, and that Trump deserves to be removed from office.

But, as the impeachment trial comes closer, Trump looks more certain to be acquitted because of the 53-47 Republican majority in the Senate.

He will be abroad as his trial opens; Trump left late Monday for the economic forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The first order of business Tuesday will be to set the rules, such as how long they will hear the arguments of the House managers, or prosecutors, and whether they will call witnesses or seek other evidence.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell late Monday proposed rules calling for each side to have 24 hours over two days to present their arguments. The chamber will debate and vote on the proposed rules Tuesday.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said McConnell is rushing the trial and also making it harder for witnesses and documents to be presented.

The Democrats want key Trump administration officials to testify, such as former national security adviser John Bolton, in the belief that they know a lot about Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. Bolton has said he is willing to testify if subpoenaed.

The White House has said it expects the trial to be over in two weeks.

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White House must comply with impeachment subpoenas

reporter 1222 — Wed, 27 Nov 2019 06:37:21 +0000

A US appeals court judge ruled that President Donald Trump’s top aides must comply with subpoenas issued by the impeachment investigation against him.

In a case involving former White House counsel Don McGahn, subpoenaed in May by the House Judiciary Committee, Judge Ketanji Jackson ruled that administration officials cannot claim absolute immunity from impeachment subpoenas based on their closeness to the US leader. Iran News quotes what AFP reported on Tuesday.

While Jackson ruled specifically on McGahn’s case, she said it had broad application to all current and former presidential aides.

“Presidents are not kings,” Jackson wrote in her decision.

“No one, not even the head of the Executive branch, is above the law.”

She said Congress has the power to subpoena any of the president’s advisors, whether they are involved in domestic policies or sensitive national security issues.

“It goes without saying that the law applies to former White House Counsel Don McGahn, just as it does to other current and former senior-level White House officials,” she wrote.

No ‘absolute immunity’

That ruling could open a path for the House Intelligence Committee – which is building a case for impeachment charges against Trump — to force testimony from three top witnesses: former national security advisor John Bolton, White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

All are believed to have direct knowledge of Trump’s alleged demand that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky open investigations into Trump’s Democratic rivals in exchange for a high profile summit and much-needed military aid.

“To those witnesses who hide behind fallacious claims of absolute immunity, this ruling shows again how meritless their position remains,” intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff said in a statement.

The ruling could also give fresh life to the stalled impeachment case in the Judiciary Committee, which has tried to develop charges against Trump for obstructing investigation into the alleged Russian collusion led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Mueller’s final report in April outlined 10 acts of alleged obstruction by the president.

“Don McGahn is a central witness to allegations that President Trump obstructed Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation,” Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said in a statement.

“The administration’s claim that officials can claim ‘absolute immunity’ from Congressional subpoenas has no basis in law, as the court recognized today.”

But testimony won’t happen right away, as the Justice Department plans to appeal Jackson’s decision, said department spokesperson Kerri Kupec.

That could take the case to the Supreme Court, and in the meantime, the department could seek a court stay to prevent McGahn or others from speaking before the two committees.

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