Impeachment push freezes as Mueller testimony looms
<https://fastnewsassam.com/author/kakku/> kakku
The steady drumbeat among House Democrats for impeachment proceedings
against President Donald Trump has gone silent. And Robert Mueller is to
blame.
The last lawmaker to publicly embrace an impeachment inquiry came forward on
June 28, just three days after it was announced that the former special
counsel would deliver hotly anticipated testimony, ending a weekslong
trickle that put a third of House Democrats in favor of the effort.
In interviews, the most prominent House advocates for impeachment
proceedings acknowledged the push had slowed to a standstill. But they said
theyre optimistic Muellers appearance no matter how understated or
scripted could shake loose dozens of their colleagues and bring the House
closer to an impeachment inquiry.
I think theyre waiting for Mueller, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) said.
Though Muellers Wednesday testimony before the Judiciary and Intelligence
committees may move more Democrats into the impeachment camp, some doubt has
begun to surface among impeachment advocates that hell provide the dramatic
testimony necessary to fuel a tidal wave of support or persuade Speaker
Nancy Pelosi to drop her long-held opposition to impeachment.
I think its likely to be little more than a book on tape, where he simply
recites portions of the report that he wrote and refuses to go beyond the
four corners of that report, said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), who
supports launching an impeachment inquiry.
Huffman emphasized that if Mueller sticks to the limited recitation of
publicly known facts from his report, lawmakers will be faced with the same
tough decision on impeachment they faced before.
So were still, at the end of this, essentially where we are now, Huffman
said. We have to decide what to do with all of this really incriminating
information.
How the hearing will unfold remains unclear.
Mueller has agreed to testify for roughly four hours, split between the
Judiciary and Intelligence committees. While the Intelligence panel is small
enough that every member likely will be able to ask questions, the much
larger Judiciary Committee presents issues.
For instance, Democrats must decide whether every member of the panel will
get to question Mueller and, if so, for how long. Some lawmakers have
suggested the Judiciary Committee could deviate from its traditional five
minutes apiece to allow all 41 lawmakers a chance to speak but others
prefer to stick to five minutes each, even if more junior members get shut
out.
The panel will also have to determine how to handle follow-ups if Mueller
declines to provide a complete answer or dodges a question. And Democrats
may have to deal with difficult Republicans, who could deploy procedural
votes to try to adjourn the hearing or spend time trying to ask Mueller
their own follow-ups.
Its unclear whether the committee will be able to pause or extend the
two-hour window for any unexpected delays or whether potentially lengthy
opening statements will count.
The timing of it is a bit of a straitjacket, so were going to have to
squeeze a lot into a very short period of time, Rep. Jamie Raskin Raskin
(D-Md.) said.
Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.), who is likely to get two chances to question
Mueller as a member of both the Judiciary and Intelligence committees, added
that Muellers testimony is just one more piece of the puzzle and said
Democrats must continue pursuing testimony from other key witnesses.
Democrats are also bracing for the real possibility that Attorney General
William Barr could blow up the entire event.
Barr has signaled he intends to block congressional efforts to force
Muellers deputies to testify, and he also said the Justice Department would
support Mueller if the former special counsel decided to skip the hearings
altogether.
For now, the hearing is on track, according to the chairmen of the
Intelligence and Judiciary panels, Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Jerry
Nadler (D-N.Y.), respectively.
A serious effort by Barr to block or discourage Mueller and his deputies
from testifying could supercharge impeachment efforts, some lawmakers said,
especially as Democrats become more frustrated with the Trump
administrations efforts to stonewall their myriad inquiries.
I think that that would have a catalyzing impact, said Raskin, a member of
the Judiciary Committee. The stonewalling right now is already
unprecedented. The GOP is in full cover-up mode. And our caucus is already
up in arms about it, but it would be an explosive situation politically if
they kept Mueller from coming.
Another open question about Muellers testimony is whether the White House
will seek to prevent Mueller from answering certain questions in
particular, lawmakers inquiries about his interactions with Barr and his
reported disagreements with Barrs rollout of the special counsels report.
Barr openly criticized Mueller for not making a formal decision on whether
to recommend that Trump be charged with obstruction of justice; he also
questioned the legal theories Mueller used to reach his conclusions. Mueller
has yet to respond to those criticisms.
In May, the president asserted executive privilege over the entirety of the
Mueller report and its underlying documents, leaving open the possibility
that the White House could demand a presence at Muellers hearing in order
to lodge objections to lawmakers questions.
Democrats have refused to say whether they are open to such an arrangement,
although rank-and-file lawmakers are optimistic the White House will take a
hands-off approach, with the knowledge that such an overbearing presence
could backfire.
Its another expression of the cover-up that Barrs been running, Nadler
said when asked about reports that the Justice Department could block
Muellers deputies from appearing.
Earlier, when [Barr] said its completely up to Bob Mueller whether he
testifies, he was counting on Bob Mueller not wanting to testify and not
being compelled to, Schiff said. But now I think his real motivation is
exposed. Hes nothing if not transparent, and he is transparently the
presidents agent.
Heather Caygle contributed to this report.
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine
EM -> { Trump for 2020 }
On the 49th Parallel
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja and Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda is in
anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni, Ssabassajja na Dk. Kiiza Besigye, Uganda ni
katika machafuko"
_______________________________________________
Ugandanet mailing list
Ugandanet@kym.net
http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/ugandanet
UGANDANET is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/
All Archives can be found at http://www.mail-archive.com/ugandanet@kym.net/
The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including
attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way.
---------------------------------------
