Will this new phase change the seemingly immovable dynamic, with almost all Republican lawmakers (and voters) dug in defending the president?
Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Impeachment hearings are leaping out of the shadows and onto your television screens and social media feeds this week. But with everything we already know about President Trump and Ukraine, and amid a hyperpartisan political climate, will they have much of an impact? I tried to game out the answer with political columnist Jonathan Chait and senior editor Margaret Hartmann.
Margaret: No. I think it’s worth trying, as there is little downside for Democrats. Very slim chance they get some explosive moment that sways the public and/or Republican lawmakers. I really doubt that, but there’s a decent chance they’ll get some incriminating clips to run on cable news — straight from the source, rather than anchors quoting from transcripts. CNN and MSNBC aren’t going to run a Jim Jordan tirade in a loop all day, so there’s low risk for Democrats.
Margaret: I think the Comey hearings had superhigh stakes. The report itself had already failed to deliver, and Democrats were clinging to the hope that Comey himself would sell the findings to the public. Then that flopped too. People are not expecting something more explosive than what they already know — and most Americans, I think, have made up their mind already on whether they think it’s very cool and perfect for the president to hold up foreign aid in return for personal favors.
Jon: They’re probably looking for other Republicans to jump in with them and vote to remove, but they also probably need some more crimes to get that outcome. Not sure if they have anything specific in mind. Perhaps if Dmytro Firtash — the Russian oligarch close to the Kremlin who paid Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman — was directing Rudy’s activities and coordinating with him? That would mean Trump literally handed his Ukraine policy over to a Kremlin-aligned crook.
Jon: I think it’s probably a necessary concession to the argument that we should just let the election play out. The closer we get to it, the more sway that argument will have, so they’re probably at the end of the impeachment window and acting quickly on that basis. The counterargument is, if Republicans are acquitting regardless, why not impeach Trump during the election?
México Últimas Noticias, México Titulares
Similar News:También puedes leer noticias similares a ésta que hemos recopilado de otras fuentes de noticias.
For U.S. diplomats, public impeachment hearings could be catharsis and maybe a circusOn the first day of November, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sent an intern...
Leer más »
Trump to hold news conference with Turkish President on day of House's first public impeachment hearingsPresident Donald Trump will hold a news conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House on Wednesday, the same day the House of Representatives will hold the first public hearings in its impeachment inquiry into Trump.
Leer más »
As impeachment inquiry goes public, federal prosecutors quietly investigate GiulianiAs the Congressional impeachment inquiry goes public this week, prosecutors in New York are quietly continuing to investigate an alleged covert plan involving Ukrainian government officials and associates of Rudy Giuliani to remove Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to that country, sources
Leer más »
As impeachment inquiry goes public, federal prosecutors quietly investigate GiulianiProsecutors in New York are quietly continuing to investigate an alleged covert plan involving Ukrainian government officials and associates of Rudy Giuliani to remove Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to that country, sources told ABC News.
Leer más »