Washington - US lawmakers are scheduled
on Thursday to cast their first vote in the impeachment
investigation of President Donald Trump as the
Democratic-controlled House of Representatives takes up a
measure that sets up the next steps in the fast-moving effort.
The vote will be the first formal test of support for the
inquiry. Democrats, who control 224 seats in the 435-seat
chamber, need a simple majority to approve the resolution.
The measure calls for public hearings and the release of
transcripts from closed-door proceedings. It also outlines what
rights Republican lawmakers and Trump himself would have to
participate as the process moves ahead.
Republicans have accused Democrats of trampling on Trump's
rights and keeping the process too secret.
The U.S. Constitution gives the House broad authority to set
the ground rules for an impeachment inquiry and Democrats say
they are following House rules on investigations. They have
promised to hold public hearings on the case against Trump.
Lawmakers leading the investigation also plan to hear
closed-door testimony from Tim Morrison, the top Russia
specialist on Trump's National Security Council. Morrison
resigned from his position on Wednesday, a senior administration
official said.
Members of the three committees conducting the investigation
expect Morrison to fill in more of the details about Trump's
dealings with Ukraine. As someone directly involved in the
negotiations, Morrison's testimony could combat charges by
Trump's fellow Republicans that the inquiry to date has largely
relied on second-hand accounts.
Committee members have asked a far more prominent player,
former national security adviser John Bolton, to appear next
week. Others have testified that Bolton was alarmed by a White
House effort to pressure the president of Ukraine to investigate
Trump's political rivals.
If the House pursued impeachment, it would require a simple
majority in the 435-member House to trigger a trial in the
Republican-controlled Senate. Conviction requires the support of
a two-thirds majority in the 100-member body.
The impeachment inquiry focuses on a July 25 telephone call
in which Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy to
investigate Democratic political rival Joe Biden, a former U.S.
vice president, and his son Hunter, who had served as a director
for Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Trump has denied
wrongdoing and called the inquiry a sham.
The investigation is probing whether Trump misused the power
of his office for personal political gain and, if so, whether
that rises to the level of "high crimes and misdemeanors" that
merit impeachment and removal from office under the
Constitution.
Trump made his request to Zelenskiy for an investigation
into the Bidens after withholding $391 million in security aid
approved by Congress to help Ukraine fight Russian-backed
separatists in eastern Ukraine. Zelenskiy agreed to Trump's
requests. The aid was later provided.
Also on Thursday, a federal judge in Washington will hear
arguments as Democrats seek to force former White House counsel
Don McGahn to testify about Trump's efforts to undermine Special
Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's
interference in the 2016 presidential election.