“I’m sorry mam, I can't discuss an ongoing investigation.”, a line spoken in every crime drama I’ve ever seen. It’s classic and it typifies the stark difference between an investigation and a prosecution. Congress is conducting an impeachment inquiry not an impeachment. An impeachment inquiry is an investigation conducted by the House of Representatives while an impeachment is a prosecution conducted by the Senate led by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Investigations are secret, prosecutions are public.
Pretty basic stuff if you understand the rule of law.
Now, if Mitch McConnell attempts to hold an impeachment behind closed doors then you’ll have something to complain about.
WRONG, wrong, wrong :
The United States Constitution provides that the House of Representatives "shall have the sole Power of Impeachment" (Article I, section 2) and that "the Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments
Sadly, I think little attention's being paid to finer points of the law. Subpoenas ignored, emoluments ignored, etc. BUT--we only know superficial details and I believe there's much more on the House agenda. After all, these are initial gatherings of data.
This came in my email just now...Adam Schiff is my Congressman.
As you well know, the House is in the midst of an impeachment inquiry to uncover all the facts behind President Trump’s misconduct with Ukraine. I want to share an update on our progress and next steps:
In the last few weeks, we have heard testimony from witnesses with relevant first-hand knowledge of the actions taken in support of the President’s efforts to secure political assistance from the Ukraine government. Witness interviews thus far have been thorough and productive, with dozens of members of both parties able to ask questions.
While we have a great many interviews to come, it is worth taking stock of what we already know:
We already have the call record which lays plain the President’s efforts to abuse his office for political gain, as well as text messages among State Department employees that show the degree to which the apparatus of the Department was pressed into the service of the President’s illicit aim of digging up dirt on his political opponent.
We expect to obtain further evidence and interview additional relevant witnesses designed to fill out the context surrounding the President’s attempt to press Ukraine to initiate investigations and risk our election integrity and national security. We are doing so aware that time is of the essence, but with a solemn recognition that our current focus must be on getting the facts.
I am keenly aware of the public interest in this investigation and the grave import of our findings. It is for precisely that reason that we are proceeding in a deliberate manner - in accordance with all applicable House, Committee and other rules - to gather evidence and testimony from witnesses.
As the investigation proceeds, and at a time that it will not jeopardize the integrity of our investigation, we will make the interview transcripts public, subject to any necessary redactions for classified or sensitive information. We also anticipate that at an appropriate point in the investigation, we will be taking witness testimony in public, so that the American people can hear their testimony firsthand.
This is a somber and momentous time for our country. We move forward with full confidence in our Constitution and the American people, and committed to protecting our democratic process.
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