Final steps in the impeachment process. Top reporters look ahead to what’s sure to be a historic week.
Guests
Paula Reid, CBS News White House correspondent focusing on the Justice Department and legal affairs. ( @PaulaReidCBS)
Katherine Tully-McManus, staff writer at Roll Call covering Congress. ( @ktullymcmanus)
From The Reading List
The New York Times: “ Clinton’s Impeachment Was Suspenseful. Trump’s Grip on G.O.P. Means His Won’t Be.” — “Even as the House Judiciary Committee prepared to vote on articles of impeachment, Lindsey Graham was in a back room trying to cut a last-minute deal. If the president fully admitted what he had done, he could head off charges of high crimes and misdemeanors. Mr. Graham scribbled on a piece of paper what the president had to say.
“As the president came before cameras at the White House, members of the committee suspended their meeting to watch on television. But while he generally admitted wrongdoing, he did not go far enough for Mr. Graham. Nine minutes after he stopped speaking, the committee voted along party lines to impeach President Bill Clinton.
“Twenty-one years later almost to the day, the House Judiciary Committee this past week gathered to approve articles of impeachment against another president along party lines. For anyone who lived through the last time that happened, there was a powerful sense of constitutional déjà vu. Closing one’s eyes, it was possible to hear many of the same arguments articulated in almost the same words as in 1998, with each party switching sides.”
CNN: “ ‘Subversion of constitutional order’: Nadler slams McConnell for coordinating with White House on Senate impeachment trial” — “House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler on Sunday criticized Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after the Kentucky Republican said he would coordinate with White House counsel on ‘everything’ regarding the looming Senate impeachment trial.
His comments come after the House Judiciary Committee on Friday approved articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, paving the way for the final House floor vote expected this week. The full House vote will set up the Senate trial, for which senators are now gearing up.
“Nadler said for Senate Republican leadership to work with the President during an impeachment trial would be a ‘subversion of constitutional order.’
“‘The Constitution prescribes a special oath for the senators when they sit as a trial in impeachment. They have to pledge to do impartial justice, and here you have the majority leader of the Senate, in effect, the foreman of the jury, saying they’re going to work hand and glove with the defense attorney,’ Nadler said Sunday during an interview with ABC’s ‘This Week.’ ‘Now, that’s a violation of the oath they’re about to take, and it’s a complete subversion of the constitutional scheme.’ ”
The New York Times: “ Representative Jeff Van Drew, Anti-Impeachment Democrat, Plans to Switch Parties” — “Representative Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, a moderate Democrat who is among his party’s staunchest opponents of impeaching President Trump, told aides on Saturday that he is planning to switch parties and declare himself a Republican as soon as next week, just as the House is casting its historic votes on articles of impeachment.
“At a White House meeting on Friday, Mr. Van Drew sought Mr. Trump’s blessing for the move, which could be critical to his ability to avoid a primary challenge next year, and the president urged him to make the jump, according to two Democrats and one Republican who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the talks were intended to be private.
“Mr. Van Drew has spoken with senior advisers to Mr. Trump about announcing his switch at an event at the White House either immediately before or just after the House votes on two articles of impeachment, which is expected to happen on Wednesday, according to Republicans and Democrats.”
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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