Susan Ferrechio of the Washington Examiner looks at Democrats’ strategy for presidential impeachment.
House Democrats are building a Watergate-like impeachment case against President Trump based on his refusal to turn over documents or allow witness testimony lawmakers are demanding as part of their impeachment inquiry.
The articles of impeachment Democratic lawmakers will draft are poised to mirror those the party compiled 45 years ago, when the House Judiciary Committee advanced articles against President Richard M. Nixon.
“The failure to produce this eyewitnesses and these documents, we consider strong evidence of obstruction of the constitution and Congress as a co-equal branch of government,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said on Tuesday after Trump blocked testimony from Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union.
Trump is engaged in a standoff with Democratic lawmakers regarding the witness and document list they have compiled in their effort to conduct an impeachment inquiry.
Democrats have strongly suggested Trump’s refusal to cooperate with subpoenas will fuel their impeachment push, much as it did in 1974, when Nixon refused to cooperate with House Democrat investigators and would not turn over presidential tape recordings and other material related to the Watergate break-in. …
… Democrats are seeking information related to Trump’s effort to get Ukraine government officials to investigate Democrats and 2020 presidential hopeful Joe Biden for actions dating back to 2016. Democrats accuse Trump of withholding $400 million in security aid from Ukraine as part of his effort to get officials to agree to investigate Biden and the Democrats.
Trump has refused to turn over any documents and has blocked key witnesses.