This archive report was first published on 4 December 2019.
On December 3, 2019, the House Judiciary Committee released a report that marked a significant milestone in the ongoing impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump. The report, written in narrative form, paints a picture of a president who allegedly used his office for personal gain and exerted pressure on Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to do his bidding.
According to the report, President Trump's actions amount to a 'comprehensive attack on the very idea of fact and truth.' The report also raises questions about the survival of democracy in the face of such actions.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff lamented the disconnect between the parties and warned that the intense polarization could be detrimental to the democratic system of governance. He stated, 'Today, we may be witnessing a collision between the power of a remedy meant to curb presidential misconduct and the power of faction determined to defend against the use of that remedy on a president of the same party.'
The report is set to be debated by the Judiciary Committee, with a public hearing scheduled for Wednesday, December 4, 2019. The hearing will feature four constitutional scholars discussing the historical standards for impeachment and their assessment of whether President Trump's actions meet the bar for removing him from office.
Meanwhile, President Trump's Republican allies on Capitol Hill have released their own report, condemning the Democratic impeachment effort as illegitimate. However, it is increasingly apparent that the House is headed towards a strictly partisan impeachment of President Trump, with Democrats voting to remove him while Republicans oppose the move.
