Live updates: Top Democrat warns White House ‘we’re not fooling around’ on impeachment inquiry
Separately, Pompeo confirmed that he was on Trump’s call with the leader of Ukraine, an acknowledgment that came at the outset of what is shaping up as another busy day in the drive for impeachment by House Democrats.House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff warned the White House Wednesday that “we’re not fooling around” on the impeachment inquiry, as Democrats announced that they would subpoena documents related to President Trump’s phone call with the leader of Ukraine.
RHINEBECK, N.Y. — Peter Plavchan Sr. put on his red Make America Great Again hat Tuesday night and settled into the front row of a town hall meeting with his new congressional representative, Democrat Antonio Delgado, in the rural Hudson Valley.
© Evan Halper/Los Angeles Times/TNS Then-Democratic congressional candidate Antonio Delgado talks with a student at State University of New York at New Paltz. When his time came to speak he didn’t hold back. “I can’t quite say you represent me,” he told Delgado in a packed room of about 100 people, citing the impeachment inquiry that both Delgado and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., formally supported last week. “I would like you to identify tonight the exact crimes that you think have been committed, the crime that caused you to (support) impeachment.”
New revelations about Trump test Pelosi’s narrow impeachment strategy
The president’s comments on China and other developments have caused some Democrats to wonder if they should expand their probe.Since House Democrats launched their impeachment inquiry just over two weeks ago, Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her top lieutenants have coalesced around a plan to focus on Trump’s pressure on the Ukrainian president to investigate former vice president Joe Biden, a 2020 presidential candidate, and his son Hunter. The episode, Democrats argue, is clear-cut, easy for Americans to understand and doesn’t require further proof as the White House has released a rough transcript of the call.
But in a 70-minute meeting, that was the only time a constituent raised the issue.
Democratic lawmakers are at home in their districts for a two-week recess from Washington, providing them their first opportunities to hear directly from voters since the House began a formal impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump last week.
But at three town hall meetings in Pennsylvania and New York districts that voted for Trump in 2016, backlash to the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry was rare and only from loyal Trump supporters — not the key independent and moderate voters that Democrats will need for victory in 2020 in Congress and the White House.
Freshman Democrat Rep. Max Rose represents a district that voted for Trump by an even bigger margin than Delgado’s and was one of the last remaining holdouts against the impeachment inquiry, a reflection of his moderate constituency. At his Staten Island town hall Wednesday, he dramatically started the meeting with an announcement that he was reversing course and would support an inquiry.
‘Rudy Giuliani needs to stop talking’: Trump team tires of Giuliani
For weeks, prominent Republican advisers have been privately imploring President Donald Trump to sideline Rudy Giuliani, sources said.For weeks, prominent Republican advisers have been privately imploring President Donald Trump to sideline Rudy Giuliani after a barrage of inconsistent, combative and occasionally cringe-inducing media interviews, according to three people familiar with the conversations.
But aside from one immediate outburst in opposition — which was shouted down by the crowd — the issue didn’t come up again, though the official topic for the evening was transportation and constituents had to write questions ahead of time.
In interviews with voters at the events, self-identified Democrats said they were pleased, albeit some only cautiously, that the House decided to formally launch the inquiry. And in many cases, voters were more concerned about other issues, such as health care, climate policy and local transit service.
Public attitudes on impeachment will be particularly important to both Democrats and Republicans in districts such as Delgado’s, one of the 31 House districts where voters backed Trump for president in 2016 and swung to support Democrats for Congress two years later.
Moderate Democratic lawmakers in these places will have to find a way to keep the support of progressive Democrats — many of whom have long wanted an impeachment inquiry — and not lose the votes of moderates and independents, who either support Trump or are skeptical that impeachment is warranted.
Klobuchar, Booker rule out recusing themselves from Trump impeachment trial
Senate Dems who are running for the party’s 2020 nomination are ruling out recusing themselves from participating in any impeachment trial of President Trump.
Even moderate Democrats may see more risk now in opposing the impeachment inquiry than supporting it. Only about nine of the 235 House Democrats oppose the move.
Staten Island residents Beverly Walters and Christina Cambria showed up at Rose’s town hall meeting to encourage the lawmaker to join the rest of his party and support the inquiry. They were pleased when he did. Cambria, a Democrat who voted for Rose, said she may have thought less of him had he not backed the inquiry.
“I would question it because I can’t imagine how anybody can go along with this,” she said.
Rose said the administration’s refusal to comply with document requests since the inquiry started convinced him to support it. “We have got to follow these facts where they lead us. And where we find ourselves today the president has no one to blame but himself,” Rose said to applause in the Jewish community center.
Rose gave a passionate defense of the inquiry, citing friends from his own military service who are still enlisted and serving in the Middle East as the reason he cannot let “corruption stand.”
Impeachment probe overshadows US 2020 Democratic race
Joe Biden faces scrutiny over Ukraine, Elizabeth Warren is surging and Bernie Sanders had a heart attack, but recent developments in the Democratic presidential battle are getting minimal attention, swamped by Washington's impeachment obsession. Most Democratic candidates are pounding the pavement in early voting states like Iowa, but they are finding little oxygen for the nomination race. Broadcast and cable news have been dominated by a burgeoning Ukraine scandal that has engulfed the White House and prompted House Democrats to launch an impeachment investigation of possible abuse of power by Trump.
Several Democratic voters in these swing districts said they didn’t begin to support impeachment until the president’s interactions with the Ukrainian president became public.
Trump has acknowledged asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden — a possible Trump opponent in 2020 — as he withheld nearly $400 million in military aid that the nation needed to fight Russia-backed separatists.
Until last week, “I didn’t think it was politically wise to do,” said Barbara Dolhansky, a Democrat from Pocono Lake, Pa., who showed up at a town hall hosted by Rep. Matt Cartwright. Now she’s on board — and so is Cartwright.
Cartwright, like other moderates, has gingerly danced around impeachment for months, rebuffing attempts from more progressive Democrats to start an inquiry while special counsel Robert S. Mueller III was investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. Many of the centrists only began supporting the inquiry last week, on the same day Pelosi said she backed it.
Polls show that public support for impeachment has risen in recent days. According to a USA Today/Ipsos poll released Thursday, 45% of Americans support the House’s effort and 38% oppose it. That’s up from 32% support and 61% opposition in a June USA Today poll. Other polls have found similar shifts in sentiment.
'Crazy' Dems consumed by 'hateful spirit' pursuing impeachment: Trump
President Donald Trump spoke at the Values Voters Summit on Saturday, calling Democrats "crazy.""They are crazy -- shouldn't say it because we're all the same -- but they are crazy," Trump said during a speech that lasted about 90 minutes. "As we've seen over the last three years, the extreme left has absolutely no respect for the will of the American people.
-
On Sept. 25, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi initiated an impeachment inquiry against President Trump, following the whistle-blower complaint over his dealings with Ukraine. Select Congressional committees returned to the Capitol to continue impeachment proceedings throughout the week as Congress remains on recess.
(Pictured) Kurt Volker, a former special envoy to Ukraine, arrives for a closed-door interview with House investigators, as House Democrats proceed with the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 3.
-
President Donald Trump speaks to the media on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 3, before boarding Marine One for a trip to Florida. He told reporters, "China should start an investigation into the Bidens because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine."
-
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is joined by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., at a news conference as House Democrats move ahead in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, at the Capitol in Washington on Oct. 2.
-
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., left, joined by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., right, arrive for a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 2.
What's next in the impeachment inquiry as Congress returns
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is returning from a two-week recess on Tuesday, but some lawmakers barely left Washington. Three House committees investigating impeachment worked through the break, issuing multiple subpoenas and holding depositions with State Department officials relevant to the inquiry . Democrats are investigating President Donald Trump's dealings with Ukraine and exploring whether he compromised national security or abused his office by seeking dirt from a foreign country on a political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, a leading Democratic contender for the 2020 White House nomination.That work will intensify when Congress gets back.
-
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Oct. 2.
Returning from recess, Democrats press Trump impeachment inquiry
Returning from recess, Democrats press Trump impeachment inquiryThe headline event could be testimony on Thursday from Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, that was rescheduled after Trump's administration blocked a previously scheduled appearance.
-
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with reporters during a meeting with Finland's President Sauli Niinisto in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Oct. 2.
-
John Dean, (L) former White House counsel under Richard Nixon, speaks during a town hall on impeachment with U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (R) (D-CA) at James Logan High School on Oct. 1, in Union City, California.
-
The entrance to a secure facility used by the House Intelligence Committee is seen on Oct. 1.
-
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., joined by Communications Director Emilie Simons, walks to a secure facility in the Capitol to prepare for depositions in the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump on Oct. 1.
-
A statue of former President Richard Nixon is on display along with those of other former vice presidents outside the Senate chamber in the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 1, in Washington, DC. Nixon resigned the presidency on August 9, 1974, after facing near-certainty that he would be impeached and removed from office.
-
Tourists view the White House in Washington on Oct. 1, as House Democrats are moving aggressively in their impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.
-
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to the media on Oct. 1, in Kiev, Ukraine.
-
President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media as he departs a ceremonial swearing in ceremony for new Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Sept. 30.
-
Vice President Mike Pence, President Donald Trump, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper, participate in an Armed Forces welcome ceremony for the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley on Sept. 30, at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Va.
-
Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, defended himself on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" from accusations lodged by a former White House official that he has trafficked unfounded theories about foreign interference in the 2016 presidential election, on Sept. 29.
-
(L-R) Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO), Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH), Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM), Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) and Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) hold a news conference to mark 200 days since they passed H.R. 1, the For the People Act, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on Sept. 27. Following the release of a whistle-blower complaint about abuse of power, the House Democratic leadership announced this week that it is launching a formal impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.
-
The first page of the unclassified memorandum of U.S. President Donald Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is shown on Sept. 27.
-
Members of Congress and activists support an immediate inquiry towards articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump at the “Impeachment Now!” rally on Sept. 26, in Washington, D.C.
-
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) speaks during a weekly news conference on Capitol Hill on Sept. 26, in Washington, DC. Speaker Pelosi discussed an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
-
Brett Heinz of Washington and other activists rally for the impeachment of President Donald Trump, on Sept. 26.
-
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott speaks at a news conference on Sept. 26, in Essex Junction, Vt., where he said he supports an impeachment inquiry into the actions of President Donald Trump. Scott is the first Republican governor to publicly come out in favor of the impeachment inquiry, but says he wants to know the facts before any further actions are taken.
-
Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y. holds up a copy of a White House-released rough transcript of a phone call between President Donald Trump and the President of Ukraine as Schumer speaks to the media about an impeachment inquiry on President Trump, on Sept. 25, on Capitol Hill.
-
A woman hands out fake "special editions" of the Washington Post to passing pedestrians while taking part in a demonstration in support of impeachment hearings in New York, on Sept. 26.
-
Ranking member Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., talks to Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, after Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire testified before the House Intelligence Committee on Sept. 26.
-
A member of the audience holds a copy of the whistle-blower complaint letter sent to Senate and House Intelligence Committees during testimony by Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire before the House Intelligence Committee on Sept. 26.
-
A woman holds a sign about whistleblowers in a cafe near President Donald Trump’s motorcade as he attends a campaign fundraiser nearby in New York, on Sept. 26.
-
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., questions Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire,as he testifies before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 26.
-
Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire testifies before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 26.
-
Ranking Member Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., questions Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire as he testifies before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 26.
-
Joseph Maguire testifies on Sept. 26.
-
U.S. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) reacts after conferring with U.S. House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Devin Nunes (R-CA) as Joseph Maguire, acting director of national intelligence, testifies during a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 26.
-
Joseph Maguire prepares to testify before the House Intelligence Committee on the whistleblower complaint against President Trump on Sept. 26.
-
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks during a weekly news conference on Capitol Hill on Sept. 26 in Washington. Leader McCarthy discussed an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
-
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., arrives at the Capitol, on Sept. 26, just as Joseph Maguire is set to speak publicly for the first time about a secret whistleblower complaint involving President Donald Trump.
-
President Trump speaks during a news conference at the InterContinental Barclay New York hotel during the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 25. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo can be seen standing on the right.
-
Pages of a White House-released rough transcript of President Donald Trump's July 25, 2019 telephone conversation with Ukraine's newly elected President Volodymyr Zelenskiy are seen on Sept. 25.
-
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., talks to reporters on Sept. 25.
-
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is surrounded by reporters as she arrives to meet with her caucus on Sept. 25.
-
U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), chairman of House Judiciary Committee, arrives with Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) at a House Democratic Caucus meeting, on Sept. 25, in Washington.
-
U.S. House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks as Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), and House Minority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) look on during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol, on Sept. 25, in Washington.
-
People stop to look at newspaper front pages, from around the US, on display at the Newseum in Washington, a day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry against President Trump, on Sept. 25.
-
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announces the House of Representatives will launch a formal inquiry into the impeachment of President Trump following a closed House Democratic caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Sept. 24.
-
Protesters with "Kremlin Annex" call to impeach President Donald Trump in Lafayette Square Park in front of the White House in Washington, on Sept. 24.
-
House Speaker Pelosi walks towards the podium to speak to the media to announce the formal impeachment, on Sept. 24.
-
House Speaker Pelosi departs a closed-door meeting with the House Democratic Caucus as support grows within her ranks for an impeachment inquiry amid reports that President Donald Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his family, on Sept. 24.
-
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) leaves a meeting with House Speaker Pelosi and walks to a meeting with the House Democratic caucus to discuss launching possible impeachment proceedings against President Trump, on Sept. 24.
-
Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden makes a statement on Ukraine during a press conference, on Sept. 24, in Wilmington, Delaware.
Slideshow by photo services
Democratic lawmakers, especially those in swing districts, often say the politics of impeachment don’t matter — that they’re ready to lose their job in order to stand up for the constitution. But the politics are hard to ignore.
Even if the House impeaches the president, as of now there is no sign that the GOP-controlled Senate would remove him from office. The result could be that Trump remains in office, has a political foil to run against in 2020 and dozens of House Democrats have to run for reelection in Trump-leaning districts with an impeachment vote on their resume.
Rose and Cartwright have perhaps the slimmest tightrope to walk among all House Democrats. Trump won in their districts by nearly 10 percentage points in 2016 — the biggest margins of any Democrat who supports impeachment. In Delgado’s district, the president won by 7 percentage points. All six of the Democrats who represent districts in which the president won by more than 10 percentage points are against the inquiry.
Republicans are already eyeing each of their seats as key opportunities. Even before the inquiry, the Republican National Committee released ads tying Rose to his more liberal colleagues. The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with House Republicans, is running digital ads on Cartwright’s support for the impeachment inquiry, picturing him alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and early impeachment supporters Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.
“Matt Cartwright is right there with them,” the ad says, “because he doesn’t like the president.”
Rose, Cartwright and Delgado have each outlined that they are supporting an inquiry — not necessarily the act of impeachment — and have matched the somber tone set by Pelosi in Washington. There is no joy in impeachment, they say, but the constitution is at stake and the president has overstepped the line.
“We should want no foreign actor of any sort (to have) access to our democracy traded via a political favor,” Delgado said. “Because of that, I decided to move forward and join my colleagues in an impeachment inquiry.”
Cartwright deflected a stern question from a Trump supporter by stressing that he meets with Pelosi once a week as a member of leadership and he has been the “loudest voice” pushing her to show restraint.
Democrats know they will need to continue making the case to voters.
“It only takes about five seconds to explain what happened. We’re on better ground when we’re trying to persuade people of the seriousness of that,” said Cartwright, who helps shape messaging for House Democrats. “If it comes to it, absent exculpatory evidence and absent a good excuse, we’re going to vote for articles of impeachment and we’re going to need to explain that to the American public and bring them along.”
———
©2019 Los Angeles Times
Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Returning from recess, Democrats press Trump impeachment inquiry .
Returning from recess, Democrats press Trump impeachment inquiryThe headline event could be testimony on Thursday from Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, that was rescheduled after Trump's administration blocked a previously scheduled appearance.