Impeachment updates: House to release transcripts of testimony
The latest news on the impeachment inquiry
- Democrats on the committees leading the impeachment inquiry plan to release transcripts of closed-door hearings, beginning this week.
- Democratic Congresswoman Jackie Speier said the transcripts will be “very telling.”
- Last week, the House voted to approve a resolution establishing the procedures for the impeachment inquiry’s next phase, laying out the framework for public hearings.
Washington — House Democrats are planning to release transcripts of the closed-door testimony provided as part of the impeachment inquiry as the probe enters a more public-facing phase.
Democratic Representative Jackie Speier, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the testimony will prove to be “very telling.”
“I think you’re going to see all of the transcripts that are going to be released probably within the next five days,” Speier said. “I don’t know if they’re all going to be released on the same day. But they’re going to be very telling to the American people.”
A resolution passed by the House last week establishes the parameters of the inquiry moving forward, including the release of transcripts, public hearings in the Intelligence Committee and eventual hearings in the Judiciary Committee, where the president and his counsel will be able to cross examine witnesses and request subpoenas.
Meanwhile, a lawyer for the whistleblower offered to let House Republicans submit questions directly to his client, bypassing Democrats on the committee.
Mark Zaid, who represents the whistleblower who raised concerns about President Trump’s call with the president of Ukraine, said he told Republican Representative Devin Nunes, the ranking member of the Intelligence Community, that his client would answer written questions under penalty of perjury.
Speier says testimony will be “very telling”
6:00 a.m.: Speier said the American public can expect to see this week transcripts of recent closed-door congressional appearances by current and former Trump administration officials at the center of the impeachment inquiry.
“I think you’re going to see all of the transcripts that are going to be released probably within the next five days,” Speier said on “Face the Nation.” “I don’t know if they’re all going to be released on the same day. But they’re going to be very telling to the American people.”
The California Democrat suggested the transcripts and the public hearings will allow the American to reach the same conclusion most of her Democratic colleagues have already made.
“That’s going to give the American people an eye on exactly what we have heard. And what we have heard is growing evidence of grounds for impeachment,” Speier added.
Read more here.
Whistleblower willing to answer Republicans’ questions, lawyer says
5:30 a.m.: A lawyer for the whistleblower told CBS News he offered to have Republicans on the House Intelligence Community submit questions to his client directly without having to go through the committee’s Democratic majority.
Attorney Mark Zaid told CBS News he contacted Representative Devin Nunes, the committee’s ranking member, on Saturday to say his client is willing to answer Republicans’ questions under oath and penalty of perjury if lawmakers submitted written questions to the whistleblower’s legal team. The inspector general of the intelligence community, a President Trump appointee, could verify the whistleblower’s identity in order to satisfy the committee’s minority members while protecting the individual’s anonymity.
Nunes’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Zaid said the offer underscores his client’s desire to ensure his complaint is handled in a nonpartisan way.
Read the full story here.
Hoyer: Lawmakers “have a duty to the country” on impeachment
5:00 a.m: Maryland Congressman Steny Hoyer, the second-highest ranking Democrat in the House, said lawmakers in Congress have a constitutional responsibility to continue the impeachment inquiry — regardless of the potential political fallout his party may face.
“This is not a calculation about whether this is good for us politically or bad for us politically,” Hoyer said on “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
Hoyer conceded that the impeachment drive — as well as potential articles of impeachment against Mr. Trump — “may well” have political ramifications for Democrats. But he suggested it is a price his party is willing to pay.
“But we have a duty. We have a duty to the country, to the American people, and to the Constitution of the United States,” he said. — Camilo Montoya-Galvez
Read more here.
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