Trump blasts impeachment ‘hoax’ as articles approved

President blasts ‘hoax’ as House Judiciary Panel approves two articles charging him with abuse of power.

The House Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment charging President Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, setting up a vote by the full House next week in the Democrats’ push to remove him from office.

The panel’s party-line votes on the charges Friday morning came after Democrats and Republicans sparred in an all-day debate Thursday over whether Mr. Trump improperly pressured Ukraine to start probes that would help him politically and then tried to block Congress from fully investigating the allegations.

The committee had been expected to vote on the two articles Thursday, but after 14 hours of debate that dragged on past 11pm., Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D., N.Y.) called a recess until 10am. Friday. The articles were quickly passed with 23 Democrats in favour and 17 Republicans opposed.

“The law means nothing if the accused … can destroy evidence, stop witnesses from testifying and blatantly refuse to co-operate in the investigation,” said Rep. Val Demings (D., Fla.), a member of the Judiciary Committee.

If the full House approves either of the counts, Mr. Trump would become the third American president to be impeached. The matter would then move to the Republican-controlled Senate, where the tally is expected to fall short of the two-thirds vote required to remove Mr. Trump from office.

In a statement, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said Mr. Trump “looks forward to receiving in the Senate the fair treatment and due process which continues to be disgracefully denied to him by the House.” On Thursday night, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said there is “no chance the president is going to be removed from office,” in comments on Fox News.

In the debate Thursday, Republicans challenged Democrats’ allegations related to Mr. Trump’s pressure on Ukraine, saying that an abuse of power charge could be used for policy disagreements rather than misconduct.

“The president isn’t even accused of committing a crime,” said Rep. Steve Chabot (R., Ohio).

But Democrats said that impeachable offences cover behaviours that may not violate criminal statutes, an interpretation shared by many constitutional scholars.

“There are no crimes here?” said Rep. Eric Swalwell (D., Calif.). “How about the highest crime that one who holds public office could commit? A crime against our Constitution?” The impeachment push has gripped Washington for months, with most Democrats saying the president’s actions make him unfit for office. Mr. Trump and Republican allies maintain the push is purely political and based on Democrats’ deep-seated dislike of the president.

Mr. Trump has called the impeachment inquiry a hoax and denied wrongdoing. On Thursday, he retweeted criticisms of Democrats and their efforts in a flurry of more than 100 tweets.

Democrats have a 36-seat margin over Republicans in the House and project they will have the votes to impeach Mr. Trump, even with some defections. Still, the vote marks a politically wrenching decision for the 31 House Democrats who were elected from districts that also backed Mr. Trump three years ago. Political advertisements are already running in those districts, attacking the politicians for their opposition to the president.

Polls show Americans are divided on the issue and that the monthslong impeachment investigation didn’t sway voters much. In a poll released by Monmouth University on Wednesday, 45% said Mr. Trump should be impeached and convicted, while half of Americans opposed Mr. Trump’s removal from office.

Signs are also emerging that impeachment could pose a challenge for Democrats in some battleground states in the 2020 presidential election. A Marquette University poll of Wisconsin voters released on Thursday found that during the first week of December, 52% of voters thought Mr. Trump shouldn’t be impeached, compared with 40% who thought he should.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said Thursday she wouldn’t be twisting arms to get votes to pass the articles.

“We are not whipping this legislation, nor do we ever whip something like this,” she said. “People have to come to their own conclusions.” Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, a Texas Democrat who flipped a GOP district last year, was uncommitted and said she planned to re-watch the hearings before making a decision.

New Jersey Democratic Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who voted against the inquiry, said the investigation hadn’t changed his mind and that he would prefer censuring the president instead. “Look, the president made some mistakes, ” he said. “I don’t believe they’re impeachable.” Republicans have remained united against impeachment, even the few GOP politicians who have faulted Mr. Trump’s actions.

“The president’s behaviour was wrongheaded, inappropriate and ill-advised, but was it impeachable? My answer is no,” said Rep. Fred Upton (R., Mich.).

Neither Presidents Andrew Johnson nor Bill Clinton was convicted in the Senate. President Richard Nixon resigned before his expected impeachment.

Democrats say that the underlying facts aren’t contested, citing in part a transcript of Mr. Trump’s July 25 call with Ukraine’s president in which he asked his counterpart to “do us a favour, though” and to “look into” Democrat Joe Biden. Democrats say Mr. Trump withheld a coveted White House meeting and nearly $400 million in aid to pressure Ukraine to announce investigations. The aid was released in September amid a bipartisan outcry in Congress.

Republicans say that Democrats are reading too much into the call and that the witness testimony on which Democrats rely is second-hand. U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland had testified that Mr. Trump had engaged in a quid pro quo in which he made a White House meeting and a phone call contingent on Ukraine announcing investigations, and Mr. Sondland said that he had presumed the aid was withheld as additional leverage.

Mr. Trump has denied any quid pro quo and has said he was concerned about corruption in Ukraine.

On Thursday, Republicans again attacked Mr. Sondland’s credibility, noting that he significantly revised his testimony and repeatedly said that he didn’t recall events he was asked about. They also noted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he wasn’t pressured by Mr. Trump during the July 25 phone call.

“I’ve never sent someone to prison where the victim didn’t know or figure out that they were a victim,” said Rep. Louie Gohmert (R., Texas), a former judge.

Mr. Nadler said that Ukraine, which relies on U.S. support in its military conflict with Russia, was in too vulnerable a position to speak up.

“Of course he says he wasn’t pressured,” Mr. Nadler said. “The United States is a powerful nation on which his nation is dependent. He has a gun to his head.” The Democrats are also pursuing a separate article alleging obstruction of Congress after Mr. Trump blocked nine officials from testifying and prevented documents from across the federal government from being shared with Congress.

Mr. Trump and his allies reject the obstruction charge as well, saying that all presidents have a right to keep information private.

The Wall Street Journal