| | | | Why today's impeachment hearing worked |  | | The House Judiciary Committee is in the midst of a marathon session that will, eventually, end with a final vote on the two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.
You might think that a hearing that began at 9 a.m. ET and could easily extend past the 12-hour mark might be overwhelming. Or filled with partisan vitriol and name-calling. And there was some of that! I mean, Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz is on this committee, after all!
But taken as a whole, the mark-up hearing -- essentially a series of attempts to change small or large parts of the language of the articles of impeachment -- was packed full of information. You had a constitutional law professor (Maryland Democratic Jamie Raskin) debating with a constitutional law litigator of the other party (Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson). You had an extended debate about the origins of executive privilege and how it should be understood in the context of this impeachment hearing against Trump. You had a long back-and-forth over the separation of powers and just how much the legislative (or executive) branch should have within our government.
Taken as a whole, it was a multi-hour, rollicking conversation between a lot of very powerful people about why they were there, what it meant for Trump and, most importantly, what it all means for the future of the country. For much of the time, a majority of the 40-plus members of the committee stayed in their seats in the hearing, listening to the arguments of their side and the other side -- and seeking to either prop up or rebut something they had heard.
It wasn't perfect. But it felt we were watching the way Congress should work -- a group of elected officials debating their colleagues in, generally speaking, a serious way. It felt like the sort of hearing we should have when the matter being debated is as grave as impeachment of a sitting president. And it felt a world away from the previous two impeachment hearings held by the House Judiciary Committee, in which members simply yelled one another and gave a series of pre-prepared five-minute speeches.
The Point: If more people wind up leaving this impeachment process with a better understanding of the "how and why" behind what Congress does, that will be a silver lining in what is quite clearly a very dark cloud over Washington these days.
-- Chris | | "Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!"
-- President Donald Trump on Twitter mocking about this year's TIME Person of the Year, 16-year-old climate crisis activist Greta Thunberg. She then incorporated Trump's criticism into her Twitter bio.
Chris has more on why we should be appalled at Trump's tweet about Thunberg, and Lauren goes into Trump's preoccupation with the Person of the Year title on today's podcast. | | | UPENDING THE DEBATE SCHEDULE | | The DNC rolled out a schedule of primary debates in January and February in the early states but there's one big caveat.
The still-to-be-scheduled Senate impeachment trial could upend the just-announced January 14 debate in Iowa, because the current field still includes a number of sitting senators that would be required to participate. There are five currently running: Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker and Michael Bennet.
We still don't know when the trial will start (other than around the time the college football bowl games end) nor how long it will run. For reference, President Bill Clinton's 1999 impeachment trial ran from January 7 to February 12.
CNN is set to cohost the debate with The Des Moines Register at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. It will be the last face-to-face among the candidates ahead of the Iowa caucuses on February 3. | | | Christmas came early! Weyes Blood did a "Tiny Desk Concert!" | |  | President Trump's feud with Fox News | | Chris explains the complicated relationship between the President and the news network.
Keep it simple with The Point on YouTube. | |
LAUREN'S CAMPAIGN TRAIL LATEST | | Elizabeth Warren: Singled out the four Bs: Buttigieg, Biden, Bloomberg and the billionaires in an economic policy speech in New Hampshire.
Bernie Sanders: Will hold a town hall and rally with Rep. Ilhan Omar in New Hampshire on Friday.
Joe Biden: Has been endorsed by more New Hampshire mayors than any other Democratic candidate.
Cory Booker: Says he won't drop out of the presidential race despite not qualifying for the December debate. | | | 0
The number of House Republicans who will vote to impeach President Donald Trump, according to a prediction from Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. | | | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment