House Votes for Impeachment Inquiry

Reviews
The article is ambiguous in several points, but overall highlights that Trump still disagrees with the impeachment, and Democrats still think they have good evidence to move forward, which they are doing. The article sidesteps focus on Biden by labeling him "a political rival" early on, but generally gives a factual account of current events. Supporting facts are unclear: why did Sondland, a U.S. official, convey "quid pro quo" to the Ukrainians? How did Morrison's testimony become public (the article partially details second-hand accounts)?
Meta Data
Definitions (7)
Pelosi: Nancy Pelosi is the Speaker for the House, a Democratic Congresswoman from California
Sondland: Gordon Sondland is the U.S. Ambassador to the European Union
Biden: Joe Biden is the former Vice President of the United States and a top political rival to Trump
Kupperman: Charles Kupperman is a former deputy national security advisor, who worked under Bolton
Bolton: John Bolton is a former national security advisor under Trump
Resolution: The Resolution is a legal resolution approved by the U.S. House of Representatives, including legal guidelines for the public phase of the impeachment probe
Morrison: Tim Morrison is a top official on Trump's National Security Council
Review Info (3)
First Published: 11/01/2019 01:23:20 am
Last Updated: 11/30/-0001 12:00:00 am
Original Front Page Link
Washington Post
Content (11)
Morrison backed up prior testimony that Trump "withheld nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine to pressure the country into announcing investigations into" Biden and "interference in the 2016 election".
The inquiry was formalized through a resolution that was approved 232-196 votes
The resolution cleared the way for "for nationally televised hearings in mid-November"
Morrison testified in a closed-door deposition shortly before the vote on the resolution
Morrison's testimony was available through "his prepared remarks and people familiar with his testimony, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door proceedings"
Morrison claimed to have obtained his information from Gordon Sondland
Sondland was the "administration official who communicated that apparent quid pro quo to Ukrainian leaders"
"In a private lunch with several Senate Republicans, Trump made his case against impeachment and repeatedly praised his own decision to release a rough transcript of the July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, when Trump urged Zelensky to investigate Biden and his son Hunter."
A judge decided Thursday (10/31/2019) to hear arguments on 12/10/2019 on whether Kupperman should be an impeachment witness
The judge's decision comes at a late date, which could complicate the investigation since it may not come before a House vote
Democrats have also requested testimony next week from Bolton
Spin (9)
The resolution ensured "Trump’s right to participate in the latter stage of the proceedings unless he tries to block witnesses from testifying"
Trump has vehemently denied the quid pro quo arrangement that is the focus of the impeachment probe
The reported events "marked significant progress for the House’s five-week-old inquiry — and triggered an escalation in the partisan rancor that has dominated the impeachment process and much of Trump’s presidency"
"The expansive inquiry with a new phase of public hearings is likely to extend into the 2020 election year with a Senate trial."
Pelosi resisted impeachment for months
"'We’ve had enough for a very long time,' Pelosi said Monday at a roundtable with columnists, adding that the House investigators would pursue additional corroboration of witness accounts"
Pelosi "said this week that she has found the evidence against Trump convincing. Still, she said, there has been no final decision on impeachment."
"After the House vote, the White House accused Democrats of having an 'unhinged obsession' with impeachment, with press secretary Stephanie Grisham calling the effort a 'blatantly partisan attempt to destroy the president.'"
Trump tweeted: "The Greatest Witch Hunt In American History!"
Article Info (4)
Date Published: 2019-10-31 20:00:00
Date Accessed: 2019-10-31 20:34:00
Article Author: Elise Viebeck, Karoun Demirjian, Rachael Bade, and Mike DeBonis
Click here to see the article