The Washington Post: Trump's investigation is public and difficult for Republicans to defend

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives on Tuesday took an important step in investigating President Donald Trump by publicly approving hearings that were closed until the decision was made, which will make it hard for Republicans to defend the president and make it harder to hide.

Republicans, who spent weeks demanding such transparency and unanimity against the resolution, voted unanimously against the resolution, arguing that open hearings should allow Americans to listen and understand how Trump forced the Ukrainian government to agree to help his campaign for re-election in 2020. Republicans should take a stand on whether this behavior is appropriate.

Match their rules
Trump and his attorney will have the opportunity to make statements, cross-examine witnesses, and call defense witnesses with the approval of the head of the current inquiry, the Post said.

She also said the rules of the investigation are almost identical to those adopted by Republicans when they conducted the trial of former President Bill Clinton in 1998.

Many honest public officials have been willing to testify about Trump's abuses, despite White House efforts to silence them, the latest being conservative Republican Tim Morrison, who served as senior adviser for Russia and Ukraine on the National Security Council.

Morrison gave direct confirmation of the decisive moments in the Trump campaign to pressure the Ukrainians. He informed William B. Taylor, a senior US diplomat in Kiev, said the Ukrainians had been told that US military aid would be withheld until they announced an investigation into a gas company that used Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter.

Eyewitness
In another conversation, Morrison told Taylor that Trump insisted - during a telephone conversation with EU Ambassador Gordon Sundland - that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinsky would announce an investigation into Biden, as well as Ukraine play a role in the 2016 elections.

This is the kind of testimony that, when made public, will make it difficult for Republicans to insist that Trump did not ask for his proposal to the Ukrainians.

When Trump stops defaming Democrats or witnesses, she will push Republicans to defend his claim that there is nothing wrong with his actions because he has the right to use military aid, or promise the Oval Office meeting to urge foreign governments to tarnish his potential opponent in the 2020 election.

So far, most Senate Republicans have distanced themselves from this stance, but now that it is public, they will find it hard to hide.