“Spent enough time on this farce”: why the White House does not want to participate in the hearing on the impeachment of Trump

Representatives of the presidential administration, most likely, will not participate in the hearing on the impeachment of Donald Trump on December 9. White House legal adviser Pat Cipollone sent a letter to the Legal Committee of the US House of Representatives in which he sharply criticized the investigation of the impeachment case.

“Because of Democratic congressmen, the Americans have already spent enough time on this whole farce. You should immediately complete the investigation, and not waste even more time on additional hearings, ”the NBC television channel quotes Chipollone as writing.

The legal adviser to the Trump administration added that the current process is "the most unjust, extremely politically engaged and fundamentally contrary to the Constitution attempt at impeachment in the history of our country."

“Whatever course you choose, it would be appropriate to quote the president’s recent statement:“ If you intend to introduce me to impeachment, act now and do not hesitate so that we can conduct a fair trial in the Senate and so that our country can return to its affairs, ” - emphasized the lawyer.

Despite the fact that the letter does not contain a direct refusal to participate in the hearings, the intention of the White House and the president to ignore them was confirmed by the media by one of the senior members of the Trump administration.

“We see no reason (to participate. - RT ) due to the unfair nature of the process. We were not given a real opportunity to participate. The speaker (House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi. - RT ) has already announced a predetermined result, and we will not be allowed to call anyone as witnesses, ”Reuters quoted the administration representative as saying.

Gerald Nadler, head of the Congressional Democratic Law Committee, had previously sent a request to the White House to summon President Donald Trump to impeachment hearings on December 4, but was refused.

Trump himself criticized Nadler and his committee in his Twitter, noting that impeachment hearings interfere with the legislative activities of the US Congress.

Nadler hasn't had a single fact witness testify! Zero substance — Country wants #USMCA and Growth, not Impeachment. Polls have tanked on the Do Nothing Democrats!

“Nadler did not call a single real witness to testify! No content. The country needs a trade agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada, as well as economic growth, not impeachment. According to polls, “demo-idlers” are failing! ”Trump wrote.

Impeachment technology

Recall, the Democrats charge the head of the White House "abuse of power to obtain personal and political benefits to the detriment of national security." The abuse, according to congressmen, was that during a conversation with the head of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, Trump asked him to facilitate an investigation being conducted in Ukraine against the son of former US vice president Joe Biden, who had nominated himself for the presidency in 2020 year.

• US President Donald Trump
• Reuters
• © Kevin Lamarque

In addition, the Democrats claim that Trump allegedly froze the transfer of military assistance in the amount of $ 391 million to Ukraine, and also postponed Zelensky’s visit to the White House.

On December 5, House Speaker and Democratic Majority Leader in Congress Nancy Pelosi said she had asked Nadler, as chairman of the jurisprudence committee, to begin the process of compiling articles on the impeachment of Donald Trump.

After the preparation of the articles of impeachment (which are charges of unlawful acts), the House of Representatives must, on their basis, hold a new vote in favor or against the impeachment. If the procedure is approved, the document will be sent to the upper house of Congress - the Senate.

Having at their disposal reports from Congressional intelligence and jurisprudence committees, as well as impeachment articles endorsed by the lower house, senators will conduct a trial that will establish the degree of guilt of the US president.

A conviction requires two-thirds of the votes of senators. Now the Republican Party has an advantage in the upper house - its representatives occupy 53 seats, while Democratic senators - 45. This means that at least 20 Trump members of the party must vote for the removal of the president from power.

Konstantin Blokhin, an expert at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, considers this scenario unlikely.

“Trump cannot be removed from power through impeachment, because the Senate is controlled by the Republican Party, the vast majority of whose members support Trump. They will not commit political suicide before the 2020 elections, when they will be re-elected themselves, ”the political scientist said in a conversation with RT.

Mueller's Return

In addition to the impeachment of Donald Trump for the abuse of presidential power, the Democrats intend to return to the agenda and his "connection" with Russia. This was announced on December 5 by Nancy Pelosi, commenting on the order on the preparation of impeachment articles.

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
• AFP
• © Alex Edelman / Getty Images

“It's not in Ukraine, but in Russia. Who benefits from a suspension in our military assistance? Of Russia. It's all about her. Russia invades the east of Ukraine ... Our opponent in this situation is Russia. All roads lead to Putin. Understand this, ”the Associated Press quoted her as saying.

Recall that the investigation into the ties of Donald Trump and his entourage with the Russian Federation, which was conducted by special prosecutor Robert Muller, lasted two years and ended in March 2019. Upon its completion, a report was sent to Congress stating that the investigation did not find evidence or evidence of a connection between the current president’s campaign headquarters and the Kremlin.

Despite Pelosi’s statements about “undeniable evidence” and attempts to link impeachment with Russia, not all Democrats who supported the launch of the impeachment procedure answered whether they would vote for him after the preparation of the articles.

“I can’t say whether I will vote for or against anything until I see the specifics. Something seems logical, but something doesn’t, ”Congressman Democrat Joe Cunningham quotes the Associated Press.

According to another democrat, Anthony Brindisi, while he occupies a "middle" position: "I was completely undecided," he told reporters.

By linking the seemingly resolved issue of Mueller’s investigation of Trump’s ties with Russia to impeachment, the Democrats want to “sell” it to the Americans, says Vladimir Vasiliev, chief researcher at the US and Canada Institute.

“They charged Trump with abuse of power, which is weak for impeachment, because all American presidents can be blamed for this. In addition, in American society with respect to Ukraine, there is an idea that this is a corrupt country, so the Democratic Party decided to expand the articles on impeachment and thus increase the degree of “credibility”. It was a pity for the Democrats to throw out Mueller’s report, so they are feeling the way how to expand the accusations and add a Russian trace, ”the expert explained in a conversation with RT.

In turn, according to Konstantin Blokhin, the leadership of the US Democratic Party is well aware that this procedure was doomed to failure from the very beginning.

“Their goal was to create a negative background around Trump. "The Russian affair" does not have to be key, but the Russian factor will always be present in the domestic political discourse in the US Congress, "the political scientist concluded.