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A4 U.S. NEWS
Friday 6 december 2019
Articles of impeachment: Explaining what’s next in the House

By MARY CLARE JALONICK ciary panel for consider-
Associated Press ation in a Monday hearing.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Some lawmakers have sug-
House Speaker Nancy gested that Democrats
Pelosi said Thursday that could break out “brib-
Democrats will draft articles ery” as a separate article.
of impeachment against It would likely center on
President Trump, a crucial Trump withholding the aid,
step toward a vote of the and also withholding a
full House. White House meeting with
The articles are likely to Ukrainian President Volody-
mostly encompass Demo- myr Zelenskiy, in exchange
crats’ findings on Trump’s for the political investiga-
dealings with Ukraine. tions.
Democrats are still writing Obstruction articles could
them, but the articles could be broken up into obstruc-
charge Trump with abuse tion of Congress and ob-
of office, bribery and ob- struction of justice, or the
struction. two could be combined .
Lawmakers and staff are The administration’s re-
expected to finish drafting peated refusals to provide
the articles in the coming documents and testimony
days, a process that is be- would serve as the ba-
ing led by Pelosi and the sis for an article charging
House Judiciary Commit- Trump with obstruction of
tee. That panel could ap- Congress. If Democrats
prove the articles as early decide to draft an article
as next week, setting up a Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., meets with reporters during her weekly news on obstruction of justice, it
vote of the full House in the conference at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019. could mention the findings
days before Christmas. Associated Press of special counsel Robert
A breakdown of what it are charges against the cides. Court presides. If the Sen- Mueller’s investigation.
means, how the process president. If the House ap- In a Senate trial, sena- ate approves an article of DIFFERING DEMOCRATIC
works and what the articles proves them, they are then tors are jurors and select impeachment with a two- VIEWS
might say: sent to the Senate for a trial House members act as thirds vote of “guilty,” the There has been an inter-
WHAT ARE ARTICLES OF IM- and eventual vote. There prosecutors, or impeach- president is convicted and nal debate in the House
PEACHMENT? can be as few or as many ment managers. The chief removed from office. If all Democratic caucus about
Articles of impeachment articles as the House de- justice of the Supreme the articles are rejected, how many articles to write
the president is acquitted. and how much to include
While the process has the — and whether to include
trappings of a criminal trial, matters beyond Ukraine at
the decision is purely politi- all. Some moderate Demo-
cal. crats have argued that the
This is the fourth time in his- articles should focus solely
tory Congress has moved on Ukraine, as they believe
to impeach a president. If it’s a clearer case. Others
he were convicted by the say they can’t ignore Muel-
Senate, Trump would be ler’s report, which said that
the first to be removed. But Trump couldn’t be exon-
that is unlikely in the GOP- erated of obstructing the
controlled Senate. special counsel’s investiga-
WHAT THE ARTICLES WILL tion. He essentially left the
COVER matter up to Congress.
The articles of impeach- Virginia Rep. Gerry Con-
ment are likely to encom- nolly says it would be a
pass two major themes “terrible mistake”to ignore
— abuse of office and ob- obstruction of justice as
struction. But they could be laid out by Mueller. But he
divvied up into multiple ar- said Democrats “certainly
ticles. don’t want everything in
An impeachment article the kitchen sink” in the ar-
accusing Trump of abuse of ticles, either.
office, or abuse of power, “I think we should keep it
would focus on the findings as simple as possible,” said
of the Ukraine investigation California Rep. Eric Swal-
and his efforts to persuade well, a member of the Judi-
the Ukrainian government ciary and Intelligence pan-
to investigate Democrats els. “I think it’s important
as the U.S. withheld military that this is digestible for ev-
aid. That conduct is the fo- eryday Americans who are
cus of a House Intelligence understandably busy, but
Committee report that will understand what a shake-
be presented to the Judi- down is, too.”q