House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler: ‘Formal impeachment proceedings’ have begun against Trump

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) put the White House and President Donald Trump on notice Thursday evening by announcing that formal impeachment proceedings have indeed begun.

Appearing on CNN, Nadler was asked by host Erin Burnett:

“In your mind, you’re saying this is exactly the same as what we all call formal impeachment proceedings by another name?”

Nadler replied:

“This is formal impeachment proceedings. We are investigating all the evidence, we’re gathering the evidence. And we will at the conclusion of this — hopefully by the end of the year — vote to vote articles of impeachment to the House floor. Or we won’t. That’s a decision that we’ll have to make. But that’s exactly the process we’re in right now.”

The chairman then added that the House Judiciary Committee is investigating whether articles of impeachment will be drawn up against the president when Congress returns from its recess shortly after Labor Day:

“The fact is, we are doing an investigation. We are investigating the facts, investigating the evidence. We are going into court to get witnesses all with a view toward deciding and recommending to the House whether to impeach the president.”

Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) confirmed what Nadler had told Burnett:

But the ranking Republican on the judiciary committee, Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), tried to undercut what Nadler and Cicilline had revealed:

As The Hill notes, House Democrats have been turning up the heat on the White House and former administration staffers in recent days:

On Wednesday, the panel filed a lawsuit against former White House counsel DON MCGAHN. McGahn has defied the committee’s subpoena for testimony regarding allegations that Trump obstructed justice in Mueller’s investigation.

“The Judiciary Committee is now determining whether to recommend articles of impeachment against the president based on the obstructive conduct described by the special counsel,” the filing stated. Democrats wrote that McGahn is the committee’s “most important fact witness in its consideration of whether to recommend articles of impeachment.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=tukYc1Or37U

Featured Image Via YouTube Screenshot