Impeachment updates: Intel Committee to review impeachment report

Latest updates on the impeachment inquiry

• Lawmakers on the House Intelligence Committee will begin reviewing a report on President Trump and Ukraine on Monday.
• The Judiciary Committee is gearing up for its first hearing in the impeachment probe, scheduled for Wednesday.
• The White House says it won't participate in Wednesday's hearing, calling the impeachment inquiry “baseless” and “partisan.”

Washington — The House Intelligence Committee will begin reviewing a draft of report on the committee's investigation into President Trump's dealings with Ukraine on Monday before turning over the impeachment inquiry to the House Judiciary Committee.

Members on the Intelligence Committee returning from the Thanksgiving break will be able to start going over the draft on Capitol Hill on Monday evening, a committee official said. The committee will meet Tuesday at 6 p.m. to vote on adopting the report before sending it to the Judiciary Committee, along with “minority views” prepared by Republican members.

The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold its first hearing in the impeachment probe on Wednesday. Lawmakers will hear from four constitutional law experts about the history of impeachment and what constitutes an “impeachable offense.” Republicans on the Judiciary Committee demanded the addition of other witnesses to showcase a “wider array of perspectives regarding impeachment.”

The White House said Sunday it won't participate in the hearing, responding in a letter to an offer from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler. Under the House resolution governing the process, Mr. Trump or his counsel can attend proceedings and question witnesses.

White House counsel Pat Cipollone rejected the offer, saying it only “exacerbates the complete lack of due process and fundamental fairness afforded the president throughout this purported impeachment inquiry.”

White House won't participate in Wednesday's hearing

6:00 a.m.: In his letter Sunday night, Cipollone accused Nadler of intentionally scheduling the hearing to interfere with Mr. Trump's trip to the NATO summit in London later this week. He called the Democrats' impeachment inquiry “baseless” and “partisan.”

Cipollone also said Nadler had provided “little information” about the hearing.

“We understand from rumors and press reports (though not from any notice provided in your letter or in the official notice of the hearing) that the hearing will consist of an academic discussion by law professors. We understand this to mean that your initial hearing will include no fact witnesses at all,” the letter said.

Read more here.

Judiciary to hold first hearing on Wednesday

5:30 a.m.: The House Judiciary Committee will hold its first hearing in the impeachment inquiry this week, as Democrats move quickly into the next phase of the proceedings.

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The first hearing, titled “The Impeachment Inquiry into President Donald J. Trump: Constitutional Grounds for Presidential Impeachment,” will feature testimony from legal experts, Democratic committee aides said.

“The Committee intends this hearing to serve as an opportunity to discuss the historical and constitutional basis of impeachment, as well as the Framers' intent and understanding of terms like ‘high crimes and misdemeanors,'” Nadler wrote.

Read more here.