Wednesday’s hearing before the Judiciary Committee sets the stage for the House to move into the next phase of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.
Appearing before the committee on Wednesday will be legal scholars who will discuss, "Constitutional Grounds for Presidential Impeachment."
In advance of the committee’s hearing, the House Intelligence Committee delivered its impeachment report to members of Congress and to the public. The report detailed the committee’s findings so far, according to Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee. The full committee voted on Tuesday to release the report.
Schiff confirmed in a letter last week that the Intelligence, Oversight and Foreign Affairs committees "are now preparing a report summarizing the evidence we have found this far."
The Judiciary Committee is the committee that would draft articles of impeachment if the Democratic leadership in the House decides to move forward with impeaching Trump.
Democrats in the House launched the impeachment inquiry in September to investigate whether Trump abused his power by pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to announce investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and Biden's son, Hunter, and their connection to a Ukrainian energy company in exchange for an invitation to the White House and a military aid package.
House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-New York, issued an invitation to Trump and his attorneys to attend Wednesday's hearing.
On Sunday night, the White House declined the invitation.
"We cannot fairly be expected to participate in a hearing while the witnesses are yet to be named and while it remains unclear whether the Judiciary Committee will afford the president a fair process through additional hearings," the response from White House attorney White House counsel Pat Cipollone read.
"More importantly, an invitation to an academic discussion with law professors does not begin to provide the president with any semblance of a fair process. Accordingly, under the current circumstances, we do not intend to participate in your Wednesday hearing," Cipollone added.
Here's what we know about Wednesday's hearing:
When: Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019.
What time: The hearing began at 10 a.m. ET.
Where: The hearing will be held at the Longworth House Office Building.
Who is testifying: Four legal experts are set to testify about impeachment and the Constitution. Three of the experts were chosen by the Democrats. The fourth expert was chosen by the Republicans.
Who isn't testifying: Trump will not be at the hearing despite Nadler's invitation, nor will anyone from the White House be testifying.
How to watch: Cable networks will be carrying this hearing live, but if you want to watch an uninterrupted livestream, see below. The livestream will start a few minutes before 10 a.m. ET.
Who is on the committee: Here are the members of the House Judiciary Committee:
Democratic members
- Jerry Nadler, New York, chairman
- Zoe Lofgren, California
- Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas
- Steve Cohen, Tennessee
- Hank Johnson, Georgia
- Ted Deutch, Florida
- Karen Bass, California
- Cedric Richmond, Louisiana
- Hakeem Jeffries, New York
- David Cicilline, Rhode Island
- Eric Swalwell, California
- Ted Lieu, California
- Jamie Raskin, Maryland
- Pramila Jayapal, Washington
- Val Demings, Florida
- Lou Correa, California
- Mary Gay Scanlon, Pennsylvania, vice chair
- Sylvia Garcia, Texas
- Joe Neguse, Colorado
- Lucy McBath, Georgia
- Greg Stanton, Arizona
- Madeleine Dean, Pennsylvania
- Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Florida
- Veronica Escobar, Texas
Republican members
- Doug Collins, Georgia, ranking member
- Jim Sensenbrenner, Wisconsin
- Steve Chabot, Ohio
- Louie Gohmert, Texas
- Jim Jordan, Ohio
- Ken Buck, Colorado
- John Ratcliffe, Texas
- Martha Roby, Alabama
- Matt Gaetz, Florida
- Mike Johnson, Louisiana
- Andy Biggs, Arizona
- Tom McClintock, California
- Debbie Lesko, Arizona
- Guy Reschenthaler, Pennsylvania
- Ben Cline, Virginia
- Kelly Armstrong, North Dakota
- Greg Steube, Florida
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