Democrats: Need to impeach Trump now to stop hijacking-in-progress of the 2020 election

WASHINGTON — As Democrats move the House closer to impeaching President Donald Trump, they argued at a Monday hearing they need to act now to stop the Trump hijacking-in-progress of the 2020 election.

At the second — and perhaps the last — House Judiciary Committee hearing before the panel votes out articles of impeachment, the Republicans punched — successfully at times — at a case the Democrats have been saying is airtight.

The case is not perfect. That’s right.

However, the GOP quest for prosecutorial perfection is not enough to drop the whole thing and disregard evidence showing Trump was trying to pressure Ukraine in a way that would result in his personal political advantage. That’s how Republicans want the public to see this: Let Trump stand for reelection and let the voters decide.

To do that ignores that Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani — accountable to no one — was in Ukraine last week seeking information against Hunter Biden, the son of Joe Biden, a leading 2020 Democratic presidential contender. That fact is part of the argument the impeachment proceedings are about 2020 — not nullifying 2016.

On Saturday, Trump told reporters at the White House that Giuliani, once back from Europe, is “going to make a report, I think to the Attorney General and to Congress. He says he has a lot of good information. I have not spoken to him about that information.” Trump added, “I hear he’s found plenty, yeah.”

The long, often combative hearing featured no new fact witnesses, to the ire of the Judiciary Republicans who complain they should not have to rely on the investigation conducted by the House Intelligence Committee.

Adding to that, the Republicans were outraged that the 300-page investigative report released by Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff, D-Calif., contained records of calls made on the phone of the top Republican on that panel, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif.

While that is a side issue with nothing to do with the impeachment case against Trump, the attacks on the Democrats over the public release of the phone documents raised the partisan heat.

How hot? Republicans insisted on roll calls of the 41-member committee even on the question of whether to take a recess.

Multiple things can be true at the same time.

Republicans keep saying that some Democrats wanted to impeach Trump as soon as he took office. That’s right.

And the Democrats were disappointed that special counsel Robert Mueller did not find a smoking gun that would make impeachment a slam dunk. That’s right.

What is also right is that Trump himself triggered a revived impeachment push when a whistleblower reported on his July 25 phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said Democrats were trying “to overturn the results of the election” by pursuing impeachment. That’s a key Republican talking point.

The argument Democrats make to plunge ahead now — and it’s taken them some time for them to articulate this simply — is that this is about preventing foreign interference in the 2020 election.

“The integrity of our next election is at stake,” said Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y. That Giuliani is on the loose in Ukraine shows “continuing risk.”

Stephen Castor, the GOP lawyer for the Judiciary and Intelligence Committees, homed in on weak parts of the Democratic case against Trump.

Castor threw Trump’s ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, and his imperfect memory under the bus multiple times, because the Democrats heavily relied on Sondland.

The rough transcript of the July 25 call is a centerpiece of the case. Castor said those “eight lines” don’t show Trump abused his power or obstructed Congress. For Congress to impeach Trump on this is “baloney,” said Castor.

Zelensky, who took office May 20, has said that he did not consider himself pressured or blackmailed by Trump. Castor ticked off the dates Zelensky said this: Sept. 25; Oct. 6; Oct. 10; and in a Time magazine interview posted last week.

Said Zelensky to Time, “Look, I never talked to the President from the position of a quid pro quo. That’s not my thing.” That’s a problem for Democrats, poised to impeach Trump and needing the public on their side.