IMPEACHMENT

THE ISSUE

President Trump was impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress because an investigation sparked by a whistleblower complaint revealed that he orchestrated a shadow diplomatic effort to leverage congressionally-approved taxpayer funds and official state meetings in order to coerce a foreign government into facilitating an attack against his political rival, and then worked to cover up the evidence and obstruct the ensuing investigation. Rep. Pingree voted in favor of both articles of impeachment. Rep. Golden voted yes on Article I and no on Article II. On Jan. 15, the House selected impeachment managers and sent the articles to the Senate for trial. The rules for the trial, approved by a party-line vote, differ from those that governed the Clinton impeachment trial, most notably by offering no guarantee that witnesses or evidence directly impacting the case will be admitted. Despite 75% of voters wanting the trial to include witnesses and evidence, a vote to allow them was defeated. Both King and Collins voted in favor of it. Collins later voted against amendments calling for specific witnesses, except those limited only to John Bolton. Trump’s impeachment is the only impeachment trial in Senate history to exclude witnesses. Collins later spoke on the Senate floor, attempting to justify her plan to acquit Trump by saying that while his conduct was inappropriate, it didn’t rise to the level of impeachable offenses. She later said in an interview that she thought Trump had learned “a pretty big lesson” from the impeachment, and didn’t need any further legislative rebuke. Senator King also spoke, laying out a clear case for conviction. In the end, all Democrats and Independents voted to convict, and all Republicans except Mitt Romney voted to acquit. 

As the trial progressed, new evidence continued (and still continues) to emerge:

• Hours after the Senate voted against seeking new evidence in the impeachment case against President Trump, court filings in a FOIA case showed that the administration acknowledged the existence of two dozen emails that could reveal the president’s thinking about withholding military aid to Ukraine.
• The New York Times has obtained a draft outline of a book by Trump’s former national security advisor John Bolton, in which Bolton claims that Trump wanted to continue freezing military aid to Ukraine until officials there helped with investigations into the Bidens. Newly leaked information also indicates that Trump directed Bolton to assist his pressure campaign. The request came during an Oval Office conversation in early May that included Mick Mulvaney, Rudy Giuliani, and White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, who is now leading Trump’s impeachment defense.
• Information provided by indicted Guiliani associate Lev Parnas continues to challenge the President’s defense. Documents, audio recordings, and video appear to confirm that, contrary to Trump’s statements, withholding military aid and state visits, and removing Ambassador Yovanovich was directly tied to securing an announcement of investigations into the Bidens. They also suggest involvement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Attorney General William Barr, Vice President Mike Pence, and others.
• The Government Accountability Office determined that the Trump administration broke the law when it withheld security assistance from Ukraine.
• Ukraine opened investigations into allegations of illegal surveillance of Ambassador Yovanovitch and the recently discovered Russian hacking of the natural gas company Burisma. 
• Newly released, unredacted emails show that President Trump was directly involved in withholding military aid to Ukraine while seeking investigations to benefit his reelection.

THANK SENATOR KING FOR THOUGHTFULLY WEIGHING THE EVIDENCE, LISTENING TO HIS CONSTITUENTS, AND EXPLAINING HIS CAREFULLY-MADE DECISION. 

From the beginning of the impeachment process, Senator King gave regular updates to his constituents about his thought process, and offered an insightful view from inside the chamber. After evidence was presented, Senator King came home to Maine, to hold a public forum in order to listen to constituent concerns about impeachment. His speech before casting his vote was logical and evidence-based, and clearly explained how the case proved the President’s corruption, and how the only response to such a result is to convict. He served his constituents with clarity and common sense, and we should give him our thanks. Find his contact info below. 

LOOK BACK ON THE FACTS

The House Intelligence Committee published transcripts of its closed-door depositions, as well as key excerpts, “who’s who” info, and “big picture” take-aways HERE. The Washington Post also created a great timeline of all the events at the heart of the impeachment inquiry as well as a succinct overview. If you only have time to read one or two very short things, we recommend this open letter, penned by more than 500 legal scholars, asserting that Trump committed impeachable offenses. We also recommend reading the key excerpts from the Judiciary Committee’s report. There are also many excellent impeachment explainers and analysis available. We’re particularly fond of an explainer created by Vox. 

LOOK BACK ON THE SENATE IMPEACHMENT TRIAL

Day 14: Final vote. WATCH IT 

Day 13: Senators’ floor speeches. WATCH SENATOR COLLINS | WATCH SENATOR KING

Day 12: Closing arguments. WATCH PART 1, PART 2 | KEY TAKE-AWAYS

Day 11: Additional arguments and votes for witnesses. WATCH IT | KEY TAKE-AWAYS

Day 10: Final day of questioning. WATCH IT | KEY TAKE-AWAYS

Day 9: First day of questioning. WATCH IT | KEY TAKE-AWAYS

Day 8: Final day of Trump’s defense opening arguments. WATCH PART 1, PART 2 | KEY TAKE-AWAYS

Day 7: Second day of Trump’s defense opening arguments. WATCH IT | KEY TAKE-AWAYS

Day 6: First day of Trump’s defense opening arguments. WATCH IT | KEY TAKE-AWAYS

Day 5: Final day of House prosecution opening arguments. WATCH IT | KEY TAKE-AWAYS

Day 4: Second day of House prosecution opening arguments. WATCH PART 1, PART 2 | KEY TAKE-AWAYS

Day 3: First day of House prosecution opening arguments. WATCH PART 1, PART 2, PART 3 | KEY TAKE-AWAYS

Day 2: Debate and votes on trial rules. WATCH IT | KEY TAKE-AWAYS

Day 1: Swearing in. WATCH IT

SENATE IMPEACHMENT TRIAL DOCUMENTS

Senate Impeachment Trial Organizing Resolution

President Trump’s Impeachment Trial Brief

House Impeachment Managers’ Trial Brief

HOUSE IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY DOCUMENTS

The House Judiciary Committee Report on the Articles of Impeachment Against Donald Trump

Articles of Impeachment Against Donald J. Trump for High Crimes and Misdemeanors

The House Judiciary Committee Report on Constitutional Grounds for Presidential Impeachment

The House Intelligence Committee Impeachment Inquiry Report 

LOOK BACK ON THE HOUSE IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS

[Note: We have included links to the full public hearings, below. You can also find select video clips HERE.]

HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE HEARINGS

The House Judiciary Committee’s first impeachment hearing featured four constitutional scholars who answered questions about what constitutes an impeachable offense: Noah Feldman of Harvard University, Pamela Karlan of Stanford University, Michael Gerhardt of the University of North Carolina, and Jonathan Turley of George Washington University. WATCH IT | KEY TAKE-AWAYS

The committee’s second public impeachment hearing featuring presentations from the House Intelligence Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. WATCH IT | KEY TAKE-AWAYS

HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE FACT WITNESS HEARINGS

US Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent. WATCH IT | KEY TAKE-AWAYS

Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. WATCH IT | KEY TAKE-AWAYS 

Vice President Pence’s Special Advisor for Europe and Russia Jennifer Williams and National Security Council Director for European Affairs Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman. WATCH IT | KEY TAKE-AWAYS 

Former U.S. Special Envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker and National Security Council Director for Europe and Russia Tim Morrison. WATCH IT | KEY TAKE-AWAYS 

U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland. WATCH IT | KEY TAKE-AWAYS

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russian, Ukrainian, and Eurasian Affairs Laura Cooper and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale. WATCH IT | KEY TAKE-AWAYS

Former National Security Council Director for Europe and Russia Fiona Hill and State Department Political Counselor David Holmes. WATCH IT | KEY TAKE-AWAYS