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WASHINGTON — Lawyers sparred before the House Judiciary Committee on Monday on whether President Donald Trump should be removed from office, as the committee’s Democratic majority pledged to move forward on preparing articles of impeachment over Republican members’ objections.
In opening arguments during the morning session, two lawyers representing the Democrats outlined their case on why Mr. Trump’s actions justified the historic measure of impeachment.
Mr. Trump’s pressure on the Ukrainian government to investigate a political rival, the lawyers argued, met all the requirements for Congress to take such a historic and dramatic measure. Moving quickly, the lawyers argued, was necessary because the president was threatening the integrity of the 2020 presidential election.
“The evidence is overwhelming,” said Barry Berke, counsel for the Democratic majority. “The president’s actions have left no choice.”
Daniel Goldman, the second lawyer, said the president posed a “clear and present danger” to U.S. elections and national security.
Two lawyers representing Republicans, meanwhile, criticized the Democrats’ motives for pursuing impeachment and sought to discredit the evidence and witnesses. Last week, the House Intelligence Committee released a 300-page report on its findings, concluding that Mr. Trump has abused his power for personal and political gain.
Democrats are moving to impeach “not because they have evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors, but because they disagree with his policies,” said Stephen Castor, counsel for the Republicans on the Judiciary Committee.
“The evidentiary record is incomplete and, in many places, is incoherent,” Mr. Castor said.
The evidence methodically presented by the lawyers at Monday’s hearing will form the central legal tenets of Mr. Trump’s likely impeachment trial in the Senate.
Democrats were hoping to establish Mr. Trump’s dealings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy fit the textbook definition for what America’s founders most feared when they granted Congress the power of impeachment.
Mr. Burke laid out what he called the “ABCs” of impeachment: abuse of power, betrayal of the national interest and corruption of U.S. elections.
“Most extraordinarily … President Trump did not violate one of these — but all three,” Mr. Burke said. His conduct “checks all three boxes.”
Mr. Burke, followed by Mr. Goldman, showed video clips from testimony from the slew of public hearings before the House Intelligence Committee, spurred by a whistleblower report made public in September.
They displayed text messages among diplomats discussing Mr. Trump’s request for Ukraine to make a public announcement of an investigation into Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company on whose board sat the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, Hunter Biden. Joe Biden is a frontrunner for the Democratic nomination in the 2020 presidential contest.
One text message sent by Bill Taylor, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, sent on Sept. 9 to Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, and another diplomat read: “As I said on the phone, I think it’s crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign.”
The message was clear, Mr. Berke said, that the Ukrainians would not receive U.S. military aid or a meeting with the White House “unless they further President Trump’s reelection efforts. That is a corrupt abuse of power.”
The lawyers also sought to use Mr. Trump’s own words against him. They played video of Mr. Trump calling on China to investigate the Bidens and video of the press conference in which White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney effectively admitted to a quid pro quo.
Republicans and their counsel focused on critiquing the process as unfair and arguing Democrats did not have hard evidence.
“Where’s the impeachable offense? Why are we here?” said Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., the top Republican on the committee. “We don’t have a crime.”
Mr. Castor, the Republican counsel, said Democrats were “obsessed” with impeachment and that their inquiry is “clearly an orchestrated effort to upend our political system.”
“Democrats have been searching for a set of facts to impeach President Trump since his inauguration,” Mr. Castor said.
The White House, which has called the impeachment inquiry a “sham,” did not send representatives to defend the president in the hearing.
Yet Mr. Trump tweeted dozens of times on Sunday and Monday about the impeachment hearing, assailing Democrats.
As with previous hearings, there were partisan flare-ups.
Republican members frequently interrupted the hearing during the morning session to needle Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat from New York who chairs the Judiciary Committee, demanding a hearing for the GOP minority and criticizing his handling of procedure.
When Mr. Nadler shut down those requests, the Republicans asked for a roll call vote, in which votes are read aloud individually and recorded.
Some Republicans smiled in delight and exasperation as their colleagues shouted objections and parliamentary inquiries.
Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., jumped in to air grievances over the time committee members were given to review the evidence.
“How are we expected to process 8,000 pages of documents?” Mr. Reschenthaler said, over the gaveling of Mr. Nadler. “If this were a court of law, you’d be facing sanctions by the bar association.”
Mr. Nadler admonished him: “Gentleman will suspend and not make a speech.”
Members of the Judiciary Committee were each allowed five minutes to question the lawyers.
Mr. Reschenthaler, speaking toward the end of a lengthy afternoon session, again came to the president’s defense.
“Democrats don’t want to talk about the red-hot Trump economy,” enabled by renegotiating trade deals and rolling back regulations, Mr. Reschenthaler said. “This whole process is just a distraction — an attempt to hide the far-left radical agenda.”
As Mr. Reschenthaler had said before, he does not believe Mr. Trump put pressure on Ukraine in return for a political favor and that anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine were justified.
“Ukrainian attempts to interfere in the 2016 election are well documented, and that’s troubling,” he said. “We should be here hearing from Hunter Biden.”
The Judiciary Committee is expected to move forward on articles of impeachment and could vote as soon as this week.
First Published: December 9, 2019, 2:11 p.m.
