House Democrats voted to formalize the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump on Thursday, beating out Republican opposition 232 to 196. While every Republican showed their willingness to toe the party line, two Democrats went across the aisle to vote against the resolution. It's worth noting that both Democratic Congressmen come from districts that were won by Trump in 2016; although, they have both released statements condemning the inquiry for other reasons.
As expected, GOP Congressmen came out to voice their objections to the vote and proceedings, largely claiming formalizing impeachment shows that the inquiry was "fundamentally tainted" from the start. In a statement released following vote, the Trump Campaign predicted Democrats who "support this farce" will be punished by voters in the polls. Echoing Republican talking points, the statement reads, "Today's vote merely proves that the entire impeachment process was a sham from the beginning."
The text of the resolution itself establishes some rough guidelines for the inquiry from here on: hearings will be made public; the minority will be allowed to issue subpoenas as well as call witnesses. The resolution also laid out the specifics of how the inquiry hearing should be held including new time constraints on questioning.
Meanwhile, diplomats are in a tough spot as their colleagues are called to testify and face the President's vengeful wrath in response. The most prominent example of this currently is Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman who appeared before Congress on Tuesday. Having been on the infamous call to Ukraine, Vindman has first-hand knowledge of the conversation between Presidents Trump and Zelinsky.
Vindman testified that there were phrases missing from the call transcript released by the Whitehouse, though none of the added content changes the meaning of the call. According to the Lt. Colonel, the President explicitly mentioned both Biden and the energy company where his son served on the board. Vindman was so concerned by the language used on the call that he reported it to a superior.
In preparation for Vindman's testimony, pundits took to Twitter and TV to undermine his evidence. The President called him a "Never Trumper", calling his impartiality into question without evidence. Because Vindman was born in the former Soviet Union, some were alleging that the Lt. Colonel's true loyalty lies with Ukraine. Vindman and his family moved to the U.S. when he was three years old, and he is a Purple Heart recipient in active service. He returned to his work in the Whithouse on Wednesday.
One Whitehouse staffer who will not be sticking around after his testimony is Timothy Morrison, director of European affairs for the National Security Council. Morrison announced his resignation on Wednesday and appeared before Congress on Thursday. Morrison confirmed the public outlines of the Ukraine call and the events surrounding it; although, he says he wasn't as concerned about illegality as he was geopolitics. In the coming weeks, the House will start holding public hearings. Not only does this mean that the impeachment process will become more transparent, it also means that Republicans can no longer use secrecy and informality as attacks against the proceedings. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff has been appointed to oversee the proceedings, but he has yet to announce which witnesses he will call.
