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Trump blasts Dems after House panel plans impeachment vote while he's overseas
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Trump blasts Dems after House panel plans impeachment vote while he's overseas

The report may open the door for new charges against Trump

President Donald Trump blasted House Democrats for scheduling an impeachment vote while he will be on an overseas visit after news broke on Saturday that the House Intelligence Committee will vote on Tuesday on the findings of a report detailing the investigation of his dealings with Ukraine.

According to Politico, the procedure is an important step in Democrats' impeachment inquiry. Meanwhile, an internal memo sent to the committee members over the weekend stated that lawmakers on the panel will be afforded 24 hours to review the report.

A committee official told The Hill: "We expect to allow HPSCI Members to view a draft report in committee spaces beginning Monday evening. On Tuesday, the Committee will hold a business meeting, following our regularly scheduled briefing, at 6 pm to consider and adopt the report. The report — along with any Minority Views — will then be forwarded to the Judiciary Committee pursuant to H.Res. 660."

A party-line vote expected

NBC News reports that House Intelligence Committee members will be able to view a draft of the report beginning late Monday. The committee will then vote at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, once Congress returns from its Thanksgiving holiday. The report will presumably contain testimonies from 17 witnesses that House investigators interviewed in the process. Most of them are officials in the State Department and National Security Council.

It is expected that the committee will approve the committee's findings on Tuesday on a party-line vote, a formality in the impeachment process. The matter would then head over to the House Judiciary Committee, which is anticipated will draft and consider articles of impeachment beginning Wednesday.

Trump blasts Democrats

Trump blasted the process in a tweet on Saturday night and accused the House of intentionally scheduling the proceedings while he is overseas.

"I will be representing our Country in London at NATO, while the Democrats are holding the most ridiculous Impeachment hearings in history," the president tweeted. "Read the Transcripts, NOTHING was done or said wrong! The Radical Left is undercutting our Country. Hearings scheduled on same dates as NATO!"

Possible new charges

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is said to be preparing the report in such a way that allows the Judiciary Committee to draft articles of impeachment for allegations of "obstruction of Congress."

"As the evidence conclusively shows, President Trump conditioned official acts—a White House meeting desperately desired by the new Ukrainian president and critical U.S. military assistance—on Ukraine announcing sham, politically-motivated investigations that would help President Trump's 2020 reelection campaign," Schiff wrote Monday.

Schiff added that a "dozen witnesses have defied lawmakers' subpoenas in what Schiff alleged was "an unprecedented campaign of obstruction."

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