Democrats lay out case for impeachment vote

WASHINGTON -- House Democrats laid out their impeachment case against President Donald Trump on Monday, a sweeping report accusing him of betraying the nation and deserving to be ousted, as key lawmakers began to signal where they stand ahead of this week's landmark votes.

What Democrats once hoped would be a bipartisan act, only the third time in U.S. history the House will be voting to impeach a president, is now on track to be a starkly partisan roll call Wednesday. No Republicans are breaking with the president and almost all Democrats are expected to approve the charges against him.

A raucous town hall Monday in the Detroit suburbs put on display the nation's wrenching debate over the unconventional president and the prospect of removing the him from office. Freshman Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin was both heckled and celebrated as she announced her support for impeachment.

"There's certainly a lot of controversy about this," Slotkin told the crowd of 400. "But there just has to be a moment where you use the letter of the law for what they were intended."

Trump faces two articles of impeachment brought by Democrats. They say he abused the power of his office by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden and obstructed Congress by aggressively trying to block the House investigation and its oversight duties as part of the nation's system of checks and balances.

The president "betrayed the Nation by abusing his high office to enlist a foreign power in corrupting democratic elections," says the 650-page report from the House Judiciary Committee. He withheld military aid from the ally as leverage, the report says, and "Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office."

The report states the president then engaged in an unprecedented attempt to block the investigation and "cover up" his misconduct. "In the history of the Republic, no President has ever ordered the complete defiance of an impeachment inquiry," it says.

Trump, tweeting from the sidelines after instructing the White House not to participate in the House inquiry, insists he has done nothing wrong. He is promoting lawyer Rudy Giuliani's alternative theory it was actually Biden and Ukraine that interfered, a conspiracy-laden idea most other Republicans are actively avoiding.

Sticking to the language he has relied on for months, he tweeted Monday, "The Impeachment Hoax is the greatest con job in the history of American politics!"

As the House prepares for Wednesday's vote, just a handful of Democrats are expected to break ranks to oppose impeachment as Speaker Nancy Pelosi marches the majority toward a vote she hoped to avoid having Democrats take on their own.

One freshman Democrat, Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, lost five key staff members Monday after he said he would vote against impeachment and indicated he was switching parties to become a Republican. Another Democrat, Rep. Collin Peterson, a Minnesota centrist, has not decided how he will vote, his spokeswoman said

As the House was detailing its case against the nation's 45th president, attention was turning to the Senate where the top Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, called anew for fresh evidence and testimony from key White House officials for the Senate trial.

"What is President Trump hiding?" Schumer said Monday.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is hoping to avoid a drawn-out spectacle in his chamber, though Trump, a former reality TV show host, has signaled that is what he prefers as he seeks vindication. Republicans, who hold the majority, are expected to acquit Trump of the charges during a trial starting in January.

In a letter to McConnell, Schumer proposed hearing testimony from former national security adviser John Bolton, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and two others as part of a detailed offer he made to Republicans as an opening offer for negotiations.

Democrats want to hear from Bolton, who once labeled the alternative foreign policy orchestrated by Trump lawyer Giuliani a "drug deal" he wanted no part of. Bolton left the White House in September. The Democrats also want to hear from Mulvaney, who has acknowledged the military aid to Ukraine was being held up, as well as two other White House officials who defied House subpoenas to testify.

McConnell is facing criticism for saying he's taking his "cues" from the White House as he ensures Trump there will not be the 67 votes needed in the Senate to convict the president. Democrats complain that he and other Republicans are not operating as impartial jurors.

The GOP leader is planning to meet soon with Schumer to discuss the contours of next month's trial, McConnell's office said.

The report released Monday by the House Judiciary Committee, a historic marker like those produced during impeachment proceedings for Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, formally lays the groundwork for the vote.

It outlines the panel's findings and includes those from the Intelligence Committee's months-long investigation that was sparked by a still-anonymous government whistleblower's complaint about Trump's July phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. It also includes Republican rebuttals.

The House Rules Committee will meet today in what is expected to be a marathon session to set the parameters for Wednesday's debate.