Republicans Respond To The Impeachment Inquiry
You can find a buildout from this hour, featuring a partial transcription, here.
With Anthony Brooks
The Republicans’ reaction to the impeachment inquiry. How will they react to the Democrats and to Trump? We ask.
Guests
McKay Coppins, staff writer for The Atlantic. Author of “The Wilderness: Deep Inside the Republican Party’s Combative, Contentious, Chaotic Quest to Take Back the White House.” (@mckaycoppins)
Rep. Buddy Carter, Republican congressman representing Georgia’s 1st Congressional District. (@RepBuddyCarter)
Fergus Cullen, principal of the consulting firm Fergus Cullen Communications. A former chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party. (@FergusCullen)
From The Reading List
New York Times: “Complete List: Who Supports an Impeachment Inquiry Against Trump?” — “The House will begin a formal impeachment inquiry of President Trump, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday. More than two-thirds of the 235 House Democrats had already said they support such an inquiry, according to a New York Times survey and public statements.
“At least 71 Democrats announced their support since Monday, as more details have emerged from Mr. Trump’s attempt this summer to pressure the president of Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son Hunter Biden.
“Starting in May, The Times asked every representative for his or her position and has been updating this page with each response. Many House Democrats who do not currently support impeachment proceedings say investigations of Mr. Trump should continue. The White House has stonewalled these inquiries.”
Washington Examiner: “In Ukraine matter, Democrats apply Russiagate lesson: Strike fast, don’t wait to find out what happened” — “The life of the Trump-Ukraine affair can be measured in days and the most basic facts of the matter are still unknown. Yet, many Democrats and their allies in the media are already renewing their calls for the impeachment of President Trump. By doing so, they are observing one of the lessons of the Trump-Russia investigation: Act before finding out what happened. Don’t wait for the end of an investigation, with its facts, details, and messy inconclusiveness, to call for the president’s removal. Strike first, before things get complicated.
“We don’t know precisely what was said in the July 25 telephone conversation in which Trump reportedly pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden’s son. We don’t know what a whistleblower told the intelligence community inspector general about the conversation (although we do know that he or she did not have direct knowledge of the call). We don’t know what other evidence the whistleblower did or did not include in the complaint. And of course, we don’t know who the whistleblower is or the circumstances surrounding his or her decision to come forward.
“Nevertheless, the media is filled with the notion that the public already knows what happened. ‘At this point, the facts are pretty much in the open and agreed to,’ Politico wrote Monday.”
The Hill: “Senate GOP vows to quash impeachment articles” — “Senate Republicans are vowing to quickly quash any articles of impeachment that pass the House and warn that Democrats will feel a political backlash if they go forward and impeach President Trump.
“Republican senators say there are no grounds to impeach Trump and are daring Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to embark on what they dismiss as a fool’s errand that will turn off swing voters.
“‘My response to them is go hard or go home,’ said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over impeachment. ‘If you want to impeach him, stop talking. Do it. Do it. Go to Amazon, buy a spine and do it. And let’s get after it.’
“‘I think the public will feel like it’s more harassment,’ he predicted.
“Republicans say that impeachment will boomerang on Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who have tried to resist pressure from the left to impeach Trump for more than a year.”
Dorey Scheimer produced this hour for broadcast.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org. [Copyright 2019 NPR]
