WASHINGTON _ As the House Judiciary Committee finalized articles of impeachment Thursday, Democrats and Republicans clashed over whether President Donald Trump abused his power by urging Ukraine to investigate his political enemies.
The debate was another reflection of the sharply partisan nature of the impeachment process, with neither side conceding anything to the other.
Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, said "no abuse of power ever took place" and accused Democrats of wasting their time with impeachment because they "hate this president."
"The entire argument for impeachment, in this case, is based on a charge that is not a crime, much less a high crime, and that has never been approved by the House of Representatives in a presidential impeachment before, ever, in history," he said.
Rep Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., responded that there's no requirement for impeachment to be centered on the criminal code.
"We will uphold our duty to charge the president with the crimes against the Constitution that he has committed, using your taxpayer dollars, jeopardizing the integrity of your vote for a purely political purpose and a purely personal gain," he said.
The committee is expected to approve two articles of impeachment _ one for abuse of power, the other for obstruction of Congress _ sometime Thursday. The rules allow for extended debate, which means Republicans could drag out the proceedings into the wee hours of the morning by delivering speeches or floating amendments, which are circulated on paper during the hearing and must be considered. But they may not want to do that _ many of them hope to attend tonight's White House congressional holiday ball, which starts at 5 p.m. ET, with an appearance by the president around 7 p.m. ET.
With no witnesses to question and little chance of substantive changes to the articles, the hearing took on the tone of people arguing politics at a bar, albeit with more flowery language and strict procedural rules.
Sometimes the debate turned toward the 1998 impeachment of President Bill Clinton, a reminder of how that process remains an open wound in Washington.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a California Democrat who served on the panel during Clinton's impeachment, said it was wrong for Republicans to suggest that Clinton had abused his power by lying about a sexual affair, but that Trump had not by prodding Ukraine to launch investigations that would benefit him politically.
"If it's lying about sex, we could put Stormy Daniels' case ahead of us," said Lofgren, referring to Trump's use of hush money to cover up his alleged affair with a porn star. "It's not before us and it should not be before us because it is not an abuse of presidential power."
Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., one of the last House managers from the Clinton impeachment process who remains in Congress, disagreed.
"Bill Clinton lied to a grand jury. That is a crime," he said. "This is not what is happening here."
Republicans began the hearing by demanding that Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the committee chair, allow them to have their own hearing and call their own witnesses.
Nadler, D-N.Y., said Republicans were trying to delay the impeachment proceedings, and he suggested he would be open to such a hearing in the future _ a concession that did nothing to placate his critics.
"For goodness' sakes, we're voting on this today," Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., said. "It's no good to have a date in the future."
Democrats' case against Trump focuses on his push for Ukraine to launch investigations that would help him politically. In particular, he wanted Ukraine to announce an investigation of Joe Biden, the former vice president who could be his Democratic opponent in next year's election.
Trump "betrayed the Nation by abusing his high office to enlist a foreign power in corrupting democratic elections," according to the articles of impeachment. He also "abused the powers of his high office" by directing administration officials to defy congressional subpoenas.
The Democratic-controlled House is expected to vote next week to make Trump the third president in U.S. history to be impeached. The Senate would conduct a trial early in the new year, but with Republicans in charge of the chamber, it's unlikely that Trump will be removed from office.
The hearing began Wednesday evening as every member of the committee _ there are 41, although Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., was absent for a heart procedure _ had an opportunity to deliver an opening statement. The five-minute speeches lasted for more than three hours.
Democrats delivered dire warnings about Trump threatening U.S. democracy, often couching their speeches in personal stories about treasuring the right to vote in fair elections.
"He decided to cheat in the upcoming election," said Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga. "And he got caught."
Republicans accused Democrats of trying to overturn the last election by railroading the president on specious charges _ or as Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia put it, pursuing a "three-year vendetta against someone they couldn't beat."
