Pelosi sends 'Dear Colleague' letter about voting on impeachment resolution

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Read: Pelosi sends 'Dear Colleague' letter about voting on impeachment resolution

By: CNN 

Updated 7:28 PM EDT, Mon October 28, 2019

(CNN) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday sent a letter to Democratic members of Congress announcing a vote this week on a resolution affirming the impeachment investigation, establishing rules for public hearings, providing due process rights for the White House and other procedures. The decision to hold a vote comes after pressure from Republicans and the White House that the chamber should do so, and it undercuts the key Trump administration talking point that the inquiry was illegitimate because it did not receive a full House vote.

Read the letter below:

October 28, 2019

Dear Democratic Colleague,

For weeks, the President, his Counsel in the White House, and his allies in Congress have made the baseless claim that the House of Representatives' impeachment inquiry "lacks the necessary authorization for a valid impeachment proceeding." They argue that, because the House has not taken a vote, they may simply pretend the impeachment inquiry does not exist.

Of course, this argument has no merit. The Constitution provides that the House of Representatives "shall have the sole Power of Impeachment." Multiple past impeachments have gone forward without any authorizing resolutions. Just last week, a federal court confirmed that the House is not required to hold a vote and that imposing such a requirement would be "an impermissible intrusion on the House's constitutional authority." More than 300 legal scholars have also refuted this argument, concluding that "the Constitution does not mandate the process for impeachment and there is no constitutional requirement that the House of Representatives authorize an impeachment inquiry before one begins."

The Trump Administration has made up this argument -- apparently out of whole cloth -- in order to justify its unprecedented cover-up, withhold key documents from multiple federal agencies, prevent critical witnesses from cooperating, and defy duly authorized subpoenas.

This week, we will bring a resolution to the Floor that affirms the ongoing, existing investigation that is currently being conducted by our committees as part of this impeachment inquiry, including all requests for documents, subpoenas for records and testimony, and any other investigative steps previously taken or to be taken as part of this investigation.

This resolution establishes the procedure for hearings that are open to the American people, authorizes the disclosure of deposition transcripts, outlines procedures to transfer evidence to the Judiciary Committee as it considers potential articles of impeachment, and sets forth due process rights for the President and his Counsel.

We are taking this step to eliminate any doubt as to whether the Trump Administration may withhold documents, prevent witness testimony, disregard duly authorized subpoenas, or continue obstructing the House of Representatives.

Nobody is above the law.

best regards,

Nancy 

-Justin Thyme- Two cents worth of opinion. 

First off Speaker Pelosi the fact is that the Congress does have the sole power to impeach. But that means the 'Whole' body of the House of Represenatives (Congress) has to be involved. Not just one side of the aisle. Or just 50% +1. What you we're doing has never been done before on any impeachment process, it was completely against protocol. It does not matter that you judge shopped to find a single federal judge to back you up on not going by protocol and taking an official vote. And you also know that ruling would definitely be challenged and before or by the time it reached the SCOTUS that ruling would be overturned based on 5th, 6th and 9th Amendments to the Constitution. Habeus Corpus... ever read the Constitution and Bill of Rights,  Speaker Pelosi. No one is above the law. And no one is to be denied their rights under the law either. That would make them beneath the law. There is a reason why the statue of Lady Justice outside the Supreme Court depicts her holding a balance scale and blindfolded. The scale symbolises equal justice for all. And the blindfold symbolises justice without prejudices. There can be no 'without prejudices' when you have already determined the person tried is guilty before all the evidence is presented. There can be no 'equal justice for all' if only the plaintiff is allowed to present evidence and testimony without defense allowed to cross examine all evidence and testimony. And allowed to present evidence and testimony in defense. Otherwise you end up with an outlandish kangaroo court.
Now all that being said, it is the sole responsibility of Congress to decide to impeach or not to impeach. But do not forget it is the sole responsibility of the Senate to convict or not convict. And only the Senate can remove a sitting duly elected president with a minimum of 67 out of 100 votes. Good luck with that!