CHARLESTON, W.Va. — In a vote largely along party lines, the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday agreed to move forward with its impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
House Resolution 660 directs the investigating committees to continue their efforts; the resolution establishes guidelines for the investigation, including committee work to be public as well as opportunities for Trump and his legal counsel to participate in Judiciary Committee proceedings.
All but two Democrats voted for the resolution, while all 194 Republicans — including West Virginia’s David McKinley, Alex Mooney and Carol Miller — opposed the measure.
Michigan independent Justin Amash, who left the GOP in July, supported the resolution. Democrats Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey joined Republicans in opposition to the measure.
Republicans had voiced concerns of the impeachment inquiry because of closed-door proceedings; the resolution sets up guidelines for public hearings, including giving each party 45 minutes to question witnesses for multiple periods. Republicans can also request witness testimony, which will be allowed either by Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., or an overriding committee vote.
Miller said Democratic leaders have worked on the assumption of “guilty until proven innocent.”
“Their investigation is centered around secret hearings and selective leaks designed to damage the president. This process lacks transparency and fairness,” she said in a statement.
She also described the inquiry as “Soviet-style tactics.” Mooney described the process using similar language as well as calling the inquiry a “kangaroo court.”
“The Republicans have to get approval from the chairman — the Democrat — to call a witness, but they don’t have to get approval from the Republicans to call their witnesses,” he said in a video. “This is still an unfair process that has been set up … that’s very objectionable.”
Miller and Mooney took part in a protest last week against the impeachment process; more a two dozen Republican House members halted a deposition before the Oversight and Reform, Foreign Affairs, and Intelligence committees, delaying the hearing for five hours. Miller is a member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee and thus could hear statements by Laura Cooper, a top Pentagon official regarding Ukraine and Russia.
Mooney has since attempted to enter closed-door hearings.
Rep. David McKinley, R-W.Va., noted the writing of Alexander Hamilton in a statement; McKinley referenced the Federalist Papers and Hamilton’s essay on impeachment, in which Hamilton notes the possibility of partisanship in the Senate.
“This process has continued to be unfair and unproductive, (and) Democrats have created a biased narrative by using selective leaks and secretive interviews,” McKinley said. “Under Speaker Pelosi’s leadership, the House has had more subpoenas issued than bills signed into law.”
McKinley and Miller noted lawmakers should focus on other issues, such as immigration and the drug crisis.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., spoke favorably of the resolution on the House floor.
“These actions, this process, these open hearings, seeking the truth and making it available to the American people will inform Congress on the very difficult decisions we will have to make in the future as to whether to impeach the president,” she said.
“That decision has not been made. That’s what the inquiry will investigate, and then we can make the decision based on the truth. I don’t know why the Republicans are afraid of the truth. Every member should support allowing the American people to hear the facts for themselves.”