Editor’s note: Katlyn Kenney wrote about the impeachment inquiry in Vol. 123, Issue 2 of the Cardinal Times.

And so it continues.

On Oct. 31st, the House of Representatives voted 232-196 to officially formalize the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.           

What does this mean?
The vote was to set the guidelines and procedures for the inquiry, including the proper handling of public hearings, and what role Trump himself will play in the process. In other words, Congress is getting ready to potentially impeach the president. In addition, the hearings will be made fully public.

Who voted on this resolution?

The House of Representatives.

How did they vote?

The vote was almost a perfect split along party lines, with Democrats in favor of the inquiry, and Republicans voting against it. Only two Democrats voted against the inquiry: New Jersey Representative Jeff Van Drew and Minnesota Representative Collin Peterson.

Who is testifying in the hearings?

Laura Cooper– Deputy Assistant Secretary for Russian, Ukrainian, and Eurasian Affairs.

David Hale– American diplomat, recently serving as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs.

Fiona Hill–Former US adviser on Russia and Europe, replaced by Tim Morrison in August.

David Holmes– A political counselor at the U.S Embassy in Kiev. Worked with former ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch.

Alexander Vindman– Lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council.

Tim Morrison– US political adviser of the Republican Party, briefly served as Trump’s adviser on Russia and Europe, successor to Fiona Hill. Resigned last month.

Gordon Sondland– Current U.S. ambassador to the European Union.

William Taylor– Current U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, successor to Yovanovitch.

Kurt Volker– An American ambassador to NATO who served as a special representative to Ukraine until his recent resignation two months ago.

Jennifer Williams– Top adviser on Russia for Vice President Pence.

Marie Yovanovitch– Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, fired by President Trump.

Timeline

November 15:

-Yovanovitch testifies, says she felt threatened by President Trump’s statements about her after his call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

November 19: 

-Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) accuses Democrats of not trusting the American people, calls the impeachment effort a “coup”

-Rep. Sean Maloney (D-NY) calls for a return to “substance” in the hearing, criticizing Republicans for not discussing the accusations directly.

November 21:

-Fiona Hill testifies that Trump wanted Ukraine to investigate the Bidens.

-Rep. Jordan says that Holmes is providing no new information and repeatedly interrupts others.

What will happen if Trump is impeached?

Contrary to popular belief, impeachment will not necessarily involve the President leaving office. For example, in 1998, then-president Bill Clinton was impeached on counts of obstruction of justice and perjury, yet remained in office for the rest of his term. In order for Trump to be removed from office, he would have to first be impeached, and a second vote would be held in the Senate to determine whether or not he should be removed from office.                                     

What do people at Lincoln have to say?

Political Economy and History teacher Rion Roberts believes that this inquiry is a necessary part of our democracy.

 “I think that any time there is executive overreach, it is important that it is addressed,” says Roberts. “In recent history especially, the scale of executive power has increased significantly.”

Miryam Onstot, a sophomore, is glad that the hearings are being made public. 

“Because of the increased polarization in the media, what is said (in the hearings) can be twisted to fit a partisan role if it isn’t open to the public.”

Thursday, December 12:

The House Judiciary Committee voted on the articles of impeachment for President Donald Trump. Or at least, they would have, if they had not abruptly postponed the vote. This decision angered Republican panelists on the committee, concerned that this move to delay was a strategic attempt to stop them from casting their votes against the proceedings. Democrats, meanwhile, argued that the vote was postponed because the preceding debate had continued far longer than it was supposed to, and they didn’t want to have to cast their votes any later in the night than it already was. They are expected to continue the vote on Friday.

Saturday, December 14:

Yesterday, The House Judiciary Committee officially voted 23-17 to move forward with the impeachment. The vote was split cleanly along partisan lines, with all Democrats voting in favor, and all Republicans voting against. Republicans’ requests to amend the document, including highlighting the fact that Hunter Biden was, in fact, corrupt, were denied. The vote is now expected to proceed to the house next week, where they will vote on the act.

Monday, December 16:
Today, the House of Representatives is set to debate the impeachment of Donald Trump. The final vote in the house is expected to take place on Wednesday, after which it will be voted upon in the senate. The Senate will make the final decision to either keep Trump in office or remove him. Republican majority leader Mitch McConnell is confident that Trump will not be impeached, saying there is “No chance the President is going to be removed from office.”

Wednesday, December 18:

Today is the day the House of Representatives is expected to vote on whether or not to impeach Trump. First, however, a six-hour debate is being held between Republicans and Democrats. The debate made little change, as both sides seemed to be arguing different things. The Democrats talked about the necessity of upholding the constitution, stating that nobody was above the law. The Republicans accused the Democrats of only pushing for impeachment because they dislike the president. In a shocking accusation that the Democrats denied Trump his due process, Georgian representative Barry Loudermilk compared the treatment of Trump to that of Jesus Christ. “When Jesus was falsely accused of treason, Pontius Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers During that sham trial, Pontius Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus than the Democrats have afforded this president and this process.”

Friday, December 20:

Two days ago, The House of representatives officially voted to impeach Trump. This makes him the third president in American history to face impeachment. Trump himself responded to this with anger on his twitter, writing, “Such atrocious lies by the radical left, do-nothing Democrats. This is an assault on America, and an assault on the Republican Party!”

Although Donald Trump has been impeached, whether we will be removed from office remains to be seen. The Senate will vote to either remove him or keep him in office, but it is currently not clear when this vote will take place.