The first official hearing by the House Judiciary Committee to discuss potential future impeachment of President Donald Trump began Tuesday on Capitol Hill. The hearing was one of a series that may or may not lead to further action.
According to USA Today , Congress subpoenaed former Trump campaign operative Corey Lewandowski to hear what he had to say about possible attempts at thwarting special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia interference investigation during Trump’s run for the presidency in 2016.
Trump was seemingly very happy with the way Lewandowski opened the hearing with his statement, tweeting praise about his former campaign manager after Lewandowski took the stand.
“Such a beautiful Opening Statement by Corey Lewandowski! Thank you Corey!,” Trump tweeted .
Shortly after, Trump tweeted a video clip of Lewandowski’s opening testimony, which garnered thousands of echoes of praise from Trump supporters on the social media platform.
Lewandowski pulled no punches during the hearing, which was officially titled “Presidential Obstruction of Justice and Abuse of Power.” According to Real Clear Politics , Lewandowski accused Democrats of “going down rabbit holes” and claimed the impeachment hearing was based on hatred for the president.
He made a firm, public denial of any wrongdoing as far as colluding with Russia or other state actors in regards to influencing the 2016 election.
“To the best of my recollection, I don’t recall ever having any conversations with foreign entities, let alone, any who were offering help to manipulate the outcome of the election. As I have said publicly many times, anyone who attempted to illegally impact the outcome of the election should spend the rest of their life in jail,” Lewandowski told the committee.
Two other Trump associates who were sent federal subpoenas to appear at Tuesday’s hearing were noticeably absent after it was reported that Trump’s White House ordered them not to show up.
As reported by The Inquisitr , former Trump aides Rick Dearborn and Rob Porter were reportedly given “constitutional immunity” and were advised by the Department of Justice to not take part in Tuesday’s hearing. Dearborn was reportedly asked by Lewandowski to tell then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to “limit” the Mueller investigation.
Former White House attorney Don McGahn was also given the same “immunity” and is not expected to take part in the series of hearings lead by Rep. Jerry Nadler. However, the House Judiciary Committee is using court action, in the form of a lawsuit, to compel McGahn to testify.
Nadler was apparently so unhappy with the McGhan situation that he accused Trump of willingly engaging in “criminal activity” by preventing McGhan from testifying.
