House Democrats Could Make Impeachment Inquiry Public Before Thanksgiving, Report Says

The evidence against Donald Trump in the House impeachment inquiry could be public before Thanksgiving, a new report says.

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have been moving quickly on the inquiry related to Trump’s alleged attempts to pressure Ukraine into digging up dirt on political opponent Joe Biden. As The Washington Post reported, at least some of the evidence that has to date been collected behind closed doors in private testimony may soon be available for all to see.

The report noted that Democrats are planning to make hearings public after Republicans on Wednesday stormed the meeting space and demanded the ability to take part. The report seemed to imply that the move played into the hands of Democrats, who will welcome the chance at showing the American public some of the damaging evidence against Donald Trump.

Democrats hope to publicly question U.S. Ambassador William Taylor, who told members of House committees this week that he pushed back against what appeared to be a quid pro quo from the White House to Ukraine, holding back military aid and tying it to a promise from Ukraine to announce an investigation into election interference in 2016 and the company where Joe Biden’s son worked.

As The Hill noted, Democrats would also like to hear from Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, who also pushed back against Trump’s plan to pressure Ukraine into investigating the Bidens.

“It’s going to be the difference between reading a dry transcript and actually hearing the story from the people who were in the room,” Democratic Congressman Jim Himes, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told the Washington Post.

“I think the story needs to be told, you know, the story of the abuse of power…. People like the various ambassadors who have come to testify need to come tell it.”

The move to make impeachment hearings public comes amid growing national support for Trump’s impeachment. As The Hill reported, a Quinnipiac poll out this week showed that 55 percent of respondents back the impeachment proceedings. A number of polls have shown increasing support for the impeachment inquiry and for the further step of removing Trump from office.

It is not clear when the impeachment inquiry could wrap up, but reports have said that Congressional Democrats will be working at least through the remainder of 2019 and have taken greater efforts to make their case to the American public.