WASHINGTON (AP) For only the fourth time in U.S. history, the House of Representatives has started a presidential impeachment inquiry. House committees are trying to determine whether President Donald Trump violated his oath of office by asking Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Bidens family and the 2016 U.S. presidential election all while the White House was withholding military aid to the East European ally that borders Russia.
A quick forecast of whats coming this week:
LIGHTS, CAMERAS, HEARINGS
Americans will have their first public view of the impeachment inquiry, as the proceedings emerge from the secure closed-door facility in the Capitol basement to live hearings.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., will gavel in the sessions Wednesday and Friday.
Whats unclear, though, is what people will see in two days of hearings. Will the proceedings serve as a clarifying moment for the country, when a common narrative emerges over the presidents actions and whether or not they are, in fact, impeachable? Or in this era of peak partisanship, will the days devolve into a reality-TV episode showcasing the divide?
Unlike Watergate in the 1970s or even Bill Clintons impeachment in the 1990s, Americans consume their news at different times and in different ways, making it hard to know if this week will produce a where-were-you-when moment.
SPOTLIGHT ON WITNESSES
Bill Taylor. George Kent. Marie Masha Yovanovitch.
Once little-known State Department officials are about to become household names as they testify publicly in the impeachment inquiry.
Taylor, a Vietnam War veteran who has spent 50 years in public service, will set the tone as the first witness. All three have testified in the closed setting, defying the White Houses instructions not to comply. But they are providing a remarkably consistent account of the Trump administrations actions.
Republicans want to hear from others , including Bidens son Hunter, as well as the anonymous government whistleblower who sparked the impeachment inquiry, but Democrats who have majority control are not likely to agree to those requests.
PERSUADING VOTERS
Republicans have struggled to articulate a unified defense of Trump. Democrats have had difficulty synthesizing their arguments into a simple narrative for the public.
Both will be sharpening efforts to persuade American voters.
