Impeachment Hearings: What’s Next After Expert Testimony?

After eight hours of predictably contentious back and forth regarding what constitutes an impeachable offense, Republicans and Democrats have adjourned to their respective parts of the chamber to lick their wounds, regroup and plan their next move in the impeachment saga.

House Judiciary Committee Chairmen and New York Congressmen Jerry Nadler says testimony from scholars were “clear and compelling evidence” that President Trump abused his power. Republicans, many of whom aggressively questioned the credibility and political affiliations of law professor witnesses present during the chamber, remain unconvinced.

While Nadler made no official announcement regarding the committee’s next steps, Democrats have made little secret of their intentions to move quickly in the matter. The panel could draft articles of impeachment and send them to the House floor as soon as next week.

Nadler and other Democrats have justified the swift timeline by characterizing Trump’s actions as a “crisis,” and has said that failure to act quickly could result in another attempt on the President’s part to solicit foreign influence in the upcoming 2020 election. Meanwhile, Republicans continue to rail against the process, calling it hasty, incomplete and inherently unfair.

Nadler has also signaled that the committee may include obstruction of justice as one of the articles of impeachment against the President, pointing to the administration’s blocking witnesses from testifying and preventing them from submitting critical documents. “This administration’s level of obstruction is without precedent,” Nadler said after Dec. 4's testimonies.

It’s also possible that the committee will hold additional hearings. Republicans decried the lack of “fact witnesses” during the proceedings. White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement following the hearings:

“The only thing the three liberal professors [referencing Dem witnesses] established at Chairman Nadler’s hearing was their political bias against the President. It did nothing to change the fact that, despite weeks of hearings in this sham process, the President did nothing wrong. Congress should get back to working for the American people.”