Whatever happens next, don’t call it impeachment.

House Democrats have been careful not to rush to impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump in the aftermath of Robert Mueller’s report, despite calls to do so by high-profile lawmakers and 2020 presidential contenders. But as Congress resumes Monday, the Democratic oversight and investigations agenda is starting to look a lot like the groundwork that would be needed to launch an impeachment inquiry. At some point, it’s a political difference rather than a practical one.

“I don’t think there’s a magical moment at which proceedings become ‘really’ impeachment proceedings,” said Cornell Law School professor Josh Chafetz.

The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hear testimony from Attorney General William Barr on Thursday, despite resistance from the administration. The Oversight Committee has reached an agreement with the White House for testimony this week on security clearances. The Intelligence Committee is probing Trump’s financial dealings. And the Ways & Means Committee is pursuing Trump’s tax returns.

“The House has such broad oversight powers that it really doesn’t matter whether they’re geared toward impeachment, toward legislating, toward overseeing the functioning of the executive branch, etc.,” Chafetz said. “At the end of the day, for the purposes of the powers available to the House, I don’t think it makes much of a difference whether they use the word ‘impeachment’ or not.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has insisted the door is neither open nor closed to impeachment. Instead, she says, Congress is taking a step-by-step approach in exerting its role as a check on the executive branch. It will lead wherever it leads, and the public can decide.

While Republicans and others in Washington are ready to move on from the report from special counsel Robert Mueller, Democrats in Congress are still fighting to see it. The Judiciary Committee chairman, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., subpoenaed for a full and un-redacted copy of the 400-page report, and its underlying materials. He also wants Mueller to testify before the panel by May 21.

Pelosi suggests that Congress will have more to say on impeachment after lawmakers – and the American public – digests the findings of the two-year probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible obstruction by Trump.

“In every way he is unfit to be the president of the United States,” Pelosi said in an interview with The Associated Press earlier this month. “Does that make it – is that an impeachable offense? Well it depends on what we see in the report.”

Pelosi says she sets a “very high bar for impeachment because I think it’s very divisive in the country.”

In many ways, House Democrats are trying to have it both ways – pursuing the investigations that could serve as a prelude to impeachment proceedings without taking the politically fraught step of calling it impeachment.

The balancing act reflects recent polling that shows Americans are interested in getting more information, but also split. A poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research ahead of the report’s release this month showed that even with the Mueller probe complete, 53% said Congress should continue to investigate Trump’s ties with Russia, while 45% said Congress should not. A similar percentage, 53%, said Congress should take steps to impeach Trump if he is found to have obstructed justice, even if he did not have inappropriate contacts with Russia.

While high-profile Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and presidential contenders Elizabeth Warren and Beto O’Rouke, have called for the House to begin impeachment proceedings, others have not.

​For many House Democrats, particularly newly-elected freshmen representing districts Trump won in 2018, putting their names to a floor vote to launch an impeachment inquiry would likely become politically fraught.

Sarah Binder, a professor of political science at George Washington University, said as long as those cross currents exist within the House Democratic caucus, “it’s in Pelosi’s interest to slow down the impeachment train, but hold the administration accountable for Trump’s first two year in office.”

At this stage, whether Congress is conducting oversight or holding impeachment proceedings, the tools are mostly the same _ subpoenas, hearings, investigations.

But that could change, as Trump is refusing to comply with subpoenas for administration officials to testify and blocking Congress from obtaining more information.

Barr, who is set to appear Wednesday before Senate Judiciary Committee, where Republicans have the majority, has informed the House that he may not appear Thursday if Democrats insist on having committee staff from both sides question him after lawmakers do. Unbowed, Democrats scheduled a committee vote for Wednesday to allow the staff questions.

Pelosi, in a brief interview Monday, said Barr would be “obstructing Congress” if he decided not to testify. Witnesses, she said, can’t “tell the committee how to conduct its interviews.”

Those tensions set up a legal battle that will test the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches and could become a defining one for this Congress and this administration.

The outcome remains uncertain. It’s not at all clear that the House will ever fully broach the topic of impeachment, and such proceedings have been rare in Congress. The House has impeached just 19 people, mostly federal judges, and fewer than half ended up being convicted by the Senate, according the Congressional Research Service.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., a member of the Judiciary Committee, said she’s focused on the investigations. She said she thinks it’s better at this point not to label them impeachment hearings but just to show voters what they find.

“You can’t win the political process unless you convince the people that there’s something there,” she said.
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The 22-month Mueller probe that investigated possible collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign in the 2016 election has ended. But the battle continues as the Trump administration tries to block House Democrats’ inquiries by ignoring subpoenas and other information requests from lawmakers. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has the story.
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Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden officially kicked off his White House campaign on Monday by hosting a union event in Pittsburgh just hours after securing his first labor endorsement.

Biden told Teamsters members who attended his first event as a 2020 contender that restoring a vibrant middle class would be the theme of his campaign.

“I make no apologies. I am a union man. Period,” Biden told the packed union hall. “The country wasn’t built by Wall Street bankers, CEOs and hedge fund managers, it was built by you.”

Among those who introduced Biden was Harold Schaitberger, the president of the International Association of Firefighters, a 300,000-member union that endorsed him ahead of the Pittsburgh event.

In a Twitter fusillade, Trump said that while leaders of the firefighters and other unions would endorse Democrats in the 2020 race, “the members love Trump.”

Biden soon fired back on Twitter. “I’m sick of this president badmouthing unions,” he said.

Biden, who joined the 2020 Democratic race last week, has long styled himself as a champion of blue-collar workers. He is counting on organized labor to comprise a significant part of his support.

In endorsing Biden, IAFF’s Schaitberger called him “one of the staunchest advocates for working families.”

In Pittsburgh, Biden, 76, laid out his vision for bolstering the nation’s middle class. He will next head to the early voting state of Iowa.

The Democratic field now features 20 contenders, many of whom are making bids for backing by labor. Six other Democratic candidates on Saturday addressed union members at an event in Las Vegas, pledging support for policies such as a $15 federal minimum wage.

“This may be the most pro-union group of candidates we’ve seen in decades, making it tougher for any one candidate to line up significant union support,” said Steve Rosenthal, a former political director for the AFL-CIO who is advising unions on their 2020 strategies.

Biden’s record as a U.S. senator and his two terms serving as former President Barack Obama’s No. 2 could complicate his efforts to draw union voters.

As a senator from Delaware, Biden supported the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which has become a sore point with unions that blame it for jobs going overseas.

As vice president, he was part of an administration that promulgated labor-friendly regulatory policies, but also pushed through trade deals with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea over the objections of several unions and many other Democrats.

A massive 12-nation trade deal backed by Obama and Biden, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, was opposed by labor and became an issue in the 2016 presidential race, when Donald Trump, then the Republican presidential nominee, used it to criticize Democratic policies.

Once Trump became president, he pulled the United States out of the TPP, which went into effect last year. His administration currently is advocating for Congress to pass a negotiated replacement for NAFTA, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Trump, too, has a solid claim on union support. In beating Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, he turned in the best performance by a Republican candidate among union households since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

No Rush to Endorse

Labor unions have indicated that, with the sprawling Democratic field, they have the luxury to choose candidates who tailor policies to their specific goals.

“Working people are heading into this election with a high bar,” said John Weber, a spokesman for the AFL-CIO in Washington. “Your trade policy shouldn’t be about reducing the collateral damage of harmful corporate trade deals. It should be about replacing them with agreements that actually strengthen working families.”

While organized labor has lost political clout with the decline of industrial jobs in America, it remains a key Democratic constituency, valued for its capacity to mobilize voters.

At this juncture, Biden may have to worry most about U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, who, along with Biden, sits atop public opinion polls of the 2020 Democratic field.

Sanders, a progressive who consistently has railed against free-trade agreements, showed surprising strength among rank-and-file union members during his 2016 presidential primary challenge to Clinton even though she received the formal endorsement of most national unions.

That divide within unions between Clinton and Sanders is one reason, Rosenthal said, why some unions this time may wait deep into the primary process before endorsing a candidate — or may not endorse one at all.

“Because so many unions rushed to endorse Secretary Clinton in 2016, there will likely be a much more thorough process, including more rank-and-file input from some unions this cycle,” he said.
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U.S. President Donald Trump and the White House fired new taunts Monday at opposition Democrats in the ongoing fight to shape the narrative of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and report on Russian meddling in the the 2016 presidential election.

In a Twitter comment, the U.S. leader said, “Bob Mueller was a great HERO to the Radical Left Democrats” while his 22-month investigation was underway.

But Trump said that when Mueller concluded two weeks ago that he did not collude with Russia to help him win the White House and that “our highly respected” Attorney General William Barr decided criminal charges were not warranted against Trump for trying to obstruct the investigation, “the Dems are going around saying, “Bob who, sorry, don’t know the man.”

Barr, the country’s top law enforcement official, is set to testify before a Senate committee on Wednesday about his no-obstruction decision and his oversight of the end of the Mueller probe.But Barr’s planned appearance before the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee on Thursday is in doubt in a dispute over who will question him.

The House panel’s chairman, Congressman Jerrold Nadler of New York, wants to give the committee’s 41 members five minutes apiece to ask Barr questions and then another 30 minutes for both Democratic and Republican lawyers for the committee to make more inquiries of Barr.

Barr has agreed to questioning by the House lawmakers, but balked at the further questioning by the Democratic and Republican counsels for the committee.Barr’s agency, the Justice Department, has told the House committee he may not show up if Nadler insists on the extended questioning beyond that by lawmakers.

Nadler told CNN on Sunday, “The witness is not going to tell the committee how to conduct its hearing, period.”He threatened to subpoena Barr if the attorney general fails to appear for Thursday’s hearing.

On Monday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the Trump administration cooperated with Mueller’s investigation, but derided the House panel’s demand for questioning of Barr by committee lawyers.

“You have to look at the outrageous behavior, particularly of the House Democrats, who are asking for things they know they can’t have, that they know they have no legal authority to have, and frankly they’re just acting really childish,” Sanders said.”It’s almost embarrassing to the House Democrats the way that they’re behaving.The way the process should work, look at the side on the Senate.Attorney General Barr will go there … The counter side to that is the House wanting to have staff and others interview Attorney General Barr.It really is outrageous the way that they’re behaving, and hopefully you’ll see that stop.”

Mueller cited 11 instances of possible obstruction of the investigation by Trump, saying that “while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

With Mueller not reaching a decision on the obstruction question, Barr said he concluded no criminal charges against Trump were warranted.

Democrats say they want to question Barr how he reached his no-obstruction decision.
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U.S. President Donald Trump and the White House fired new taunts Monday at opposition Democrats in the ongoing fight to shape the narrative of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and report on Russian meddling in the the 2016 presidential election.

In a Twitter comment, the U.S. leader said, “Bob Mueller was a great HERO to the Radical Left Democrats” while his 22-month investigation was underway.

But Trump said that when Mueller concluded two weeks ago that he did not collude with Russia to help him win the White House and that “our highly respected” Attorney General William Barr decided criminal charges were not warranted against Trump for trying to obstruct the investigation, “the Dems are going around saying, “Bob who, sorry, don’t know the man.”

Barr, the country’s top law enforcement official, is set to testify before a Senate committee on Wednesday about his no-obstruction decision and his oversight of the end of the Mueller probe.But Barr’s planned appearance before the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee on Thursday is in doubt in a dispute over who will question him.

The House panel’s chairman, Congressman Jerrold Nadler of New York, wants to give the committee’s 41 members five minutes apiece to ask Barr questions and then another 30 minutes for both Democratic and Republican lawyers for the committee to make more inquiries of Barr.

Barr has agreed to questioning by the House lawmakers, but balked at the further questioning by the Democratic and Republican counsels for the committee.Barr’s agency, the Justice Department, has told the House committee he may not show up if Nadler insists on the extended questioning beyond that by lawmakers.

Nadler told CNN on Sunday, “The witness is not going to tell the committee how to conduct its hearing, period.”He threatened to subpoena Barr if the attorney general fails to appear for Thursday’s hearing.

On Monday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the Trump administration cooperated with Mueller’s investigation, but derided the House panel’s demand for questioning of Barr by committee lawyers.

“You have to look at the outrageous behavior, particularly of the House Democrats, who are asking for things they know they can’t have, that they know they have no legal authority to have, and frankly they’re just acting really childish,” Sanders said.”It’s almost embarrassing to the House Democrats the way that they’re behaving.The way the process should work, look at the side on the Senate.Attorney General Barr will go there … The counter side to that is the House wanting to have staff and others interview Attorney General Barr.It really is outrageous the way that they’re behaving, and hopefully you’ll see that stop.”

Mueller cited 11 instances of possible obstruction of the investigation by Trump, saying that “while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.”

With Mueller not reaching a decision on the obstruction question, Barr said he concluded no criminal charges against Trump were warranted.

Democrats say they want to question Barr how he reached his no-obstruction decision.
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Mohamud Mascade contributed this report from Minneapolis; Katherine Gypson and Carla Babb contributed from Washington.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota / WASHINGTON – The California synagogue shooting that left one dead Saturday has revived a simmering debate over U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar’s comments about the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and U.S. lawmakers’ relationship with lobbyists for Israel.

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and conservative commentator Meghan McCain suggested Sunday that Omar’s recent comments are part of rising anti-Semitism on the left and that all sides of the U.S. political spectrum have contributed to an extremist dialogue that targets Jews.

Omar – the first Somali-American member of Congress – pushed back against those claims, retweeting a post by journalist Peter Beinart on Sunday saying: “Islamophobia and anti-Semitism are two sides of the same coin. Let us stand together as Americans in rejecting hate.”

In an interview Friday with VOA’s Somali service, Omar said criticism of her outspoken comments was the “product of hate and ignorance mainly driven by President Donald Trump and his far right supporters.”

“The controversy is just there only because the U.S. president and his supporters are not happy with that a Muslim, a refugee, and a minority woman of color has her say on his leadership misbehaviors and wrongdoings,” the Minnesota Democrat said.

“We have a president who believes we are not here, who has been attacking us – the minority Americans and people of color. Now, when we get an opportunity and platform to speak out, he wants to silence our legitimate voices,” added Ilhan, one of two Muslim women in Congress. “I believe I am in a legitimate fight and I hope I will win it.”

Controversy details

Omar ignited a controversy earlier this year with a tweet insinuating that U.S. lawmakers’ support for Israel was swayed by money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a powerful lobbying group.

Shortly after apologizing for that tweet, Omar suggested in a public statement that some lawmakers held a dual loyalty to the U.S. and Israel.

Omar’s comments were criticized by both Democrats and Republicans and triggered two congressional resolutions condemning hate speech. Jewish leaders in Omar’s diverse Minneapolis district have met with the congresswoman to discuss ways of furthering an open dialogue.

In a speech in March to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Omar spoke out against discrimination against and suspicions of Muslims.

“CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something, that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties. For far too long, we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen, and, frankly, I’m tired of it. And every single Muslim in the country should be tired of it,” she said.

Trump and other critics lashed out at Omar over the “some people did something” line, accusing her of trivializing the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

In one tweet, Trump included that one line from Omar’s speech, followed by more than 40 seconds of video footage from September 11 and a large graphic repeating the words “somebody did something.”

Omar said she has received an increase of death threats since that tweet. Earlier this month, a New York man was arrested for allegedly threatening to assault and murder Omar.

Will not be ‘quiet’

On Friday, Omar met in her home state with prominent figures from the Somali-American community. Asked why she has chosen to engage in this heated political controversy while new to Congress, when she could keep a low profile, Omar said she was not elected to be “quiet” or “invisible.”

“I was not elected to remain still like a self-portrait and think I am protecting my seat. I have to use my seat and leverage to represent the voices of those who elected me, those who have been crying and demonstrating in the streets to get an opportunity to have representatives at the U.S. Capitol, who can say no to the president’s wrong policies,” she told VOA.

Omar told participants in the meeting she has discussed many things of concern with the Somali community.

“We have discussed about the prevention and the reduction of our Minnesota youth incarceration, how we can address public housing problems facing our community in Minnesota, the future withdrawal of African Union peacekeepers in Somalia and U.S drone attacks in Somalia,” she said. “We are working on how we can get a bill that would help prevent civilian casualties by the counterterrorism drone strikes in Somalia, ensuring the civilian protection and how the families of the victims would get compensation.”

The U.S. military has stepped up its campaign of airstrikes in Somalia against al-Shabab and IS militants since Trump took office.

U.S military commanders in the region said the strikes have killed more than 800 militants in two years. Earlier this month, the U.S. Africa Command said a woman and a child were killed last year in a U.S. strike in Somalia, the first civilian casualties acknowledged in the U.S. military’s war against Islamist militants there.
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Mohamud Mascade contributed this report from Minneapolis; Katherine Gypson and Carla Babb contributed from Washington.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota / WASHINGTON – The California synagogue shooting that left one dead Saturday has revived a simmering debate over U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar’s comments about the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and U.S. lawmakers’ relationship with lobbyists for Israel.

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz and conservative commentator Meghan McCain suggested Sunday that Omar’s recent comments are part of rising anti-Semitism on the left and that all sides of the U.S. political spectrum have contributed to an extremist dialogue that targets Jews.

Omar – the first Somali-American member of Congress – pushed back against those claims, retweeting a post by journalist Peter Beinart on Sunday saying: “Islamophobia and anti-Semitism are two sides of the same coin. Let us stand together as Americans in rejecting hate.”

In an interview Friday with VOA’s Somali service, Omar said criticism of her outspoken comments was the “product of hate and ignorance mainly driven by President Donald Trump and his far right supporters.”

“The controversy is just there only because the U.S. president and his supporters are not happy with that a Muslim, a refugee, and a minority woman of color has her say on his leadership misbehaviors and wrongdoings,” the Minnesota Democrat said.

“We have a president who believes we are not here, who has been attacking us – the minority Americans and people of color. Now, when we get an opportunity and platform to speak out, he wants to silence our legitimate voices,” added Ilhan, one of two Muslim women in Congress. “I believe I am in a legitimate fight and I hope I will win it.”

Controversy details

Omar ignited a controversy earlier this year with a tweet insinuating that U.S. lawmakers’ support for Israel was swayed by money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a powerful lobbying group.

Shortly after apologizing for that tweet, Omar suggested in a public statement that some lawmakers held a dual loyalty to the U.S. and Israel.

Omar’s comments were criticized by both Democrats and Republicans and triggered two congressional resolutions condemning hate speech. Jewish leaders in Omar’s diverse Minneapolis district have met with the congresswoman to discuss ways of furthering an open dialogue.

In a speech in March to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Omar spoke out against discrimination against and suspicions of Muslims.

“CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something, that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties. For far too long, we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen, and, frankly, I’m tired of it. And every single Muslim in the country should be tired of it,” she said.

Trump and other critics lashed out at Omar over the “some people did something” line, accusing her of trivializing the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

In one tweet, Trump included that one line from Omar’s speech, followed by more than 40 seconds of video footage from September 11 and a large graphic repeating the words “somebody did something.”

Omar said she has received an increase of death threats since that tweet. Earlier this month, a New York man was arrested for allegedly threatening to assault and murder Omar.

Will not be ‘quiet’

On Friday, Omar met in her home state with prominent figures from the Somali-American community. Asked why she has chosen to engage in this heated political controversy while new to Congress, when she could keep a low profile, Omar said she was not elected to be “quiet” or “invisible.”

“I was not elected to remain still like a self-portrait and think I am protecting my seat. I have to use my seat and leverage to represent the voices of those who elected me, those who have been crying and demonstrating in the streets to get an opportunity to have representatives at the U.S. Capitol, who can say no to the president’s wrong policies,” she told VOA.

Omar told participants in the meeting she has discussed many things of concern with the Somali community.

“We have discussed about the prevention and the reduction of our Minnesota youth incarceration, how we can address public housing problems facing our community in Minnesota, the future withdrawal of African Union peacekeepers in Somalia and U.S drone attacks in Somalia,” she said. “We are working on how we can get a bill that would help prevent civilian casualties by the counterterrorism drone strikes in Somalia, ensuring the civilian protection and how the families of the victims would get compensation.”

The U.S. military has stepped up its campaign of airstrikes in Somalia against al-Shabab and IS militants since Trump took office.

U.S military commanders in the region said the strikes have killed more than 800 militants in two years. Earlier this month, the U.S. Africa Command said a woman and a child were killed last year in a U.S. strike in Somalia, the first civilian casualties acknowledged in the U.S. military’s war against Islamist militants there.
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A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments Monday on a request by state election officials to toss a lawsuit challenging how Georgia elections are run.

The lawsuit was filed weeks after Republican Brian Kemp narrowly beat Democrat Stacey Abrams in the governor’s race in November.

Fair Fight Action, a group founded by Abrams, accuses state election officials of mismanaging the election. The lawsuit seeks substantial reforms and asks that Georgia be required to get federal judge’s approval before changing voting rules.

Lawyers for the state officials argue they’re not responsible for any alleged harm since elections are run by local officials. They also say Fair Fight Action lacks the standing to sue, and they say a new law addresses many of the issues raised.
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A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments Monday on a request by state election officials to toss a lawsuit challenging how Georgia elections are run.

The lawsuit was filed weeks after Republican Brian Kemp narrowly beat Democrat Stacey Abrams in the governor’s race in November.

Fair Fight Action, a group founded by Abrams, accuses state election officials of mismanaging the election. The lawsuit seeks substantial reforms and asks that Georgia be required to get federal judge’s approval before changing voting rules.

Lawyers for the state officials argue they’re not responsible for any alleged harm since elections are run by local officials. They also say Fair Fight Action lacks the standing to sue, and they say a new law addresses many of the issues raised.
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