Judiciary Democrat: House impeaching Trump not a ‘foregone conclusion’

Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) said Sunday that the House’s impeachment of President Trump not a “foregone conclusion.”

Lofgren said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the House has not begun drafting articles for the impeachment of the president. The Democrat, who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, predicted the articles won’t be drafted until after the committee’s hearing this week.

“I think the evidence that is being presented to us by the Intelligence Committee really focuses on the Ukraine matter, so — as well as the obstruction,” she told Dana Bash. “If we do articles — and that’s not a foregone conclusion — that would be the central thrust, I would assume.”

On #CNNSOTU, Judiciary Committee member @RepZoeLofgren says that the House impeaching President Trump is “not a foregone conclusion” https://t.co/yLJaxiNY3Y

— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) December 1, 2019

Bash followed up with asking if Lofgren “really” doesn’t think “it’s a foregone conclusion” if the Democrat said the evidence exists from the July 25 phone call between Trump and the Ukrainian president. 

Lofgren responded by saying this week’s hearings are to determine what the Constitution means when it says impeachment could be sparked by treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 

{mosads}“I mean, there’s plenty of misconduct in the history of the United States among presidents, but it’s not all impeachable,” she said.

The representative, who worked during the Nixon and Clinton impeachments, said the allegations against Trump are worse than those against Nixon.

The Judiciary Committee will hold hearings this week, and Chairman Jerrold Nadler invited the president to participate, although the White House has not responded yet. These hearings follow the House Intelligence Committee’s public hearings.