Judiciary panel preparing to vote on procedures for impeachment probe: report

The House Judiciary Committee is preparing to vote on a resolution laying out the procedures for its widespread probe into the Trump administration.

The vote, expected to take place Wednesday, will reportedly focus on procedures for future hearings as the Judiciary panel weighs potentially recommending articles of impeachment against President Trump.

Multiple sources briefed on the discussions told Politico, which first reported on the move, that the panel would vote on the bounds of the probe that chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) calls an ongoing “impeachment investigation.”

The resolution’s exact language is still being configured and the legislation is expected to be released Monday.

{mosads}A source familiar with the issue told Politico any movement next week would be intended to increase the “officialness” of the ongoing probe into obstruction of justice. 

The Judiciary Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

The move comes as a majority of the House Democratic delegation has come out in support of opening impeachment proceedings. But some members have blurred the lines of what they’d like to see by supporting a probe but declining to say they’d be ready to vote to immediately impeach Trump when they return to Washington from their August recess next week.

Nadler first announced in August that his panel had launched impeachment proceedings, sparking widespread confusion after the committee did not formally vote to do so. 

The prospect of impeaching the president has gripped the House Democratic conference for months and created a rift between the party’s leadership and the rank and file.

Nadler, along with several party foot soldiers, have come out in support of an official impeachment investigation, saying it would help unite the sprawling probes being conducted by several different committees and help Democrats obtain sought after documents the administration has refused to provide. 

Members of the party’s leadership have said impeachment is unpopular among the broader American public, has no chance of passing the GOP-controlled Senate and could unite Trump’s base heading into the 2020 election.

Updated: Sept. 7 at 6:24 a.m.