After months of hearings, Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, on Sunday sounded the death knell of the House impeachment effort.
“I think this is the beginning of the end for this show trial that we’ve seen in the House,” said Mr. Cruz on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.” “I think it’s going to come to the Senate, we’re going to have fair proceedings, and then it’s not going anywhere because facts aren’t there.”
Mr. Cruz pointed to Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report on improper conduct by the FBI, which he called “unbelievably damning,” and the House Judiciary Committee’s vote to approve two articles of impeachment, one alleging abuse of power and the other alleging obstruction of Congress.
Last week, “we actually saw the House of Representatives’ articles of impeachment and their entire partisan case collapse,” said Mr. Cruz. “For weeks and months, they’ve been promising evidence of criminal conduct. They abandoned all of that and admitted the evidence doesn’t support all of their attacks that have happened before.”
.@GStephanopoulos: “Then you think there’s nothing wrong with the president continuing to ask…for investigations into Joe Biden and the Democrats?”
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 15, 2019
Sen. Ted Cruz: “I think it is perfectly within the authority of the president to investigate corruption.” https://t.co/F9s6NzIv9K pic.twitter.com/9PlHsCclgG
Rep. Jerry Nadler: “This is a crime in progress against the Constitution and against American democracy. We cannot take the risk that the next election will be corrupted through foreign interference solicited by the president.” https://t.co/P6iz1j1VA4 pic.twitter.com/eADmKbtfPG
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) December 15, 2019
House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerrold Nadler alleged President Trump’s push for Ukraine to investigate corruption involving former Vice President Joseph R. Biden and his son Hunter Biden is a “crime in progress against the Constitution and against American democracy.”
“We cannot take the risk that the next election will be corrupted through foreign interference solicited by the president,” said Mr. Nadler.
Mr. Cruz disagreed. “I think it is perfectly within the authority of the president to investigate corruption and to investigate corruption with allies,” he said. “We’re doing it every day, and by the way, we did it every day under Barack Obama, under Bill Clinton, under George W. Bush.”
The articles of impeachment are slated to go before the House Rules Committee on Tuesday, with a full House floor vote expected Wednesday.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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