It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy. We think of it as a mini-magazine in your Inbox.
 

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS

The House Judiciary Committee’s impeachment hearing on Wednesday marks a new phase in the investigation, as Democrats prepare to finalize their case against President Donald Trump, amid increased resistance from Republicans and the White House.

The proceedings will be led by Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-NY, whose committee is in charge of drawing up articles of impeachment against the president and sending them to the House floor for a final vote.

Neither Trump nor his lawyers will be present Wednesday, but it remains unclear whether the coming weeks could feature a direct confrontation between Democrats and the White House. Under the House rules, the president does have the right to participate in the Judiciary Committee hearings. 

Nadler is now in control

Nadler is taking charge of the impeachment investigation from House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who led the public hearings last month. The Intelligence panel investigation focused on whether Trump abused his power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a leading 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. A report on its findings was released Tuesday. It is expected to be approved and sent to Judiciary on Tuesday evening.

Once Nadler has the report, Democrats will formally begin weighing whether there’s enough evidence to conclude that Trump committed an impeachable offense. Democrats must also decide whether to focus only on Trump’s actions with regards to Ukraine, or expand the list of potential articles of impeachment to include other matters.

Unlike Schiff, Nadler has a long history with Trump that predates the president’s political rise. The veteran House lawmaker represents parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn -- Trump’s home turf -- and has clashed repeatedly with Trump in the past, over real estate projects in New York City.

What is an impeachable offense?

The framers of the Constitution outlined impeachable offenses in broad terms, leaving it up to future lawmakers to decide on a case-by-case basis when to remove a president from office. The purpose of Wednesday’s hearing is to define which, if any, of Trump’s actions rise to the level of impeachable. Republicans took a similar step at this point in their impeachment investigation into President Bill Clinton in the late 1990s. 

Lawmakers will hear testimony Wednesday from four legal scholars: Harvard Law professor Noah Feldman, Stanford Law professor Pam Karlan, University of North Carolina Law professor Michael Gerhardt, and George Washington Law professor Jonathan Turley. Turley also testified before the House in the Clinton impeachment.

Turley is the lone witness called by Republicans. GOP lawmakers have frequently criticized the impeachment investigation, and Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, attacked the process again in a letter Monday to Nadler. 

The Democrats’ dilemma

House Democrats still have to decide whether to focus exclusively on Ukraine, or go after Trump on a broader range of issues -- a dilemma Democrats have struggled with since formally launching the impeachment inquiry in September.

Should Democrats decide to broaden their case against Trump, they’d likely focus on Mueller’s special counsel investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and ties to the Trump campaign. In his final report, Mueller did not draw a conclusion about whether Trump obstructed justice. But Mueller pointed out ten instances where there was evidence the president or his associates tried to interfere with the probe.

If Democrats focus on the special counsel probe Wednesday, it could signal they are leaning towards adding obstruction of justice from that investigation to the list of articles of impeachment. That approach could open Democrats up to criticism that they are still fixated  on the Mueller investigation, and bolster Trump’s claim that the impeachment is politically motivated.

Will the White House participate? 

White House counsel Pat Cipollone announced Sunday in a letter to Nadler that the White House would not participate in Wednesday’s hearing. Cipollone slammed the investigation as a “baseless and highly partisan inquiry” that was unfair to Trump.

But, that doesn’t mean the White House will refuse to cooperate in subsequent hearings. Under the impeachment rules passed by Democrats last month, the White House can participate in Judiciary Committee hearings, including cross-examining witnesses. The White House has until Friday to decide whether to attend the hearings.

What happens next?

Nadler hasn’t announced more hearings beyond Wednesday, but the Judiciary Committee is expected to hold more in the coming weeks. The panel could also vote as soon as next week to draft articles of impeachment. If the committee approves articles of impeachment, they would move to the floor for a House vote. (An alternative would be passing a resolution to censure Trump, if Democrats decide not to pursue impeachment. A censure vote does not remove a president from office and is defined by the Senate as a “formal statement of disapproval.”)

Democrats have signaled a desire to wrap up the process by the end of the year. Congress breaks for its winter recess before Christmas. If the House sticks with its schedule, it has only three more weeks to vote on impeachment and send it to the Senate for a trial early next year.

FIVE OVERLOOKED POLITICAL STORIES FROM THE PAST WEEK
By Alex D’Elia, @AlexDEliaNews
Politics production assistant

Trump bans Bloomberg reporters from trail -- Dec. 2. President Donald Trump and the GOP announced they would no longer give credentials to political reporters from Bloomberg News after the company said it would not investigate its owner, Michael Bloomberg, or his Democratic rivals for the presidential nomination. Why it matters: Bloomberg is a major news organization and not being able to attend Trump’s campaign events hinder their coverage. -- Politico

Rep. Duncan Hunter pleads guilty to misusing campaign funds -- Dec. 3. The California Representative pleaded guilty to one count of misuse of campaign funds.  Why it matters: The Congressman once fiercely defended his innocence but now says he is prepared to go to jail. He has not said when he will resign his House seat. -- L.A. Times

Twitter bans Ilhan Omar’s GOP rival for tweeting about hanging the congresswoman -- Nov. 30. The campaign account for the woman challenging Omar for her seat in 2020 posted conspiracies and threats, which led to the permanent suspension of the account. Why it matters: The move by Twitter comes as social media platforms have been criticized for not being tough enough on online hate speech. -- Vox

Problems pile up for Boeing as 737 Max delays continue -- Nov. 27. Nine months after the plane was grounded, Federal Aviation Administration officials believe that the planes may remain on the ground through January. Why it matters: The longer the hold, the greater the potential impact on Boeing, the largest manufacturing exporter in the U.S. -- The New York Times

Bill Ruckelshaus, conservationist who also protected the rule of law, dies -- Nov. 30. The Deputy Attorney General who refused President Nixon’s request to fire independent special prosecutor Archibald Cox, died last week at 87. Why it matters: Many reflect on Ruckelshaus’ legacy of integrity during a time of political division. -- NPR

#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Kate Grumke, @KGrumke
Politics producer

On this day in 1800, a presidential election ended in an electoral college tie. At this time, each party nominated two candidates for president. Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr were the Democratic-Republicans, and the plan was for Burr to get one fewer electoral college vote than Jefferson, which would have made Burr the vice president and Jefferson the president. But instead they tied, and it was up to the House of Representatives to choose a winner by ballot. 

Our question: How many ballots did the House of Representatives have to cast before Jefferson was declared the winner?

Send your answers to [email protected] or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.

Last week, we asked: President Donald Trump pardoned Butter, the national turkey, at the White House. A National Thanksgiving Turkey has been presented to the president at the White House since 1947. Who was the first president to offer the bird a “pardon?”

The answer: George H. W. Bush. 

Congratulations to our winner: Carmen Pereira!!

Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your Inbox next week.