The Daily - The Impeachment of President Donald J. Trump

The House of Representatives has impeached President Trump, charging him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. We traveled to Michigan to understand how a fractious Democratic Party ultimately united around impeachment, having started the year divided over the issue. Guests: Representative Elissa Slotkin and Representative Rashida Tlaib, Democrats of Michigan. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Background reading:Mr. Trump became only the third president in American history to be impeached, as the House charged him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The votes were largely along party lines.Moderate Democrats encouraged their party to begin the impeachment inquiry. Now, those representatives face a reckoning with that decision.Are you confused by the impeachment process? Here’s how it works.

Duration: 38m
Broadcast on: 19 Dec 2019
Audio Format: other

Background reading:

Mr. Trump became only the third president in American history to be impeached, as the House charged him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The votes were largely along party lines.
Moderate Democrats encouraged their party to begin the impeachment inquiry. Now, those representatives face a reckoning with that decision.
Are you confused by the impeachment process? Here’s how it works.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

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This podcast is supported by the Capital One Venture X Card. Venture X offers the premium benefits you expect, like a $300 annual Capital One travel credit for less than you expect. Elevate your earn with unlimited double miles on every purchase, bringing you one step closer to your next dream destination. Plus, enjoy access to over 1,000 airport lounges worldwide. The Capital One Venture X Card, what's in your wallet? Terms apply, lounge access is subject to change. See CapitalOne.com for details. From the New York Times, I'm Michael Bolvaro. This is the Daily. Today, the United States House of Representatives has impeached President Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

My colleague Lisa Chowinai on the story of how a fractious Democratic Party, which started the year divided on impeachment, ultimately united around it. It's Thursday, December 19th.

And how far away from Holly? 35 miles from the home. Okay, so yeah, we will get there in time. Yeah, you want to describe what you're sitting outside the window. So driving by a strip mall, about 45 minutes outside Detroit, there's a Best Buy on Michael's, a PetSmart, a Lowe's, a Chipotle, and a DSW. This is a solid, solid, solid strip mall.

So Michael, why are we driving through the strip malls of Detroit? So we are headed to the home of Congresswoman Alyssa Slotkin. Alyssa Slotkin has a lead of more than 2,000 votes against Republican incumbent Mike Fisher. She is a moderate Democrat who won her seat. I mean, I wanted a district that was a Republican district, so the only way. She flipped a red district and turned it blue in 2018. And in doing so, she helped the Democrats win back the House. The blue wave, the blue wave that swept Democrat into power in the house. But the moment she gets into office... People like Rashida Tlaib, the Congresswoman who represents a district just to the South here that we just drove through, they are saying that the findings of the Russia inquiry married impeachment and Slotkin is not having any of it. This is from Congresswoman Slotkin of Michigan. Impeachment is not what people are coming up to me in the grocery store and talking to me about what they want to know. She's skeptical of that. She's opposed to it. It's not part of her political brand to want to impeach the president. And then all of a sudden the whistleblower report comes out and she reads it and she's very troubled. And she and a handful of her moderate swing district Democratic House colleagues write a not been in the Washington Post calling for an impeachment inquiry. They write we have devoted our lives to the service and security of our country. Now we join as a unified group to uphold that. And their voice carries a tremendous amount of weight. Because they are moderates, because they help win back the House for Democrats, and shortly afterwards House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opens an impeachment inquiry. I'm announcing House of Representatives moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry. The president must be held accountable. No one is above the wall.

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