Democrats are giving Trump more impeachment rights than Clinton or Nixon got — but there's a catch
House Democratic leaders are confident they will pass their impeachment road map on Thursday. And "there's more going on here than just a party-line floor vote tomorrow," MSNBC's Ari Melber said on Wednesday's The Beat. "If you want to understand the road to impeaching [President] Trump and what it will tee up in any Senate trial, you have to see what they're voting on," including new "rules and protections for the person who may ultimately be put on trial, Donald Trump."
Under the resolution up for a vote Thursday, the House Intelligence Committee will gather evidence, much like the special counsels that paved the way for the impeachment cases against Presidents Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon, while the Judiciary Committee will, like a prosecutor, weigh the facts and decide whether to file articles of impeachment. In the Judiciary Committee hearings, Trump's lawyers would have access to evidence and staff reports, be able to question witnesses and introduce evidence of their own, and gain the right to call or question witnesses.
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These impeachment rules "call Donald Trump's bluff," Melber said. "And they say in this process, keep stonewalling at your own peril." Watch below. Peter Weber
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