Democrats are giving Trump more impeachment rights than Clinton or Nixon got — but there's a catch

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last updated 31 October 2019

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.

"I want to be clear about this: Those are new powers the House is giving to Donald Trump in the spirit of, they say, fairness, that aren't automatic," Melber said. The Judiciary Committee is distributing charts listing "every protection that Clinton and Nixon got" and showing "that the Democrats will give Trump those — and even more," he added. But there's a catch: Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) can rescind some of those rights if Trump refuses to hand over documents or blocks 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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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.