Democrats accuse Trump of 'criminal' conduct in Judiciary Committee impeachment report

(Image credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Bribery didn't work its way into the House's articles of impeachment, but the Democrat-led House Judiciary Committee accused President Trump of the crime anyway in a 658-page report released Monday.

The committee notes that while proof of a crime isn't necessary to impeach a president, Trump pressuring Ukraine to investigate his political rivals registered as offenses "both constitutional and criminal in nature." The committee specifically mentioned bribery, which is an impeachable offense but won't be voted on as such by the House this week.

Still, the committee said there is "little doubt" the constitutional definition of the crime can be "satsified" considering Trump solicited a favor of personal value to him from Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky in an attempt to benefit himself and his political future. The committee's report will be considered by the full House when it goes to vote, so it's likely the bribery section will have some influence despite getting left out of the articles. Tim O'Donnell

The Week

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.