that the House is empowered to "determine the Rules of its Proceedings." [1] Taken together, these provisions give the House sole discretion to determine the manner in which it will investigate, deliberate, and vote upon grounds for impeachment.
The Rules of the House do not prescribe any particular manner in which the House or any of its committees must conduct impeachment inquiries. Although the Judiciary Committee has traditionally been "responsible for considering and potentially recommending articles of impeachment to the full House,"[2] it is not the exclusive factfinding body through which all evidence bearing on impeachment must be collected. To the contrary, as discussed further below, in the last two modern Presidential impeachments the Judiciary Committee relied on evidence obtained through prosecutors, grand juries, and (in the case of President Nixon) a committee of the Senate. In addition, the House Rules provide HPSCI and the standing committees with robust investigative authorities, including the power to issue subpoenas and take depositions.[3] Each of the three committees indisputably has oversight jurisdiction to investigate these matters.[4]
Throughout 2019, HPSCI continued to investigate Russia's interference in the 2016 election as well as ongoing efforts by Russia and other adversaries to interfere in upcoming elections. As allegations emerged that President Trump and his personal attorney, Rudolph Giuliani, were acting to solicit and pressure Ukraine to launch politically motivated investigations, the Investigating Committees announced publicly on September 9, 2019, that they were conducting a joint investigation of the President's conduct toward Ukraine.[5]
The principal objection by the President has consisted of a claim that no committee of the House was permitted to investigate Presidential misconduct for impeachment purposes unless or until the House enacted a resolution fully "authorizing" the impeachment inquiry. [6] That claim has no basis in the Constitution, any statutes, the House Rules, or House precedent. As already noted, the Constitution says nothing whatsoever about any processes or prerequisites governing the House's exercise of its "sole Power of Impeachment." To the contrary, the Constitution's Impeachment and Rulemaking Clauses indicate that it is only for the House itself to structure its impeachment investigations and proceedings. Yet the House Rules do not preclude committees from inquiring into potential grounds for impeachment. As a federal district court recently confirmed, the notion that a full House vote is
- ↑ U.S. Const. art. I, § 5, cl. 2.
- ↑ Rules Committee Report at 7.
- ↑ House Rule XI.2(m); H. Res. 6 § 102(a).
- ↑ See House Rule X.1(i)(1), (10) (Committee on Foreign Affairs has jurisdiction regarding "[r]elations of the United States with foreign nations generally" and "[d]iplomatic service"); House Rule X.3(i), X.4(c)(2) (Committee on Oversight and Reform "shall review and study on a continuing basis the operation of Government activities at all levels, including the Executive Office of the President," and "may at any time conduct investigations of any matter" before other committees of the House); House Rule X.11(b)(1)(B) (HPSCI has jurisdiction regarding "[i]ntelligence and intelligence-related activities" of all "departments and agencies of the government").
- ↑ Press Release, Three House Committees Launch Wide-Ranging Investigations into Trump-Giuliani Ukraine Scheme (Sept. 9, 2019).
- ↑ See Oct. 8 Cipollone Letter.
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