| Dem Leaders Expect a Group of Swing-State Lawmakers to Defect on Impeachment Vote Posted: 12 Dec 2019 07:49 AM PST  House Democrats are worried that the caucus could lose six or more moderate votes on impeachment, according to multiple officials who spoke anonymously to the Washington Post.When the House voted to formalize impeachment on October 31, all but two Democrats — Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey and Collin C. Peterson of Michigan — voted with House leadership. Amidst concerns from moderates, who on Monday considered reviving a proposal to censure President Trump rather than impeach him, the fate of the impeachment vote is a bit less certain.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could afford to lose 17 votes and still prevail with the vote, which will likely get the approval of former Republican Justin Amash. But House leadership is not whipping votes to ensure success, despite Pelosi saying in July that "censure is nice, but it is not commensurate with the violations of the Constitution should we decide [impeachment is] the way to go.""This is one of those issues where members have to come to their own conclusions; it's just too consequential," Daniel Kildee (D., Mich.), a deputy whip, said. "I think this is one of those votes where people are going to be remembered for a long time for how they voted on it."Moderates who initially voiced support for impeachment have been worried over polling which shows that support for impeachment has largely flatlined after the public hearings, the Post reports. Republican efforts to reclaim the House in 2020 have zeroed in on impeachment to target vulnerable districts, with the White House joining in in October.On Tuesday, freshman Representative Elissa Slotkin (D., Mich.) — who represents a district which voted for Trump in 2016 — said she was "undecided" on the vote, despite signing a September op-ed in support of impeachment. Slotkin was heckled by constituents during a town hall in October for her impeachment defense, and said Wednesday that "the phones are ringing off the hook" from people on both sides of the issue.
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| 18-Year-Old College Student Stabbed to Death in Manhattan Park Posted: 12 Dec 2019 01:49 AM PST  An 18-year-old college student was repeatedly stabbed by a group of assailants in a Manhattan park on Wednesday night before stumbling away for help, only to collapse before she could find any. The woman, identified as Tessa Majors, a first-year student at Barnard College, was later found collapsed in front of a security booth near Columbia University by a security guard who had been out on patrol. But after being rushed to St. Luke's hospital, she succumbed to her injuries. Law enforcement sources cited by the New York Daily News said a group of suspects approached the woman in Morningside Park and tried to rob her before stabbing her in the torso several times. She was reportedly walking down a set of steps to the park on W. 116th St. near Morningside Drive when she was surrounded by the group.After the attack, she managed to climb back up the stairs but collapsed in front of a Columbia security guard booth that at that moment happened to be empty. ABC News reports that she was found by the security guard about a half-hour after collapsing on the sidewalk. Mary, a woman who works as a nanny in the area, told The Daily Beast she received an alert from the Citizen app around 7:05 p.m. that there had been an assault with a knife a few hundred feet away. She looked out the window and saw a woman lying in the street as a police officer performed CPR. "There were about six cops in total at that point surrounding the girl," Mary said in a text message. She said police were still searching the area when she left around 10:30 p.m."I hope they catch the guy, no one should ever have to fear their walk home," she told The Daily Beast.In an email to students, Barnard College President Sian Leah Beilock said Majors was fatally stabbed during an armed robbery in Morningside Park. "Tessa was just beginning her journey at Barnard and in life. We mourn this devastating murder of an extraordinary young woman and member of our community," Beilock said in the email. "This is an unthinkable tragedy that has shaken us to our core."Police have not yet announced any suspects, but sources cited by the Daily News said a 16-year-old boy was being questioned in connection with the attack. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| House panel edits Trump articles of impeachment in rare evening session Posted: 11 Dec 2019 07:51 PM PST  Judiciary committee chair calls president's obstruction of congress 'absolute and without precedent'The House judiciary committee took the first steps on Wednesday toward voting on articles of impeachment against Donald Trump, beginning a marathon two-day session to consider the charges against him.The committee held a rare evening session to put the finishing touches on the articles, which were unveiled Tuesday.It was not expected that lawmakers would make substantial changes to the highly workshopped articles, which charge the president with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.In his statement opening the special session, the committee chair, Jerrold Nadler, called Trump's obstruction of Congress "complete, absolute and without precedent".He went on to say the impeachment debate should be framed around three questions: "First, does the evidence show clearly that the president committed these acts? "Second, do they rise to the level of impeachable high crimes and misdemeanors? "Third, what are the consequences for our national security, for the integrity of our elections, and for our country if we fail to act?"Dozens of committee members took the floor, one by one, to deliver their five-minute opening statements. Democrats framed the impeachment articles as a solemn responsibility, as Republicans sought to paint the inquiry as a political ploy.The top Republican on the committee, Doug Collins, said the articles were baseless and "nothing new". Jim Sensenbrenner called it "the weakest case in history".The evening session will be followed by a Thursday morning meeting in which the committee would debate amendments to the resolution and then vote on the articles. Both articles were expected to be approved by the committee along party lines.If the committee completes its work by Thursday afternoon as expected, a full House vote on whether to impeach Trump could be held next Tuesday or Wednesday. But judiciary committee members would have to conclude their work Thursday before a planned recess that afternoon for a 75th anniversary commemoration of the Battle of the Bulge.Running to barely nine pages, the succinct impeachment resolution describes how Trump allegedly used the power of his office to pressure Ukraine to tamper in the 2020 US election, at the expense of US national security and elections integrity.The resolution says Trump further obstructed Congress by directing "the unprecedented, categorical and indiscriminate defiance of subpoenas issued by the House of Representatives pursuant to its 'sole power of impeachment'."In the history of the republic, no president has ever ordered the complete defiance of an impeachment inquiry or sought to obstruct and impede so comprehensively the ability of the House of Representatives to investigate 'high crimes and misdemeanors'," the resolution states.Saying that Trump had "ignored and injured the interests of the nation", the resolution declares that Trump "thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States."At a campaign-style rally in Pennsylvania Tuesday night, Trump said impeachment was "stupid" and falsely claimed that "our poll numbers have gone through the roof" owing to the impeachment process. Polling averages show Trump's approval basically static at about minus-12 points.Agencies contributed reporting
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