Democrats' decision to televise Trump impeachment hearings could prove politically perilous [View all]

[turbinetree]

Politics
November 1, 2019 / 4:18 PM / Updated 13 hours ago

James Oliphant, Chris Kahn 6 Min Read

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in the U.S. Congress took a major step toward impeaching President Donald Trump this week when they agreed on the rules for publicly televised hearings after weeks of testimony behind closed doors. But it is also a step onto more politically perilous terrain for a party seeking to persuade Americans that their cause to remove Republican Trump, who they accuse of abusing his power, is just.

Leaders of the Democratic-run U.S. House of Representatives believe that putting the main witnesses on TV will convince independent voters and other doubters that Trump was wrong in asking the Ukrainian government to dig up dirt on a political rival, Democrat Joe Biden, who hopes to be the candidate to oust Trump in the 2020 election.

While Republicans and the president face great political risk in the hearings, so do Democrats. They must present themselves as sober and trustworthy investigators, former congressional aides and analysts said.

“The allegations – and what the president has admitted to – are serious enough. They don’t need embellishment. They just need explanation,” said Mieke Eoyang, a former aide to the House Intelligence Committee who works for the Democratic think tank Third Way.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-impeachment-televised-analy/democrats-decision-to-televise-trump-impeachment-hearings-could-prove-politically-perilous-idUSKBN1XB50K

First and foremost the democrats will have "staff lawyers" asking the questions, on the other side of the aisle with that clown show, who knows what they will do..................... but, I fully believe that Adam Shiff will not let the hearings turn into another republican show like that character Lewandowski did.........................contempt will be on the table..........................and other law enforcement tools.................................