WASHINGTON, DC (NEXSTAR) – As the impeachment process continues, Democrats and Republicans are still making their appeals to the public.
“I do want to hear more from my constituents,” Congressman Adam Schiff said.
“Why don’t they trust the American public to make a decision,” Congressman Kevin McCarthy said.
The Judiciary Committee will eventually decide if the evidence they’ve gathered meets the standard for ‘Articles of Impeachment’ and if the public will support them.
“Impeachment arises from an abuse of authority that harms the society itself. That’s a high crime and misdemeanor,” Allan Lichtman said.
Allan Lichtman is a professor of history at American University in Washington and author of the book ‘The Case for Impeachment.’
He says committee members will rely on precedent from both the Clinton and Nixon impeachment processes.
“Nixon was also charged with abuse of power. That very closely parallels the fact pattern in the current Trump case,” Lichtman said.
But Lichtman says the constitution is intentionally vague about what qualifies as a high crime and misdemeanor, leaving lots of room for political interpretation.
“The big question is, should the president be removed from office now, rather than waiting for next year’s election,” Thomas Jipping said.
Thomas Jipping with the Conservative Heritage Foundation says impeachment undermines voters.
“The people want their opportunity to say whether what the president did or didn’t do was right or wrong,” Jipping said.
But Democrats aren’t done building their case and will hold a new hearing on Wednesday.