The latest on President Trump’s impeachment

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The House should no longer need grand jury secrets from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation about President Trump following his impeachment, the Department of Justice argued in another filing to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals this afternoon.

The DOJ argued Trump was impeached for his dealings with Ukraine and not his attempts to obstruct the Mueller investigation or other Russia-related findings.

This argument comes in a series of federal appellate filings from the Justice Department and the House today, as they prepare to argue on Jan. 3 about the House’s access to the Mueller grand jury details and testimony of former White House counsel Don McGahn.

As the impeachment trial stalemate continues, President Trump was spotted at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach this afternoon.

Trump is spending the holiday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

Today’s trip to the golf resort marks the President’s 325th day at a Trump property and his 246th day at one of his golf clubs.

The US House wrote to federal appellate judges this afternoon that it still seeks former White House counsel Don McGahn’s testimony in court because of the recent impeachment and the upcoming Senate trial — and that the investigation into whether President Trump obstructed justice continues and could result in more articles of impeachment if McGahn testifies.

McGahn has refused to testify to the House Judiciary Committee since April about what he witnessed Trump say and do regarding the Russia investigation. Mueller reported that McGahn spoke to prosecutors and the FBI several times about Trump’s direction to fire special counsel Robert Mueller, among other things.

“For example, if McGahn confirms to the Committee that the President ordered him to fire Special Counsel Mueller — an event that President Trump has publicly disputed — and then tried to cover it up, that testimony would constitute powerful evidence of the pattern of obstructive behavior described in the second Article,” the House wrote in the new court filing.

Separately, the House wrote, “If McGahn’s testimony produces new evidence supporting the conclusion that President Trump committed impeachable offenses that are not covered by the Articles approved by the House, the Committee will proceed accordingly — including, if necessary, by considering whether to recommend new articles of impeachment.”

Politically, the possibility for more articles of impeachment against Trump seems unlikely at this time. But in court, the House has argued to keep the McGahn case alive so it can keep its investigative options open and gather more information during the Senate trial.

The House added that its Judiciary Committee is even considering legislation that could change how the White House and Justice Department interact regarding civil and criminal matters. The committee is also considering placing reporting requirements on “foreign offers of assistance,” according to the filing.

Today’s filing comes after the DC’s Circuit panel asked both the House and Justice Department to respond to recent developments in impeachment, before they court hears the McGahn case on Jan. 3. The Justice Department filed its written arguments just after midnight earlier today.

The administration lost the case before the lower court.

Both DOJ and the House have said today they don’t believe the impeachment of the President last week makes the McGahn case moot. But the Justice Department still wants the case thrown out by the appeals court, which would allow the administration to continue blocking House subpoenas because of what it calls the White House’s “absolute immunity.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell signaled he doesn’t expect much progress on negotiations over President Trump’s impeachment trial until the Senate returns next year. 

At a news conference with reporters today, McConnell said he expected to have a better sense of the state of the negotiations with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer once the Senate returns into session on Jan. 6.

McConnell has previously signaled he doesn’t expect much progress on the talks during the holidays. Earlier today, Schumer sent a letter to all senators calling for the Senate to obtain documents as part of the Senate trial, in addition to the witnesses Democrats are seeking.

Asked about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi waiting to formally send the articles of impeachment to the Senate, McConnell said: “We can’t take up a matter we don’t have. So hopefully it’ll be on the way over at some point.”

When asked about how impeachment might impact his own reelection, McConnell responded, “Who knows.”

After it published an op-ed calling for President Trump’s removal for office, Christianity Today says it’s seen a boost in readership.

Mark Galli, the editor-in-chief of the leading evangelical publication, made the remarks during an interview with the Rev. Al Sharpton on MSNBC on Sunday.

The editorial, he said, divided readers — but support outweighed criticism.

Galli penned the condemnatory editorial for the magazine last week. In it, he criticized what he called Trump’s “grossly immoral character” and urged evangelicals to stop supporting him.

Read more here.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a letter to all senators today detailing specific documents he wants produced for the Senate trial.

In his letter, Schumer noted that the House heard from an extensive group of witnesses in the impeachment inquiry, but investigators could not get access to most documents they sought because the administration defied congressional subpoenas.

He also noted in his letter today that on Dec. 15, he wrote Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell proposing that the Senate review new documentary evidence.

Included in the documents that Schumer cites as examples of what he’d like the Senate to obtain include newly revealed emails between Office of Management and Budget Associate Director Michael P. Duffey and the Department of Defense regarding the “holdup” of Ukrainian aid.

Here’s a part of his letter:

Roughly 90 minutes after President Trump spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25, Trump’s political appointees at the White House’s budget office were already ordering the Pentagon to freeze security funding for Ukraine, newly released government documents show.

Here’s what we know about the timeline:

President Trump lashed out at Democrats on Twitter this morning, once again accusing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of treating him unfairly during impeachment proceedings. 

The President begins the holiday week at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. He has no public events on his schedule today.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was on Fox and Friends this morning where he discussed the impeachment impasse between House and the Senate.

McConnell reiterated that he is not anxious to have the impeachment trial and that the Senate can’t do anything until the articles of impeachment are brought over from the House.

He said he is advocating for the same process in the Senate that was used in the impeachment of President Clinton. If that process was good enough for Chuck Schumer in 1999, it should be good enough now, he said.