Impeachment hearing exposes 'absolute coverup by White House', as former top aide dodges questions
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Your support makes all the difference.Democrats in the House Judiciary Committee have launched the first impeachment hearings into allegations that Donald Trump obstructed justice and abused power, with the president's former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski appearing before the committee as the first witness to testify on questions that were raised by the Mueller report released earlier this year.
The witness had been gagged by the White House, however, and two more aides – Rick Dearborn and Rob Porter – were reportedly told to ignore subpoenas and not attend the session with the Democratic-led panel on the grounds that they are protected by “absolute immunity”.
"The White House has no authority legal or otherwise to give these orders," House Judiciary chairman Jerry Nadler said of those gags.
But, Mr Lewandowski nevertheless refused to answer questions from Democrats, citing a gag letter from the White House, where he never worked.
The president’s latest campaign rally on Monday evening saw him attempt to appeal to the Hispanic voters of New Mexico he alienated in 2016, a day bookended by his calls for resignations at The New York Times over the latest sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh and a new poll forecasting Mr Trump’s defeat in key 2020 swing states.
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Mr Lewandowski says he did not coordinate in conspiracy or coordination with the Russians during the 2016 election: "Never".
He says he did not see others doing so, either.
Mr Collins is asking if Democrats believe that the hearing today is "worth" breaking the House rules over.
"It is clear to me that the reason he went to you Mr Lewandowski is because everyone else said no," Sheila Jackson Lee tells the witness, noting that Mr Trump could have asked anyone else in the White House to fire Robert Mueller.
Mr Lewandowski is sparring with Ms Jackson Lee. He told her "not to ask me a question" if she "doesn't want to know the answer".
He interrupted after beginning to repeat his statement that he has been instructed not to discuss his conversations with the president.
"What you just told me is not on the screen, congresswoman," Mr Lewandowski says.
"You need to look at the screen," Ms Jackson Lee responds.
Later, she says: "You are obviously here to block any reasonable inquiry into the truth".
"I want to be very clear the president knew that what he was doing was wrong because everybody else had said no," Ms Jackson Lee tells Mr Lewandowski.
"He calls you in to do his dirty work in secret because he knew it was wrong, well we will expose the truth that the president cannot hide behind you any longer," she says.
Republican Steve Chabot is using his time to allow Mr Lewandowski to say he is not a Russian asset, and to suggest as others have that the Judiciary Committee could be working on other issues including immigration, opioids, or balanced budgets.
Mr Chabot says that "they don't have the votes" to begin impeachment hearings. He calls today's hearing a "fake, faux" impeachment.
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