House Judiciary Committee heads deliver statements in Trump impeachment hearing

The heads of the House Judiciary Committee squared off Monday as the panel prepared to hear evidence in the impeachment inquiry into President Trump.

Rep. Doug Collins, the ranking Republican on the panel, characterized the hearing as a “show” that is not supported by the facts.

“At the end of the day all this is about, is about a clock and a calendar because they can’t get over the fact Donald Trump is president of the United States and they don’t have a candidate that they think can beat him,” Collins of Georgia said in his opening statement.

“It’s all political. And as we have talked about before, this is a show.”

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the chairman of the committee, said Trump violated the oath of his office by pressing Ukraine to investigate a political rival.

“The record shows that President Trump withheld military aid, allocated by the United States Congress, from Ukraine. It also shows that he withheld a White House meeting from President Zelensky,” Nadler said in his opening statement.

“Multiple witnesses, including respected diplomats, national security professionals, and decorated war veterans, all testified to the same basic fact. President Trump withheld the aid and the meeting in order to pressure a foreign government to do him that favor. President trump put himself before country,” he continued.