House to hold vote on formalizing impeachment inquiry Thursday

Oct. 28 (UPI) -- The House announced Monday that it will hold a vote Thursday to determine whether to formalize impeachment inquiry procedures for President Donald Trump.

House members will vote on a resolution by Rule Committee Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass., that will lay out the next steps to follow through on the inquiry sparked by a whistle-blower's allegations that Trump attempted to pressure Ukraine's president to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son.

The text of the resolution was not immediately released, but McGovern said it would "provide a clear path forward" on the impeachment inquiry.

"This is the right thing to do for the institution and the American people," he said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter Monday that the resolution was not legally necessary but the House decided to take the vote "to eliminate any doubt as to whether the Trump administration may withhold documents, prevent witness testimony, disregard duly authorized subpoenas, or continue obstructing the House of Representatives."

"For weeks the president, his counsel in the White House and his allies in Congress have made the baseless claim that the House of Representatives' impeachment inquiry 'lacks the necessary authorization for a valid impeachment proceeding.' They argue that, because the House has not taken a vote, they may simply pretend the impeachment inquiry does not exist," she wrote.

The resolution will establish procedure for open hearings, authorize the release of deposition transcripts and outline how the Intelligence Community can transfer evidence to the House judiciary committee, Pelosi said.

Pelosi announced the impeachment inquiry into Trump in September, and a trio of House panels have since held a number of closed-door hearings with administration officials that worked with Ukraine.