Pablo Martinez Monsivai/Associated Press
A member of the audience holds a copy of the whistleblower complaint letter sent to the Senate and House Intelligence Committees during testimony before the House committee, September 26, 2019.
A few days into the impeachment inquiry of Donald Trump, we have numerous investigative threads opening, a president responding by muttering to himself in public, and polling rewarding House Democrats for their leadership. So of course, leadership wants to treat this like something that lands in your in-box at the office that the boss has to have by 5:00.
The Washington Post reports that there’s a “need for speed” with the investigation, which they hope will be concluded before everyone goes home for the holidays. Speaker Pelosi, reportedly pressured by the freshman “majority-makers” who spurred her to move on impeachment in the first place, wants a narrow focus on the phone call with the Ukrainian president, mostly conducted through the House Intelligence Committee, with “very few hearings, if any.”
Has anybody in the Capitol read a history book about Watergate? I pulled one off my shelf, the indispensable Rick Perlstein’s The Invisible Bridge, the first part of which deals with the Watergate hearings. Perlstein describes them as a hit TV show, “with the three networks rotating gavel-to-gavel coverage … at night, PBS ran the whole thing again as a repeat.” The public nature of the hearings was critical for understanding “the point at which obedience to orders becomes a denial of higher and universal laws of civilized behavior,” one newspaper wrote.
The hearings were a window to reveal a White House that operated like a criminal syndicate. They were methodical, determined, and comprehensive. They didn’t confine themselves to one break-in of the DNC headquarters because that would be “easier” for people to understand. They fully related the crimes and the cover-ups of the Nixon administration, because only then could the public recognize the depth of the situation.
If anything, the circumstances are more urgent for a truth and reconciliation–style commission today, for an educational tool about how the White House works. Trump’s human-shield Republicans in the Senate won’t remove him. The only purpose of this inquiry should be to answer the question of how Donald Trump uses and abuses the office of the presidency. House Democratic oversight has been unspeakably weak, by their own admission; this can be a moment to hit the reset button.
Especially headed into an election year, spending time on a detailed, unflattering discussion of presidential corruption seems like something you wouldn’t want to hide. The public is ultimately the jury here. They should be brought into the process.
LINKS TO MY STORIES
The kickoff of our #DayOneAgenda series on what the next president can do without passing any new legislation. (Read the story)
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren broke news in answering our questionnaire on the #DayOneAgenda, vowing to make marijuana effectively legal through administrative descheduling. (Read the story)
Trump’s impeachment could spark a reversal of an era of no accountability. (Read the story)
Great news: Wall Street Democrats are talking about leaving the party. (Read the story)
ALSO AT THE PROSPECT
Our entire #DayOneAgenda series is now available online at this link. I urge you to check it out.
Mike Elk on the continuing GM strike.
Alex Sammon on Trump talking about low drug prices at home while giving pharma a huge windfall in a trade deal with India.
Sarah Jaffe on U.K. Labour’s strategizing for the next election.
Gabrielle Gurley on how the House, one day after the impeachment inquiry was announced, passed a marijuana banking bill with 91 Republicans supporting.
APPEARANCES
I was on the Left Anchor podcast with Ryan Cooper and Alexi the Greek, discussing the #DayOneAgenda. Listen here.
I was on Sam Seder’s Majority Report, on the #DayOneAgenda. Listen here.
The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen had me on to discuss the #DayOneAgenda. Listen here.
I was on the BradCast with Nicole Sandler on the #DayOneAgenda. Listen here.
Jon Wiener had me on Trump Watch, to talk about the #DayOneAgenda. Listen here.
SHARING THE WEALTH
It would be hysterical if what really gets Trump, after all this, is banning flavored e-cigarettes. (Axios)
Biden and Third Way team up to test negative messages on Medicare for All. (Bloomberg)
Hamilton Nolan on how we need a new union for tech workers. (Splinter)
Income inequality gap at a new high. (NPR)
GM reverses itself on cutting health insurance to striking workers. (HuffPost)
Kaiser strikes a deal with 80,000-plus workers who threatened a strike. (Sacramento Bee)
Talks on NAFTA 2.0 continue, but no breakthroughs yet. (Politico)
Jeff Spross on WeWork. (The Week)
How TikTok censors videos unflattering to China. (The Guardian)
I’ll read anything Paul Theroux writes. (NY Times Magazine)
Ashley Feinberg with way more information than you’ll ever need about the pee tape. (Slate)
