80 See House Committee on the Judiciary, Impeachment of Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States, 93rd Cong. (1974) (H. Rep. 93-1305) (Impeachment Article III: "In refusing to produce these papers and things, Richard M. Nixon, substituting his judgment as to what materials were necessary for the inquiry, interposed the powers of the presidency against the lawful subpoenas of the House of Representatives, thereby assuming to himself functions and judgments necessary to the exercise of the sole power of impeachment vested by the Constitution in the House of Representatives.").
81 In this case, one Republican Member of the House of Representatives supported impeaching President Trump-Rep. Justin Amash from Michigan. In explaining his support, Rep. Amash noted the importance of upholding Congress' "duties under our Constitution" rather than "loyalty to a political party." After Rep. Amash announced his support for impeachment, President Trump denounced him as a "total lightweight" and a "loser." Rep. Amash subsequently declared that he was leaving the Republican party. See Justin Amash, Twitter (May 18, 2019) (online at https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/1129831626844921862); Trump Calls Representative Justin Amash a 'Loser' Over Impeachment Talk, New York Times (May 19, 2019) (online at www nytimes.com/2019/05/19/us/politics/trump-justin-amash-impeachment.html); Justin Amash: Our politics is in a partisan death spiral. That's why I'm leaving the GOP, Washington Post (July 4, 2019) (online at www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/justin-amash-our-politics-is-in-a-partisan-death-spiral-thats-why-im-leaving-the-gop/2019/07/04/afbe0480-9e3d-1le9-b27f-ed2942f73d70_story.html).
82 Letter from Pat A. Cipollone, Counsel to the President, The White House, to Acting Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney, House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Chairman Adam B. Schiff, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Chairman Eliot L. Engel, Chairman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs (Oct. 18, 2019).
83 Jefferson's Manual of Parliamentary Practice § 603 (stating that "various events have been credited with setting an impeachment in motion," including "facts developed and reported by an investigating committee of the House"). On October 25, 2019, a federal district court affirmed that "no governing law requires" the House to hold a such a vote. In re Application of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States House of Representatives, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 184857 (D.D.C. 2019). More than 300 legal scholars agreed, concluding that "the Constitution does not mandate the process for impeachment and there is no constitutional requirement that the House of Representatives authorize an impeachment inquiry before one begins." An Open Letter from Legal Scholars on Trump Impeachment Inquiry (Oct. 17, 2019) (online at www.law.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Open-Letter-from-Legal-Scholars-re-Impeachment.pdf).
84 In re Application of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States House of Representatives, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 184857 (D.D.C. 2019).
85 See, e.g., 3 Deschler Ch. 14 § 5 (discussing impeachment of Justice William O. Douglas).
86 See, e.g., H. Res. 87, 101st Cong. (1989) (impeachment of Judge Walter L. Nixon, Jr.); H. Res. 461, 99th Cong. (1986) (impeachment of Judge Harry E. Claiborne).
87 H. Res. 6 (2019); H. Res. 660 (2019). In addition, on June 11, 2019, the House approved House Resolution 430, which, in part, authorized the House Committee on the Judiciary to seek judicial enforcement of subpoenas in the ongoing investigation related to Special Counsel Mueller's report. The resolution granted the Committee "any and all necessary authority under Article I of the Constitution" to seek judicial enforcement. The accompanying report by the House Committee on Rules explained that this authority is intended to further the Judiciary Committee's ongoing investigation, the purpose of which includes assessing whether to recommend articles of impeachment with respect to the President." H. Rep. 116-108, quoting H. Rep. 116-105.
88 Letter from Pat A. Cipollone, Counsel to the President, The White House, to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Chairman Adam B. Schiff, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Chairman Eliot L. Engel, House Committee on Foreign Affairs Committee, and Chairman Elijah E. Cummings, House Committee on Oversight and Reform (Oct. 8, 2019) (online at www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/PAC-Letter-10.08.2019.pdf). President Trump has also made these claims directly, stating: "we had a great two weeks watching these crooked politicians, not giving us due process, not giving us lawyers, not giving us the right to speak, and destroying their witnesses," and"we weren't allowed any rights." Speech: Donald Trump Holds a Political Rally in Sunrise, Florida, Factbase Videos (Nov. 26, 2019) (online at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0RCCRULQI8&feature=youtu.be).
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