The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current, December 14, 2019, WEEKEND EDITION, Image 7

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The daily Astorian., December 14, 2019, WEEKEND EDITION, Page 7, Image 7

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Newspaper Page TextA7 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2019 House judiciary approves impeachment Trump faces abuse of power, obstruction of Congress charges By LISA MASCARO and MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON — Democrats pro- pelled President Donald Trump’s impeach- ment toward a historic vote by the full U.S. House as the Judiciary Committee on Fri- day approved charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. It’s the latest major step in the constitutional and political storm that has divided Congress and the nation. The House is expected to approve the two articles of impeachment next week, before lawmakers depart for the holidays. The partisan split in the committee vote — 23 Democrats to 17 Republicans — reﬂ ects the atmosphere in Congress. The Democrat- ic-majority House is expected to approve the charges against Trump next week, but the Republican-controlled Senate is likely to acquit him after a January trial. Trump is accused, in the ﬁ rst article, of abusing his presidential power by ask- ing Ukraine to investigate his 2020 rival Joe Biden while holding military aid as leverage, and, in the second, of obstructing Congress by blocking the House’s efforts to probe his actions. “Today is a solemn and sad day,” Chair- man Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., told reporters after the session, marking the third time in U.S. history the panel had voted to recom- mend impeaching a president. He said the full House would act “expeditiously.” At the White House after the votes, Trump denounced the inquiry and actions against him, using the terms he’s relied on for months. He referred to the impeachment effort four times as a hoax, twice as a sham and once each as a scam, a witch hunt and a disgrace. He described his actions as perfect three times and said four times he did noth- ing wrong. When he had asked Ukraine to “do us a favor” in the July phone call that sparked the impeachment inquiry, he said, the “us” referred to the U.S., not a political favor for himself. Trump noted that he watched “quite a bit” of the previous day’s proceedings and determined Democrats were making fools of up a copy of the Constitution as she voted, themselves. He derided the government ofﬁ - called impeachment “a very necessary thing cials who testiﬁ ed that he pressured Ukraine to save our democracy.” and he claimed he was beneﬁ ting politically The president has refused to participate in from impeachment. the proceedings and instructed ofﬁ cials not to Voting was swift and solemn, with none of as well, tweeting criticisms from the sidelines the ﬁ ery speeches and weighty nods to history and mocking the charges against him in the that deﬁ ned the previous two days of debate, House’s nine-page resolution as “impeach- including 14 hours that stretched nearly to ment light.” But House Speaker Pelosi said midnight Thursday. Nadler abruptly halted the president was wrong and the case against that rancorous session so voting could be held him is deeply grounded. in daylight, for all Americans to see. Democrats contend that Trump has Nadler, who had said he wanted lawmak- engaged in a pattern of misconduct toward ers to “search their consciences” before cast- Russia dating back to the 2016 election cam- ing their votes, gaveled in the landmark but paign that special counsel Robert Mueller brief morning session at the Capitol. investigated. And they say his dealings with Lawmakers responded Ukraine have beneﬁ ted its “aye” or “yes” for the aggressive neighbor Rus- Democrats, and sim- sia, not the U.S., and he THE HOUSE ple:”no’s” from the must be prevented from IS EXPECTED TO Republicans. “corrupting” U.S. elec- “The article is agreed tions again and cheating APPROVE THE to,” Nadler declared after his way to a second term each vote. TWO ARTICLES OF next year. The top Republican on “It is urgent,” Pelosi IMPEACHMENT the panel Rep. Doug Col- said. lins of Georgia immedi- With impeachment NEXT WEEK, ately said he would ﬁ le almost certain in the BEFORE dissenting views. House, even with a smat- Minutes after the tering of defections from LAWMAKERS morning session opened, Democrats, particularly it was gaveled shut. the freshman lawmak- DEPART FOR Trump is only the ers seeking re-election THE HOLIDAYS. fourth U.S. president to in districts where Trump face impeachment pro- remains popular, the pres- ceedings and the ﬁ rst to be sure will be on Republi- running for reelection at the same time. The cans in the Senate to hold the line in support outcome of the eventual House votes pose of the president. potentially serious political consequences for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McCon- both parties ahead of the 2020 elections, with nell said late Thursday on Fox News, “There Americans deeply divided over whether the is zero chance the president will be removed president indeed conducted impeachable acts from ofﬁ ce.” He said the Democrats have a and if it should be up to Congress, or the vot- “weak case” and he hopes to have no GOP ers, to decide whether he should remain in defections in the Senate. ofﬁ ce. Republican senators have been advocat- Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., defended ing for a swift trial next year. But Trump is the president against what she called “unfair, eager for a showdown in the Senate that will rigged’’ proceedings. “They had no proof, no not only acquit him of the charges, but pro- evidence, no crime, but they went ahead any- vide vindication while inﬂ icting political pain way and they’re tearing the country apart,” on Democrats. she said. “I’ll do whatever I want,” Trump told Democrats countered they had no choice reporters. The president has indicated he but to protect the 2020 election from further wants a parade of witnesses at the Senate, Trump outreach for foreign interference. including the still-anonymous government Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., who held whistleblower who ﬁ rst alerted Congress to facebook.com/DAILYASTORIAN As California thins forests to limit ﬁ re risk, some resist SMILE Better • LOOK Better • SLEEP Better Functional Orthodontics that allows foundational changes for enhanced facial esthetics, straight teeth, airway and stable TMJ By MATTHEW BROWN and CHRISTINA LARSON Associated Press SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS, Calif. — Buzzing chainsaws are interrupted by the frequent crash of breaking branches as crews fell towering trees and clear tangled brush in the densely forested Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco. Their goal: To protect communities such as Redwood Estates, where giant redwoods loom over the houses of tech workers who live in the wooded community just 20 miles from the heart of Silicon Valley. With Cal- ifornia’s increasingly warm, dry and over- grown landscape, wildﬁ re has become a per- petual danger. Among the most important tools the state has against ﬁ res is to mimic their effects: thinning trees and brush by hand to reduce the amount of vegetation that would become fuel in a ﬁ re, and using controlled burns to keep undergrowth and shrub lands in check. State lawmakers committed more than $200 million annually to ﬁ re prevention efforts and Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to spend even more, motivated by infernos such as one last year that killed 85 people in Paradise, California, some who died in their cars while trying to ﬂ ee. Yet ofﬁ cials say efforts to make areas such as this road corridor in Northern Cali- fornia more ﬁ re safe are undercut by property owners who refuse to let ﬁ re crews work on the Ukraine call. He tweeted favorably about the GOP “warriors” on the House committee. “I wouldn’t mind a long process,” Trump said. McConnell said he’ll take cues from the president’s lawyers, even as he stresses the risks of a drawn-out trial for Trump and the party, with a narrow 53-47 GOP Senate majority. It will take just 51 votes in the Sen- ate to accept or reject witnesses, or take other actions, and McConnell could easily lose control. “You could certainly make the case for making it shorter rather than longer,” he said. The Judiciary Committee session drew out over two days, much of the time spent in ﬁ ghts over amendments, a long and bitter slog through failed Republican amendments aimed at killing the impeachment charges. Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., argued there was “overwhelming evidence” that the presi- dent with his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, in push- ing Ukraine to investigate rival Biden, was engaged in an abuse of power “to corrupt American elections.” Bringing even more attention to the situa- tion, Giuliani showed up at the White House on Friday. Just back from Ukraine, he was expected to brief Trump on his search for information on Biden that Trump discussed in the July call. Many GOP lawmakers are trying to ignore Giuliani, blaming him for Trump’s predicament. After lawmakers trudged through two days of hearings, tempers still ﬂ ared Friday. “My vote is no,” said Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas. Then, before the tally was announced, he inquired how his vote was recorded by the clerk. “I want to make sure.” Much of time late in the night Thursday was spent in ﬁ ghts over amendments. Typi- cal was the ﬁ rst amendment, offered by GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, who tried to delete the ﬁ rst charge against Trump. “This amend- ment strikes article one because article one ignores the truth,” he declared. It was defeated, 23-17, on a party line vote, as were all the others that followed. Debate dragged on with familiar argu- ments: Democrats cited evidence they said showed Trump’s misconduct, while Repub- licans insisted the entire investigation was bogus. Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman, Alan Fram and Padmananda Rama contrib- uted to this report. Daytime-Nighttime appliance or DNA dramatically improves your ability to breath The Appliance Changes Lives Matthew Brown/AP Photo David Gonzalez, left, with ArborWorks cuts a eucalyptus tree after felling it to reduce wildﬁ re dangers for communities living along California’s Route 17 near Holy City. their property. Offered the choice between clearing vegetation-choked areas or retain- ing greenery that acts as a shield against the din of the nearby highway, a small minority opted for privacy over safety or said they’d do the work themselves. That means patches of low-lying shrubs and some thickets of trees will remain when the job wraps up next year. As a result, future ﬁ res will retain potential avenues to spread into residential areas and threaten people and property. “It’s a chink in the armor,” said Ed Orre, division chief with Cal Fire, the state’s ﬁ re- ﬁ ghting and ﬁ re prevention agency. “If that property catches ﬁ re, then you get a chain-re- action, domino effect... It compromises the effectiveness of the entire project.” SEVENDAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY Before After Adolescent DNA KLEMP FAMILY DENTISTRY Dr. Dennis Klemp, DMD, FAGD 1006 West Marine Dr., Astoria • (503) 468-0116 klempfamilydentistry.com THURSDAY FRIDAY REGIONAL FORECAST Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. Seattle 47 33 47 36 48 37 An a.m. shower; A thick cloud Some sun, then cloudy cover clouds 49 37 48 39 Showers possible Cloudy, rain possible 48 42 51 41 Rain Cloudy, rain possible Aberdeen Olympia 46/33 47/38 Wenatchee Tacoma Moses Lake 46/34 ALMANAC UNDER THE SKY TODAY'S TIDES Astoria through Thursday Tonight’s Sky: The Geminid meteor shower peaks. Astoria / Port Docks Temperatures High/low ................................ 51/45 Normal high/low .................. 49/36 Record high .................. 61 in 2002 Record low .................... 10 in 1919 Precipitation Thursday ................................. 0.61” Month to date ........................ 2.70” Normal month to date ......... 4.03” Year to date .......................... 43.65” Normal year to date ........... 61.40” Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019 Time High (ft.) Time Low (ft.) 3:01 a.m. 1:53 p.m. 7.5 8:23 a.m. 3.4 9.3 9:12 p.m. -0.8 Cape Disappointment 2:32 a.m. 1:34 p.m. Source: Jim Todd, OMSI Hammond SUN AND MOON Sunrise today .................. 7:50 a.m. Sunset tonight ............... 4:30 p.m. Moonrise today ............. 7:11 p.m. Moonset today ............ 10:11 a.m. Last New First Full 2:47 a.m. 1:44 p.m. Warrenton 2:56 a.m. 1:48 p.m. Knappa 3:38 a.m. 2:30 p.m. Depoe Bay Dec 18 Dec 25 Jan 2 Jan 10 7.3 7:24 a.m. 3.5 8.9 8:16 p.m. -1.3 7.7 7:48 a.m. 3.5 9.5 8:37 p.m. -1.2 7.9 8:07 a.m. 3.5 9.7 8:56 p.m. -0.7 7.8 9:24 a.m. 3.0 9.5 10:13 p.m. -0.7 1:47 a.m. 7.6 6:53 a.m. 3.7 12:44 p.m. 9.4 7:48 p.m. -1.2 City Atlanta Boston Chicago Dallas Denver Honolulu Houston Los Angeles Miami New York City Phoenix San Francisco Wash., DC Sun. Hi/Lo/W 56/40/pc 56/46/r 37/19/c 64/46/s 35/19/pc 84/72/pc 73/58/s 64/50/c 85/65/t 57/45/r 71/49/pc 57/47/pc 53/41/r 60/50/s 50/32/pc 29/21/pc 68/47/pc 29/17/sn 84/72/s 81/68/c 64/43/s 80/70/s 49/32/pc 63/43/s 57/44/pc 51/35/pc Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow ﬂ urries, sn-snow, i-ice. 41/30 Hermiston The Dalles 44/29 Enterprise Pendleton 36/23 42/29 44/30 La Grande 39/26 46/35 NATIONAL CITIES Today Hi/Lo/W 37/28 Kennewick Walla Walla 39/27 Lewiston 42/29 45/35 Salem Pullman 41/23 Longview 47/33 Portland 47/35 34/25 Yakima 36/25 45/34 Astoria Spokane 34/24 Corvallis 46/35 Albany 46/35 John Day Eugene Bend 46/36 38/25 36/26 Ontario 44/27 Caldwell Burns 34/17 42/25 Medford 43/31 Klamath Falls 33/20 City Baker City Brookings Ilwaco Newberg Newport Today Hi/Lo/W 38/19/c 48/39/r 47/36/pc 45/32/c 47/37/r Sun. Hi/Lo/W 35/15/sf 50/42/c 47/39/c 43/32/c 48/39/c City North Bend Roseburg Seaside Springﬁ eld Vancouver Today Hi/Lo/W 49/39/r 45/36/r 47/35/sh 46/37/r 46/35/sh Sun. Hi/Lo/W 49/37/c 46/34/c 47/35/c 47/31/c 43/33/c