Latest Impeachment News | Miller Center

Battle for Public Opinion Shapes Trump Impeachment Effort

Republicans show few signs of deserting Trump, but University of Virginia expert Barbara Ann Perry predicted they will be closely watching public opinion polls as the hearings play out. "If they saw that the people in their state or members of Congress in their district saw that Donald Trump was becoming increasingly unpopular and disapproved of, I could see then that members of Congress could turn on him even in his own party. That is the impact of public opinion," she told VOA recently via Skype.

Barbara Perry

Eric Edelman on Trump's Erdogan Meeting

On today's Bulwark Podcast, Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Eric Edelman joins host Charlie Sykes to discuss President Trump's Oval Office visit with Turkish President Erdoğan, as well as the first impeachment hearing with Ambassador Bill Taylor and diplomat George Kent.

Eric Edelman

4 impeachment resources from UVA's Miller Center

“The Constitution’s impeachment provisions mean that Congress has the staggering power to remove a president, one of few areas where it has primary power in our checks and balances,” Miller Center Director and CEO William Antholis said. “This power – as grave as the decision to go to war – must be handled with the utmost solemnity and humility. In that spirit, we at the Miller Center are committed to bringing light, not heat, to a difficult moment for our democracy.”

William Antholis

In First Public Impeachment Hearing, Diplomats Say Trump’s Probes Were About Biden — Not Corruption

Since the lawmakers on the committee have already heard from all the witnesses who are expected to testify, the public hearings are intended to present their testimony to the public on live television. Ken Hughes, a research specialist at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center with expertise in Watergate and presidential abuses of power, said the importance of public hearings should not be underestimated. “The attention of voters and citizens will finally be focused on these particular set of facts—what the President did and when, how his own aides witnessed or learned about these activities,” said Hughes. “It will give the public an opportunity to size up these witnesses for themselves.”

Ken Hughes

Chris Lu Discussing Impeachment Strategy and New Democratic Polls

Senior Fellow Chris Lu is interviewed on MSNBC.

Chris Lu

What Would Happen in the Minutes and Hours After Trump Got Impeached and Convicted

The West Wing staff will have been preparing for this moment for some time, even if a conviction didn't look likely. According to the book Inside the Clinton White House: An Oral History by Russell Lynn Riley, Charles Brain, one of Clinton's congressional liaisons, recalled having conversations with his colleague Lawrence Stein about succession, even though the odds were never really in favor of Clinton's removal. He's quoted as having said, "Larry Stein and I spent time saying to each other, 'Well Albert [Gore] will keep us, won't he?' Because no one knew what was going to happen."

Russell Riley