House Judiciary Republicans plan to take a different approach to impeachment proceedings this week, ditching the conspiracy-laced tactics followed by House Intelligence Committee ranking member Devin Nunes (R-CA).
According to Politico Playbook, House Judiciary Committee ranking member Doug Collins (R-GA) will lead the Republicans’ counterpunch efforts by forcing Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) into a slew of procedural fights, harping on the legal definition of terms like “bribery.” Republicans reportedly believe that Nadler will be a bit easier to rattle than House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA).
The minority members also plan to rely heavily on attack dogs like Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and John Ratcliffe (R-TX), who are on the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees. Jordan was recruited last minute to join the Intelligence Committee because of his track record as a public defender of President Trump. Collins is expected to be the main press liaison, Playbook reported.
Republicans also plan to continue criticizing the process House Democrats have followed for the impeachment inquiry. While Republicans are allowed to bring in one witness for the Judiciary Committee hearings, they plan to complain about ignored requests to bring in fact witnesses before the Intelligence Committee. They’ll also try to discredit Schiff’s report on the Intelligence Committee’s findings, arguing that the process is unfair.
