Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern said Monday that the public phase of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump would afford the president more rights than his predecessors who faced an impeachment inquiry, and that Republicans in Congress often admit to him — in private only — that they are concerned about the president’s behavior.
“The president’s actually given more rights,” McGovern told Jim Braude on Greater Boston when asked how the rights for the House minority party in this inquiry compares to that of former Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.
"The president's counsel may ask questions at the presentation of evidence, and the president's counsel may be invited to offer a concluding presentation at the chair’s discretion," said McGovern, a Democrat. "Plus all the other rights: they can question anybody they want to, the president can appear himself. So basically, there’s nothing new, except we give this president a little bit more.”
Read more: FACT CHECK: Is The Trump Impeachment Process Different From Nixon And Clinton?
As chair of the House Rules Committee, McGovern introduced the resolution last week laying out the procedures for the public phase of the impeachment inquiry into Trump. The televised hearings come in the wake of closed-door testimonies that took place in the House Intelligence Committee.
The resolution mandates the release of transcripts from those closed-door hearings, allowed for Republicans on the House Intelligence and House Judiciary Committees to issue subpoenas with Democratic approval, and gave Trump the right to legal counsel in the Judiciary Committee proceedings.
During the resolution’s introduction last week, McGovern was jeered by some Republican lawmakers. No Republicans voted in favor of continuing with the inquiry, which is a different step than voting to remove the president from office.
“History is testing us right now. And what was very disappointing to me is that, many of my Republican colleagues are failing this test,” McGovern said.
But public displays of loyalty to the president differ from what some Republicans say behind closed doors, he added.
“In private, they tell me that they’re appalled by his behavior — and that this is the reality in their districts, they’re afraid of primary opponents,” McGovern said. “And I think there are moments you gotta put politics aside.”
Some Democrats have voiced concern that Trump would issue another government shutdown in order to hamper the impeachment process — Trump said Sunday that he would not rule out a potential shutdown if Congress fails to agree on funding bills — but McGovern said he doesn't share their concern.
“He shut the government down once before, so it’s not impossible that they’ll try to do it again,” McGovern said. “But the bottom line, this is going to go forward, and him shutting the government down is not going to stop it. I believe members of Congress will continue to show up — just like we did during the last government shutdown. We’ll continue to show up and we’ll continue to try to work on a deal, and move the business of country forward.”
