House Democrats thought about bringing as many as 10 articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, according to a new book scheduled to be published next week.
Newsweek reports that “A Case for the American People” claims the lawmakers ultimately narrowed the articles down to two over fears that adding too many charges wouldn’t be supported by the entire party.
The book is penned by Norman Eisen, a former White House official and ambassador, who was a lawyer for House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler during the impeachment process.
Eisen wrote that some of the other articles being considered included claims that the president diverted money for his border wall, profited from his presidency and obstructed the investigation into allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.
The book claims that House Democrat leaders rejected adding the additional articles because they thought it would be viewed as going too far. They feared losing votes from party members.
According to the book, Democrats did mull over whether to add a third article about Trump interfering with the probe conducted by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian election interference claims. Bringing that article forward was vetoed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the book says.
Trump was acquitted by the Senate on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress to help his own reelection, linked to claims that he pressured Ukraine to incriminate his Democrat rivals.
Eisen, who served as a former ethics counsel to President Barack Obama, wrote that even before the Ukraine controversy emerged, judiciary committee staff members had drafted nine articles of impeachment back in August 2019.
They left a spot for the 10th article that they called “the next high crime," and when the Ukraine controversy occurred it was moved into that spot, the book claims.
Democrats ended up bringing two articles forward, which were widely supported among the party. But some say the focus was too narrow and didn’t provide enough reason for Republican senators to impeach the president.
"I would have loved to have gotten all the articles," Eisen told The New York Times.
But, he added, “there would have been no benefit to doing it because there was no consensus for doing it."
Eisen’s book also discusses the attempts made by House Democrats to get former national security adviser John Bolton to testify against Trump.
Bolton recently published a book that alleged Trump linked his suspension of military aid for Ukraine to his demand for help going after the Democrats.
According to Eisen's book, Bolton refused to submit a written affidavit to House Democrats and said he would only appear under a subpoena from the Senate.
Eisen told the Times that this could have transformed the trial "and not only have blown open the door to Bolton testifying but other witnesses.”
"I view the book as the last chapter both figuratively and literally of the campaign, most fundamentally, to inform the American people about the clear and present danger that Donald Trump represents to each one of us," he told the newspaper.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.