Democrats call Trump 'clear and present danger' at final Judiciary impeachment hearing

Committee attorneys laid out evidence from the House Dems' Ukraine probe.

December 9, 2019, 7:01 PM

The House Judiciary Committee on Monday heard closing arguments for and against President Donald Trump's impeachment, setting off a busy two weeks on Capitol Hill expected to end with a House floor vote on the charges ahead of Christmas.

As they prepare to release articles of impeachment against Trump as early as this week, Democratic lawmakers called attorneys from the House Intelligence and Judiciary committees to present evidence from the Democrats' Ukraine investigation and to argue that Trump abused his power by pressuring Ukraine to launch investigations that could benefit him politically.

PHOTO: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., convenes the panel to hear investigative findings in the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill, Dec. 9, 2019.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., joined at right by Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., the ranking member, convenes the panel to hear investigative findings in the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill, Dec. 9, 2019.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Republican lawyers from the same House panels argued against Democrats' impeachment efforts and defended the president's actions toward Ukraine at the center of the impeachment inquiry.

Here is how the hearing unfolded.