House Judiciary panel takes unexpected recess, delays vote on articles of impeachment to Friday

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) delayed the planned vote on two articles of impeachment against President Trump until Dec. 13. (Video: The Washington Post)

By Michael Brice-Saddler

John Wagner

and

Colby Itkowitz

December 13, 2019 at 12:00 a.m. EST

The House Judiciary Committee unexpectedly adjourned late Thursday after more than 13 hours of debate, delaying votes on two articles of impeachment against President Trump to Friday morning.

The surprise decision by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) to call a recess and postpone the votes immediately caused furor among Republicans in the committee, one of whom likened the move to “kangaroo court.”

Trump is just the fourth president in U.S. history to face the prospect of impeachment for alleged misconduct in office. A vote is expected by the full House next week.

At the heart of the Democrats’ case is the allegation that Trump tried to leverage a White House meeting and military aid, sought by Ukraine to combat Russian military aggression, to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch an investigation of former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, as well as a probe of an unfounded theory that Kyiv conspired with Democrats to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

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