PBS News Hour - Politics

In a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Democrats summed up their case for impeachment of President Trump, saying his handling of Ukraine policy represented a "clear and present danger" to American elections. Republicans pushed back on the integrity of the investigation, calling it a rush to judgment. Nick Schifrin reports and Yamiche Alcindor and Lisa Desjardins join Judy Woodruff to discuss.

On the 2020 campaign trail, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg have been challenging each other over transparency and potential connections to corporate interests. Another major issue is support among African American voters, with whom former Vice President Joe Biden continues to lead. Meanwhile, Sen. Cory Booker lamented the all-white lineup for the upcoming debate. Amna Nawaz reports.

NPR's Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report join Amna Nawaz to discuss the latest political news, including campaign sparring between Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg and which candidates might leverage it, how much transparency matters to Democratic voters, lack of racial diversity in the next debate and reaction to the inspector general's report on the Russia probe.

We're briefly interrupting your regular podcast feed to offer a sample of our newest podcast series: Broken Justice. In 1997, Ricky Kidd was sentenced to life without parole for a double homicide he says he didn't commit. And, he argues, his court-appointed lawyer is the reason. In the U.S. justice system, everyone has the right to an attorney, even if you can't afford one. But what happens when your lawyer is overworked, underfunded and unable to do their job? From the PBS NewsHour, a look inside the crisis that is overwhelming Missouri's public defender system and what it means for serving justice in America.

The next phase of the impeachment inquiry begins on Monday, as House Democrats are expected to stake their case on alleged abuses of power by President Trump. Special correspondent Jeff Greenfield joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss what's next in the impeachment process on both sides of the political aisle, where the road leads from here and how the inquiry may impact the 2020 Democratic race.

One of President Trump's lines of defense in the impeachment inquiry into his handling of Ukraine policy is the theory that Ukraine had intervened in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Trump and his supporters have repeatedly claimed that Ukraine colluded against him. William Brangham talks to Lisa Desjardins for more about this unsubstantiated claim and where it originated.

Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week's political news, including how the first House Judiciary Committee hearing on impeachment affected the case against President Trump, what Trump's contentious visit to a NATO summit means for U.S. foreign policy and the fallout from Sen. Kamala Harris' withdrawal from the 2020 race.

On Thursday, a day after the House Judiciary Committee heard testimony from four law professors on the legal basis for impeaching President Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi formally requested the committee chair proceed with articles of impeachment. She said "the facts are uncontested," while Trump called the inquiry a "big, fat hoax." Lisa Desjardins reports and joins Judy Woodruff to discuss.

The House Judiciary Committee held its first impeachment hearing Wednesday, receiving testimony from four legal scholars on the constitutional basis for impeachment. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., ranking Republican on the committee, is leading his party's effort to defend President Trump in the impeachment inquiry. Rep. Collins joins Judy Woodruff to discuss disagreeing with Democrats on basic facts.

Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., sits on the House Judiciary Committee, which held its first hearing in the impeachment inquiry into President Trump Wednesday. The panel heard testimony from four legal scholars about the history and precedent for impeachment. Rep. Dean joins Judy Woodruff to discuss politics vs. patriotism and why the evidence of Trump's wrongdoing is "undenied" by House Republicans.