Judiciary Panel Takes Up Impeachment, Five Texans Will Get Their Chance In The Spotlight

WASHINGTON -- House Democrats are inching closer to impeaching President Trump after releasing a 300-page report summarizing the fact-finding investigation of the House Intelligence Committee, a move that now makes the House Judiciary Committee the central player in the debate over whether to remove the president from office.

• Judiciary panel will draft and debate articles of impeachment
• Lawmakers on both sides expected to stick to partisan lines
• Democratic leaders want to wrap up impeachment effort before the holiday break

The stakes are high in the next phase of the probe. Five Texas lawmakers are part of the 41-member House Judiciary Committee and will take part in the upcoming action.

The Judiciary committee will launch its impeachment proceedings on Wednesday with legal experts testifying about what constitutes "high crimes and misdemeanors" or impeachable offenses.

The Judiciary panel is tasked with using the Intelligence report and gathering recommendations from other committees that have investigated the administration to determine whether articles of impeachment should be filed against Trump.

House Democratic leadership has signaled that it wants to keep the focus on the issues surrounding the Ukraine controversy. But some in the Democratic caucus are open to questions stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Over the next two weeks, expect a bit of high drama from the House Judiciary Committee, which is known for its highly partisan debates. And Texans are included in the mix.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) is a fierce Trump loyalist known for theatrics. He's already reportedly named the alleged whistleblower during a separate congressional hearing. And he's floated unfounded theories about Ukraine's involvement in the 2016 presidential election.

Conservative John Ratcliffe (R-TX) has bashed impeachment as a partisan witch hunt, even attacking House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) during public hearings. He sits on both the Intelligence and Judiciary panels.

On the opposite end of the political spectrum, Democrats Veronica Escobar and Sylvia Garcia of Texas have both indicated they're open to impeachment. Still, their comments reflect a desire for the proceedings to move carefully.

Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) is witnessing the second impeachment of her career on Capitol Hill. She played a role defending former-President Bill Clinton two decades ago. The Congresswoman says her caucus is taking steps toward ousting a president.