Trump will have to wait for a big win

Happy Wednesday, OnPolitics readers! We're a bit light on developments related to the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump now, but we have some movement and more politics news. 

House Judiciary begins debate on articles of Trump impeachment

The House Judiciary Committee began meeting Wednesday evening to vote on two articles of impeachment accusing Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, potentially setting the stage for a historic House floor vote and Senate trial.

They will resume at 9 a.m. Thursday, under the committee schedule. No deadline is set for a final vote. 

If the panel adopts one or both articles, it would be for only the fourth time in history. The full House would then vote as early as next week on whether to impeach Trump. If approved, the Senate would hold a trial in early 2020 to decide whether to remove the president from office.

• The two articles of impeachment against Trump explained 
• Read the full text of the articles of impeachment

Poll: Majority of Americans say Trump did not cooperate with impeachment

About six in 10 Americans say Trump did not cooperate with congressional investigators in the House impeachment inquiry, and a majority say he did not give Congress everything it wanted because he wished to hinder the investigation, according to a poll released by Monmouth University on Wednesday. 

Half of Americans oppose Trump's removal from office, the poll found, and 45% say he should be impeached and convicted in the Senate. . 

DOJ inspector general testifies before Senate Judiciary Committee

The federal surveillance process was "not used appropriately" during the wiretapping of a former Trump campaign aide Carter Page, Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz told senators Wednesday, intensifying the harsh light his office has placed on the FBI.

Horowitz said the results of his nearly two-year-long review of the FBI's wiretap of Page "don't vindicate anybody" involved in the surveillance. 

Central to Horowitz's findings are 17 mistakes in the FBI's surveillance applications that, taken together, effectively inflated the justification for the wiretap.

"I think it's fair for people to ... look at all these 17 events and wonder how it could be pure incompetence," Horowitz told senators. 

His report, however, did debunk claims by Trump and his allies that political bias played a role in the FBI's decision to investigate members of his campaign for possible coordination with Russia.

• New blow to the FBI: Report details dysfunction, missteps in wiretap of Trump aide

Barr remains unconvinced of report's finding

Attorney General William Barr has already publicly disagreed with the report's finding that the FBI's Russia investigation was justified. Barr is overseeing a parallel inquiry into the origins of the Russia probe. He picked Connecticut’s chief federal prosecutor, John Durham, to lead that investigation. 

During Wednesday's hearing, Horowitz said he and Durham met before the IG report was released and talked about the FBI's decision to open the investigation. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., asked Horowitz if Barr or Durham has presented him with anything that convinced him the Russia investigation was not justified.

"No," Horowitz said.

• Trump attacks FBI Director Wray over IG report, Russia probe
• Trump claims report shows 'attempted overthrow'

McConnell delays USMCA vote, keeping Trump, Dems from win

After weeks of blaming Democrats for delaying Trump's renegotiated trade deal with Canada and Mexico, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said late Tuesday he would delay it further.

"We will not be doing USMCA in the Senate between now and next week," McConnell told reporters. "That will happen, in all likelihood, right after the trial is finished in the Senate."

The United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) would replace the former North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Lawmakers have spent months negotiating over key issues within the agreement, including labor laws and standards, and environmental protections. 

House Democrats and Trump previously struck an agreement to revise the trade deal and delivered a win for the president on a top legislative priority on the same day two articles of impeachment against him were announced. 

More on the USMCA

• Michael Collins noted Trump relentlessly ridiculed NAFTA as the "worst trade deal ever" when he was running for office and promised to rip it up if he was elected. But instead of tearing the agreement to shreds, Trump mostly patched it up. 
• Christal Hayes, Ledyard King and Nicholas Wu focused on the successes moderate Democrats, especially the 31 who represent districts Trump won in 2016, had Tuesday. In addition to limited impeachment that left progressives disappointed, the reporters explained those moderates will be able to tout a major bipartisan trade deal that delivered a win they'll be able to crow about back home.

Let's finish strong

Here is what else is going on in and around Washington:

• Michael Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer, filed documents asking a federal judge Wednesday to reduce his three-year prison term.
• Trump signed an executive order Wednesday designed to cut off aid to colleges that tolerate anti-Semitism, though some critics called it an effort to stifle free speech and criticism of Israel.
• Trump is leading every top 2020 Democratic candidate in Iowa, according to a new poll looking at hypothetical presidential election matchups.

- Until Thursday, OP readers