The latest on the Trump impeachment inquiry

By Meg Wagner, Mike Hayes, Veronica Rocha and Rob Picheta, CNN

Updated 9:34 p.m. ET, November 26, 2019

Where things stand now

The latest: House impeachment investigators released transcripts of interviews with Office of Management and Budget official Mark Sandy and State Department official Philip Reeker. Sandy testified that he wasn't given a reason for the hold on US aid to Ukraine until September.
This week: The House Intelligence Committee and two other panels are working on a report that could be the basis of articles of impeachment.
When we could see a vote: Democratic sources say a vote could happen by Christmas.
What Trump is saying: The President told supporters that Americans are not supportive of the impeachment inquiry. A new CNN poll shows that half of Americans say he should be impeached and removed from office while 43% say he should not.

Our live coverage has ended, but you can scroll through the posts to read more.

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9:11 a.m. ET, November 26, 2019

An aircraft entered restricted airspace in the Washington area

From CNN's Barbara Starr, Kristin Wilson and Suzanne Malveaux

An aircraft entered restricted airspace in the Washington, DC, area, causing a “national event conference” to be convened. This is a group of senior national security officials across the agencies to coordinate and monitor the situation, according to a US defense official.

The official said, “It is not known to be hostile at this time.”

Two US Capitol Police sources said the situation is being classified as an “aircon,” which is an as-yet unidentified incoming aircraft.

CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux is inside the Russell Building of the US Capitol. She confirmed she has not been told to evacuate her building, but that no one is currently being allowed to enter the building.

The White House is on lockdown.

8:27 a.m. ET, November 26, 2019

Here's when we'll see Trump today

Trump participates in the 2018 turkey pardoning event. Alex Wong/Getty Images

As the House presses forward with its impeachment inquiry, President Trump is getting ready for Thanksgiving.

At 2 p.m. ET today, he'll pardon a turkey at the White House. Two birds — named Bread and Butter — arrived in Washington, DC earlier this week. You can vote for which turkey gets the official pardon, although both the winner and the runner up will go on to live at Gobbler's Rest.

After that, Trump will head to Florida, where he'll hold a rally at 7 p.m. ET.

It's not clear if he'll bring up the impeachment inquiry at either event.

8:04 a.m. ET, November 26, 2019

It's Thanksgiving week. Here's what to expect in the impeachment inquiry.

From CNN's Clare Foran, Manu Raju and Jeremy Herb

It's Thanksgiving week and Congress is not in session, but the impeachment inquiry into President Trump is still moving at full speed.

In an indication that Democrats are moving quickly, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff wrote in a letter to House colleagues yesterday that investigators "are now preparing a report summarizing the evidence we have found this far, which will be transmitted to the Judiciary Committee soon after Congress returns from the Thanksgiving recess."

Here's the latest timeline:

This week, they're working on a report: Democratic House aides are spending Thanksgiving week preparing a report that will spell out the case for impeachment. The report, which will be released by the House Intelligence Committee and two other panels, is likely to be a guiding document as the impeachment proceedings move through the House Judiciary Committee.
After that, there will be articles of impeachment: Senior aides on the House Judiciary Committee and Intelligence Committee plan to continue deliberation with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's staff to determine the size and scope of the articles of impeachment. Ultimately, the decision will be made by Pelosi. They are looking at multiple articles of impeachment — including abuse of power, obstruction of Congress, obstruction of justice and bribery.
There could be more hearings next week: Democratic lawmakers and aides privately say they expect hearings to begin in the Judiciary Committee the first week in December when Congress returns, in order to keep on schedule to finish impeachment before Christmas.

7:26 a.m. ET, November 26, 2019

No change in views on impeachment after public hearings, CNN poll shows

From CNN's Polling Director Jennifer Agiesta

After five days of public hearings in House Democrats' impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump, public opinion over whether the President ought to be impeached and removed from office remains exactly the same as it was in October, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.

Half of Americans say Trump should be impeached and removed from office, 43% say he should not. Neither figure has changed since October, with support for impeachment remaining at its highest level thus far in CNN polling. The partisan divide over the President persists as well, with roughly 80 points between Democratic support for Trump's removal and Republican support for it.

Independents are closely divided on the question, 47% in favor, 45% opposed. Opinions on both sides are deeply held, with about 9 in 10 on either side saying they feel strongly in favor or against it.

The President's approval rating, meanwhile, has also held about even since October: 42% say they approve, 54% disapprove.

Read more on the CNN poll here.

6:58 a.m. ET, November 26, 2019

Judge rules former White House counsel Don McGahn must speak to House

From CNN's Katelyn Polantz

A federal judge decided Monday that President Trump's former White House counsel Don McGahn must testify to the House of Representatives in its impeachment probe.

"However busy or essential a presidential aide might be, and whatever their proximity to sensitive domestic and national-security projects, the President does not have the power to excuse him or her from taking an action that the law requires," Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote.

"Stated simply, the primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that Presidents are not kings," Jackson said.

The ruling is a blow to Trump and White House efforts to block parts of the impeachment inquiry. It could encourage resistant witnesses from the administration to testify and could bolster any case House Democrats make to impeach the President for obstructing its proceedings or obstructing justice.

The Justice Department plans to appeal the ruling in the McGahn case, a department spokeswoman said. An attorney for McGahn said the former White House counsel would testify, unless the case is paused for appeals.

6:52 a.m. ET, November 26, 2019

Democrats eye multiple articles of impeachment

From CNN's Manu Raju and Jeremy Herb

House Democrats are increasingly focusing on multiple articles of impeachment against President Trump over the Ukraine scandal — as some lawmakers push to go even further and include what many in the party see as clear criminality detailed in former special counsel Robert Mueller's report.

In private, Democrats are debating how broadly to draft the articles of impeachment against Trump, especially given what many in the House view as clear misconduct detailed in the Mueller report and violations of the Constitution's emoluments clause by allegedly enriching himself while in office.

But adding more allegations to the impeachment effort could divert the focus from the two-month-old investigation into Ukraine, which some Democrats argue is a clearer case of abuse of power: the President using his office to push a foreign country to announce investigations that could bolster his reelection chances in 2020.

"We could have pages and pages and pages of articles of impeachment," said Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas, a member of the Democratic leadership team who sits on the House Judiciary Committee. "What we have seen over the last three years is, I think, unprecedented. I absolutely believe in being as focused as possible as well. I think the broader we go — that may pose challenges for the American people."

The party is zeroing in on multiple articles of impeachment, including charges of abuse of power, bribery and obstruction of Congress for defying subpoenas. It is also weighing whether to add multiple instances of obstruction of justice that Mueller found as a separate article, including allegations Trump lied in his written responses to the special counsel. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has yet to embrace including the Mueller findings in the impeachment inquiry.

Trump has maintained that he did nothing wrong concerning both the Mueller report allegations and in the incidents investigated in the impeachment inquiry.