FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus120930

House Republicans say Robert Mueller's testimony Wednesday uncovered no meaningful new information and that it's time to move on.

Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told press on Wednesday that "this should be the end of the chapter that we put America through."

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, following Mueller's testimony, is making some of her strongest comments yet about the House possibly proceeding with impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.

Pelosi says a "cone of silence" from the White House that's not providing documents and witness testimony "will not prevent us from going forward." She adds, "In fact, it's even more grounds to go forward."

Pelosi tells reporters she wants "the strongest possible hand" by continuing the House's court actions aimed at forcing White House cooperation.

Washington - 24 July 2019

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House:

"We want to have the strongest possible case to make a decision as to what path we will go down and that does, is not endless in terms of time or endless in terms of the information that we want. But if it comes to a point where the cone of silence and the obstruction of justice and the cover-up in the White House prevents us from getting that information, that will not prevent us from going forward. In fact, it's even more grounds to go forward."

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Republican Minority Leader:

"It was a historical day because today is the day that we close the book on this investigation. It is time that America turns the page. It is time for America to move forward. The Democrats have to stop wasting time in trying to have a do-over of the 2016 Presidential election."

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Jerry Nadler, (D) New York:

"Today was a watershed day in telling the facts to the American people. With those facts we can proceed and we face a time of great danger. Richard Nixon said he thought that the president was a dictator. He said if the president does it, that means it's not illegal. President Trump echoed that yesterday. He said under Article 2 'I' that is he can do anything I want. That is a totalitarian picture, not a democratic picture. The United States must be saved from this."

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Doug Collins, (R) Georgia:

"I challenge the Democratic colleagues, get over the election of 2016. Run in 2020 if you want. This President has put forward a great economy. This President has put forward great ideas. Run on this, quit trying to dredge up a picture that today got painted, that said your investigation is over. Mr Mueller has done his job. He presented a report. Someone asked did you find out anything new? The answer is no."

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Adam Schiff, (D) California:

" But there are two juries in an impeachment there is the jury which is the Senate which decides removal from office. And then there is the jury that is the American people and I'm most concerned about the jury that is the American people. And before we embark on a course as significant to the country as the impeachment of a president I want to make sure that we can make that case to the jury of the American people."

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Devin Nunes, (R) California:

"I think what you see today is collusion between the Republican Party and the Trump campaign is over. There was no evidence. There was a dossier that was built and paid for by the Clinton campaign. That was the real collusion. You've had collusion through a British former MI6 agent who was working supposedly with Russian sources. We didn't get any new information on that today. But the Democrats have refused to accept reality, they live in an alternative universe."

Calls appear to be growing among House Democrats for an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump after former White House Counsel Don McGahn skipped a Judiciary Committee hearing on the Mueller report at the direction of the White House.

House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler gaveled open the hearing with an empty witness chair and a stern warning that McGahn will be held in contempt for failing to appear in defiance of the committee's subpoena..

"I see a lot more people that believe that impeachable offenses occurred and would like to see an impeachment inquiry," said Tennessee Democrat Rep. Steve Cohen.

"In the next 48 hours, I'll be introducing a resolution of investigation," said Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a second panel member.

"We are doing the right thing by investigating, and that our task is to educate before we activate," she said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, backed by Nadler, is taking a step-by-step approach to the confrontations with Trump.

Nadler said the committee would vote to hold McGahn in contempt, and take the issue to court.

But Pelosi's strategy hasn't been swift enough for some members of the Judiciary panel who feel Democrats should be more aggressive and launch a formal impeachment inquiry as they try to get information from the administration.

Impeachment hearings would give Democrats more standing in court and could stop short of a vote to remove the president.

The issue was raised in a meeting among top Democrats Monday evening, where some members confronted Pelosi about it, according to three people familiar with the private conversation who requested anonymity to discuss it.

GOP Rep. Doug Collins, the ranking Republican on the committee, accused Democrats of rushing to issue subpoenas and abusing the judiciary panel's oversight responsibilities.

"Right now, they've whipped it into a frenzy because they don't want to have accommodation," Collins said.

Washington, DC - 21 May 2019

+++STARTS AND ENDS ON A SOUNDBITE+++

+++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES+++

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Steve Cohen, (D) Tennessee:

"Mr. Amash (The House Republican who recently said President Trump committed impeachable offenses) was correct. It's good that he read the Mueller Report. We all need to read the Muller report. I have read the Muller report. It's a clear statement of misdeeds and illegal behavior by the president this administration which continues to this day and not allowing us to have witnesses come to the American people and let the American people know what went on."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Steve Cohen, (D) Tennessee:

"I see a lot more people that believe that impeachable offenses occurred and would like to see an impeachment inquiry. They'd also like to see, as Speaker Pelosi would, that all the committees of jurisdiction proceed, and get all the information they need. But there's been a stonewalling by the administration of subpoenas, and the production of documents. Basically a cover-up. a la Richard Nixon."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Steve Cohen, (D) Tennessee:

"I think Speaker Pelosi is looking out for the interests of the American people for democracy for truth and for the rule of law. She has a different way of getting there than I do. I wish we thought similarly."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, (D) Texas

"Today, in the next 48 hours, I'll be introducing a resolution of investigation. The opening comments in that resolution says that the Judiciary Committee will investigate whether sufficient grounds exist for the House of Representatives to exercise the power by Article 1, Section 2, Clause 5 of the Constitution, in respect to acts of impeachment of the president of the United States. We believe and continue to believe that we are doing the right thing by investigating, and that our task is to educate before we activate."

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Doug Collins, (R) Georgia

"The committee is basically at a time when they're undermining the very work of the committee. I'm someone who believes that congressional oversight, it's something we need to have, it is something that is very valuable, something that we have done for 200 plus years. However, when you abuse that process, when you abuse the committee process, as we have seen this year by rushing to subpoenas, not taking their accommodation process, and we've seen this from day one."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Doug Collins, (R) Georgia

"He talked about the parts that were salacious that he wanted to get out, but he didn't talk about the findings of the fact, very plainly in the text; no collusion, and there was no charged obstruction."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Doug Collins, (R) Georgia

"In areas where a legitimate oversight is happening, there is been cooperation between the administration, and between the committees of jurisdiction up on the Hill. The issue is coming is when they're rushing to speak, especially in our committee, and I'll speak only to the Judiciary committee, when we're no accommodation process. Nothing that we've seen before. When we saw it under George Bush administration, we saw it under President Obama's administration. This is a process, and I had a question a couple weeks ago. Somebody said, do you believe that this is all going to hinder Congress ability to do its job? No this is the way Congress has always done its job. But right now they've whipped it into a frenzy because they don't want to have accommodation because they want to rush straight from their one talking point that he did something wrong, we don't like it, to an end result, and it won't do anything else."

Calls appear to be growing among House Democrats for an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump after former White House Counsel Don McGahn skipped a Judiciary Committee hearing on the Mueller report at the direction of the White House.

House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler gaveled open the hearing with an empty witness chair and a stern warning that McGahn will be held in contempt for failing to appear in defiance of the committee's subpoena..

"I see a lot more people that believe that impeachable offenses occurred and would like to see an impeachment inquiry," said Tennessee Democrat Rep. Steve Cohen.

"In the next 48 hours, I'll be introducing a resolution of investigation," said Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a second panel member.

"We are doing the right thing by investigating, and that our task is to educate before we activate," she said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, backed by Nadler, is taking a step-by-step approach to the confrontations with Trump.

Nadler said the committee would vote to hold McGahn in contempt, and take the issue to court.

But Pelosi's strategy hasn't been swift enough for some members of the Judiciary panel who feel Democrats should be more aggressive and launch a formal impeachment inquiry as they try to get information from the administration.

Impeachment hearings would give Democrats more standing in court and could stop short of a vote to remove the president.

The issue was raised in a meeting among top Democrats Monday evening, where some members confronted Pelosi about it, according to three people familiar with the private conversation who requested anonymity to discuss it.

GOP Rep. Doug Collins, the ranking Republican on the committee, accused Democrats of rushing to issue subpoenas and abusing the judiciary panel's oversight responsibilities.

"Right now, they've whipped it into a frenzy because they don't want to have accommodation," Collins said.

Washington, DC - 21 May 2019

+++STARTS AND ENDS ON A SOUNDBITE+++

+++BLACK FRAMES BETWEEN SOUNDBITES+++

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Steve Cohen, (D) Tennessee:

"Mr. Amash (The House Republican who recently said President Trump committed impeachable offenses) was correct. It's good that he read the Mueller Report. We all need to read the Muller report. I have read the Muller report. It's a clear statement of misdeeds and illegal behavior by the president this administration which continues to this day and not allowing us to have witnesses come to the American people and let the American people know what went on."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Steve Cohen, (D) Tennessee

"I see a lot more people that believe that impeachable offenses occurred and would like to see an impeachment inquiry. They'd also like to see, as Speaker Pelosi would, that all the committees of jurisdiction proceed, and get all the information they need. But there's been a stonewalling by the administration of subpoenas, and the production of documents. Basically a cover-up. a la Richard Nixon."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Steve Cohen, (D) Tennessee

"I think Speaker Pelosi is looking out for the interests of the American people for democracy for truth and for the rule of law. She has a different way of getting there than I do. I wish we thought similarly."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, (D) Texas

"Today, in the next 48 hours, I'll be introducing a resolution of investigation. The opening comments in that resolution says that the Judiciary Committee will investigate whether sufficient grounds exist for the House of Representatives to exercise the power by Article 1, Section 2, Clause 5 of the Constitution, in respect to acts of impeachment of the president of the United States. We believe and continue to believe that we are doing the right thing by investigating, and that our task is to educate before we activate."

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Doug Collins, (R) Georgia

"The committee is basically at a time when they're undermining the very work of the committee. I'm someone who believes that congressional oversight, it's something we need to have, it is something that is very valuable, something that we have done for 200 plus years. However, when you abuse that process, when you abuse the committee process, as we have seen this year by rushing to subpoenas, not taking their accommodation process, and we've seen this from day one."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Doug Collins, (R) Georgia

"He talked about the parts that were salacious that he wanted to get out, but he didn't talk about the findings of the fact, very plainly in the text; no collusion, and there was no charged obstruction."

+++BLACK FRAMES+++

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Doug Collins, (R) Georgia

"In areas where a legitimate oversight is happening, there is been cooperation between the administration, and between the committees of jurisdiction up on the Hill. The issue is coming is when they're rushing to speak, especially in our committee, and I'll speak only to the Judiciary committee, when we're no accommodation process. Nothing that we've seen before. When we saw it under George Bush administration, we saw it under President Obama's administration. This is a process, and I had a question a couple weeks ago. Somebody said, do you believe that this is all going to hinder Congress ability to do its job? No this is the way Congress has always done its job. But right now they've whipped it into a frenzy because they don't want to have accommodation because they want to rush straight from their one talking point that he did something wrong, we don't like it, to an end result, and it won't do anything else."