GOP Issues 18-Page Memo On Impeachment Strategy

Axios reports:

Confronted with a mountain of damaging facts heading into tomorrow’s opening of the public phase of impeachment, House Republicans plan to argue that “the President’s state of mind” was exculpatory.

“To appropriately understand the events in question — and most importantly, assess the President’s state of mind during his interaction with [Ukrainian] President Zelensky — context is necessary,” says the 18-page staff memo, circulated to committee members last night.

“The evidence gathered does not establish an impeachable offense,” the memo concludes. By focusing their defense on intangibles like impeachability and President Trump’s mindset, House Republicans don’t depend on undercutting a narrative that has been bolstered by witness after witness.