Ed Case: Impeachment Is In ‘Every Single One Of My Days’
Hawaii Congressman Ed Case says that every day he has to balance the House’s ongoing impeachment investigation with his day to day job of representing his district.
WASHINGTON 鈥 Like many Americans trying to follow along with the public phase of impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, Hawaii Congressman Ed Case turned to his TV.
Case isn鈥檛 a member of the House Intelligence Committee, which held its first open hearing Wednesday, or any of the other panels leading the impeachment inquiry into Trump.
Still, as a member of the House of Representatives he will be expected to vote on whether the president committed any 鈥溾 while in office should Democrats follow through on their intention to draft articles of impeachment.
That means staying abreast of the latest developments in the unfolding scandal, whether it鈥檚 talking to colleagues, reading deposition transcripts or tuning in to the livestreams.
It also means juggling one of the most consequential political decisions he鈥檒l likely ever have to make 鈥 voting to oust a sitting president 鈥 with his daily routine of representing Hawaii鈥檚 1st Congressional District.
鈥淓very single one of my days has something of impeachment in it,鈥 Case said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 my duty, my duty is to make this decision.鈥
Wednesday was particularly poignant.
At 10 a.m. the House Intelligence Committee held its first public hearing to address concerns that Trump withheld military aid from Ukraine, a U.S. ally, to gain political leverage in the 2020 election.
The witnesses included Acting Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent, two U.S. diplomats who were concerned over Trump鈥檚 attempts to use his office for personal gain.
Case fired up the flatscreens in his office to catch the opening statements, but he didn鈥檛 have much time. There were more pressing matters on his agenda.
He needed to prepare for a 10:30 a.m. meeting with constituents from the Hawaii chapter of the Citizens鈥 Climate Lobby who had travelled to Washington to discuss carbon tax legislation.
As the impeachment hearing played out, Case received a briefing from his staff.
There were other appointments as well.
The New Democrats Coalition, a centrist organization which Case is a member of, had a meeting with candidates interested in taking over the chairmanship of the House Oversight and Reform Committee.
After that, Case was scheduled to confer with the Hawaiian Homesteaders Association and then another group interested in infrastructure investment on the islands.
He then had an interview with a reporter to discuss his legislation to regulate vacation rentals. There were votes on the House floor and a House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing on the effects of building roads through national forest land.
It was impossible for Case to be in multiple places at once, and he was forced to miss a separate subcommittee hearing on legislation to amend the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Protection Act.
Case said there will be more chances to participate in crafting the bill, which is why he decided to skip out on the hearing.
In terms of impeachment, he said he鈥檒l just have to play catch up.
鈥淥n any given hour of any given day I have at least three to four choices of what I need to do and where I need to be,鈥 Case said. 鈥淭oday was pretty standard.鈥
Case understands that as the Democrats鈥 impeachment inquiry enters a new, more public-facing phase it鈥檚 likely to co-opt more of his time. He also doesn鈥檛 see himself remaining a spectator forever.
House investigators are moving swiftly and some expect there could be votes on articles of impeachment as soon as next month.
On Wednesday, Case arrived in his office at 5:30 a.m., many hours before Taylor and Kent testified, to write a letter to his constituents telling them where he stood on the issue. He said he wants to be up front about where he stands.
Case supports the ongoing impeachment inquiry, and has ever since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced in September the parameters of the official investigation.
He鈥檚 not yet ready to declare whether he would vote in favor of impeachment, but he does admit he鈥檚 more certain than ever that Congress is following the right path, especially as more evidence comes to light.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 relish this,鈥 Case said. 鈥淚鈥檝e said from the beginning that I didn鈥檛 come back here to deal with impeachment. So I continue to have a real sadness that we鈥檙e in this chapter in our history.鈥
