(Bloomberg) -- House
Democrats are moving toward public hearings, perhaps in a few weeks, in the impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump.Here are the latest developments:Perry Rejects Request to Testify (8:05 p.m.)Energy Secretary Rick Perry spurned a request from House impeachment investigators to testify on Wednesday.“The secretary will not partake in a secret star chamber inquisition where agency counsel is forbidden to be present,” Shaylyn Hynes, an Energy Department spokeswoman, said in a statement.“If the committee is interested in conducting a serious proceeding they are welcome to send for the secretary’s consideration an invitation to participate in an open hearing where the department’s counsel can be present and the
American people can witness.”The impeachment testimony has been conducted in private, but public hearings will likely begin later this month.Perry, who has told Trump that he will step down by Dec. 1, played a role in the administration’s dealings with
Ukraine, which are the focus of the investigation, and led the U.S. delegation to the inauguration of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the spring.He told the Wall Street Journal last month that Trump had asked him to contact
Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, to discuss corruption in Ukraine. Perry, a former governor of
Texas, has denied that his resignation has any bearing on the inquiry. He has refused to turn over documents despite a House subpoena.Acting Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, State Department Counselor T. Ulrich Brechbuhl and Under
Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale have also been asked to testify on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the matter. Vought has already said that he will not appear.Poll Finds 49%-47% Split on Removing Trump (6:41 a.m.)Americans are divided 49% to 47% on whether
Congress should impeach Trump and remove him from office, according to a new ABC/Washington Post poll.But support for impeaching Trump is much higher than it was for
Bill Clinton in 1998, when only 27% to 42% were in favor of removing Clinton, according to polls the news organizations conducted then.The latest survey found support for Trump’s removal jumping to 82% among Democrats, compared with 47% among independents and 18% among
Republicans -- showing greater partisan splits than in Clinton’s case.Disapproval of both Trump and congressional Democrats is high, with 58% critical of Trump’s response to the impeachment inquiry and 50% disapproving of Democrats’ overall handling of the matter.The poll, conducted Oct. 27-30, has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.7 points.Key EventsThe House passed a resolution that will lead to public hearings in the impeachment inquiry, in a near-party line vote Thursday. All signs point to the House taking a formal vote on articles of impeachment on Trump, possibly before the end of the year.Shortly after the House vote,
White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham issued a statement saying Trump “has done nothing wrong and the Democrats know it.” She said Democrats are trying to “destroy” the president.Second-ranking House
Republican Steve Scalise of Louisiana said time will tell if the GOP stays united behind Trump as the process proceeds, but he sees the president gaining ground with Republicans as the
economy grows and after a military victory with the death of a key
Islamic State leader.\--With assistance from Elizabeth Wasserman.To contact the reporters on this story: Ari Natter in
Washington at anatter5@bloomberg.net;Billy House in Washington at bhouse5@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Kasia Klimasinska, John HarneyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.