Constitutional standards It's Morning Edition from n.p.r. News. With just weeks before the Iowa. Quits I'm David Greene and I'm Rachel Martin this Democratic presidential primary was the most diverse ever now we could be looking at an all white debate stage. Also some people with disabilities can get their student loans but n.p.r. Has learned most of those eligible for help don't get it and some countries are burning wood pellets as renewable energy which has environmentalist concerned it is Wednesday December 4th comedian Fred Armisen turns 53 years old today. The news is next. Live from n.p.r. News in Washington on Corba Coleman the House Judiciary Committee will open its 1st hearing in the impeachment inquiry today with law professors they'll discuss what makes up an impeachable offense now that the House Intelligence Committee has released its investigation the Judiciary Committee will decide whether to draft articles of impeachment against President Trump the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee is facing renewed scrutiny following the release of House Democrats impeachment report N.P.R.'s Giles Snyder reports Democrats obtained phone records linking California Congressman Devin newness and President Trump's personal lawyer they call records from a t. And t. And Verizon are new details laid out in the impeachment report compiled by the House Intelligence Committee they're raising questions about whether California congressman Devon newness a key ally of President Trump should have recused himself the record showed it as was in contact with the president's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Giuliani is now indicted Ukranian associate Parness during Giuliani's efforts in Ukraine and as was asked about Parness on Fox News Tuesday night it's possible but I haven't gone through all my phone records I don't really recall that name you know and I remember the name now because he's been indicted Democrats fault known as for not disclosing his contacts but House minority leader Kevin McCarthy says the calls don't raise concerns with him trial Snyder n.p.r. News Washington NATO leaders are wrapping up this week's meeting in London British Prime Minister Boris Johnson applauded the military alliance is long history 70 years on. We all rock solid in our commitment to NATO and to the joint shield of solidarity the knot of protests printed 19 countries and nearly a 1000000000 people despite talk of solidarity there's been friction among the leaders President Trump renewed his demand this week that NATO countries pay more for their defense French President Emanuel McCrone was criticized for saying the alliance had brain death. The Trump administration is proposing a rule change that would cut 4 and a half $1000000000.00 from the program that funds food stamps from member station Brett Childress reports the change would start taking into account home heating and cooling costs in Pennsylvania alone the change would slash monthly benefits also known as food stamps for about 775000 families stay human services secretary Theresa Miller says in colder parts of the country people have to choose between buying food and staying warm I think this is the time states have to stand up and say this is wrong stop it tacky these critical safety net programs that allow people to live better lives at the u.s. Department of Agriculture which runs the program a spokesman says the administration's proposed rule will better reflect true utility costs adding the new system would cover costs for 80 percent of snap households for n.p.r. News I'm brush oldest This is n.p.r. Russia is accusing a former u.s. Marine currently awaiting trial on charges of espionage Russia alleges that he is faking health problems and lying about poor treatment while he is in custody from Moscow Charles means has these details the Commons concerned Paul Whelan the former Marine arrested on spying charges last December after allegedly accepting classified materials on a computer thumb drive in a Moscow hotel wheelin says he was set up in that he's since been mistreated and denied medical care while in detention yet Russia's foreign ministry accuse Whelan of merely pretending as part of his training as a us intelligence officer the u.s. Embassy in Moscow issued a tweet calling those accusations Pulp Fiction Charles Maynes reporting from Moscow . NASA plans to send some muscle bound mice into space today it's part of an effort to prevent muscle wasting in people N.P.R.'s Jon Hamilton reports from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida the mice will spend a month on the International Space Station usually animals and astronauts in space lose muscle but these mice have been genetically modified to lack a substance that ordinarily limits muscle growth so Dr Emily Germain Lee of Connecticut Children's Medical Center says scientists are hoping the animals will stay bulked up even without gravity if we could do that it would really dramatically help the astronauts but it would also help a lot of people here on Earth fleece says muscle wasting is a big problem for elderly people and those with diseases like muscular dystrophy Jon Hamilton n.p.r. News and I'm core of a Coleman n.p.r. News in Washington support for n.p.r. Comes from n.p.r. Stations other contributors include I drive maker of remote p.c. Providing real time remote access to computers anywhere and featuring remote p.c. Vision an augmented reality support tool learn more at remote p.c. Dot com local support for N.P.R.'s Morning Edition is provided by b o tires and service Spencer from Cortez Ericsson has taken Farmington in wind from Durango are all pleased to support quality programming on Casey t. Public Radio bigger tires and service a team you can trust. Good morning once again today is the 4th of December and Wednesday morning Time now for our 1st look at the weather forecast mostly cloudy skies chance of rain a mixed precipitation over the lower elevations and some scattered snow showers over the mountains this afternoon's high temperatures will range across the forty's for most of the listening area the high country will top out in the upper thirty's a winter weather advisory for the San Juan Mountains is scheduled from 5 pm today through 5 pm on Thursday looks like the chance for precipitation will increase tonight with over 10 perhaps getting up to 3 inches of snow accumulation and its lows will range from the mid twenty's to the mid thirty's looks like the weather system will move out throughout the day on Thursday with a decreasing chance of precipitation and clearing skies will be just a degree or 2 cooler than today's Friday should be partly cloudy with the start of a slight warming trend Saturday looks to be mostly sunny with temperatures mainly the upper forty's to low fifty's the extended forecast is calling for the possibility of another weather system moving into the region by late Saturday and Sunday and then moving out on Monday back to N.P.R.'s Morning Edition. This is Morning Edition from n.p.r. News I'm David Greene in Culver City California and I'm Rachel Martin in Washington d.c. What is the constitutional standard for impeaching a president and what in and is what President from did with Ukraine the kind of offense that meets that standard that is the central question of today's impeachment inquiry hearing this time the House Judiciary Committee is in the lead in the witnesses our constitutional scholars this next phase was triggered after the House Intelligence Committee really released its report yesterday the report claims there is a quote abundant amount of evidence that shows Trump abuse the power of his office for his own personal benefit Here's what committee chair Adam Schiff said yesterday in an interview with Steve Inskeep I don't think there's any question that the uncontested facts show this president solicited a bribe that question now moves to the House Judiciary Committee which will ultimately decide whether to bring articles of impeachment against the president Alan Baron served as special impeachment counsel to that committee he has been part of the impeachment of 4 federal judges thank you so much for making time for us this morning good morning I want to start by reading a little bit of the constitution if I could this is. The section that deals with impeachment we're talking about Article 2 Section 4 it reads the president vice president and all civil officers of the United States shall be removed from office on impeachment for and conviction of treason bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors does the Constitution define those terms. Well treason and bribery are defined in the criminal law and in historical materials high crimes and misdemeanors is unique the 1st time we encounter it is in English law in the 14th century and back in those days it was a criminal case and where you could lose your head as well as your job. The framers imported that phrase into our Constitution 400 years after it had appeared in England but obviously they changed dramatically now you can't lose your head but you can lose your job and of course the additional feature is you can be barred from holding future federal office so but the meaning of high crimes and misdemeanors is unique it doesn't have any applicability in the civil law or in the criminal law it's uniquely related to impeachment which means it's up for interpretation which is what these legal scholars are going to be debating I imagine today that's true Clearly if a public of a federal public official commits a crime bribery or murder or whatever you know whatever it is that can be the basis for removal the interesting and more complex issue is when what has occurred is very wrongful and Wiggs unacceptable but it doesn't meet the definition of any particular crime it's now pretty well settled that you don't have to commit a crime technically in order to warrant impeachment being used in fact 2 of the early impeachments did not involve criminal activity one was a judge frankly who was insane he would show up on the bench ranting raving and they had to get rid of him and they found him guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors but his crime and I'm putting that in quotes right was that he had he had lost his mind and crime should be in quotes because we should just emphasize what we're seeing now in the House of Representatives the impeachment inquiry this is not a criminal proceeding this is a political proceeding. That's very much that's true and I think it's important to recognize that even though it has some of the attributes of a legal proceeding ultimately it is political I mean consider the charges are brought by the House of Representatives last time I looked they were all politicians and the Senate decides the case again all public political figures you have been involved in the Peterman of 4 federal judges as we noted dealing with the issue of bribery I mean you said that this is a crime that is explicitly defined in the code can you walk through the challenges of proving that well essentially you want to show that some official act that was within the jurisdiction of the individual was committed or done because of some to use the phrase quid pro quo and. In order if you show that and it was done with evil intent the wrongful intent that's the essence of bribery but that's the hard part right how do you know someone's intent. We have to do that every day in a criminal courts of this country you infer it from the fact. Republicans though argue that President Trump was just pursuing general claims allegations of corruption that hid his intention was not to launch an investigation into Joe Biden Joe Biden just happened to be wrapped up in an investigation. Well you have to look at all the facts and draw a reasonable inferences from everything that's put before you the Democrats see it as pretty clearly reflecting an interest in having Ukraine investigate Joe Biden and his son the Republicans can argue to the contrary and it will be up to the fact finders ultimately to decide who's right who's wrong what's interesting also is what is the burden of proof how much proof do you need in order to make this out in the civil case it's. Preponderance of the evidence $5149.00 in a criminal case it's beyond a reasonable doubt. The Senate has looked into that issue and they decided every senator has to decide for himself or herself which proved burden of proof they want to apply so there's no hard and fast standard what is the point of what we're seeing right now in the House Judiciary Committee are they really going to find anything different than what they found in the House Intelligence Committee. Well that's an interesting question because certainly today you're going to get legal analysis. For legal scholars are going to debate what the meanings are of you know high crimes and misdemeanors and what history has shown the real issue and I'm not I'm not clear on this yet is whether they are going to open up any new avenues or go back to the mall or report and bring up some additional charges or claims that are not have not been before Adam Schiff Committee do you think that's dangerous. No you expand the scope just part of the process it just is but it could potentially drag this on even further Alan Baron former special impeachment counsel to the House Judiciary Committee we appreciate you giving your context and perspective on this thank you so much Sure thank you world leaders are gathering at a un climate summit in Madrid this week to talk about how to reduce greenhouse emissions in the search for alternatives to fossil fuel some countries have now turned to one of the oldest energy sources around wood some are importing it from the United States calling it clean and renewable but some environmentalists say this makes no sense N.P.R.'s Dan Charles has a story. On a soggy field in eastern North Carolina Jason 2 and his crew of loggers are cutting trees and sorting the logs into piles depending on their size and what kind of wood they are poplar sweet you know I'm there's a Aylmer there some piles would go into plywood some will become puffy absorbent fiber in baby diapers and then there's the least valuable pile the small limbs and tops of hardwood trees it's basically a trash we would have normally hauled it back out in the woods and just left it but now there's a new market for that would pellet Mills they've expanded across the Southeast over the past decade they'll take this would crush it compressed into little pellets ready for burning as fuel the landowners get them by we're getting some production . It's just an all around good deal most of these pallets millions of tons each year will get shipped to Europe where they're burned in power plants because some European governments are offering financial subsidies to burn these pellets instead of say coal it's supposed to help fight climate change here's Seth Guenter executive director of the industry group that represents wood pellet companies the carbon benefits are tremendous burning wood also called biomass does release lots of carbon dioxide the greenhouse gas but the idea behind the subsidies is you can let forests grow back and as they do they'll recapture the carbon dioxide from the air and store it in their branches and roots again so it's considered renewable just like wind or solar the European Union literally just passed something known as the renewable energy directive too and biomass sustainable biomass was unequivocally included as part of what can meet your Noble Energy goals but environmental groups are challenging that decision in court they say the idea that large scale wood burning is carbon neutral is based on bad math and to explain exactly why Adam Collette from the environmental group Dogwood Alliance takes me to another patch of land in North Carolina near the town of Williamston I know it doesn't look like much but we're going take a walk it's covered with bushes and little trees maybe 10 feet tall in the south we call it a briar patch. But yet on paper this is a forest 4 years ago really was a forest with big trees then it was logged some of it went to make wood pellets so let's count up the carbon emissions accurately collect says when the big trees were cut they stopped capturing carbon dioxide from the air that benefit was lost at least temporarily and some of the carbon they'd previously stored was released into the air when the wood pellets were burned and as tree roots decomposed but you won't see any of that in the official calculations of greenhouse emissions he says none of it's ever been counted in any of our like the missions counting in the us or in Europe that's because the forest eventually will grow back and recapture that lost carbon but it could take a century for that to happen. Now Seth Ginter from the u.s. Industrial pellet Association says his industry should not be blamed for those carbon emissions because wood pellets are not the reason forests are cleared these are lands that are being harvested for temper for housing for paper and for other things what we're taking is is the byproduct of that in fact though independent forestry experts say that's not completely true their data shows that the wood pellet industry is competing for some of the same wood that might go for making paper or diapers and is pushing up prices for that wood Adam Collette from Dogwood Alliance thinks it's persuading some small landowners to harvest their trees you have more knocks on those doors more telephone calls saying hey I'll give you x. Number of dollars for your trees what Collette wants is for officials to knock on those doors with a different message encouraging landowners to maintain forests expand them our forests are young they're degraded and what that means is that the potential to suck carbon out of the atmosphere of force in the us south is enormous those farmers are some of the best climate solutions we have the Says if they keep growing Dan Charles n.p.r. News. This is n.p.r. News. Next what happens to the clothes furniture and electronics you drop off at the thrift store more specifically what happens to the stuff they can't sell we'll talk with Adam Minter author of 2nd hand 3 generations of his family were in the business he's reported on. You can join Terry Gross right here on gay she t today and every weekday at 6 that follows 2 hours of N.P.R.'s All Things Considered and support for Morning Edition is provided by Adam's plastic surgery offering cosmetic surgery and injectables as well as and and reconstructive surgery they can be found online at Adams plastic surgery dot com and reached by phone at 505-327-1754. This is Joe Davis. As many of our listeners know k s u t is now the proud owner of the festival. We're excited to announce that tickets. For both festivals on Friday December the 6th. Exciting times there for k. Shooty so please do tune in Friday morning find out more about that and as Jill said You can also find out more at case your teeth. 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