House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks during her weekly media availability on Capitol Hill, Thursday, June 27, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
It looks like Democrats finally found the will to at least begin the process of impeachment after threatening it for months and announcing earlier Tuesday they were meeting to discuss the proposition. By late Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, bowing to her caucus and likely her Hollywood donors, made the announcement an official “impeachment inquiry” would commence, but was hazy on the details of exactly what that meant. But she made sure to note she believes the President is not above the law.
Nancy Pelosi: "Therefore today, I'm announcing the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry." pic.twitter.com/HyHKD39N7M
— Axios (@axios) September 24, 2019
Here’s how the President responded on Twitter:
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019
That’s right: he’s fundraising off the Democrat decision to raise money for his 2020 presidential race. He’s optimistic and for good reason: Trump earlier announced on Twitter that the White House will be making the transcript of the call between Trump and the Ukrainian President available to the public by Wednesday.Which, incidentally, is the same day Democrats will vote on a resolution to condemn that same call.
Lawmakers said the House will vote, likely Wednesday, on a non-binding resolution condemning a phone call between Trump and the Ukrainian president that sparked the invigorated calls for impeachment this week.
This matters because they will be, in spite of Pelosi’s vague language Tuesday, formally linking that phone call to their justification for impeachment, and that’s potentially a very dangerous thing to do.
Because — and just consider it for a moment — what if the transcript proves to be as pure as Trump insists it is, and there’s no quid pro quo overture or any mention of Biden’s kid’s business dealings? What if the withholding of aid was just an administrative move so that Trump could chat with Ukraine first on things not related to investigations, etc?
What then?
Rep. Liz Cheney’s (R-WY) statement on the issue appears to be insinuating the same thing, specifically that Democrats were impeachment crusaders in search of a cause.
“For months, House Democrats have careened from justification to justification, looking for any excuse to begin impeachment proceedings. Since the President was sworn in, the Democrats have repeatedly attempted to overturn the results of the election and discard the votes of 63 million Americans who voted for President Trump.
“Now, Speaker Pelosi is walking away from even the pretense of the necessity of evidence. She has announced a formal impeachment inquiry of the President of the United States based on news reports of a phone call and a whistleblower. The Speaker and House Democrats have lost all credibility and, most tragically, have abdicated their duty to the Constitution and to the American people.”
Perhaps the transcript will be damning. But if it’s not, do the Democrats have another impeachable offense waiting in the wings? And, more to the point, do they realize that the way they’ve been fumbling around for something — anything — with which to censure the president gives a great deal of weight to what he’s been saying about them for almost four years? Namely, that they’ve been engaged in nothing more than a witch hunt.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member