WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who for months resisted efforts to launch impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, announced a formal inquiry on Tuesday, saying that the president’s burgeoning Ukraine scandal marked a “breach of his Constitutional responsibilities."
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...trump-n1058251
Pelosi finally decides to pull the trigger, just as Trump announces he’s going to release the transcript of his call with the President of Ukraine in a bid to recapture the narrative. Even so, I’m surprised she actually did this. We’ve been down this road, and Trump has already signaled he’s riding the “witch hunt” narrative wherever it takes him.
With a Republican Senate, I don’t believe there’s any chance it goes to trial, even if the House votes to impeach before the election. There’s no Constitutional imperative that prevents McConnell from refusing to initiate any related proceedings, nor Senate Republicans from voting to dismiss the case outright.
Nevertheless, I’ve always believed it’s vital for the health of the country that impeachment proceedings are initiated against Trump, if only to preserve any precedent of culpable conduct for the future. If, by some miracle, Senate Republicans are forced to go on record as well, that would be a wonderful bonus.
What will ultimately come of this move by Pelosi? What will any formal proceedings manage to accomplish before the election? Will this help or hurt Democrats heading into 2020?