Nancy Pelosi Announces Formal Impeachment Inquiry of Trump

Authored by nytimes.com and submitted by FitAFJesus
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For the past two years, talk of impeachment had centered around the findings of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, who investigated Russia’s interference in the 2016 elections and Mr. Trump’s attempts to derail that inquiry. On Tuesday, Ms. Pelosi, Democrat of California, told her caucus and then the country that new revelations about Mr. Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, and his administration’s stonewalling of Congress about them, had finally left the House no choice but to proceed toward a severe and rarely used remedy.

At issue are allegations that Mr. Trump pressured the president of Ukraine to open a corruption investigation of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, and his son. The conversation is said to be part of a whistle-blower complaint that the Trump administration has withheld from Congress. And it occurred just a few days after Mr. Trump had ordered his staff to freeze more than $391 million in aid to Ukraine.

Mr. Trump said on Tuesday that he would authorize the release of a transcript of the conversation, part of an effort to pre-empt Democrats’ impeachment push. But Democrats, after months of holding back, were unbowed, demanding the full whistle-blower complaint and other documentation about White House dealings with Ukraine, even as they pushed toward an expansive impeachment inquiry that could encompass unrelated charges.

Ms. Pelosi told fellow Democrats that in a private call initiated by Mr. Trump on Tuesday morning, the president said that he was not responsible for withholding the whistle-blower complaint from Congress, Democrats said.

Although Ms. Pelosi’s announcement marked a crucial turning point, it left many unanswered question about exactly when and how Democrats plan to push forward on impeachment.

House Democrats plan to bring up a resolution on Wednesday condemning Mr. Trump’s reported behavior toward Ukraine and demanding he release the whistle-blower complaint — daring Republicans to vote against it.

And Ms. Pelosi said she had directed the chairmen of the six committees that have been investigating Mr. Trump to “proceed under that umbrella of impeachment inquiry.” In a closed-door meeting earlier in the day, she said the panels should put together their best cases on potentially impeachable offenses by the president and send them to the Judiciary Committee, according to two officials familiar with the conversation. That could potentially lay the groundwork for articles of impeachment based on the findings.

Noyousername on September 24th, 2019 at 22:06 UTC »

So petty he couldn't even let Boris Johnson have the worst day.

Typical. 😌

City_Gent on September 24th, 2019 at 20:15 UTC »

As a European can someone explain what the process is?

Peter-Peters on September 24th, 2019 at 19:33 UTC »

WASHINGTON — Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to announce on Tuesday that the House will begin a formal impeachment inquiry of President Trump, Democrats close to her said, taking decisive action in response to startling allegations that the president sought to enlist a foreign power for his own political gain.

After months of caution, Ms. Pelosi has become convinced that Mr. Trump’s reported actions, and his administration’s refusal to share details about the matter with Congress, left the House no alternative but to move forward with an inquiry that has the potential to reshape his presidency and cleave an already divided nation just a year before he plans to stand for re-election. The people close to her confirmed her plans on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose a decision that could still change.

The announcement was expected at 5 p.m. in her Capitol office, after Ms. Pelosi was to hold a private meeting with House Democrats.

At issue are allegations that Mr. Trump pressured the president of Ukraine to open a corruption investigation of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, and his son. The conversation is said to be part of a whistle-blower complaint that the Trump administration has withheld from Congress.

Ms. Pelosi is considering creating a special committee — reminiscent of the one created by the Senate in 1973 to investigate the Watergate scandal — to look into the president’s dealings with Ukraine and to potentially lay the groundwork for articles of impeachment based on the findings, according to officials briefed on the discussions who spoke about them on condition of anonymity.

The decision to begin a formal impeachment inquiry does not necessarily mean that the House will ultimately vote to charge Mr. Trump with high crimes and misdemeanors — much less that the Republican-controlled Senate will vote to remove him. But Ms. Pelosi and her leadership would not initiate the process unless they were prepared to reach that outcome.

Ms. Pelosi was to meet privately Tuesday afternoon with the leaders of six key committees involved in investigations of Mr. Trump, and later with the full Democratic caucus. Her announcement was planned amid a groundswell in favor of impeachment among Democrats that has intensified since late last week, with lawmakers from every corner of her caucus lining up in favor of using the House’s unique power to charge Mr. Trump if the allegations are proved true, or if his administration continues to stonewall attempts by Congress to investigate them.