Susan Ferrechio

With or without a formal House vote, Democrats Tuesday took a significant leap forward in their quest to impeach the president, thanks to Pelosi’s support.

“If you want to put a name to it, call it Phase Two,” Democratic Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly said. “I think it has an imprimatur, a consensual imprimatur, from our caucus, that we didn’t have before.”

More than two-thirds of the House Democratic caucus say they now back either an impeachment inquiry or flat-out impeaching the president. The list has expanded to include Democrats from swing districts and districts that support Trump.

But dozens more are not on board and it still appears that the House lacks a majority needed to pass either articles of impeachment or a resolution to launch an informal inquiry.

Seven freshmen Democrats announced they would be open to impeachment if the whistleblower allegations prove to be true.

Republicans Tuesday accused Democrats of hiding behind a faux impeachment probe to protect moderate members from having to vote on a formal inquiry.

“Speaker Pelosi’s decree changes absolutely nothing,” Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, who is the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said. “As I have been telling Chairman Nadler for weeks, merely claiming the House is conducting an impeachment inquiry doesn’t make it so. Until the full House votes to authorize an inquiry, nobody is conducting a formal inquiry.”

But Democrats who left the closed-door session Tuesday felt convinced that the caucus is finally united by an effort to try to oust the president that began the day Trump took office with just a few lawmakers who believed Trump was unfit to hold the office.

While allegations Trump colluded with the Russians fizzled with the release of the Mueller report, Democrats had refocused their probe on whether Trump tried to obstruct Mueller.

Then the whistleblower allegations surfaced, which Democrats immediately identified as an action by the president to try to influence the 2020 election. In the days following, it was revealed Trump froze aid to Ukraine in a move Democrats are labeling “extortion” to force the government to provide dirt on Biden, the leading Democrat in the presidential race.

Pelosi told the caucus it was the allegation made by the whistleblower that finally pushed her into the impeachment camp.

Trump’s actions, she told the group, “are beyond the pale and simply cannot be tolerated,” a lawmaker in the room reported.

According to media reports, Trump froze $400 million in military aid that was designated for Ukraine in order to win cooperation from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Trump wanted Zelensky to investigate allegations that former Vice President Joe Biden threatened to withhold funding from Ukraine unless it removed a prosecutor targeting an oil company oligarch that was providing his son, Hunter, with a hefty salary.

Biden has denied the charge.

Trump has denied asking for anything in return for providing aid.

Both the House and Senate are formally calling on Trump to release the whistleblower report. So far, Trump has agreed to release the transcript of the call.

While the allegations remain unproven, Democrats said they’ve read enough to believe Trump has become a threat to the country and needs to be removed from office as soon as possible.

“There is valid sentiment within the caucus that we need to confront these high crimes and misdemeanors quickly,” Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin said. “It’s a matter of national security.”

Those who have long rode the impeachment wagon are happy the rest of the caucus is finally joining them.

California Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman began demanding a formal impeachment inquiry two years ago, when Democrats accused Trump of colluding with the Russians to win the 2016 election.

He said thanks to Pelosi’s endorsement of an impeachment inquiry, the House is no longer simply performing oversight only, but is taking on a prosecutorial role in pursuit of evidence and testimony Democrats are seeking in a wide-ranging probe of the president.

Now that Pelosi is on board, it will entitle Congress to more information about Trump they are battling to gain access to in federal court, Sherman said.

“It’s another thing for the speaker to stand up and say we are pursuing impeachment,” though he added “She didn’t use those exact words.”

With or without a formal House vote, Democrats Tuesday took a significant leap forward in their quest to impeach the president, thanks to Pelosi’s support.

“If you want to put a name to it, call it Phase Two,” Democratic Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly said. “I think it has an imprimatur, a consensual imprimatur, from our caucus, that we didn’t have before.”

More than two-thirds of the House Democratic caucus say they now back either an impeachment inquiry or flat-out impeaching the president. The list has expanded to include Democrats from swing districts and districts that support Trump.

But dozens more are not on board and it still appears that the House lacks a majority needed to pass either articles of impeachment or a resolution to launch an informal inquiry.

Seven freshmen Democrats announced they would be open to impeachment if the whistleblower allegations prove to be true.

Republicans Tuesday accused Democrats of hiding behind a faux impeachment probe to protect moderate members from having to vote on a formal inquiry.

“Speaker Pelosi’s decree changes absolutely nothing,” Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia, who is the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said. “As I have been telling Chairman Nadler for weeks, merely claiming the House is conducting an impeachment inquiry doesn’t make it so. Until the full House votes to authorize an inquiry, nobody is conducting a formal inquiry.”

But Democrats who left the closed-door session Tuesday felt convinced that the caucus is finally united by an effort to try to oust the president that began the day Trump took office with just a few lawmakers who believed Trump was unfit to hold the office.

While allegations Trump colluded with the Russians fizzled with the release of the Mueller report, Democrats had refocused their probe on whether Trump tried to obstruct Mueller.

Then the whistleblower allegations surfaced, which Democrats immediately identified as an action by the president to try to influence the 2020 election. In the days following, it was revealed Trump froze aid to Ukraine in a move Democrats are labeling “extortion” to force the government to provide dirt on Biden, the leading Democrat in the presidential race.

Pelosi told the caucus it was the allegation made by the whistleblower that finally pushed her into the impeachment camp.

Trump’s actions, she told the group, “are beyond the pale and simply cannot be tolerated,” a lawmaker in the room reported.

According to media reports, Trump froze $400 million in military aid that was designated for Ukraine in order to win cooperation from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Trump wanted Zelensky to investigate allegations that former Vice President Joe Biden threatened to withhold funding from Ukraine unless it removed a prosecutor targeting an oil company oligarch that was providing his son, Hunter, with a hefty salary.

Biden has denied the charge.

Trump has denied asking for anything in return for providing aid.

Both the House and Senate are formally calling on Trump to release the whistleblower report. So far, Trump has agreed to release the transcript of the call.

While the allegations remain unproven, Democrats said they’ve read enough to believe Trump has become a threat to the country and needs to be removed from office as soon as possible.

“There is valid sentiment within the caucus that we need to confront these high crimes and misdemeanors quickly,” Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin said. “It’s a matter of national security.”

Those who have long rode the impeachment wagon are happy the rest of the caucus is finally joining them.

California Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman began demanding a formal impeachment inquiry two years ago, when Democrats accused Trump of colluding with the Russians to win the 2016 election.

He said thanks to Pelosi’s endorsement of an impeachment inquiry, the House is no longer simply performing oversight only, but is taking on a prosecutorial role in pursuit of evidence and testimony Democrats are seeking in a wide-ranging probe of the president.

Now that Pelosi is on board, it will entitle Congress to more information about Trump they are battling to gain access to in federal court, Sherman said.

“It’s another thing for the speaker to stand up and say we are pursuing impeachment,” though he added “She didn’t use those exact words.”

Source; Washington Examiner