Impeachment inquiry begins
On September 24th, Nancy Pelosi announced the start of an impeachment inquiry against President Trump, charging him with both betraying his oath of office and the security of the nation by seeking to enlist a foreign power to investigate a political rival on his behalf. This alleged act by Trump finally prompted Pelosi and the Democratic leadership to give in to the growing number of House Democrats that have been calling for impeachment proceedings to begin for months.
The act that Democrats have based their impeachment proceedings on is a phone call between Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine. During this call, Trump suggested that the Ukrainian government should begin an investigation into both Joe Biden and his son; this conversation was held a few days after Trump ordered that $391 million dollars of US aid to Ukraine be withheld. The details of this conversation are contained in a whistleblower report that the White House has been trying to keep from Congress. The Trump Administration did release a transcript of the phone call between the presidents, but it was widely criticized by Democrats for being fairly light on the details of the call and not including precisely what was said.
Members of Congress have been working to secure the testimony of the whistleblower report, a job made more difficult both by the president’s demands related to the whistleblower as well as the New York Times’ decision to publish an article which revealed some identifying details about the whistleblower, who is supposed to remain anonymous for their safety.
House and Senate Democrats are continuing to work on building the case against Trump not only on this recent offense but on past offenses as well.
While Congressional Democrats have been working to put together a solid case against the president, some Republican Congressmen and pundits have been denying the veracity of the evidence put forward so far while also accusing Congressional Democrats of harassment and attempting a coup d’etat. This fiery language coming from Trump and either side of the aisle is not new in Washington, but has intensified in recent weeks.
As the inquiry moves forward, the possible outcomes are just as broad and uncertain as these events are unprecedented.
Joseph Doner - Political Editor
