Pelosi bows to the radical Left in her Party. She's playing with fire and she knows it. She's hoping by calling this a vote on a "formal impeachment inquiry" the masses will be fooled into thinking that is the same as impeachment proceedings.
This is no coincidence that that this vote happens this week after Pelosi said 3 weeks ago she didn't need or want asuch a vote. She does't want her people on record to defend an atttempt to oust Trump. Pelosi knows that Trump will use it against Dems, and go to many of those 40 formerly GOP Districts teh Dems barely won in 2018 and whip up excitment in the 50,000+ voters that come out to see Trump speak at rallies.
The Dems are pulling this vote to take the news cycle off of Trumps victories vs. teh ISIS leadership. They lost badly on that. This is their knee jerk response to getthe focus back on Trump and impeachment. Pelosi does NOT want a vote on impeachment before the election.
House approves Trump impeachment resolution, paving way for public hearings
David Knowles 19 minutes ago
Pelosi speaks on the House floor in support of impeachment resolution
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution Thursday that formalizes the next steps in the impeachment inquiry of President Trump. The final vote was 232-196, with former Republican and current independent Rep. Justin Amash voting yes and two Democrats voting no.
The measure, which came after weeks of Republican criticism of Democrats for conducting their interviews behind closed doors, signals the beginning of public hearings in which staff counsel for both parties will be given equal time to question witnesses.
“Sadly, this is not any cause for any glee or comfort. This is something that is very solemn, that is something prayerful and that we had to gather so much information to take us to this next step,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the House floor prior to the vote, adding, “Every member should support allowing the American people to hear the facts themselves, that’s really what this vote is about.”
The two Democrats to vote no were Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey and Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota.
Since late September, House Democrats have been building their case that Trump abused his powers as president by asking the president of Ukraine to announce an investigation of one of his political rivals, former Vice President Joe Biden, and to cooperate with Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani to validate a right-wing conspiracy theory about the 2016 election. A July 25 phone call between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky alarmed multiple U.S. government officials and sparked a whistleblower complaint. In closed-door interviews conducted by the House Intelligence Committee, witnesses have testified that nearly $400 million in military aid was withheld by the Trump administration to compel the government in Kiev to comply.
The aid was eventually released.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., will continue to lead the impeachment inquiry on behalf of the Democrats, though the president’s lawyers will have the opportunity to defend Trump in the Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., which will vote on the articles of impeachment and send them to the floor of the House.
The resolution clears the way for Republicans to call witnesses to appear before the Intelligence Committee, though they must first submit written justification for those they wish to question. Democrats, who have presided over the committee since retaking control of the House in the 2018 midterm elections, can deny Republican requests.
The White House has blocked testimony by several witnesses called by House Democrats, and the resolution provides Nadler with a mechanism to enforce future compliance.
“Should the President unlawfully refuse to make witnesses available for testimony to, or to produce documents requested by, the investigative committees ... the chair [of the Judiciary Committee] shall have the discretion to impose appropriate remedies, including by denying specific requests by the President or his counsel under these procedures to call or question witnesses,” reads the rules document obtained by Yahoo News.
Should the House vote to impeach Trump, the U.S. Senate will conduct a formal trial that could lead to his removal from office. In that setting, lawyers representing the president will have greater leeway to call witnesses and cross-examine those who helped House Democrats make their case against Trump.
