While many of us are enjoying the Halloween holiday, there’s something spooky developing in Washington. The Democrat-held House of Representatives is holding debates and eventually a floor vote on impeachment. They’re trying to determine if President Trump withheld foreign aid to force a foreign country to dig up dirt on his political rival.
For several weeks, the House has been interviewing witnesses. Yet, they never
officially opened an impeachment inquiry. It’s a significant move both for those
investigating and the president himself. If an impeachment inquiry is open, it
allows the president and his legal team the opportunity for due process. Mainly,
he gets to face his accuser and have subpoena power themselves.
The Democrats might hate Trump, but this isn’t a simple move. It’s fraught with walking tight ropes and careful negotiation about the next move. The last time an impeachment took place, the political party that did voted to impeach lost their power. The Democrats remember this all too well. When President Clinton was impeached by the House, he got to stay in office and the republicans who impeached eventually lost their seat majority.
Of course, we’re also heading quickly into the 2020 political season. This might just be smoke and mirrors to keep pressure on the president. These types of headlines have been frequent and have stolen his thunder as of late. The Democrats might just continue their investigation up until the election to keep the pressure on Trump.
The Impeachment Process
This is really the first step in determining whether the House will formally vote on impeachment. The inquiry is really a long investigation. Both sides will get their opportunities to question witnesses. Already the House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs committees have been doing that already. That’s mainly just to see if there’s enough evidence to open the inquiry. This doesn’t mean impeachment is a forgone conclusion.
Even though it’s Democrat-held, the House may not have enough votes to recommend impeachment. Many of the Democrats are in Trump-won states and districts. These Democrats try to lean as far center right as they can to appease their base while remaining a Democrat. Others fear what might happen if articles of impeachment are recommended.
Even still, the Senate would then have to choose to convict or acquit the president. It’s why President Clinton got to stay in office despite being impeached by the House. The Senate has never voted to remove a president from office. Considering that the Senate has a strong Republican majority, it’s even less likely.
It appears as if this inquiry will go on the next few months and the Democrats will decide to hold their impeachment vote by Christmas.
