President Donald J. Trump meets with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congressional leadership Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019, in the Cabinet Room of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)
Has House Speaker Pelosi finally realized that the impeachment process, to date, has had the look of a partisan railroad job? Or perhaps, as the WSJ’s William McGurn notes, she realizes that the most unprincipled presidential impeachment in U.S. history works to Donald Trump’s advantage?
Having unleashed the dogs of impeachment, Mrs. Pelosi now has no choice but to get it done or risk demoralizing and splitting her caucus. So impeachment it is, by hook or by crook, and the highhanded way she is proceeding—with no authorizing vote, no rights for the president’s counsel, no access to key documents members are entitled to—is a feature, not a bug.
On Monday, in a letter to fellow Democrats, Nancy Pelosi announced a vote this week on the House floor that will set the terms of its impeachment investigation, reports the WSJ.
The Speaker’s letter asserts that no such vote is needed but nonetheless says the House will have one. This is what you say when you know your critics have been right but you don’t want to admit it. Thanks also to the Speaker for embarrassing the many media apologists for her previous skip-the-vote stance.
What the House Resolution Would Do
- follow the precedent of the resolutions offered in the impeachments of Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton
- end Adam Schiff’s secret Intelligence Committee hearings, make documents and the transcripts of testimony to date available to all House Members and the public, and make all future hearings public, preferably though the Judiciary Committee
- allow the GOP minority to call or subpoena witnesses
Impeachment Is Not Run-of-the-Mill Congressional Oversight
(Impeachment) deserves a process that will be seen as fair to most Americans, even if they disagree on whether President Trump’s alleged behavior is a high crime and misdemeanor. The House remains a long way in our view from making such a credible case, but a floor vote is at least a start at making Members take political responsibility if they vote to oust Mr. Trump.
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