Some House Democrats are privately calling on Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to hold a vote to formalize the impeachment inquiry to undermine Republican criticism that the process is illegitimate, Politico reported this week.
So far, Pelosi has refused to schedule a vote, arguing that the Constitution and House rules do not require the lawmakers to do so.
Meanwhile, the White House and its Republican congressional allies contend that such a vote is necessary to legitimize the inquiry per the recognized standards of previous impeachment efforts.
Politico reported:
Some Democratic lawmakers and aides have begun to say privately — and, to a lesser extent, publicly — that the House should just vote to formalize the inquiry, robbing the GOP of its main talking point.
Two helicopters collide midair near Oregon airport with three people aboard, FAA confirms
Chili’s customers suffer chemical burns after dangerous margarita mix-up
A ghost story in the nation’s Capitol
El-Sayed’s Father Connected to Charity Once Accused of Financially Aiding Saddam Hussein
Minnesota official’s voter guide message on Somali TV triggers viral backlash: ‘Not an accident’
PHOTOS: Trump hosts trick-or-treaters at White House Halloween event
US dual citizen extradited to El Salvador, accused of killing son’s mother and abandoning toddler: DOJ
Harris pushes Georgia Democrats to turn ‘pain into purpose’ in fight against ‘tyrant’ Trump
Watch: Shattered Glass on Ground as DOJ Agents Hit Minneapolis Fraudsters Hard, Launching Multiple Simultaneous Raids Around City
Trump Admin Exposes North Korean Tech-Hiring Scam, US Companies Were Funding the Country’s Weapons
National Democrats leave Mary Peltola to fend for herself amid Alaska Senate scandal
Breaking: Sir Patrick Stewart, Legend from Star Trek and X-Men, Has Died Due to Previously Undisclosed Health Issues
Judge grills AG’s office in Cornell sex assault case as ex-frat bro’s lawyer demands ouster over alleged bias
9 Alleged Cartel-Linked Train Bandits Arrested in California
Dem probes could ‘torture’ young Trump officials with crushing legal bills, subpoenaed conservative warns
…
Though a small but growing chorus of Democrats has started urging a vote simply to undercut this GOP talking point, others say that nothing will stop Trump and his supporters from claiming Democrats’ efforts are unfair and inconsistent with past impeachment procedures. They say the party shouldn’t take the White House’s bait, arguing that the president’s defenders will simply find other reasons to not comply with the inquiry.
The “private” debate on whether or not to hold a vote “is threatening to cleave Democrats’ unified front” in favor of impeachment, the news outlet added.
Rep. John Yarmuth (D-KY) publicly called for a vote, telling Politico,“If Nancy asked me, I would say sure, let’s have a vote. Everybody’s on record, so they’re not going to vote any differently. What’s the danger in having a vote to formalize it?”
House lawmakers voted to allow an investigation into whether to impeach President Bill Clinton and President Richard Nixon. Republicans have pointed to those votes as evidence that Democrats are acting in an unfair and illegitimate manner.
Politico noted:
Two helicopters collide midair near Oregon airport with three people aboard, FAA confirms
Chili’s customers suffer chemical burns after dangerous margarita mix-up
A ghost story in the nation’s Capitol
El-Sayed’s Father Connected to Charity Once Accused of Financially Aiding Saddam Hussein
Minnesota official’s voter guide message on Somali TV triggers viral backlash: ‘Not an accident’
PHOTOS: Trump hosts trick-or-treaters at White House Halloween event
US dual citizen extradited to El Salvador, accused of killing son’s mother and abandoning toddler: DOJ
Harris pushes Georgia Democrats to turn ‘pain into purpose’ in fight against ‘tyrant’ Trump
Watch: Shattered Glass on Ground as DOJ Agents Hit Minneapolis Fraudsters Hard, Launching Multiple Simultaneous Raids Around City
Trump Admin Exposes North Korean Tech-Hiring Scam, US Companies Were Funding the Country’s Weapons
National Democrats leave Mary Peltola to fend for herself amid Alaska Senate scandal
Breaking: Sir Patrick Stewart, Legend from Star Trek and X-Men, Has Died Due to Previously Undisclosed Health Issues
Judge grills AG’s office in Cornell sex assault case as ex-frat bro’s lawyer demands ouster over alleged bias
9 Alleged Cartel-Linked Train Bandits Arrested in California
Dem probes could ‘torture’ young Trump officials with crushing legal bills, subpoenaed conservative warns
Democrats have long argued that they don’t need a vote to launch formal impeachment proceedings, even if that had been the practice in prior presidential impeachment processes. In fact, House lawyers backed by Pelosi have made that argument in a succession of court cases seeking evidence to support their impeachment inquiry, and proponents of that position worry a formal vote would undercut their legal claims.
Similarly, Democrats are worried that a near-term floor vote would drive away a handful of Republicans who are wavering over whether to support impeachment proceedings. A party-line vote would hand the White House another talking point, they argue: that impeachment is a purely partisan effort by Democrats.
In a letter to Pelosi and the House chairmen pursuing the impeachment inquiry, the White House said the Democrats were conducting a “constitutionally invalid” and “illegitimate” impeachment probe that absolves lawmakers of “taking political accountability.”
The White House said it would not cooperate with the ongoing “partisan” impeachment investigation. Although the letter stopped short of explicitly calling on Pelosi to hold a vote, it all but dared the Speaker to do so.
Most of the 235 members of the House Democratic Caucus support the impeachment probe, but there are still eight who did not, as of Thursday afternoon, a tally from the New York Times revealed.
Story cited here.
