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.
Police in California spot body of 5-year-old swept out to sea
California accused of blocking federal voter roll audit as DOJ escalates probe of election fraud claims
Ex-NFL Standout Now Faces Potential Death Penalty After Murder Indictment
Fed Up Over Palisades Fire Fallout, Karen Bass’ Brother Takes Matters Into His Own Hands and Humiliates Her
Former Biden ambassador considered running against him over border mess, bashes Kamala in new book
Karmelo Anthony and the real racism issue in America
Senate seats Democrats had counted on winning now look iffy
Austin Metcalf’s family faces death threats after Karmelo Anthony’s murder conviction and more top headlines
A grim fiscal anniversary looms
Top US ally’s defense chief quits, warns military lacks resources for rising threats
Recently Retired Airline Pilot Arrested – Allegedly Flew for Years Without a License
Bye bye, Bernie? Socialist Sanders is reshaping the Democratic Party in his image in final political act
Portland man sentenced to 30 months in prison for throwing rock at ICE officer during protest
Platner campaign rocked with damning allegations from another ex-lover as Senate race heats up: report
Catholic bishops consecrate US, White House says Trump and Melania ‘join in prayer’ in ‘unprecedented’ gesture
…
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:
Police in California spot body of 5-year-old swept out to sea
California accused of blocking federal voter roll audit as DOJ escalates probe of election fraud claims
Ex-NFL Standout Now Faces Potential Death Penalty After Murder Indictment
Fed Up Over Palisades Fire Fallout, Karen Bass’ Brother Takes Matters Into His Own Hands and Humiliates Her
Former Biden ambassador considered running against him over border mess, bashes Kamala in new book
Karmelo Anthony and the real racism issue in America
Senate seats Democrats had counted on winning now look iffy
Austin Metcalf’s family faces death threats after Karmelo Anthony’s murder conviction and more top headlines
A grim fiscal anniversary looms
Top US ally’s defense chief quits, warns military lacks resources for rising threats
Recently Retired Airline Pilot Arrested – Allegedly Flew for Years Without a License
Bye bye, Bernie? Socialist Sanders is reshaping the Democratic Party in his image in final political act
Portland man sentenced to 30 months in prison for throwing rock at ICE officer during protest
Platner campaign rocked with damning allegations from another ex-lover as Senate race heats up: report
Catholic bishops consecrate US, White House says Trump and Melania ‘join in prayer’ in ‘unprecedented’ gesture
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.
