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.
Caitlin Clark Blocks Former NFL Star Antonio Brown After Extremely Crude Posts
It’s Official: We’re Entering a Faith-Based Film Renaissance
Appeals court drops charges against Michigan elections worker who downloaded voter list
Top Biden official’s wife could face scrutiny over residency if she jumps into House race
More wild anti-Israel protesters descend on Columbia University lawn vowing to ‘hold this line’
CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Fence-cutting migrants busted by feds
Alec Baldwin ‘Rust’ Shooting Trial: Experts Warn About This Ominous Sign for Actor
Third House Republican calls for Speaker Johnson’s ouster over $95B foreign aid plan
NFL Prospect Dies Just Days Before League’s Draft
Biden Claims ‘Cannibals’ Ate His Uncle, Military Records Tell a Very Different Story
Stefanik accuses Columbia president of ‘pro-terrorist’ professor ‘cover-up,’ warns of potential felony
Arrest of Ilhan Omar’s daughter at anti-Israel protest was political, fellow ‘Squad’ member says
Biden Allowing Hundreds of Troops to Be Held ‘Hostage’ in Niger, According to GOP Rep
Israel hits back at Iran, launches retaliatory attack and more top headlines
Republicans accuse Biden, Schumer of emboldening Iran prior to attack on Israel
…
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:
Caitlin Clark Blocks Former NFL Star Antonio Brown After Extremely Crude Posts
It’s Official: We’re Entering a Faith-Based Film Renaissance
Appeals court drops charges against Michigan elections worker who downloaded voter list
Top Biden official’s wife could face scrutiny over residency if she jumps into House race
More wild anti-Israel protesters descend on Columbia University lawn vowing to ‘hold this line’
CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Fence-cutting migrants busted by feds
Alec Baldwin ‘Rust’ Shooting Trial: Experts Warn About This Ominous Sign for Actor
Third House Republican calls for Speaker Johnson’s ouster over $95B foreign aid plan
NFL Prospect Dies Just Days Before League’s Draft
Biden Claims ‘Cannibals’ Ate His Uncle, Military Records Tell a Very Different Story
Stefanik accuses Columbia president of ‘pro-terrorist’ professor ‘cover-up,’ warns of potential felony
Arrest of Ilhan Omar’s daughter at anti-Israel protest was political, fellow ‘Squad’ member says
Biden Allowing Hundreds of Troops to Be Held ‘Hostage’ in Niger, According to GOP Rep
Israel hits back at Iran, launches retaliatory attack and more top headlines
Republicans accuse Biden, Schumer of emboldening Iran prior to attack on Israel
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.
Scroll down to leave a comment:
