On Tuesday, September 24, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, announced a formal impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump. The statement comes after a whistleblower complaint that alleges Trump tapped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.
“I respect the responsibility of the President to engage with foreign leaders as part of his job. It is not part of his job to use taxpayer money to shake down other countries for the benefit of his campaign. Either the President does not know the weight of his words or he does not care about ethics or his constitutional responsibilities,” said Pelosi in statement.
“The transcript and the Justice Department’s acting in a rogue fashion in being complicit in the President’s lawlessness, confirm the need for an impeachment inquiry. Clearly, the Congress must act.”
Since her announcement, Pelosi has received a numerous amount of support from the Democratic members of Congress, including U.S. Representative Karen Bass.
“The whistleblower’s complaint, coupled with the call summary released by the White House, justify this call for the opening of an impeachment inquiry. A high crime that has absolutely put this country at risk may have been committed by this White House and then covered up by this White House,” said Bass in a statement.
“Impeachment calls until now have been about what the President has done in the past – his conduct during the 2016 elections, his effort to obstruct the Mueller investigation, and other insidious acts.”
Until now, that is.
In light of these allegations, Bass held a telephone town hall on Wednesday (September 25), to discuss the impeachment inquiry process.
During the town hall, Bass explained to her constituents, that the impeachment inquiry is the first step in the impeachment process.
The inquiry is simply an investigation of Trump’s tax returns and a look into allegations of money laundering, hush money payments, and his relationship with Russia and the Ukraine among other things.
Should the Intelligence Committee find enough evidence, Congress will have grounds to impeach Trump, making him the first U.S. President to be forced out of office as a result of impeachment.
Be that as it may, Trump would still be able to run as a candidate in the 2020 presidential election.
“For the last month, the House Judiciary Committee has been engaged in an impeachment investigation. Now, combined with the leadership of the Speaker and our committee chairs, this body is moving in lockstep towards a common goal,” said Bass in a statement.
Rep. Maxine Waters (CA-43) issued a statement on the formal impeachment inquiry of Donald J. Trump: “I am supportive of the leadership of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who has united the Democratic Caucus and has formalized an impeachment inquiry of the current President of the United States. Donald Trump has admitted to abusing the power of the presidency by asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch an investigation into his political opponent in order to get dirt that the Trump campaign could exploit in the 2020 U.S. presidential election … “
Waters continued … “I’m beyond pleased that a strong majority of my Democratic colleagues have joined us in the effort to hold accountable and impeach the most unlawful and unpatriotic man to ever occupy the White House. As I have stated time and time again, Donald Trump is a dangerous and dishonorable man. He has no respect for our democracy, our Constitution, or the rule of law. It is past time that Congress fulfills its Constitutional duty to impeach him. I am elated that it appears that day is upon us.”
Although the House is moving toward a common goal, the House Democrats will still need the support of the House Republicans during the investigation.
As of press time, 225 House Democrats are in support of the impeachment inquiry. However, Bass is hopeful that the House Republicans will get on board.
So what happens next? The investigation will continue.
