House Democrats confirm they’re “moving forward with impeachment” against Donald Trump

| 8:18 pm EDT July 26, 2019
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Earlier today, Chair Jerry Nadler the House Judiciary Committee began the impeachment process against Donald Trump with a court filing that specifically stated they were seeking grand jury transcripts for the purpose of making an impeachment decision. Some media pundits were hesitant to actually refer to this as an impeachment inquiry, even though it clearly is one. Now, House Democrats are leaving no doubt.

House Judiciary Committee Vice Chair Mary Gay Scanlon and three other Democrats on the committee have jointly published an op-ed in the Atlantic this evening titled “Why We’re Moving Forward With Impeachment.” The article, co-signed by Scanlon, David Cicilline, Pramila Jayapal, and Veronica Escobar, lists off all the reasons you’d expect: Robert Mueller’s findings, Trump’s blatant obstruction of justice, the constitutional mandate, and the moral imperative. What stands out is what’s not mentioned.

For instance, the op-ed makes no mention of Committee Chair Jerry Nadler, even though he’s the one who got the impeachment process rolling today when he announced the court filing. There is also no mention of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who clearly signed off on Nadler’s move behind the scenes or it wouldn’t have happened. Nadler appears content to let his own words earlier today to speak for themselves, and Pelosi appears intent on publicly keeping her hands off this process for now.

In other words, House Democrats have begun the impeachment process against Donald Trump the correct way: with the kind of court filing that can help compel the evidence and testimony they need in order to lay the full extent of Trump’s crimes bare for all to see. Today’s impeachment kickoff isn’t as bombastic as some were hoping for. But at least now there’s zero doubt that this is in fact an impeachment kickoff, as House Democrats just made a point of invoking that word.