Behind closed doors, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not specify to her colleagues today precisely how the impeachment inquiry will pla...
Behind closed doors, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not
specify to her colleagues today precisely how the impeachment inquiry will play
out or divvy up tasks for each of the committees to take on from here. In part,
that's by design.
Here's what you need to know about what happens next:
What committees are involved? Each of the six committees —
Judiciary, Intelligence, Ways and Means, Financial Services, Oversight and
Foreign Affairs — will continue with their investigations, looking at different
elements of Trump's presidency, his past and his businesses. These committees
months ago already sorted out the different areas they are investigating, and
many of the investigations are still charging ahead or their fights are tied up
in court. If the Democrats decide to impeach President Trump, the Democrats on
these committees will each provide their input over what they believe should be
included in articles of impeachment, which will be introduced by House
Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler. (Pelosi will have the ultimate say on this.)
When would an impeachment vote happen? The House Judiciary
Committee will consider the articles of impeachment resolution and schedule a
vote on it. If it passes the House panel, then the full House is expected to
take it up. If a majority of House members vote for the resolution, then the
House will have impeached Trump. To convict the President and remove him from
office, it would require support from a two-thirds majority of the Senate, a
highly unlikely proposition.
So in the end, what's changed? Not a whole lot, other than
Pelosi formally endorsing an impeachment inquiry. But for the past couple
months, the House Judiciary Committee has made the case that it was already
conducting an impeachment inquiry with the goal of deciding whether to vote on
articles of impeachment. There will not be a separate vote to open up an
impeachment inquiry, Democrats say. Pelosi would not give a timeframe over this
process but she told her colleagues it would be done "expeditiously,"
and Nadler has hoped to conclude it by the end of the year.
source:CNN
