Susan Ferrechio of the Washington Examiner looks into congressional Democrats’ approach toward the issue of presidential impeachment.
Are House Democrats conducting an impeachment inquiry?
It depends who you ask.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler of New York and many liberal Democrats claim the panel is conducting a formal inquiry into whether to impeach President Trump, even though the House has not voted to approve it. …
… But other Democrats say that while lawmakers are investigating President Trump, it’s not officially impeachment.
“I’m not quite sure what Chairman Nadler meant, because we have not launched a formal impeachment inquiry in the United States Congress,” Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democrat from Virginia, told CNN in August.
“That, in my view, requires a vote of the House. He may consider what he’s doing in his committee, de facto, to be all but an impeachment inquiry that could lead to articles of impeachment, and that’s true. But as to a formal impeachment proceeding, we have not undertaken a formal proceeding.”
Many House Democrats say they are busy moving a legislative agenda focused on healthcare and jobs, not impeachment.
“Let the investigations go where they may and we’ll see what the body of information is,” said Labor, Health and Human Services Committee Chairman Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut. …
… House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, caught in the middle of the confusion, gave two answers on Wednesday, telling reporters at his weekly press conference “no” when asked if Democrats are conducting formal impeachment proceedings.
The Maryland Democrat issued a clarifying statement later in the day.
