How "not pursuing impeachment" is being handled in debates.

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Seems like the topic was avoided altogether in the first round, but didn't watch all of the 2nd round ... so not sure if impeachment was a substantial part of an actual question that was asked?

If not, are *all* Dems going to avoid the question throughout the primaries?  Will any chastise Pelosi and those who are making political calculations?

And what about in the general election:  how does the Dem nominee justify their party having abdicated the most solemn of duties regarding executive oversight, yet still put forth the notion that Trump's actions and behavior still rise to the level of impeachment?

 

 

 

House Democrats have begun impeachment proceedings against President Trump. A key Democrat admitted as much Thursday.

“This is formal impeachment proceedings,” the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), told CNN on Thursday, after weeks of dancing around whether his committee would formally consider impeaching Trump.

“We are investigating all the evidence, gathering the evidence,” Nadler added. “And we will [at the] conclusion of this — hopefully by the end of the year — vote to vote articles of impeachment to the House floor. Or we won’t. That’s a decision that we’ll have to make. But that’s exactly the process we’re in right now.”

His statement makes clear what a lawsuit filed Wednesday by his committee states: that the “Judiciary Committee is now determining whether to recommend articles of impeachment against the President based on the obstructive conduct described by the Special Counsel.”

In fact, Democrats may have already begun an impeachment inquiry without most people noticing and without the fanfare (and potential political backlash) of a big announcement that it’s happening. In a court filing in late July to get the full, unredacted Mueller report, the Judiciary Committee argued that it needed the information because it “is conducting an investigation to determine whether to recommend articles of impeachment.” Since then, Democrats’ language has only become stronger in court filings, culminating with Nadler’s statement that impeachment proceedings have begun.

[Connolly, member of House Oversight Committee, joins call for impeachment inquiry into Trump]

What that means: Democrats are taking the first step in this process. They have launched an impeachment inquiry to investigate what, if any, “high crimes and misdemeanors” Trump may have committed. If the investigation concludes that he has, the committee will draw up articles of impeachment and the Judiciary Committee and then the full House vote on it.

This is happening at the start of Congress’s August Recess (which is going to stretch until Sept. 9). So between now and then, any action will happen only in the courts. Once Congress is back, they can hold hearings highlighting the Mueller report, but their key witness and key documents could still be tied up in a legal battle.

If they get to the step of voting on articles of impeachment, we don’t know how that would fare. There are 30 Democrats who represent districts Trump won in 2016; only one of those backs an impeachment inquiry. More than 100 Democrats don’t even publicly support an impeachment inquiry; many of them represent swing or Republican-leaning districts. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has resisted informal impeachment proceedings because she fears it could cost Democrats the House next year.

Still, getting to this early stage in the process is the last thing Trump wanted. Not that he is in any real risk of getting kicked out of office. For that to happen, the Senate would have to hold a trial and two-thirds of the 100 members would have to vote to convict him. The Senate is controlled by Republicans largely loyal to Trump.

 

- from the Washington Post

 

 

 

I'm not exactly sure what is actually happening behind the scenes, and perhaps Nadler is pushing forward in spite of Pelosi, but there's clearly not a 100% full on impeachment effort in the full House.

Do you think the candidates will also leverage this sort of "one foot in - one foot out" approach?  

Probably.

What happens if not all candidates adopt fence walking?

If so, does Pelosi believe she can "contain" those who might be diametrically opposed to viewing impeachment through the lens of political calculation?

As I understand it, many of the top tier candidates (not Biden though) have already called for the House to begin impeachment proceedings:

https://fortune.com/2019/07/30/impeach-trump-2020-democrats/

My assumption from afar is that they're trying to get their ducks in a row before formally making a big deal about possible impeachment.

 

At least that would make sense to me