The House is finally making its move against Trump but as it turns out, their hand may be getting forced by a major Trump ally.
On Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced there will be an official vote on the floor regarding the impeachment proceedings currently underway.
Pelosi stated, “This week, we will bring a resolution to the Floor that affirms the ongoing, existing investigation that is currently being conducted by our committees as part of this impeachment inquiry, including all requests for documents, subpoenas for records and testimony, and any other investigative steps previously taken or to be taken as part of this investigation.”
That resolution is expected to be on the floor for a vote on Thursday.
Full Transparency
The White House has been adamant it would not cooperate with any investigations until there was a vote put on the floor of the House.
Pelosi is putting the resolution on the floor to counter the White House in the hopes that this vote will finally get the White House to cooperate and allow past and present staffers to testify.
The White House is already claiming a victory though, stating, “We won’t be able to comment fully until we see the actual text, but Speaker Pelosi is finally admitting what the rest of America already knew – that Democrats were conducting an unauthorized impeachment proceeding, refusing to give the president due process, and their secret, shady, closed-door depositions are completely and irreversibly illegitimate.”
This vote, though, has been seemingly pressured by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) who has been introduced some resolutions of his own.
Get Them on the Record
From the very beginning, the White House has stated it wanted a vote to get House members on the record as to who was and was not behind this impeachment.
This is a big move because we are in the midst of a major election season and voters have the right to know where their elected representatives stand on this issue.
Graham may have forced this issue as well, introducing a resolution criticizing the inquiry without an actual vote having been taken.
Clearly, Graham was working in conjunction with Trump on this to force the issue.
Graham stated, “A vote now is a bit like un-ringing a bell as House Democrats have selectively leaked information in order to damage President Trump for weeks.
“There is no doubt in my mind that the overwhelming response House Democrats heard from the American people and Senate Republicans in support of my resolution forced their hand.”
Regarding the upcoming resolution by the House, Graham stated that he would review it fully to ensure “it provides President Trump with the rights and privileges Republicans afforded former President Clinton during the 1998 impeachment process.”
By the end of the week, all the cards will be on the table for both sides and we fully expect Trump to come out swinging hard to defend himself and his administration against this bogus impeachment.