Trump letter dares Pelosi to hold vote on impeachment inquiry

[NightHawkeye]

Trump letter dares Pelosi to hold vote on impeachment inquiry

The White House is planning to send Speaker Nancy Pelosi a letter as soon as Friday arguing that President Trump and his team can ignore lawmakers' demands until she holds a full House vote formally approving an impeachment inquiry, 2 sources familiar with the letter tell Axios.

Why it matters: By putting in writing the case that Trump and his supporters have been making verbally for days, the White House is preparing for a court fight and arguing to the public that its resistance to Congress' requests is justified.​

 

[A_Thinker]

Trump letter dares Pelosi to hold vote on impeachment inquiry

The White House is planning to send Speaker Nancy Pelosi a letter as soon as Friday arguing that President Trump and his team can ignore lawmakers' demands until she holds a full House vote formally approving an impeachment inquiry, 2 sources familiar with the letter tell Axios.

Why it matters: By putting in writing the case that Trump and his supporters have been making verbally for days, the White House is preparing for a court fight and arguing to the public that its resistance to Congress' requests is justified.​

Oh ... she will, ... on her own terms ... and in her own time ...

 

[Stabat Mater dolorosa]

Witchhunt...

 

[A_Thinker]

Witchhunt...

Assumes a witch ... or, in this case perhaps, a warlock ...

 

[cow451]

Assumes a witch ... or, in this case perhaps, a warlock ...

We are closing in on Halloween after all.

 

[mark46]

I believe that the House should vote on having an impeachment inquiry. Pelosi announcing an inquiry isn't the same.

 

[Arcangl86]

There is no need for a full vote. The committees already have the inherent legal authority they need.

 

[Hank77]

Trump letter dares Pelosi to hold vote on impeachment inquiry

The White House is planning to send Speaker Nancy Pelosi a letter as soon as Friday arguing that President Trump and his team can ignore lawmakers' demands until she holds a full House vote formally approving an impeachment inquiry, 2 sources familiar with the letter tell Axios.

Why it matters: By putting in writing the case that Trump and his supporters have been making verbally for days, the White House is preparing for a court fight and arguing to the public that its resistance to Congress' requests is justified.​

Where in the Constitution does it say that a vote must be taken in order to start an inquiry?
Once again the Trump admin. doesn't give one iota about the Constitution.
I sincerely hope that the first obstruction of Congress is met with confinement to jail until they agree to comply with the subpoena.

The Republicans want a House vote because they want each member's vote to be on record. I believe that it was Lindsey Graham who stated that. Those coming up for reelection in 2020 would have to explain to their constituents why they voted yes to an impeachment inquiry. Reps. would be afraid to vote yes and Dems who live in swing areas would be in the same position. It's purely a political move.

 

[DaisyDay]

There is no need for a full vote. The committees already have the inherent legal authority they need.

Didn't Donald previously declare that he would ignore all House subpoenas?

Yep, back in April of this year.

 

[NightHawkeye]

The Republicans want a House vote because they want each member's vote to be on record. I believe that it was Lindsey Graham who stated that. Those coming up for reelection in 2020 would have to explain to their constituents why they voted yes to an impeachment inquiry. Reps. would be afraid to vote yes and Dems who live in swing areas would be in the same position. It's purely a political move.

... and the "impeachment inquiry" isn't political?

 

[Hank77]

... and the "impeachment inquiry" isn't political?

The congress has the duty to the country to investigate, it's part of their job. Just like when they investigated Bill Clinton which led to his impeachment.

 

[hedrick]

With Nixon, a House committee started investigation 4 months before the formal House resolution. With Clinton it started with such a resolution, but they had a report from a special prosecutor outlining grounds for an impeachment.

Committees have subpoena power without an active impeachment. I think it makes sense to see whether there are grounds to start a formal process before doing so, but it's been done both ways.

 

[mark46]

Committees can always issue subpoenas. The Judiciary Committee can commence impeachment hearings.

The open question is how much the Democrats are interested in the Courts cooperating in forcing the WH to give out information. I believe that courts have been more inclined to do so when here is a formal House vote.

In any case, what is Pelosi's answer to the public with regard to voting? We don't need a vote of the House, so we won't get one? How can a vote hurt? It certainly would be good PR. I don't even see why this position is politically sound. She doesn't want to put some of the Democrats on a spot? She will eventually, so why wait. This position weakens her plea to republicans to stand up to the president and support impeachment. She won't even get Democrats to do so.

With Nixon, a House committee started investigation 4 months before the formal House resolution. With Clinton it started with such a resolution, but they had a report from a special prosecutor outlining grounds for an impeachment.

Committees have subpoena power without an active impeachment. I think it makes sense to see whether there are grounds to start a formal process before doing so, but it's been done both ways.

 

[mark46]

1) The constitution doesn't indicate that the WH or courts should cooperation with every inquiry made by every committee.

2) As far as politics, Trump indicates that he won't cooperate without a House vote. Will that have public appeal? I suspect that this is better for him than if the House has a formal vote.

3) If the Democrats aren't willing to pout democrats on a spot, they simply aren't serious? Are they really thinking that there will be no vote later, even closer to the primary season, and the election. All the House members will have to vote on impeachment. That is unavoidable, unless there is no impeachment vote.

Where in the Constitution does it say that a vote must be taken in order to start an inquiry?
Once again the Trump admin. doesn't give one iota about the Constitution.
I sincerely hope that the first obstruction of Congress is met with confinement to jail until they agree to comply with the subpoena.

The Republicans want a House vote because they want each member's vote to be on record. I believe that it was Lindsey Graham who stated that. Those coming up for reelection in 2020 would have to explain to their constituents why they voted yes to an impeachment inquiry. Reps. would be afraid to vote yes and Dems who live in swing areas would be in the same position. It's purely a political move.

 

[hedrick]

I don’t see any downside to a House resolution opening an inquest for impeachment.

 

[childeye 2]

The constitution doesn't require any formal house vote. It was done differently under Clinton and Nixon because they had different rules to follow. Those house rules have since changed. And they are on record, as was shown by individually signed votes on many networks displaying how many votes were needed to reach the required number.

 

[KCfromNC]

2) As far as politics, Trump indicates that he won't cooperate without a House vote. Will that have public appeal? I suspect that this is better for him than if the House has a formal vote.

Feels like an excuse to me. And I'm sure it will change the second (or the next day, depends how long it takes for Fox News to get the talking points to Donald) the House actually votes. The people convinced by these sort of excuses are probably not ones who will vote for another candidate, so it seems kinda pointless to worry about it.

 

[KCfromNC]

I don’t see any downside to a House resolution opening an inquest for impeachment.

On the plus side, they have momentum now. The RNC talking points are struggling to keep up and the adults have obviously lost control of Donald's outbursts.

The downside - the longer the delay, the further into campaign season this moves. More uncertainty during GOP primaries is a good thing for the Democrats.

 

[essentialsaltes]

The White House is planning to send Speaker Nancy Pelosi a letter as soon as Friday ​

Maybe next Wednesday.

 

[NightHawkeye]

Maybe next Wednesday.

It's Washington time, don't ya know?

It's kind of like the whole matter of impeachment, which people have claimed was about to happen any day ... for almost three years now.