Impeachment at Last: Nancy Pelosi Launches Inquiry

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has announced an impeachment inquiry against the president after information was released about Trump‘s communications with the president of Ukraine.

According to CNN, details from the transcript used for the impeachment hearing show Trump asking Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate allegations of corruption against Joe Biden and his son. There is no public evidence of corruption committed by the former vice president or his son.

Democrats are also calling attention to Trump’s ability to withhold aid from Ukraine, an implied threat they deem as unconstitutional. In fact, CBS reports that a week before the phone call with Zelensky, Trump told aides to wait and not release almost $400 million of military aid to Ukraine.

Discussing the impeachment, Pelosi says that pressuring a foreign leader to investigate a political rival is inappropriate, stating, “This week, the president has admitted to asking the president of Ukraine to take actions which would benefit him politically. The actions of the Trump presidency revealed the dishonorable fact of the president’s betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security, and betrayal of the integrity of our elections.”

Fellow democrats in favor of impeachment are also chiming in about the morality of Trump’s actions. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that the transcript released of the phone call is even more damning than the Mueller Report.

As reported by CNN, House Intel Chairman Adam Schiff says he believes the phone call proves that “the president of the United States engaged in a shakedown of a foreign president” while “he is withholding vital military support to an ally, asking a favor of that ally to investigate his opponent.”

Trump met with Zelensky about the impeachment inquiry in a televised meeting today. Zelensky claimed “nobody pushed me” during the phone call. During the meeting, Trump also praised Zelensky’s reputation for being tough on corruption.

This impeachment inquiry is positive news for the queer community, as Trump has proven time and time again that he does not stand by the community as an ally. As for the next steps, the House Judiciary Committee will negotiate the scope of the articles of impeachment, where they will be voted upon in the House. If there is a simple majority, Trump will be impeached.