This archive report was first published on 26 September 2019.
On September 25, 2019, House Democrats began their formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump, obtaining crucial details about allegations that he pressured a foreign leader to help him tarnish a political rival.
Despite the rapid progress, Democrats did not plan any immediate action to formalize their impeachment inquiry, choosing instead to use the coming weeks to build a strong case against the President.
Representative Adam B. Schiff, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, described the conversation between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a 'classic, mafia-like shakedown of a foreign leader' that constituted 'very powerful evidence of that kind of potential impeachable offense.'
As the facts around Mr. Trump's alleged pressure campaign came into clearer focus, significant questions went unanswered about the scope and speed of Democrats' inquiry, with lawmakers from the party's progressive and moderate wings at odds over how to handle accusations of presidential wrongdoing.
Democrats plan to consider other matters they have been investigating as possible impeachable offenses, including the findings of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, who investigated Russia's interference in the 2016 elections and Mr. Trump's attempts to derail that inquiry.
Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, the 2012 Republican nominee for president, told reporters that the summary of the call was 'deeply troubling,' and Senator Ben Sasse, Republican of Nebraska, urged both parties not to rush to 'partisan tribalism.'
