House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is expected to announce a formal impeachment inquiry this afternoon, according to multiple reports.
The Washington Post, the New York Times and NBC News reported that Pelosi intends to back the 150-plus Democrats in her caucus who are pushing for a formal impeachment inquiry. Pelosi is set to meet with her caucus at 4 p.m. ET and make a statement at 5 p.m. ET.
The move comes after a seismic shift in the Democratic Party Monday evening, after it became increasingly clear that President Trump directed aides to withhold funding from Ukraine just one week before the now-infamous phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
That call is believed to be at the center of an explosive whistleblower complaint that’s put Congress and the White House at odds. The complaint reportedly centers on Trump and a promise he made during a phone call with a foreign leader. The leader is believed to be Zelensky and the promise involves digging up fabricated dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden.
On Tuesday afternoon, Pelosi coyly danced around impeachment questions during a live interview with the Atlantic before all but confirming that she’d be announcing an impeachment inquiry in the House later in the day.
“There is no requirement there be a quid pro quo in the convo. If the President brings up that he wants to investigate something about his political opponent, that is self evident — that it is not right. We don’t ask foreign governments to help us in our election,” Pelosi, who has for months resisted moving toward even whispers of impeachment, told the Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg.
She later all but confirmed her impending announcement would center on an impeachment inquiry: “That’s why I’ve said, as soon as we have the facts, we’re ready. Now we have the facts, we’re ready — for later today.”
Pelosi: That's why I've said "as soon as we have the facts, we're ready. Now we have the facts, we're ready– for later today." pic.twitter.com/0piBndZzWR
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) September 24, 2019
