Nancy Pelosi announces formal impeachment inquiry Tuesday afternoon

“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,” Pelosi said in her public remarks.

In advance of that statement, Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer also announced plans to vote on a resolution of disapproval on Wednesday for allegations “that the President of the United States sought to enlist a foreign government to interfere in our democratic process by investigating one of his political rivals — and may have used the withholding of Congressionally-appropriated foreign assistance days earlier as intimidation.” Their statement did not mention impeachment.

‘Full speed ahead’

Pelosi consulted Tuesday afternoon with the six House Democratic leaders to discuss their presentation to the caucus later in the day, Democratic sources familiar with the issue said. In that closed-door meeting before her public announcement, Pelosi said the six chairmen will continue to investigate under a powerful new umbrella of an impeachment inquiry.

A separate source in the room said the speaker added, “Here we are. A moment of truth. Truth is what this has been about all along.”

“He’s taken it to another level of betrayal therefore we’re moving forward with another level of inquiry,” Pelosi said.

Behind the scenes, Pelosi has encouraged members of her caucus to state their impeachment position now in order to show there is a groundswell in the caucus. She is also conveying that message to freshmen.

On Tuesday, Pelosi also told the caucus that the impeachment inquiry will be done “expeditiously,” but wasn’t specific in her timeframe, according to a source in the room.

Rep. Jackie Speier told CNN that the President’s actions in regards to Ukraine were so egregious, that there has been a “dramatic” shift by Pelosi.

“I think she’s very laser-focused on this offense as being so egregious that it warrants a full blown impeachment inquiry,” she said.

Asked what the timeline is for this, she said, “swiftly.”

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said on Tuesday after Pelosi’s remarks, “I only have one thing to say, full speed ahead.”

Tide changing for Pelosi allies and vulnerable House freshmen

Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis on Tuesday announced his support for impeachment proceedings, arguing that “now is the time to act” and any delay “would betray the foundation of our democracy.”

Some of Pelosi’s closest allies, including House Reps. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut and Debbie Dingell of Michigan, have signaled their support for impeachment proceedings — a significant indicator that the speaker could be moving closer to backing the divisive political procedure.

One of those freshman Democrats, Rep. Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, stressed on CNN “New Day” Tuesday that “none of us ran on impeaching the President.” But she argued that the allegation that Trump might have tried leveraging foreign military aid to advance his reelection efforts was “just a line that I think was too much for all of us.”

Pelosi has cited the House members in GOP-leaning districts as part of her hesitance to embrace impeachment, and the groundswell of statements over the past 48 hours could signal a tipping point in the political calculus.

Pelosi has, for months, resisted pursuing impeachment because she has sought to protect vulnerable Democrats in GOP-leaning districts who could face voter backlash.

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, a member of House Judiciary, told CNN on Tuesday morning that he believes articles of impeachment are “inevitable” and said there’s a “growing clamor throughout the Democratic caucus” to deal with Trump’s “reckless and lawless” behavior.

Some holdouts remain

But some vulnerable Democrats in 2020 are still treading cautiously on the issue.

Rep. Ben McAdams of Utah told CNN on Tuesday that he’s “considering” impeachment, but didn’t want to discuss the issue further.

“Before making any judgments, I want to know the facts of what occurred between the President and Ukraine,” McAdams said. “I share Sen. (Mitt) Romney’s view that If the President used his position to pressure a foreign power to dig up dirt on a rival for his own personal gain, it would be deeply troubling. I believe it would be a betrayal of the loyalty owed to our country and the Constitution.”

Rep. Max Rose, another endangered House Democrat, told CNN that he has not moved off his opposition to impeachment, but argued that “we have to get to the facts” of the allegations.

“It is impossible to not take these allegations seriously. It is a national security matter,” the New York Democrat said Tuesday on Capitol Hill, adding, “It’s incredibly serious … what I’m not going to do is jump to make another declaration.”

Asked if that meant he is opposed to moving ahead on impeachment, Rose said, “My current position right now is clear, but that is not a justification to not take these points as seriously as possible.”

Rep. Susan Wild stood up during the Democratic caucus meeting on Tuesday and argued that Pelosi should cancel some of the upcoming two week recess to not lose momentum, according to a source in the room.

The House, at the end of the week, will recess for two weeks for a district work period over the Yom Kippur and Columbus Day holidays.

There has been no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe or Hunter Biden.

In her public remarks on Tuesday, Pelosi said, “The law is unequivocal: it says the DNI, director of national intelligence, shall provide congress the full whistleblower complaint,” Pelosi said.

Earlier this month, the House Judiciary Committee approved a resolution defining the rules of the panel’s impeachment investigation. That vote came, however, as Democrats struggled to publicly define the committee probe with Nadler saying the committee is conducting an impeachment inquiry, while Pelosi and other Democratic leaders had refrained from calling it that.

In a nod to the ongoing investigations in the House, Pelosi said on Tuesday, “For the past several months we have been investigating in our committees and litigating in the courts so that the House can gather all the relevant facts and consider whether to exercise its full Article I powers, including a constitutional power of the utmost gravity, approval of articles of impeachment.”

The House Speaker also said in her speech, “I can say with authority the Trump administration’s actions undermine both our national security and our intelligence and our protections of whistleblowers.”

This story is breaking and will be updated.