Timeline: Impeachment Inquiry Enters Explosive Next Phase

The following was originally written for and published by Revolution Now Magazine.

House Democrats accelerated the impeachment process following the release of their bombshell 300-page report, which accused President Trump of a quid-pro-quo with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the report, Donald Trump allegedly withheld military aid from the country on the condition that Ukraine gave the White House damaging information on former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, something that would improve President Trump’s 2020 campaign prospects. Following a tumultuous week of more hearings and further inquiry, the House has officially announced that they will be putting forth articles of impeachment.

Wednesday, December 4th - The ‘fact-finding’ phase of the impeachment inquiry came to a close, and the first public impeachment hearing took place. This hearing, featuring testimonies by four Constitutional law experts, sought to clarify the meaning of the Constitution’s impeachment clause, and define what an impeachable offense is. President Trump did not attend the hearing, nor did he send any of his counsel to question the witness panel, keeping with Donald Trump’s promise not to participate in impeachment proceedings.

Thursday, December 5th - Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that congressional Democrats was beginning to draft articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. "Sadly, but with confidence and humility, with allegiance to our founders, and a heart full of love for America, today I am asking our chairman to proceed with articles of impeachment," the Speaker said in her remarks.

Monday, December 9th - The final impeachment hearing took place. In this hearing, no new information was presented on President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. It did, however, give both sides an opportunity to present their cases to both the House and the public. The Democratic counsel, Dan Goldman, called the president’s actions with Ukraine “a persistent and continuing effort to coerce a foreign government to help him cheat and win an election,” branding Trump as a “clear and present danger” to US national security. Republican counsel Stephen Castor countered Goldman, accusing Democrats of “searching for a set of facts” to use against the president.

Tuesday, December 10th - The House of Representatives announces 2 articles of impeachment that they will bring against the president, one for obstruction of Congress, and the other for abuse of power. Outlined by Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, the articles state that in his affairs with Ukraine, President Trump “abused the powers of his office and obstructed Congress in its investigation of his conduct regarding Ukraine.”
"We must be clear - no one, not even the president, is above the law,” said Nadler.
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