Nadler Confirms 'Formal Impeachment Proceedings' Under Way Against Trump

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) told CNN on Thursday evening that his committee has officially started an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump’s alleged misconduct.

On being questioned by CNN’s Erin Burnett about the impeachment proceedings, Nadler said the committee has started “formal impeachment proceedings."

“We are investigating all the evidence, we're gathering the evidence. And we will at the conclusion of this — hopefully by the end of the year — vote to vote articles of impeachment to the House floor. Or we won’t. That’s a decision that we’ll have to make. But that’s exactly the process we’re in right now,” he said.

He added that the committee is investigating the facts and would decide whether to refer the articles of impeachment to the House floor by the end of the year.

Democrats, who believe that the time to act on impeachment process is getting less due to the upcoming 2020 elections, had urged the Judiciary Committee to launch a formal impeachment process, with more than half the caucus supporting the inquiry.

Nadler has publicly urged Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to support the formal enquiry process, while also claiming that she “has been very cooperative” to the panel’s efforts. Pelosi, who said that impeachment would be divisive for the country, had signed off on recent court filings that effectively confirmed the committee’s investigation as an impeachment enquiry.

The court filings and public statements made by a number of Democrats recently have heightened the stakes over the issue. Last month, House Democrats had requested a federal court to hand them confidential grand jury material from Robert Mueller’s testimony in order to determine whether to put the articles of impeachment to vote.

On Wednesday, the Judiciary Committee filed a lawsuit against former White House counsel Don McGahn for obstruction of justice in the Mueller investigation. McGahn had ignored the committee’s subpoena for testimony. The committee also stated that McGahn is the “most important fact witness in its consideration."

Though Nadler has been in support of the impeachment process, which was made clear by his past statements, this is the first time he has publicly confirmed that a formal inquiry is under way. By taking an aggressive stance, the Democrats are hoping to bolster their case in the courts.

The Judiciary Committee also plans to hold hearings with key witnesses in the fall, CNN reported, whose testimony could prove crucial in the impeachment proceedings that could follow.

If the committee succeeds in building a strong case, Trump would be only the fourth president to have been impeached.