Trump Impeachment Going Forward. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Says She's Ready To Proceed

Saying President Trump's wrongdoing leaves lawmakers with "no choice," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday announced she is ready to move ahead with the impeachment process and directed the House Judiciary Committee to begin drafting articles of impeachment.

“His wrongdoing strikes at the very heart of our Constitution,” Pelosi said in a formal address from the balcony outside her Capitol office. “Our democracy is what is at stake. The president leaves us no choice but to act because he is trying to corrupt, once again, the election for his own benefit.”

She added: “Sadly, but with confidence and humility, with allegiance to our founders and a heart full of love for America, today I am asking our chairmen to proceed with articles of impeachment.”

The announcement came one day after the House Judiciary Committee heard from four professors of constitutional law, three of whom said Trump's acts had met the threshhold for impeachable offenses while the fourth, Jonathan Turley, who testified during the Bill Clinton impeachment, cautioned against lowering the bar.

The decision followed a two-month investigation into whether Trump abused the power of his office by trying to leverage foreign aid to Ukraine in exchange for investigations that would have benefited his re-election effort.

“The facts are uncontested,” Pelosi said. “The president abused his power for his own personal political benefit, at the expense of our national security.”

Trump tweeted earlier Thursday that the House should move rapidly so that a trial can be held in the Senate where Republicans are in control.

“If you are going to impeach me, do it now, fast, so we can have a fair trial in the Senate, and so that our country can get back to business,” he taunted. Trump repeatedly has tried to undercut the House process, calling it a witch hunt and a hoax, and belittling witnesses, several of whom were career diplomats.

Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., is expected to announce further hearings in coming days to allow Intelligence Committee lawyers to lay out their case. The New York Times said articles of impeachment could come as early as next week.

Pelosi, who held back on opening an impeachment inquiry for months, OK'd an investigation Sept. 24 and named House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., to lead the process. Trump has attacked Schiff as "shifty" and dishonest. Schiff erred early on in attempting to parody Trump's conversation with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in which Trump asked Zelensky for a "favor."