David Graham in The Atlantic:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced today that the House will launch an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. The move follows a sudden shift in the Democratic caucus over the past week, as allegations that the president pressured Ukraine to boost his reelection prospects swirled. Many previously reticent Democrats, chief among them Pelosi herself, have changed their mind and now support an inquiry.
To a great extent, today’s announcement seems to have been inevitable since November 2018, when Democrats won control of the House; or since May 2017, when Trump fired FBI Director James Comey; or even since November 2016, when Trump was elected and horrified Democrats began plotting maneuvers to stop him. The question was always when a critical mass of Democrats would coalesce in favor. But if the path to impeachment was predictable, the path from here is not. History suggests that once investigations into presidents begin, they tend to head in unexpected directions. Speaking briefly late this afternoon, Pelosi accused Trump of repeatedly breaking the law and violating the Constitution.
“The actions of the Trump presidency revealed dishonorable facts of betrayal of his oath of office and betrayal of our national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections,” she said. “Therefore today I’m announcing the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry.”
More here.