It's almost certain that the Senate would fail to remove him after the House votes to impeach. I have seen no one make even a half-assed argument that they would do the right thing. The question is, what effect would that have on his re-election prospects? I suspect that best case, it doesn't make it more or less likely, and worst-case is that the MAGAts get all fired up by it. Not clear to me that we gain anything by having the process run all the way through by election time. Now, an impeachment vote in September or October 2020, so that the Senate doesn't have time to acquit, might be another story.

This is the terf Katie Herzog should stick to. Not that other stuff.

"It's absolutely possible (maybe even likely) that no matter what the House does, the Senate would decline to impeach and then Trump will be able to spin this as some kind of exoneration."

Impeachment happens in the House. If impeached, the Senate tries the case for removal. The Senate can't decline to impeach, but they can decline to remove someone from office (it takes 2/3s of the Senate to remove someone from office).

@1 -- no, YOU sux.

A couple minor quibbles:

"... and in January 2020, we're welcoming our first woman President, Elizabeth Warren." If it were 1/2020, that woman'd be Nancy Pelosi, presently Speaker of the House, and second in line for the Presidency, after most-likely-Guiltyaf Mike 'Mama's Boy' Pence.

The Election's in 2020. Bernie (or Elizabeth) won't be sworn in til 1/20/2021. Possibly a good reason for Nancy to not seem too Impatient to unseat a sitting, insidiously/infinitely corrupt illegitimate "president."

(Unlike the Newt Grinrich, who spearheaded a years-long effort to Impeach President Clinton -- and Al Gore! -- 'cause guess who was gonna inherit the Presidency. That's right -- the newt.)

"... no matter what the House does, the Senate would decline to impeach... " Oh, and the United States House of Representatives is tasked with impeaching corrupt presidents; it's up to the United States of America's Senate to Convict.

@1, @4: Get over it.

@pdx -- Jinx! you owe me some Coke!

@kristofarian yes, let's do some coke!

Oh, other kind... yikes.

If we can't hold the highest office of the land accountable for flagrant violations of the Constitution and foreign collusion in plain sight, then none of us deserve justice.

Looking forward to Stranger articles telling us how Pence as President is a huge improvement.

@11 You mean like Barry Soetero Obama being a Kenyan Atheist-Muslim, right?

Looming impeachment proceedings will have almost no effect on Trump's re-election chances one way or the other. Just like it didn't with Clinton. The incumbency is simply too powerful if the economy is doing well. All the talk about energizing the base is horseshit. What matters is power. The incumbent has it. And unless the economy tanks he will keep it.

Impeachment, as much as I am for it out of principle, without any power to back it up is just team sports that involve people already dedicated to their team. We've created a system with a veritable dictator executive and the Right better pray the left never gets power now because Trump has eradicated all the norms of the executive.

Nope. The 2020 election is to be won or lost entirely by the petulant left (And whether or not a third party candidate runs from the right, which is looking like will not happen).

AND most importantly if the 86 million piles of dog shit who didn't vote last time or who voted third party will actually pull their heads out of their asses. And this I very much have my doubts. Because they are still in every respect behaving like dog shit. Too bad because I really think Warren or Sanders wold be great presidents. Maybe in 2024. If there is a country left worth caring about.

And frankly America deserves everything it's getting and is going to get from the Idiocracy of Trump.

Okay! It actually is a big deal to pressure foreign leaders to remove the prosecutor investigating your child. It looks, in other words, like some strongman Atlantic City mob shit, with Biden playing the role of the slightly dumb mob boss. "You want those guarantees back? Well, what can you do for me first?"

We know there will be listed articles, but just for fun, just some giggles to lighten the mood, can we add a codicil for "Worst POTUS hair EVER." Nobody will refute that under oath.

Three years too late. Hell, even the Replublicans tried to stop him .. and FAILED. Idiots, all of them.

Sadly, in the time he's "been" "president" Trumpence has remade the Dept of HHS... in the HypoChristian image: Read this and weep for our future: https://bit.ly/2RdK6Bg

What is with the self-doubt?

Look, it's go.

It is of secondary importance whether or not impeachment proceedings succeed in removing Trump from office.
The alleged illegality in this case is so egregious, so corrosive to American values that it has to be completely exposed and adjudicated. ie, he cannot "shoot a man on 5th Avenue" without consequence.

Please note our Constitution actually defines what an impeachable offense is, and it’s by no means clear anything in this post comes anywhere close to meeting those requirements. Given that Republicans impeached Clinton for his enjoying a younger, more attractive, and more willing girlfriend than any of them could ever possibly hope to have gotten, I'd rather the Democrats use a higher (and, not to mention, Constitutional) standard here.

“According to a whistleblower, Trump, along with his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, pressured Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter, a lawyer and lobbyist who served on the board of a Ukrainian natural gas company from 2014 to earlier this year. And, yes, Hunter's appointment does look kinda shady.”

If a citizen of the United States has good reason to believe another citizen of the United States has committed a crime in a foreign country, then the first citizen has an obligation (moral, and quite possibly legal) to inform the legal authorities in that country about the actions of the latter citizen. Depending upon the nature of the suspected illegal act, the latter citizen may also have the legal obligation to inform American authorities, as (depending on the crime) it may be illegal for an American citizen to travel to a foreign country with the intent of violating laws there.

Furthermore, the primary job of the President is to ensure our laws are faithfully enforced, so anyone in that office has a legal obligation to check on suspected illegal acts by American citizens.

In short, if the Democrats actually talk about impeaching the President for doing his job, they’re going to lose, and look both stupid and foolish in the process.

(And before anyone tells me I’m cult follower of Twitter-head, how about we all agree to take our impeachment energy and devote it to turning a few “purple” states red, so to eliminate orange?)

@24: Purple to BLUE from red, sorry. I plead color-blindness.

Yes, the "I can shoot someone on 5th Ave and getaway with it" statement, along with his recent "It takes courage to run for President" statement are the only two honest things that I can remember Trump ever saying.
As obviously corrupt as Trump is, he's lasted this far. But this won't change much. The folks who love him will still do so (see 1st statement).
This is at least 95 percent theater, and is perfect grist for the mill of media.

The Grinsrich Impeachement Hearing took fucking YEARS to get to the Intern business.

And no, Tents, they didn't impeach Clinton for having sex with an Intern; they impeached Clinton for Lying about having sex with said Intern.

Any chance they might catch Hair Furor in any big Lies?
So Happy/ it gives me great comfort to know he's
got Rudy Guli as his personal Lawyer.

The two of them shall go Far.

What a weaksauce head-in-the-sand inner-monologue of self assured damage control, enjoy sipping that hot coffee in the room on fire.

@27 -- "And no, Tents, they didn't impeach Clinton for having sex with an Intern

-- the Moralizers were all busy, as can be, having their own little Extramarital affairs/ serial Divorces. Bless their little hearts

Unanimous US Senate Resolution for the entire whistleblower evidence to be delivered to Senate and House Intelligence Committees.

IT IS ON!

Most likely scenario: The House votes to impeach, the Senate doesn't do jack shit, Biden, also implicated in the investigation, drops out to "spend more time with this family," Trump claims victory, his base is so mobilized by what they see as an unfair attack on their man that they show in mass numbers on election day, while moderate Democrats, so disgusted that Socialist/Progressive extremist Elizabeth Warren won the nomination, register their fuck-you vote by staying home.

"Now, this could go either way—Pelosi is no fool, and she's been resistant to impeach for very good reasons, namely, the fact that Republicans control the Senate." No. The fact that Republicans control the senate is no reason, much less a very good one, for the Speaker to abdicate her constitutional responsibility. Besides: impeachment is a political process, and political dynamics change all the time. Nothing that comes out of this inquiry will cause the Senate to convict Trump, but the House investigation might so alter the political dynamic going into 2020 that Donny Two-Scoops would either lose or face a government in which Democrats control the entire legislature.

Perhaps it was said somehwere above, but let's go ahead and impeach Biden too. Oh, wait

This Just IN:
Pelosi Signs ON.

Rudy's gonna be so Happy!

I'll probably smile a little smile
myself when Rudy takes
down trumpfy.

Remember, he refuses to release his taxes.... mostly likely because they reveal grift and international money laundering, or other skullduggery. -- And the lawsuit is get those tax documents released is marching ever forward, so we may end up with a fruitful synergy of informations... uh, I mean: incriminations.

Trumpty Dumpty built up a Wall.
Trumpty Dumpty had a Great Fall.
All of its lawyers and Russian yes-men
Couldn't keep Trumpty out of the pen.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAAAAAA!!!

Most likely scenario (revised): The House votes to impeach, the Senate doesn't do jack shit, Biden, also implicated in the investigation, drops out to "spend more time with this family," Trump claims victory, his base is so mobilized by what they see as an unfair attack on their man that they show in mass numbers on election day, while Hillary, sensing that moderate Democrats won't support Socialist/Progressive extremist Elizabeth Warren swoops in to save the day, secures the nomination, and having learned nothing from 2016, loses again.

@45: Don't gloat yet, Mr. MAGA. The world is watching, and more people in The Divided States are outraged by the global damage done by Trumpty Dumpty and its Evil Empire. The more highly incriminating evidence on Trumpty Dumpty that comes out, the worse it is for Trumpty Dumpty and its lackeys. May this disastrous administration be the end of the GOP.