The president must be held accountable, Pelosi said. No one is above the law.
"The president must be held accountable," Pelosi said. "No one is above the law." Alex Wong/Getty Images

It's happening. This afternoon, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that House Democrats will begin formal impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump. The man managed to avoid this for 977 days, but that remarkable streak has now ended.

Citing allegations that Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate his political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who, until this year, served on the board of a Ukranian natural gas company, Pelosi said, "Today, I'm announcing the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry. I'm directing our six committees to proceed with their investigations under that umbrella ... The president must be held accountable. No one is above the law."


Trump responded quickly, writing on Twitter:


He also said that the White House will release a transcript of his conversation with President Zelenskyto, but I think I speak for everyone when I say, we'd rather have the actual tape.