Possibility of Impeachment Looms over Trump
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We ran the numbers: There are 6046 news articles covering this topic. 52% (3168) are left leaning, 34% (2072) center, 13% (806) right leaning.
The release of the transcript detailing the President’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday followed by the release on Thursday of information on the whistleblower has exacerbated the possibility of his impeachment. The transcript points to Trump’s “implied pressure and hinted-at quid pro quos” toward Zelensky and has given more traction to the announcement of an official impeachment inquiry by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Initially, many thought Pelosi--who had been in staunch opposition to impeachment proceedings prior to her announcement--jumped the gun. However, the information in the transcript along with the credibility of the whistleblower now has Democrats “increasingly convinced” they have the “building blocks of a case against the President.”
Yet, amid his “rock solid support from Republicans,” it may be difficult for the Democrats to achieve the two-third majority necessary to actually convict Trump. For the time being, the question of impeachment continues to deepen the division on Capitol Hill. Democrats declared the transcript Trump’s “smoking gun” but Republicans accused Pelosi of moving to impeachment “without evidence.”
A left-leaning article from The New York Times provides logistical and contextual explanations regarding impeachment. The NYT, by answering questions from readers, elaborated on what charges are being brought before President, how likely impeachment is, and the credibility of the transcript. Among their answers, the NYT notes that impeachment does not require criminal activity, it can be levied for any “abuse of power by a high-level official.”
Center leaning articles from sources like NPR largely report that Americans are split, 49%-46%, on whether they approve of Democrats' impeachment inquiry into President Trump, and independents at this point are not on board, a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll finds. Overall, 71% say they have been paying very close or fairly close attention to the news about the House impeachment inquiry into Trump. More Republicans (80%) said they've at least followed the news on this fairly closely than Democrats (70%) or independents (64%). But overwhelmingly, people want to hear more, with three-quarters of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, saying the whistleblower should testify before Congress.
Meanwhile, a right leaning article from Fox News reports on the Judicial Watch Thursday announcement of filing of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the State Department seeking more information about Joe Biden's boast that he pressured Ukraine to fire its top prosecutor. It notes that the litigation came a day after President Trump, seeking to turn the tables against Democrats as they pursue an impeachment inquiry, highlighted what he called Biden's own possible misconduct while in office.