The back and forth that has occurred between the irate Democrats and the irritated President is enough to give political observers whiplash.
From the very onset of the impeachment battle, it was apparent that this would be a game of preemptive conditioning. The Democrats opened with the idea that any stonewalling would be considered “obstruction”. The President then told the Speaker of The House, through the media, that the White House would not be cooperating with their investigation until The House holds a vote on the inquiry itself.
Then came the second volley of figurative gunfire, as the White House instructed US Ambassador Gordon Sondland not to testify before Congress, and then issuing an official and scathing letter to the Democrats explaining, again, that the White House won’t be complying until they hold a vote. The Democrats then issued subpoenas for Sondland along with a statement of their own.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) responded Tuesday to President Donald Trump’s refusal to cooperate with an impeachment inquiry sparked by a so-called “whistleblower” complaint, stating: “Mr. President, you are not above the law. You will be held accountable.”
“For a while, the President has tried to normalize lawlessness. Now, he is trying to make lawlessness a virtue,” Pelosi’s statement read. “The White House letter is only the latest attempt to cover up his betrayal of our democracy, and to insist that the President is above the law.”
“This letter is manifestly wrong, and is simply another unlawful attempt to hide the facts of the Trump Administration’s brazen efforts to pressure foreign powers to intervene in the 2020 elections. Despite the White House’s stonewalling, we see a growing body of evidence that shows that President Trump abused his office and violated his oath to ‘protect, preserve and defend the Constitution,’” it added. “Mr. President, you are not above the law. You will be held accountable.”
There’s truly no telling where this unruly “impeachment inquiry” could go from here. Subpoenas, fines, and jail time have all been used to coerce witnesses in previous impeachments.
Let’s hope that it doesn’t come to that for the sake of our nation.
