An ABC News/Ispos poll released on Monday morning shows that 70 percent of Americans believe that President Donald Trump did something wrong when he asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Burisma and former Vice President Joe Biden.
Of those polled, 51 percent say they believe that President Trump should be impeached AND removed from office.
I should also note that 21 percent of those polled say they are following the impeachment hearings closely which means 79 percent of Americans are basing their opinion on who knows what?
I mention this because polls like these further embolden House Democrats to follow the road to impeachment. I have little doubt that the House will impeach. I’m just curious how long they will draw the process out. The House impeachment proceedings for President Bill Clinton lasted over two months.
I also have little doubt that the Republican-led Senate will vote to convict the President and remove him from office.
An impeachment trial in the Senate could have an unintended consequence for Democrats in the 2020 presidential race depending on the timing.
IF the trial begins (a big IF) during the primary race that would force any U.S. Senator running for President to come back to D.C. for the duration of the trial.
The two candidates from the U.S. Senate that would impact the most are U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Also U.S. Senators Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., would be forced to leave the campaign trail.
The Senate trial for President Bill Clinton lasted over a month starting on January 7, 1999 and ending February 12, 1999 with the Senate voting to acquit the President.
A trial would require the presence of the full Senate, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said that the trial could be held six days a week.
A Senate impeachment trial could provide additional media exposure for the U.S. Senators running for President, but I’m doubtful that will offset their absence in early primary states.
