On Saturday, CNN commentator Rachael Bade told Christi Paul on "New Day Weekend" that even if Democrats don't ultimately vote to impeach President Donald Trump, just the act of opening impeachment proceedings would be an important step to holding the president accountable — and undermining his efforts to stonewall investigators.
"Investigators in particular who have seen subpoena deadlines come and go, multiple every week, people like [Rep.] Jamie Raskin [(D-MD)], these are the folks that are feeling the most frustrated," said Bade. "Remember, Judiciary Committee has the authority to start impeachment proceedings. They have been talking about potentially trying to make that case."
"So, what you're going to see, is you're going to see a lot of Democrats go public and say, 'Listen, there's a difference between voting to impeach Trump and just voting to start an inquiry,' because once they open that investigation, investigators feel like the courts will fast-track everything to get them the information they need. That it will be very hard for the Trump Administration to keep them from getting these documents. That they're keeping them from actually hearing from witnesses."
Bade acknowledged that there many moderates in the party are not quite ready to take that leap. "So, these members are going to have to convince the public that this is a good idea. And they're also going to have to convince their colleagues. But I think over the next week, you're going to hear a lot more people like Jamie Raskin saying, 'Listen, we need to consider impeachment inquiry, starting these proceedings. It doesn't mean we have to vote to impeach him. We should start having these hearings.'"
Watch below:
