If politics were regulated the way that consumer goods are, Nancy Pelosi might be charged by the FTC with deceptive packaging for her ridiculous announcement yesterday that an "official" impeachment inquiry is underway.  It is pure theater, designed to appease the radicals like Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, who two days ago denounced the failure to impeach as worse than Trump's "crimes."  With radical primary challengers and a San Francisco constituency given to backing lunatic schemes and politicians, she fears for her political career.

The only way that impeachment begins is with a floor vote of the House, after which time subpoenas can be issued and the facts assembled for Articles of Impeachment to be presented to the House, and, if voted by a majority, submitted to the Senate for trial, which requires a two-thirds majority for conviction.  What Pelosi offered was deceptively packaged oversight hearings by six committees.  All she is doing is adding five more committees to the hearings already underway by Rep. Jerrold Nadler's Judiciary Committee.

Photo credit: YouTube screen grab (cropped).

For all the sanctimony on display in her announcement, the substance is minimal.

Transcript via Grabien:

Our republic endures because of the wisdom of our Constitution enshrined in three co-equal branches of government serving as checks and balances on each other. The actions taken to date by the President have seriously violated the Constitution, especially when the President says Article II says I can do whatever I want. For the past several months, we have been investigating in our committees and litigating in the courts so the House can gather all the relevant facts and consider whether to exercise its full Article I powers, including a constitutional power of the utmost gravity, approval of articles of impeachment. And this week, the President has admitted to asking the President of Ukraine to take actions which would benefit him politically. The actions of the Trump presidency revealed dishonorable fact of the President's betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security and betrayal of the integrity of our elections. Therefore today I'm announcing the House of Representatives moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry. I'm directing our six committees to proceed with their investigations under that umbrella of impeachment inquiry. The President must be held accountable. No one is above the law.

Pelosi is trying to escape from a trap that has been set by her own base.  Besotted by Trump Derangement Syndrome, they heedlessly threaten to drive support to President Trump.  Having learned nothing from the debacles of Mueller's testimony and Corey Lewandowski's testimony to the Nadler Committee, they will press forward with auto-beclowning hearings.