Pelosi expects public impeachment hearings in November

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Friday she expects the House to hold public hearings this month in its impeachment inquiry into President Trump, a day after House Democrats voted to move the investigation into a public phase.

“I would assume there would be public hearing in November,” Pelosi told Bloomberg, adding that the case against Trump “has to be ironclad.”

Pelosi’s remarks came a day after the House voted mostly along party lines to formally begin the process of holding public hearings in its impeachment investigation.

{mosads}The vote establishes rules for the open hearings and the questioning of witnesses by House members and staff.

The Democratic-led inquiry is examining whether Trump tried to pressure Ukraine to open politically charged investigations in return for the release of congressionally approved security aid.

While the public hearings could start this month, Pelosi told Bloomberg that she didn’t “know what the timetable will be” for the probe overall, adding, “The truth will set us free.”

“We have not made any decisions on if the president will be impeached,” she insisted.

If the Democratic-controlled House does indeed move forward with a formal vote to impeach Trump, it would need a simple majority to pass. However, at least 22 GOP senators would need to side with Democrats to remove Trump from office.

While several have broadly defended Trump, other Senate Republicans took a cautious approach this week as more witnesses offered testimony for the impeachment inquiry.