It would be extremely foolish of the Democratic Party to impeach Trump. I watched Fox today, and who did they showcase besides Trump? The euphemistically called Trump Network focused on Senator and Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren and her call for impeachment.
Trump Republicans talk more about impeachment than the Democrats. Trump Republicans want the Democrats to impeach Trump. Warren, AOC, Omar, and Tlaib, Democratic women who favor impeachment, are doing more damage to the Democratic Party than Trump ever could. Their rhetoric is designed to give Trump four more years.
What is the purpose here? Is it impeachment? No. Is it removing Trump from the Oval Office? YES!
Impeachment will not do that. Unless Trump murders someone, no way will Trump Republicans vote to convict Trump. Notice the total silence from the GOP leadership regarding the damaging and embarrassing evidence in the redacted version of the Mueller Report. Nothing from McConnell or Graham. They don't care. All they care about is re-electing Trump. Convicting Trump on impeachment charges won't do that.
In addition, the Democratic Party will be blamed for the shame of a failed impeachment. In addition, if the House impeaches, all that will be accomplished in the next two years is impeachment proceedings and trial in the Senate. Everything else will grind to a halt.
Which is why the Democratic leadership -- Pelosi, Hoyer, Schumer, Nadler and others -- are saying, as things stand now, there will be no impeachment proceeding. According to the leadership, there will be impeachment only if there is overwhelming, bipartisan grounds for doing so.
Why? First, the Democratic Party will be blamed for wasting taxpayer dollars and enormous time on the failed attempt, and impeachment assuredly would fail. Second, Trump would become a martyr, a victim of Democratic overreach. Three, the Democrats want to run against a crippled candidate in 2020, not a martyr. Investigations in the House will continue, including examining the unredacted version of the Mueller Report along with the underlying evidence.
What is amazing to me is, why in the hell can't Warren, a freaking Senator, see that. Amazing, positively amazing. The three young things, AOC, Omar, and Tlaib can be excused for their inexperience and incredible naïveté, but a Senator. Incredible.
As for Trump getting off light, he will suffer the indignity of a sitting President being defeated. Also, the DOJ has a rule that a sitting President can't be indicted. There are a number of crimes Trump could be charged with after leaving office.