My prediction...which is probably wrong, but what the hell....Impeachment proceedings start...

[Xolodno]

...after the winter recess. By then all the court cases should be resolved.

The Impeachment proceedings will be slow walked, they will purposely drop a dead body out once a month to put Dump on the defensive. While he is rage tweeting, he won't be able to concentrate on the election. He's already proven he can't stay focused.

[elleng]

1. Hoping you're right (tho don't want to wait that long!)

[Fiendish Thingy]

2. Then inquiry should open by Labor Day at the latest

Otherwise the momentum generated by today’s hearing will be lost, and the media will craft a narrative that it’s too close to the election and strictly political gamesmanship.

[Xolodno]

5. Nope.

They still have McGhan, Hicks and his taxes...and a bit more.

Today was just a shot across the bow. Pelosi, from the press conference, pretty much stated they will proceed with impeachment when its so obvious they have no choice to. Which gives them plenty of cover should things go south.

Republicans rushed on their impeachment of Clinton thinking it would benefit them, they read the tea leaves wrong. Nancy is a hell of a lot smarter, she'll move the throttle as needed.

The goal isn't to get Trump impeached, but make sure he loses the election. Which has to be terrifying him, Mueller stated clearly he can be indicted once out of office. It becomes a question of his ego vs. resigning...and if Pence is willing to give him a blanket pardon. Granted he is not immune to state prosecution, but a federal pardon makes those cases a bit harder.

[UniteFightBack]

13. Even if he loses the election can't he just resign before the inauguration and then Pence becomes

fake prez and pardons him?

[uponit7771]

3. K&R, timing is important

[RockRaven]

4. What is the expected duration of impeachment proceedings in the House, and what is the

optimal time (in terms of impact on public opinion and the next election) for the House to actually achieve a completed impeachment vote and pass the ball to the unwilling Senate?

Those are two important variables which I rarely see discussed with any specificity.

[Xolodno]

6. Very true.

Many here want to see Trump's head on a platter right now.

But I don't believe impeachment is the goal...but rather damage him for the next election. Imagine if he resigns prior to the election, the consequences to the GOP will be very hard to contemplate. And if he does make it to the election and loses? He knows he can be indicted, Mueller said as much.

This will be slow and steady, Pelosi won't rush this like the GOP did with Clinton.

[DeminPennswoods]

9. That's Rick Wilson's strategy,

death by a 1000 cuts.

[lagomorph777]

14. "I don't believe impeachment is the goal...but rather damage him for the next election"

Bingo. That is the achievable goal, and a series of hearings (sure, call them impeachment inquiry) will do the job nicely.

[TreasonousBastard]

7. Because no one knows. Nixon's impeachment didn't take off until the public demanded it...

(the Republican public, not just pissed off Democrats) and Clinton's was engineered by Gingrich with a Republican congress happy to get rid of him just "because".

Clinton's approvals did go up after he survived impeachment, but who really thinks Trump's will?

From the Wiki on that impeachment...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_of_Bill_Clinton

In the wake of the Clinton scandals, independents warmed to Bush's promise to 'restore honor and dignity to the White House'. According to Voter News Service, the personal quality that mattered most to voters was 'honesty'. Voters who chose 'honesty' preferred Bush over Gore by over a margin of five to one. Forty Four percent of Americans said the Clinton scandals were important to their vote. Of these, Bush reeled in three out of every four.

Polls conducted during 1998 and early 1999 showed that only about one-third of Americans supported Clinton's impeachment or conviction. However, one year later, when it was clear that House impeachment would not lead to the ousting of the President, half of Americans said in a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll that they supported impeachment but 57% approved of the Senate's decision to keep him in office and two thirds of those polled said the impeachment was harmful to the country.[

While Clinton's job approval rating rose during the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal and subsequent impeachment, his poll numbers with regard to questions of honesty, integrity and moral character declined. As a result, "moral character" and "honesty" weighed heavily in the next presidential election. According to The Daily Princetonian, after the 2000 presidential election, "post-election polls found that, in the wake of Clinton-era scandals, the single most significant reason people voted for Bush was for his moral character."

[Polybius]

8. They won't do any such thing in January

In an election year, they won't wanna appear partisan. The time to do it is now or never.

[lagomorph777]

15. Right, because nobody is partisan in an election year.

[DeminPennswoods]

10. I think September

after members return from August recess.

[AncientGeezer]

11. " By then all the court cases should be resolved."

I very much doubt that...I suspect more than a few will be run up to SCOTUS...

[librechik]

12. I think we are waiting for a judge to decide our access to Grand Jury transcripts

blocked by Barr--if we lose, then we CAN get them by forming impeachment committee. That might be this week or next.

I know, I've been holding my breath SO LONG gasp

[NewJeffCT]

16. Who would actually testify in open public hearings on TV?

Nobody close to Team Trump - they'll get on TV and take the 5th, or take the 5th in advance of the hearing so they won't have to take the 5th to an audience of millions.

I can see Mueller's team testifying under oath - especially the ones that didn't come from DOJ

Who else?