Professor: Impeachment stakes high in 2020 election

(25 Sep 2019) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: apus124144 President Donald Trump repeatedly pushed Ukraine's president to open a corruption investigation into Democratic rival Joe Biden, according to a rough transcript of a phone call released on Wednesday by the White House. The call is now at the center of Democrats' impeachment probe into Trump. In the summer phone call, Trump told his Ukrainian counterpart: "I would like for you to do us a favor." University of Chicago professor of American Politics William Howell says that while the best bet is that Trump will be impeached in the House, he's unlikely to be convicted in the Senate, so the big question is what impact the inquiry will have on the 2020 election campaign. Howell says some voters could rally around a president who they believe to be the victim of an overreach by Democrats, while others may see the allegations as the "last straw that this president has gone too far."   And he says the stakes are high for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "I think one concern for Pelosi and I think for some legislators is -- not all but for some -- is that, well, again, if not now then when? If this doesn't trigger impeachment concerns then what would it take?" says Howell. "And if what you say is that this doesn't meet those thresholds and that the threshold is so high that these powers would actually never be exercised by Congress, then what we've effectively done is diminished Congress as a meaningful check." Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...