So, what precisely is Nadler up to? This character has been in Congress since 1992. Is he so consumed by his antipathy for President Trump that he simply doesn’t care about two centuries of congressional precedent on impeachment, the risk that his party will seem in thrall to a radical Left interested in nothing beyond undoing the 2016 election, the perception that he and his fellow Democrats couldn’t care less about the will of the voters? Or is it that his decades-long sojourn in the Swamp has taught him to recognize the need for desperate measures, that something — anything —must be done to prevent Trump from being reelected while the GOP recaptures the few seats it needs to deprive the Democrats of their House majority?

This latest gambit is so outrageous that Sen. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, told Fox News that he felt sorry for Nadler. In a discussion with Maria Bartiromo on Sunday Morning Futures, Collins said, “This is really pathetic. Nothing like this has ever happened in the House before.… If they really want to do this, they have to bring impeachment to the floor. This is simply a show.” Bartiromo suggested that it was a publicity stunt driven in part by Nadler’s desire to avoid a primary challenge next year from the Left. Nadler knows his committee’s recommendations will never reach the floor of the the House for a vote. Perhaps his fake impeachment inquiry is about nothing more than defending his soft congressional seat.