This news has been calamitous for Biden, as talk of Trump and Ukraine have precluded him from getting any positive campaign messages out, and has brought his son into the spotlight. While Democrats may appear to have a lot to gain from impeachment, they also have a great deal at stake. Come 2020, Democrats could lose it all, from the presidency to governorships to Senate seats to House control, if the American people determine that they overreached on this issue. A notable number of districts that swung blue in the 2018 midterms were in traditionally Republican areas such as Orange County, yet the Democrats who won those districts claimed victory with 1 percent or less of the vote.

Undoubtedly, I want the Democrats to win. I am a Democrat who has worked for Democrats, but it would be a fundamental mistake for moderate Democrats to give into the left wing of the party and begin impeachment proceedings without a proper investigation and analysis of the facts as they pertain to the phone call with Ukraine. When I worked for President Clinton during his impeachment in 1998, the American people saw in clear terms how extensively the Republicans overreached in their investigation. Indeed, this partisan impeachment hurt Republicans in the 1998 midterm elections, when we campaigned on progress, not politics.

Democratic leaders would be wise to heed the lessons of the past. No president has ever been convicted in the Senate after being impeached. Given all of the available information at this point, it is clear that there is simply no open and shut case on impeachment.