Moreover, in other important investigations (such as the one conducted by the 9/11 Commission), Democrats have told us that every rock must be turned over and every witness with any relevant information must be interviewed. Here, however, they lurch pell-mell toward articles of impeachment without litigating the privilege claims of essential witnesses (Giuliani, Mulvaney, Bolton, et al.). Again, if there were an offense in the impeachment ballpark, that would not happen. The House would press the courts for expedited review because a national emergency demanded that these witnesses’ confidentiality claims be resolved. And if the alleged abuse of power were truly grave, it would take no effort to persuade the courts of the need for speed.

That is not the case here because what’s at stake is not the well-being of the country. Rather, it is the anxiety level of Democrats. They are pushing for Donald Trump’s impeachment because their political base demands it, not because the American people broadly perceive the need for it. Democrats know the president won’t be removed, but they hope that affixing a scarlet-letter “I” on his chest will make him easier to defeat in 2020. Yet they are not confident that this is so, which is why they want to wrap up the House proceedings — the only ones they can control — as quickly as possible.

Democrats are well aware that without a real impeachable offense, they are not attracting Republican votes. The proceedings are starting to look just as politicized as they have always been. They are precisely the abuse of the impeachment power that the Framers feared.