Article snippet: Many congressional Democrats publicly declared it the “smoking gun,” while Republicans dismissed their cries by noting the absence of quid pro quo or generally lawless behavior. However, Democrats are striking a drastically different tone privately, as several reports indicate. The far-left flank of the Democrat caucus forced House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to concede and announce a formal impeachment inquiry against the president on Tuesday. She made the announcement prior to the release of the transcript, which detailed the phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. As Republican lawmakers explicitly noted, the conversation contained “zero” grounds for a legitimate impeachment inquiry. The president’s request for a “favor,” Republicans added, was immediately followed by a reference to Crowdstrike and questions revolving around election meddling and hacking efforts. Joe Biden’s (D) son, Hunter Biden, was not mentioned until later in the conversation. “President Trump asked about Ukraine investigating ‘Crowdstrike’ (an investigation unrelated to Biden). It was Ukraine President Zelensky, not President Trump, who first brought up investigations beyond ‘Crowdstrike,'” Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) said in a statement, noting that Biden’s “possible illegal interference in a Ukraine prosecutor’s investigation of Biden’s son” was not mentioned until after the fact. “Just read transcript of POTUS’ call w/Ukraine Pres. Absolutely ZERO grounds for imp... Link to the full article to read more