Washington Free Beacon editor-in-chief Matthew Continetti said House Democrats are placing themselves in an increasingly untenable decision by saying impeachment is not necessarily a "binary choice."
"In the '90s, it was 'depends on what the meaning of is 'is' is,'" Continetti said of House Democrats' reticence on definitively launching impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.
"Today it depends on what the meaning of impeachment is. Is impeachment an inquiry? Is impeachment an actual process that leads to a vote?" Continetti asked during the panel segment.
Continetti also criticized Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D., Pa.), who said impeachment is not a "binary thing," while Rep. Jerry Nadler (D., N.Y.) explained during a Friday press conference that it "remains to be seen" if his committee will pursue impeachment.
"You either decide you are going to impeach the president or you don't," Continetti said. "The Democrats have found themselves in a pickle. I would say Republicans have felt a false sense of assurance after Mueller's testimony flopped, that this was the end of the impeachment debate."
Continetti added that Mueller has always been a means to an end for more strident voices in Congress.
"The end has been the same all along," he said. "It's been the same since Maxine Waters said 'impeach 45' one month into his presidency, and that is to remove Donald Trump from office."
House Democrats used numerous qualifiers to stress they have not technically launched impeachment proceedings against Trump at the Friday press conference.
"There's no formal or statutory or House rule for how an impeachment inquiry is to begin," Rep. Jamie Raskin (D., Md.) said. "A lot of people believe we've been in an impeachment inquiry since we started looking into high crimes and misdemeanors. Other people think an impeachment inquiry doesn’t begin until you have articles of impeachment. I would say we’re in an impeachment investigation."
Nadler indicated his committee will continue investigating Trump throughout the August recess period.