TIGHTENING HIS OWN NOOSE:

It turns out Speaker Nancy Pelosi might have been onto something when she talked about Trump being "almost self-impeaching" several months ago. This August, Trump seems to be on a path of impeaching himself.

Despite the continued skepticism from Democratic leaders, the drive toward impeachment has accelerated. Over 50% of House Democrats, including some legislators from moderate swing districts, have announced their support for impeachment proceedings.

Even House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, the emerging moral conscience of the party, said that he favors an impeachment inquiry, and contended that formal impeachment proceedings are already underway. He told CNN's Erin Burnett: "This is formal impeachment proceedings. We are investigating all the evidence, gathering the evidence. And we will (at the) conclusion of this -- hopefully by the end of the year -- vote to (send) articles of impeachment to the House floor. Or we won't. That's a decision that we'll have to make. But that's exactly the process we're in right now."

Nadler has done more than any other senior Democrat in talking about the "I" word and making the case to the public for moving forward with hearings -- the job of opposition leaders in these historic moments.

It is not clear that Robert Mueller's testimony before the House is the reason the impeachment process has accelerated. While the substance of Mueller's presentation was devastating, just like the written report, Trump himself has been the driving force in energizing Democrats to take a stand.

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