Andy McCarthy: 'There is no impeachment inquiry'

What House Democrats describe as an "impeachment inquiry" is noting of the sort, and no "subpoenas" have been issued, contends former assistant U.S. attorney Andrew C. McCarthy.

"You are not to be faulted if you think a formal inquest is under way and that legal process has been issued," he writes in a column for The Hill.

Pointing out that the House has not voted as a body to authorize an impeachment inquiry, as required by the Constitution, he says the Democrats are conducting a "made-for-cable-TV political soap opera" designed to help them win the 2020 election.

A "haughty" Sept. 27 letter from House Democrats directing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to cooperate in their demands to depose State Department officials and review various records "is nothing more than an informal request for voluntary cooperation," he says.

"Legally, it has no compulsive power. If anything, it is rife with legal deficiencies."