Adam Schiff explains the stakes of impeachment in a few short sentences

What is the impeachment inquiry about? House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff put it in a nutshell in his opening statement to the first public impeachment hearings.

“The questions presented by this impeachment inquiry are whether President Trump sought to exploit that ally’s vulnerability, and invite Ukraine’s interference in our elections,” Schiff said. “Whether President Trump sought to condition official acts, such as a White House meeting or U.S. military assistance, on Ukraine’s willingness to assist with two political investigations that would help his reelection campaign. And if President Trump did either, whether such an abuse of his power is compatible with the office of the presidency.”

“The matter is as simple, and as terrible, as that,” Schiff continued. “Our answer to these questions will affect not only the future of this presidency, but the future of the presidency itself, and what kind of conduct or misconduct the American people may come to expect from their commander in chief.”

"The questions presented by this impeachment inquiry ….Whether President Trump sought to condition official acts, such as a White House meeting or US military assistance, on Ukraine’s willingness to assist with 2 political investigations that would help his reelection campaign?" pic.twitter.com/XmLt0P3aRE

— House Foreign Affairs Committee (@HouseForeign) November 13, 2019