President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the InterContinental Barclay New York hotel during the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

MOULTRIE, Ga. — On Tuesday, Sept. 24, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced her intentions to launch a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.

Some Colquitt County residents say it’s about time — others say it’s all about politics.

Pelosi’s announcement was sparked by a phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in which Trump appeared to ask the Ukrainian leader to “dig up dirt” on a political rival and his son. Although the phone call took place in July, a whistleblower’s complaint about it surfaced last week.

“I’m glad they’re looking into this,” said Emma Lee of Moultrie. “What he did was wrong. I think this is a step in the right direction.”

No decision has been made on impeachment itself; this is merely a formal inquiry. Evidence and facts are still being recovered and debated. Republican members of the House of Representatives have spoken in Trump’s defense.

“Unfortunately, Speaker Pelosi has succumbed to the belligerent left and their media allies to move forward with an impeachment inquiry against the president,” said U.S. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Georgia. “Democrats continue to waste time and taxpayer dollars on endless investigations while refusing to address the many challenges our nation faces.”

Trump insists that he did nothing wrong in the conversation with Zelensky. Corruption is a legitimate concern in Ukraine, and Hunter Biden — son of presidential candidate Joe Biden — sat on the board of a troubled Ukrainian gas company while his father was Barack Obama’s vice president. He said House Democrats are merely trying to “overturn the results of the 2016 election.”

Meanwhile, Democrats are making the case that the president abused his office when he made the decision to ask for foreign help in investigating the Bidens.

“It looks like Speaker Pelosi was forced to do something to appease the far-left wing in the Democratic Party,” said Colquitt County Republican Party Chairman Hayden Willis. “Right now, it appears that the inquiry will focus on communications between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky. However, like the Mueller investigation, I suspect that the impeachment inquiry will lose focus over time and shift in many different directions.”

According to Willis, the most important impact from the impeachment inquiry on the political landscape will be the elevation of Joe Biden’s status in the Democratic Presidential Primary.

“I believe that President Trump would like to face Mr. Biden in the 2020 election due to the perception that the matchup would be in his favor,” Willis said. “Mr. Biden is a career politician and one of the few contenders who is older than President Trump. Mr. Biden has a spotty record on issues which are important to the Democrat base, such as gun control and criminal justice reform.

“In many ways, [the] impeachment process, if mishandled by Congressional Democrats, could galvanize the Republicans and cause the moderate or independent voters to break towards President Trump,” Willis predicted.

According to USA Today, Pelosi’s actions suggest that a House vote on the Articles of Impeachment could be held before the end of the year.

“I am happy that Speaker Pelosi has started the proceedings, because this man has been in power for too long. Enough is enough,” said Colquitt County Democratic Party Chairwoman Alma Fleming. “It’s going to be a rocky battle. This man always has something in his hat to pull out, but I hope his hat is almost empty.”