This week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced she would finally send impeachment articles to the Senate. Why now? What is the Senate trial shaping up to look like? And how will things change if former National Security Advisor John Bolton testifies before the Senate? Andrew Prokop has the answers.

Then, the most popular question I’ve gotten over the past week is: Did Trump bomb Iran to distract from impeachment? This reflects a broader view that presidents routinely start foreign conflicts to distract from domestic political troubles. Is that true? And if it is true, does it work? MIT political scientist Adam Berinsky, author of In Time of War: Understanding American Public Opinion from World War II to Iraq, joins me with the facts.

And, at the end, a few thoughts on what the Senate Republicans’ resistance to hearing from witnesses reveals about the impossible problem this impeachment process has posed.

Want to contact the show? Reach out at ezrakleinshow@vox.com

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Credits:

Producer, Engineer, Editor - Jeff Geld

Researcher - Roge Karma

EP - Liz Nelson

Theme music composed by Jon Natchez

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