House vote raises stakes on impeachment

The stakes were raised in the impeachment battle on Thursday when the House voted, almost entirely along party lines, to back the inquiry into President Trump’s conduct in relation to Ukraine.

The vote sets the stage for a move to public hearings — a shift that is sure to intensify the drama around the Democratic-led effort to make Trump only the third president in history to be impeached.

The specter of administration officials or others delivering damning testimony live on national television looms large for Trump.

It threatens to deepen...