House Democrats will likely "lockstep" and pass articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump because they are afraid of their own base, but once the case gets to the Senate, it will "become very embarrassing" for them, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Thursday.
"The challenge for the Democrats is, is any of this serious enough to justify impeaching a president of the United States, who after all got 63 million votes?" Gingrich said in a Fox News' "Fox and Friends" interview. "I think the answer is going to be no."
Gingrich also said he finds it "truly appalling" how "deeply dishonest" House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who is presiding over the public impeachment inquiry hearings, is being.
"He is trying to protect the whistleblower, but how can he protect him if he doesn't know who he is?" said Gingrich.
The Democrats will also be challenged to prove that the case is not about proving that professional diplomats didn't agree with Trump, and "that's what a lot of this is," said Gingrich. "A lot of this is well-trained, deeply serious professional diplomats who had one idea of policy and a president who had a different idea of policy, and so you get them in there and they will say things."
But in the end, Gingrich said, nothing will happen with the impeachment push once it reaches the Senate.
"All of this doesn't rise to the standard of a serious crime," said Gingrich. "It doesn't rise to the standard of getting rid of the president, and I think that's their challenge."