I think if the Rats try and weave in Russia as the motivation for impeachment (the Mueller crap), they won’t have the votes. It will be a bridge too far.
It could very well be that Nancy knows she doesn’t have the votes and is letting this play out to get the Democrats out of this predicament.
Consider this: Nancy knows Schiff blew it in the Intelligence Committee hearings and Nadler’s choice of Pamela Karlen as a witness who bullied Barron Trump alienated a lot of independents in their little drama yesterday. She is also well aware there are 31 seats in Trump-leaning districts now held by Democrats, that could be in jeopardy.
So, draft Articles of Impeachment, bring them to a floor vote, let the 31 Dems vote against the Articles and it’s a win-win for Nancy.
She can claim to the far-left constituency she “tried” to bring a case against Trump but because of the 31 no-votes, it didn’t go forward. She also provides cover for the 31 so they can claim the evidence wasn’t there to impeach and this will, hopefully, mollify the Trump voters to re-elect the Dems to those seats and she retains the Speakers position.
Pelosi knows it’s highly unlikely 20 Republicans in the Senate are going to vote to convict Trump. Especially in an election year. She also knows her boy Schiff has way too many skeletons in his closet that could turn this impeachment upside down in a hurry and she could lose the majority for several cycles and she would get the blame.
This is certainly a “left-field” theory, but at the end of the day, all Nancy cares about is retaining the Speakers position and she knows she will lose it if impeachment goes forward.