To the Editor:

Re “Trump Impeachment Articles Approved by House Panel” (nytimes.com, Dec. 13):

By pursuing impeachment when a Senate acquittal is virtually guaranteed, the Democrats are increasing the chances that Donald Trump will be re-elected. Polling has been consistently steady since the impeachment hearings began: According to the Real Clear Politics averages, a majority disapprove of the job he is doing, yet the country is evenly divided as to whether he should be removed from office via the impeachment process.

Americans love an underdog, and sadly that is how this story may be playing out — the relentless Democrats, some of whom have wanted to impeach the president since before he took office, rushing to judgment against poor Donald Trump.

The Democrats say they must impeach to send a message that Mr. Trump should not repeat his abuses of power. Why not censure the president for those abuses, and let the voters decide in November whether he should keep his job? What message will it send if he is impeached, then acquitted, and then re-elected?

Eileen West

Pleasantville, N.Y.

To the Editor:

The deeply divided House Judiciary Committee’s approval of two articles of impeachment accusing President Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress could have been so much more than a cathartic partisan exercise had Democrats sought the assistance of the judiciary branch in compelling many of the direct players to testify before Congress.