House Democrats file six articles of impeachment against the Defense Secretary.

The articles were filed in a House Republican’s chamber by the first Iranian-American Democrat in Congress, which is the kind of detail you would have to make up if it weren’t already in the dateline.

Rep. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, with Rep. John Larson of Connecticut and others, filed six articles of impeachment against the Defense Secretary. The articles cite, in this order, the conduct of an unauthorized war in Iran, breaking the laws of armed conflict by targeting civilian infrastructure, reckless endangerment of U.S. service members, abuse of office, the Signalgate matter, and a catch-all for high crimes and misdemeanors not covered by the previous five.

The articles will not pass this Congress. Everybody on both sides knows this. The point of the filing is the docket. The docket is the record. The record is what historians eventually use to write the chapter.

Hon. I have served burgers to a lot of veterans over the years. The thing veterans have told me, on the worst night, in front of the second beer, is that the worst leadership is not the leadership that asks too much of you. It is the leadership that asks too much of you and then shrugs about whether the ask was legal.

The articles, by their language, are not a stunt. The articles read, in places, like a careful prosecutor’s draft. The lead sponsor named the bombing of the Iranian school. The lead sponsor named the second strike on the Karaj bridge. The lead sponsor cited the laws of armed conflict by article number. These are not casual citations.

The Pentagon’s response, in a statement, was that the articles were political theater. The President, on social media, called the filing a stunt. Senate Republicans declined to comment. The chamber will, predictably, do nothing.

The articles, however, will sit on the public docket. They will be read by future people. The future people will ask why nothing happened.

That ought to concern you.