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Impeachment watchers already have to parse a complicated political process, but now they have something else to sift through: conspiracy theories.

Theories that started in fringe online communities have made their way to center-stage in Congress, as the House of Representatives goes into the second week of impeachment hearings. The hearings are part of an inquiry into allegations that U.S. President Donald Trump asked the Ukranian government to investigate the family of political rival and former Vice President Joe Biden.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle opened the impeachment hearing on Nov. 13 by referencing 鈥淐rowdStrike,鈥� the name of a theory that the Ukranian government, not the Russian government as determined by the , meddled in the 2016 U.S. elections using a server owned by the company CrowdStrike. There is for this theory. Meanwhile, Russia鈥檚 interference has been by federal investigators and intelligence experts.

CrowdStrike found itself at the center of the impeachment inquiry after the release of a rough transcript of a July phone call between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.

During the call — in which Trump allegedly tied U.S. military aid to a request that the Ukranian president investigate the business relationships of Joe Biden鈥檚 son Hunter — the U.S. president also mentioned CrowdStrike in passing.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., called the CrowdStrike theory 鈥渄iscredited鈥� in his opening statement on Nov. 13.

The leading Republican on the committee, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., offered a stark contrast. While he didn鈥檛 explicitly mention CrowdStrike, he alluded to it, accusing Democrats of working with Ukraine to influence in the election.

鈥淭he Democrats cooperated in Ukrainian election meddling, and they defend Hunter Biden鈥檚 securing of a lavishly paid position with a corrupt Ukrainian company all while his father served as vice president,鈥� Nunes said. He did not cite any specific evidence to back up this claim in his statement.

Other popular conspiracies

As Congress heads into the second week of impeachment hearings, CrowdStrike is not the only conspiracy theory that has emerged. Nunes also accused Democrats on the intelligence committee of trying to get nude photos of Donald Trump during his opening statement on Nov. 13. Steve Castor, the intelligence committee Republican counsel, also seemed to give credence to a popular conspiracy theory when he asked whether a key witness, former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, was aware that evidence used to convict former Trump campaign official Paul Manafort, 鈥渕ay have been doctored.鈥� A popular fringe theory is that the notorious 鈥渂lack ledger鈥� that detailed from former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych to Paul Manafort was forged.

There is no evidence to support either the theory that Democrats or that evidence in Paul Manafort鈥檚 trial was .

For a politician, especially one of Trump鈥檚 status, touting any sort of conspiracy is unheard of, according to political science experts.

David Barker, a professor of government at American University and Director of the Center of Presidential and Congressional Studies, said he 鈥渃ouldn鈥檛 emphasize enough鈥� how unprecedented this behavior is.

鈥淭here hasn鈥檛 been a really high-profile politician, let alone a president, who would give any credence to any conspiracy theory,鈥� Barker said.

CrowdStrike, however, has garnered the most attention in the news cycle out of any other tale, and it鈥檚 also fed by seeming corroboration from elected politicians, such as Nunes and Trump.

Why does CrowdStrike matter?

Trump has promoted many conspiracy theories in the past. Most notably, he was one of the proponents of , the malicious theory that insinuated that Barack Obama wasn鈥檛 actually a United States citizen by birth, and therefore ineligible for the role of President. Business Insider published an detailing 24 different conspiracy theories that Trump has pushed over the years, ranging from asbestos to the death of conservative Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia.

Conspiracy theories can serve as a powerful political tool and direct scrutiny towards rival politicians, according to one political scientist who specializes in them.

Joseph Uscinski is a professor of political science at the University of Miami and the author of American Conspiracy Theories with Joseph Parent. Uscinski believes that theories like CrowdStrike are being used to deflect blame, noting that it鈥檚 easier to avoid scrutiny when someone else looks guilty.

Uscinski, however, said that the conspiracies wouldn鈥檛 have much of an effect on impeachment, as most people are split right down party lines on the issue. He thought they would serve to help rationalize beliefs people already have.

鈥淢ost people aren鈥檛 paying attention at all, and the ones that are already have their minds made up,鈥� Uscinski said.

Trump鈥檚 attractiveness to fringe groups and theories has alarmed experts, and Barker believes that more disturbing ramifications are yet to come. He believes that if Trump is reelected in 2020, assuming he is not impeached, then politicians will do what they do best and mimic the winner鈥檚 strategy.

鈥淚f somebody wins, then that becomes the new normal, and I think that will become the new normal if Trump wins reelection,鈥� Barker said.

Looking forward, Barker wouldn鈥檛 be surprised if someone came forward out of the left and became the next form of Trump, embracing the demagoguery that Trump has embraced. Along with that, his vision is bleak for what comes next.

鈥淭here might not be a lot of hope for us to do anything about it. This isn鈥檛 strictly about conspiracy theories, but about the public鈥檚 trend towards believing what they want regardless of what the facts are,鈥� Barker said.