Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) reportedly came up with the idea of withholding the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump from the Senate by watching CNN, according to Time magazine.
Time reported Thursday that Pelosi was inspired by an on-air suggestion from John Dean, the disgraced former White House counsel for President Richard Nixon who went to federal prison for his role in the Watergate cover-up and is a frequent CNN guest today.
Time report by Molly Ball (via Byron York of the Washington Examiner) says:
Pelosi, according to an aide, had been mulling the tactic since she heard former Nixon White House counsel John Dean float the idea on CNN on Dec. 5. In the committee meeting, she added that she believed McConnell would be motivated to move. “Somebody said to me today that he may not even take up what we send. [But] then [Trump] will never be vindicated,” she said, according to the aide in the room. “He will be impeached forever. Forever. No matter what the Senate does.”
The following day, Pelosi presided over the floor vote on impeachment, wearing a striking black suit to project solemnity, accessorized with a large gold brooch of the Mace of the Republic, a symbol of the House. When scattered cheers broke out inside the chamber after the first article was approved, she sternly and silently shushed them with a glare and a sharp gesture. After the vote, she announced that she did not plan to transmit the articles right away, saying she could not determine how to appoint House impeachment managers until the Senate decides on its rules for the trial.
Vets torch Dem Senate hopeful who called Army ‘fat, lazy trash,’ mocked soldier shot four times
Omar confronted on camera over GOP proposal targeting foreign-born lawmakers: ‘Good luck to her’
GOP senators spurn anti-weaponization fund payout for phone data seizure: ‘I don’t need any compensation’
Operation Benjamin: Restoring fallen soldiers’ lost Stars of David
Baby pulled from vehicle trapped in raging floodwaters in dramatic rescue caught on video
Teen sailor killed aboard USS West Virginia at Pearl Harbor identified after 82 years through DNA analysis
Stampede erupts at South Carolina biker festival, 19 injured in late-night chaos
This Could Sink Mangione’s Defense: Judge Allows Notebook, Gun as Evidence
Appeals Court Puts Stake Through Heart of New York’s Anti-2nd Amendment ‘Vampire Rule’
Mosque Shooter Identified as Apparent Neo-Nazi with Hispanic Name
GOP Swing State Justices Sweep in Rare Midterm Setback for Democrats
Marine veteran and Boston firefighter dies after rescue efforts at massive house blaze
‘After your boy’: Hasan Piker lashes out over fed probe into Cuba trip
Officials say possible crack in unstable chemical tank may relieve pressure at aerospace plant
Retiring senator warns if Trump continues to do ‘stupid things’ it will kill GOP in November
Previously, reports suggested that Pelosi had been taking the advice of Harvard Law School professor Laurence Tribe, who also advised Democrats that they could withhold the articles of impeachment as leverage — even though the Constitution says explicitly that “The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments.” There is nothing in the text of the Constitution describing the transmission of articles of impeachment. Current Senate rules suggest that the trial follows the transmission of the articles, though the rules can be changed by a majority vote.
Pelosi’s gambit has been something of a strategic disaster. She and her party rushed the impeachment — even skipping or withdrawing subpoenas for witnesses — on the argument that the president needed to be removed from office urgently to prevent him from soliciting foreign interference in the 2020 election. However, the House has delayed the transmission of the articles of impeachment to the Senate for more than three weeks.
Democrats argue they are using the articles as leverage to force the Senate to conduct what they consider a “fair” trial, with additional witnesses and documents, but that argument is being mocked by Republicans, who note that Democrats departed from past precedents and basic procedural fairness when conducting their rushed impeachment in the House.
Story cited here.
