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.
Earle-Sears urges voters to reject Spanberger in eleventh hour of Virginia 2025 race
Sherrill and Ciattarelli rally support in their hometowns night before Election Day
Bessent says he’ll have ‘ringside seat’ at Supreme Court tariff hearing
Over one month into government shutdown and no end in sight – but predictions run rampant
LISTEN: Unhinged voicemail exposes left-wing candidate’s death threats against GOP senator
Illinois man allegedly threatens Trump execution in profanity-laced videos, faces federal charges
ICE reveals stunning statistic after exposing Halloween weekend’s ‘worst of the worst’ arrests
SBA chief Kelly Loeffler blames Senate Democrats for canceling veterans business week
FBI Identifies Suspects in Alleged Halloween Terror Plot, Releases Gun Range Photos
Las Vegas police roll out Tesla Cybertrucks worth up to $115K each after donation from tech billionaire
Get Out: After Ilhan Omar’s Latest Comments About Somalia, Trump Says It’s Time for Her to Go Back
Breaking: Trump Endorses Cuomo, Says Vote for Mamdani Is Vote for Principles That Failed ‘For Over a Thousand Years’
Multiple Dead, Dozens Hospitalized After Illness Outbreak Connected to Pre-Cooked Pasta
Obama jumping into NJ gubernatorial race at 11th hour is ‘desperate,’ voters sound off
Listen: Trump Says He Will Not Allow Record Killing of Christians in Nigeria – Could Be Airstrikes or Even Boots on the Ground
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.
