Nancy Pelosi Says Democrats Are ‘Not On The Path To Impeachment’
During a press conference on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that House Democrats are “not on the path to impeachment,” The Hill reports.
Echoing her previous statements, Pelosi said that President Trump is “crying out for impeachment.” According to the House speaker, Trump is baiting the Democrats and hoping that they launch impeachment proceedings because they would distract from House investigations.
“He’s a master of distraction…. That’s something he does well; to distract from problems that he has he tries to change the subject,” she said.
Pelosi explained to the press that she believes Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with House investigations, which is why he decided to put an end to infrastructure talks with top Democrats.
“There’s no question: the White House is just crying out for impeachment. That’s why he flipped yesterday, because he was just hoping,” Pelosi said, referring to Trump’s Wednesday press conference.
“I think what really got to him was… these court cases and the fact that the House Democratic Caucus is not on a path to impeachment, and that’s where he wants us to be.”
Pelosi extensively discussed the prospect of impeachment, pointing out throughout the press conference that she opposes impeaching Trump. The House speaker said that impeachment would be “divisive” for the country.
Trump’s refusal to cooperate with House investigations “may take us to a place that is unavoidable, in terms of impeachment — or not. But we’re not at that place,” Pelosi said.
The top Democrat ended the press conference by repeating that she “ardently” prays for President Trump.
As CNN reported, more than 30 House Democrats, many of them top committee members, have publicly called for an impeachment inquiry into President Trump. As The New York Times pointed out, virtually all Democratic presidential candidates have called for impeachment as well.
Apart from facing public pressure, Pelosi is reportedly being pressured behind the scenes by members of her caucus. As Politico reported, during a confrontational meeting on Wednesday, House Democrats urged the House speaker to begin impeachment proceedings against President Trump.
Analysis: Pelosi tamps down rising Democratic cries on Trump impeachment https://t.co/ZWFu1Dk28m
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 23, 2019
After the meeting, Pelosi spoke to reporters without mentioning impeachment. As Politico notes, although the house speaker is adamantly against impeachment, she has continually insisted that Trump is “engaged in a cover-up.”
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, House Democrats appear to have shifted their focus to get special counsel Robert Mueller to testify before Congress. Mueller is allegedly not willing to testify publicly, which could mean trouble for the opposition party, which appears to be pinning its hopes on the special counsel yet again.
Although Pelosi and other top Democrats have claimed that Trump is orchestrating a cover-up, some of his Republican allies — South Carolina Lindsey Graham and Attorney General William Barr, for instance — have stated that they would not object to Mueller testifying.
