Nancy Pelosi said the House had “no choice” but to impeach Donald Trump when he was in office — claiming that current Speaker Kevin McCarthy is acting out of the former president’s cowardice.
The former House Speaker said Republicans still in Trump’s pocket are “pathetic.”
Trump revealed last week that he received a letter from Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith informing the former president that he is a target of the investigation into the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.
Meanwhile, reports emerged that McCarthy promised Trump that he would allow the House to vote to withdraw his two impeachment proceedings before the August recess. He denies these claims.
After the attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters who tried to stop the certification of the 2020 election results, the then Democrat-controlled House decided to impeach him for a second time.
Nancy Pelosi said on Sunday that speaker Kevin McCarthy is “afraid” of Donald Trump — and said he’s “playing politics” over reports of considering dropping the ex-president’s two charges
Speaker Kevin McCarthy denied reports that he had pledged impeachment proceedings against Trump instead of supporting him in the 2024 election
Ten Republicans voted with the Democrats for impeachment for the second time. Prosecution of the charges, however, was stalled in the closely divided Senate.
“Well, the president was impeached because we had no choice,” Pelosi explained on CNN’s State of the Union program Sunday morning. “He had undermined our national security, endangered our well-being of our country. I was very careful about bringing forward impeachment proceedings.”
“But when the president made that phone call about Ukraine, there was no choice. We had no choice,” the California Democrat insisted. “He needs to be dropped off.”
“Kevin plays, you know, politics,” she added of her successor in the House. “It’s not even clear if he can constitutionally scrap those things. If he wants to put his members in place, members are in place in tough races, that’s a decision he has to make. But this is not responsible.’
Politico reported Thursday that the ex-president is outraged by the speaker who claimed last month that he may not be the best GOP candidate for 2024.
“He must support me today!” Trump was reportedly furious as he made his way to a campaign event in New Hampshire.
McCarthy does not yet want to support anyone, fearing it could hurt moderate members of his party who want to leave Trump.
Trump reportedly pressured McCarthy to endorse him, but agreed impeachment impeachment was a viable alternative
“I’m in favor of scrapping, but there’s no deal,” the California Republican told NBC
When asked about even the prospects of impeaching Trump impeachment, Pelosi said, “It’s not about the flag still being up. This is about being afraid.”
“As I’ve said before, Donald Trump is the puppeteer,” she added in her interview with Dana Bash. “And what does he do all the time but shine the light on the strings.”
“Those people look pathetic.”
A source close to Trump familiar with the conversation between the speaker and the ex-president said McCarthy vowed to scrap his impeachment record rather than support him.
Trump was first impeached in September 2019 over a phone call he made to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to pressure him to announce investigations into Hunter and now President Joe Biden, who was holding $400 million in congressional-approved military aid.
Trump’s second impeachment came after he left office in February 2021. While the House voted that Trump incited an insurrection, the Senate — requiring a two-thirds vote — voted to acquit him in both the first and second impeachments.
When asked if she believes Trump committed a crime on Jan. 6, Pelosu said, “The president is not above the law.”
“We saw what happened. It was very clear. It’s heartbreaking,” she added. “We always have to make sure it’s about the rule of law and about freedom of speech and stuff. And he’s — I mean, the courts will act. He’s innocent until proven guilty.”
A vote to exonerate Trump of January 6 misdeeds puts moderate Republicans back on the map — something Democrats can use against those members in the next election.
But McCarthy also owes the salvation of his leadership bid in the House to a number of Trump-aligned members, such as Rep. Jim Jordan and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene – who got the ex-president on the phone to pressure “Never Kevin” lawmakers.
McCarthy resolved on Thursday that he was stuck between a rock and a hard place by denying the promise had been made.
First, an aide to McCarthy’s told Politico that the deal hadn’t been closed, after which McCarthy told NBC the same.
“I support deletion, but there is no deal,” said the California Republican.